I went to see this movie screening sponsored by the National Resources Defense Council on my trip to Los Angeles. If you have not seen this movie, you must see it! I did not realize how much the noise in our ocean affects whales and other larger marine mammals.
The movie begins in Bahama where whales have beached themselves, and many died. The whales were found to have subarachnoid hemorrhages (bleeding in the brain) and bleeding inside their auditory canal (ear) on CT scan when they brought the dead whales to Harvard Medical School to investigate.
Then, the movie tracks the trend of the rapidly growing shipping industry. Ships are getting larger and louder unfortunately, since larger ships need larger motors have to propel their motion. I thought about how I am guilty of shipping my car from the mainland and buying some groceries shipped from California to Hawaii at Costco! Sometimes it is unavoidable, but buying local can reduce the demand for shipping and probably somewhat ameliorate the situation. Also, the oil companies have been causing very loud underground explosions which wreak havoc on the wildlife since they cannot escape the noise in the ocean. Looking for alternative sources of energy will definitely take the focus away from finding more fossil fuel by drilling in the ocean. Apparently the Navy has also been using sonar to echolocate submarines from other countries which is also disturbing the whales.
It is explained in the movie that the whales become sick since the noise is so loud, and they cannot communicate with each other. They try to escape by going to the surface but in effect get “the bends” or decompression sickness, and that is how they get the hemorrhages in their brain and damage to other organs similar to the decompression sickness that divers get when ascending too quickly. The movie shows different circumstances in which whales beached themselves. In one instance, the oil company was drilling in the area, and in another case, a large navy ship passing through (using their sonar).
I hope to get the word out about this movie. Please see it if you get a chance. Recommend it to your friends. I had no idea about how much the sound we create as humans can affect these animals.