Whales and Sonar Supreme Court Decision

In a 5-4 ruling last week, the Supreme Court rejected efforts to limit Naval submarine training due to the harm caused to marine mammals. Chief Justice Roberts wrote the opinion, which was supported by Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito.

The Navy can continue to use sonar to detect and track enemy submarines. The Natural Resource Defense Council had filed suit saying that these exercises caused harm to whales and other mammals. The endangered beaked whale was of particular interest in the case. It is believed that these animals dive for extended periods of time. The sonar is believed to interfere with their ability to calibrate coming back up for air, thereby subjecting them to the bends.

From an article by ABC News, the lawyer for NRDC said the sound intensity of the sonar, correcting for water, would compare to a jet engine in the courtroom multiplied 2,000 times. He said the Navy is "perfectly able to train" with some restrictions that would protect marine life.

But the court said that while it "does not question the seriousness" of the environmentalists' concerns, the use of sonar "is the only reliable technology for detecting and tracking enemy diesel-electric submarines."

Chief Justice John Roberts began the opinion by quoting George Washington: "To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace."

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