— from Learner Limbach —
On Thursday November 14, Rhea Miller and Larry Morrell from Sound Defense Alliance came to Orcas for a Community Forum to share the latest accomplishments and concerns of the Growler EA-18 over flights on San Juan County and the region.
I’ve put together this followup to share some of my takeaways and help more of you plug in. My hope is that we can build on this first event and hold another one sometime this spring, and that we can support each other to take action and contribute our voices.
Takeaways
My personal takeaway was one of hope. It is easy to feel that nothing we do makes any difference, especially when it comes to the Growler issue. I was inspired at this event by the work that has been done and happy that there IS actually something we can do to make a difference. Lots of people have been doing amazing organizing work around this issue and it is paying off. They need more support. It is all about coming together to make our voices heard and to build political will. There has been some progress, and there will be more if we keep organizing and getting more people involved.
How to get involved in the Sound Defense Alliance
If you would like to get involved probably the best place to start is by joining the Sound Defense Alliance email list HERE, where you can also sign up as an affiliate group or individual, and choose from a number of different levels of involvement.
Second, I encourage you to check out the Take Action Page, which lists all the ways you can plug in and contribute your voice and talents to the effort. Many of the actions are very simple, such as Reporting Jet Noise. So even if you have only a little time to give, everyone can find something that suits their desired level of involvement. When thousands of us add our voices together it creates a powerful voice that is hard to ignore.
Additional resources
Since this the event on November 14 I’ve been doing some additional research and making new connections. I am grateful to those who have reached out to me and generously provided information to help me learn. Below are some additional resources that you may find interesting and educational as I have.
Olympic National Park
It’s not just the Growlers flying in the San Juan Islands that we should be worried about. The Navy has plans to fly more than 100 Growlers, 16 hours per day, 260 days per year, over Olympic National Park. The National Park Conservation Association has taken the approach of advocating for quiet in Olympic National Park. Check out their advocacy page HERE. I especially suggest watching the 8 minute video “Hear Our Olympics” that is posted on that page.
NPCA developed a Growler Tracker App that works offline. The anti Growler movement needs data for lobbying and advocacy, so if you or anyone you know is going to the Olympic National Park, please download the App and follow the instructions to set it up for use during your visit.
Noise Impact Study
A privately funded study of the noise impacts of the jets has recently been done off the naval air station. With the Navy’s cooperation, multiple hydrophones were deployed to measure the impact of sound in the sea. The findings may be published as early as within the next 6 months.
Part of a Broader Scope of Warfare Training
The Growlers are part of a broader scope of work for warfare training planned around the Salish Sea and off the coast of Olympic National Park over the National Marine Sanctuary and out in to the Pacific.
See the Marine Mammal Commission’s comments to the Navy about this matter HERE. Although these comments focus on a larger region, the naval air station figures prominently in the operations for the warfare training.
Here is a snippet of the background from the report:
“The Navy proposes to conduct training and testing activities in the waters off northern California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia (including the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound) and in Western Behm Canal in southeastern Alaska. The activities would involve the use of low-, mid-, high- and very high-frequency sonar, weapons systems, explosive and nonexplosive practice munitions and ordnance, high-explosive underwater detonations, expended materials, electromagnetic devices, high-energy lasers, vessels, underwater vehicles (including gliders), and aircraft.
It is highly concerning to me to think about the possible and probable impact these activities would have on our marine mammals.
Yes and no.
I believe as a long time follower of this issue that it extends far beyond ‘noise’ and extends to the heart of an out of control military industrial malaise that threatens the planet as well as defiling the sacred land of the Peninsula and the skies above us.
Please be advised that neither of the presenters at the above cited event are any longer involved in the executive decision making process of SDA. Whether or not this implies a more conciliatory approach to the powers that be is yet to be determined but does not bode well as it was clear at this event that Larry and Rhea were running a ‘good cop/bad cop’ routine with Rhea clearly marginalized by the organizational emphasis.
Additionally, the very big issue of groundwater contamination in and around the outlying field at Coupeville, poisoning nearby wells with now obsolete fire retardant chemicals, remains unaddressed.
While SDF does offer reasonable action alternatives I would suggest supporting AG Ferguson’s lawsuit against the Navy (yes, he does have ‘standing’ to sue the Feds) and a boycott of Boeing (who shares blame for the Growlers with Northrup Grumman) as the most effective ways to move on this issue.
And please support Bob Call in his quest to unseat Rick Larson (D-2nd District/Hush house/Boeing) who continues to gather in the defense dollars while pretending to represent the San Juans. Mr. Call looks to total elimination of the Growler fleet.
Now we;re talking.
Joseph Murhpy, thanks for your comment. I don’t know many people who would disagree with your point that this issue extends far beyond noise. This is but one of many battles that we must wage on the path to a saner world. Reigning in the out of control military industrial complex will take work from many angles, both inside and outside the political arena, including replacing at least half of the current members of Congress with pro-peace candidates. In the meantime, we cannot take our eye off the ball of this Navy Growler issue in the NW or we will see further expansion of their training operations much to the detriment of our communities and natural environment. Respectfully.
To just briefly mention with Joseph’s comment, the Congressional challenger is Jason Call.
After the last update, I tried several times to report Growler noise from my home using the listed site. I could enter the data but it would not send.
Very frustrating.
Hi Janice, thanks for trying to report jet noise. I’m sorry the site gave you trouble. That’s the first I’ve heard of a glitch. I will look into that.
Learner,
I can’t disagree with anything you state here. Certainly, the fight is at our doorsteps (or skysteps) right now and the fight is with NAS Whidbey. When the noise on the South end of Orcas is so bad that, as one woman said, “My children have stopped napping,” it may be past time to get angry.
It is clear that the Sound Defense Alliance, an umbrella group, has some disparate agendas within its ranks and there are other ways to engage this issue that may be both more effective and somewhat outside the SDA.
As the Bobster once sang, “Don’t follow leaders/Watch your parking meters.”
David, thanks for the correction on Jason Call.
Thanks so much for bringing this back to the foreground. After the meeting on Orcas in November, I wrote a similar article that was published here and in the local papers, as well as everyone on the congress person list, and sent multiple emails to SDA with ideas on how to mobilize, and offered to volunteer.
A month or so later I finally received a reply from someone who is now moving off to help with the Bernie Sanders campaign. It seems the volunteer coordinating effort is lacking here and it is time for us to all act for the collective good. If anyone would like to meet for a postcard/letter writing get together on this, I’d be happy to host. You can reach me at 360-375-6668. I’m thinking mid-Feb.
Quiet Skies just posted a link to the recent noise report.
Everyone who lives in the islands, affected or not, should
read the comments from people all over our beloved
communities.
Below is the link,
https://f4be68e4-2f42-4ce8-b4c0-6fb1e95c8ac6.filesusr.com/ugd/f9226a_8ec27bead7aa425ebc3d5d33ea164a32.pdf
though maybe easier accessed here:
https://www.quietskies.info/
Hi Susan Shannon. Let’s organize something together in February. I think many of us are experiencing that there are so many “fires” to put out at once it’s hard to focus on this and some other issues consistently. For me, this issue has definitely risen to a higher level of priority this year and I hope to stay on it. Thanks for stepping up to keep it moving. Let’s work together.