Whales and other marine life scored two victories this week according to CNN.
The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Navy's appeal of restrictions that banned high-powered sonar within 12 nautical miles of the coast. High powered sonar can cause hearing loss in whales and other marine animals.
Also a judge in Hawaii issued a similar ban for that state's coastline. The court ordered the Navy to look for marine mammals for one hour each day before using sonar, employ three lookouts exclusively to spot the animals during sonar use and stop sonar transmission altogether when one of the mammals is within 500 meters.
While on the surface this sounds like a victory, I have to wonder. Anyone who has spent time at a lake or pool knows how well sound travels under water. I'm not sure what practical effect a ban of 1,500 feet will have, but I guess environmentalists must take any victory they can these days.
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