A gentle giant glides quietly through the waters of the Santa Barbara Channel, feeding on nutrient rich plankton. All of a sudden, the calmness is broken as this majestic blue whale is struck by a massive 400,000 ton cargo ship.
The waters of the Santa Barbara Channel are ground zero for ship strikes on endangered blue whales and many other whale species and marine mammals. As one of the most heavily traveled shipping routes in the Pacific Ocean, travel through the Santa Barbara Channel can be a deadly journey for the world’s largest animal.
Blue whales need your help. Send a message to President Obama to get them the protection they must have to survive before we risk losing any more.
Between 1988 and 2012, an estimated 100 blue whales were struck and killed by large cargo ships. The only real solution to prevent this from continuing to happen is to move the lanes further west. But this can’t happen until President Obama puts pressure on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Department of the Navy—the two federal agencies that have jurisdiction over this body of water—to take action.
The highest frequency of ship strikes take place between July and October. This is when blue whales are preparing for their migration south for the winter and large cargo ships are rushing to ports in Long Beach and Los Angeles to unload their goods in time for the school year and holiday season.
We can’t allow these massive ships to continue to put blue whales in danger for the sake of profits. Tell President Obama to protect blue whales now!
The injuries to blue whales are shocking and gruesome:burst blood vessels, shattered jaws and ribs, and normally solid muscle is pulverized into mush.
No animal should have to suffer like this, but both NOAA and the Department of the Navy are dragging their feet to take action to protect them. President Obama can use his influence to get these two agencies to work together to create a solution before blue whales make their journey back to Santa Barbara in just TWO MONTHS, but he needs to hear from you.
Send a message urging President Obama to take immediate action to protect these magnificent creatures NOW.
In it together,
Courtney-Rose Dantus
SierraRise
P.S. Five signatures are even more powerful than one -- after you take action, be sure to forward this alert to your friends, family, and colleagues!
http://sierra.force.com/actions/SierraRise?actionId=AR0000224&id=701i0000001L3M6AAK&data=72c6396bb1db70e4092f5d0752265b0ef312f49bd0e2352445ecd5f7bae2e0abcb013e6fa7724a8eef93bc78563a0a78
"У нас есть свобода, но не осталось времени" Dolores ORiordan 