The Whales vs. the Navy at the Supreme Court

categories: Marine Life, Politics and Law, Wildlife/FreeLiving Animals

Published October 09, 2008 @ 08:04AM PT

Whales beached in North Carolinan following Navy exercises in 2005 The Navy--which, with the Bush administration's blessing of course, wishes to ignore laws and overturn court rulings protecting whales--headed to the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday, and good ol' Scalia and Alito, among others, so far look to be leaning toward giving the Navy priority over the whales. The Navy has repeatedly decided that the laws governing protection of whales don't apply to them, and this is just the latest instance.

You might recall this from just under two years ago, for example:

Facing Suit, Navy Declares Itself Above the Law in High-Intensity Sonar Fight
With the U.S. Navy in litigation aimed at stopping its illegal use of high-intensity sonar, the Pentagon today unilaterally declared the military exempt for a period of two years from the basic law protecting whales, dolphins, and other marine mammals.

My question then was--and my question remains now--what is the point of passing laws to protect wildlife and the environment when the groups and institutions that cause them the most harm are exempt from obeying those laws? What's the point of passing laws, period, when those high up in the government can disregard them whenever they see fit? (Oh, how I could go off on tangents here.)

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has been posting regular updates about the Supreme Court case on the organization's blog, and "the outcome of this case," the NRDC says, "may hinge on whether the White House has the authority to grant the Navy an exemption from the National Environmental Policy Act, which it did after a lower court imposed additional safeguards on naval training exercises. (An office of the White House called the Council on Environmental Quality actually issued the ruling.)" (Report from the Court, "What gives them the right?" section)

Read up on the sonar issue and the last five to six years of battles between the NRDC and the Navy here--Protecting Whales from Dangerous Sonar.

And check out this roundup of articles on the current fight:
US Supreme Court Weighs National Security, Whale Welfare
Supreme Court Takes on Whales, Navy Sonar
U.S. Navy Sonar Linked to Whale Strandings, Environmental Scientists Argue

Image source: HamptonRoads.com

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Comments (1)

Judging by how this administration continues to consider itself above the law, it's not at all surprising that the Navy will probably win in this case. For once, it would be nice if the USA would lead the world along the right track instead of the "right" track.

Posted by Lisa Smolen on 10/10/2008 @ 09:40PM PT
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Stephanie is an independent animal rights advocate, a vegan, a tree-hugging environmentalist, and a freelance editor and writer. She lives in St. Louis with an aging corgi-lab and an adolescent rescued pit bull.