Been teaching my students about the beaching of the biggest group of pilot whales last Wednesday at Whakatane. My students were curious why it happened. Seimic testing may well be one of the reasons. No body knows.
Bunny McDiarmid, GREENPEACE
Bunny McDiarmid, GREENPEACE
To
me
Today at 10:20 AM
We still need your help. The whales in New Zealand are in trouble.
| Hi Ann, |  | |
A couple of weeks ago I wrote to you asking for your help. Because this summer Norwegian oil giant, Statoil, begin their onslaught of seismic mapping – the first step of oil drilling - in the deep seas off the coast of Northland, New Zealand. This will threaten whales and dolphins in ways that we are only just beginning to understand. From a ship on the surface, they will blast the ocean with massive sound waves to determine if oil might be under the seabed. The air blasts are so loud they create an equivalent noise impact as blasting dynamite in rock underwater. And this will happen every minute for months on end. Because whales and dolphins depend on sounds to navigate and feed they are incredibly vulnerable to these loud noises. It could mean that they can’t hear one another or find food and in extreme cases, it could lead to strandings and death. There has been no published research on the effects of seismic mapping on marine mammals in New Zealand. But without clear evidence, why is our Government allowing this potential nightmare to happen in our backyard? So we’re going to work with Otago University to figure out the extent of these dangers. This type of independent research work, as far as my understanding goes, has never been done before. I’m hoping that you can help fund the crucial research to find out what this could mean for the whales in our waters. Because this research is exactly the sort of thing that could make all the difference in whale protection. And it’s your help that makes this possible. Are you able to chip in?  We’ve already been very busy. I wanted to say a huge thank you to all of those who have already donated because it’s thanks to this support that achieved so much! Last month over 1,000 people marched up Queen Street, and in one clear voice, we said “Statoil Go Home, Leave our Seas Alone.” That same week Greenpeace activists breached security at the ‘Petroleum Summit’ conference to deliver the message again and 26 oil-covered people stood in silent vigil at the oil industry dinner in the Auckland Domain. Now I’m hoping you can join in too, because only together can we keep the pressure on. Let’s make sure Statoil know that they’re not welcome in our waters and that we’re not going to put our whales at risk. Please donate now. Thank you. Bunny McDiarmid Executive Director Greenpeace New Zealand | ||
