From Miami Herald --This article profiles the career of Ric O’Barry, dolphin capturer and trainer turned anti-captivity activist.  After experiencing a crisis of consciousness following the death of one of his dolphins, O’Barry took to crusading against cruelty to dolphins in all its forms.  For the past six years he’s been trying to stop the large scale dolphin slaughter that happens in Taiji Japan every year.  He hopes that his involvement in a documentary film about these Japanese dolphin killings called The Cove will help stop dolphin abuse.

“ ''She looked me right in the eye, took a breath and never exhaled. Then, she sank to the bottom of the tank,'' he said. ”

From Reuters:According to a new study, acidifying oceans caused by rising carbon dioxide levels are cutting the shell weights of tiny marine animals in a process that could accelerate global warming.

“ William Howard of the University of Tasmania in Australia described the findings as an early-warning signal, adding the research was the first direct field evidence of marine life being affected by rising acidity of the oceans. ”

From Scientific American:Environments affected by oil spills may still be feeling the impact even years afterwards.

“ "The long-term biological effects of oil contamination at this site is unknown since animals burrowing into these sediments can be exposed to high levels of some of these compounds," Reddy says. "It is clear from this study that oil spills can have a long-term impact on a coastal environment." ”

From EcoSilly -- Right whales might be threatened by U.S. Navy plans to construct a 500-square-mile undersea sonar testing range in northeastern Florida. Reports have shown that sonar testing can also cause panic responses, displacement, and disruption of feeding, breeding, navigating, and communicating.

“ Locating this massive sonar testing range right next to the only known calving ground for a critically endangered species makes no sense.  The Navy clearly isn’t listening to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), which has specifically recognized the importance of the right whale calving ground as "a location vital to the population" and a "very high-risk area for pregnant females, new mothers, and calves." ”

From Patent Storm -- This page presents an abstract for a sonar test system, including patent images.

“ The response of all of the transducers under test is derived and stored whereupon the test transducer or line array of test transducers is moved to a subsequent position wherein the process is repeated. ”

From PBS -- It is an ongoing debate on whether or not noise pollution has a serious negative impact on whales and other marine mammals. But sonar testing in the Bahamas reached sound levels of 235 decibels above the human threshold of sound, which animal rights groups are convinced affected the livelihood of local marine life.

“ Various interest groups hotly dispute whether noise pollution is having a serious negative impact on marine mammals. Unfortunately all we can say with confidence at the moment is that we don't know. However, it is thought that the potential effects may range from minor behavioral disturbance to severe injury-perhaps even death. The possible seriousness of these threats to marine mammals has sparked deep public concern and debate. ”

From North County Times -- In 2008, U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper required the Navy to follow regulations for sonar exercises off the coast of San Diego and other counties. Under the set of rules, the Navy must stop all sonar activities whenever a whale is seen within 2,200 yards, or a little more than a mile away.

“ "It's the most significant environmental mitigation that a federal court has ever ordered the Navy to adopt in connection with mid-frequency sonar training," said Joel Reynolds, senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council. ”

From Mongabay -- In 2008, the Supreme Court decided that military sonar exercises can continue off the coast of California, despite the reported threat the exercises pose to whales and other marine life.

“ The court did not not look into the claims put forth by environmental groups, instead ruling on the process lower courts used to limit the Navy's sonar testing. It also said the military interests in the issue lie ahead of "ecological, scientific, and recreational interests". ”

From MSNBC -- In 2004, U.S. District Judge Samuel Conti allowed marine biologists to continue their tests for a sonar system that finds deep-sea whales, in spite of conservationists' concerns that the noise will threaten animals.

“ Environmental groups including Australians for Animals and Sea Sanctuary had contended that the high-frequency sound could distress and disorient whales, drive them from their habitat and separate calves from their mothers. ”

From New York Times -- This editorial discusses the positive outcome in a compromise between the Navy and environmental groups in a court-approved settlement, allowing the Navy to continue to test its low-frequency sonar systems as long as it protects marine life that cannot live with loud underwater sound. But, the writer points out, it is upsetting that the Bush administration still tried to dissuade the courts’ ability to monitor future agreements between the military and conservationists.

“ A federal district court and federal appeals court in California have ordered the Navy to adopt strong measures to protect marine life during the exercises. The administration has invoked national security to exempt the Navy from strict adherence to the environmental laws that undergirded the court decisions, thereby making the courts irrelevant. ”