Saturday, May 15, 2010

Cook Inlet & The Real Alaska

One of Terry Josey"s Cement Beluga Whales At Bird Point

“We have used the best available science and the traditional knowledge of Alaska natives to identify areas essential to helping Cook Inlet beluga whales survive,” said Doug Mecum, acting administrator of NOAA’s Fisheries Service Alaska region. “Protecting these endangered whales is one of our top priorities.”

Not so for our very republican state legislators who no surprise disagree with the NOAA scientist's
stating that protecting the Cook Inlet Belugas would interfere with development.  Oil and gas, that we need to keep our homes warm, and jobs. But the Cook Inlet Belugas used to number around 1300, and now there are less than 300.  We could be making a deference. We could be upgrading the 1970 Anchorage waste water plant to 21 century standards. Instead of dumping our swill into Cook Inlet.  We could be making sure nothing harmful is leaking out of the oil platforms in the inlet.
But that stuff is hard, and we still have maybe 300 Belugas. So let me tell you if you ever rode down the Arm when pods of Belugas were after the Salmon they stunk. You could you could smell them from the road. And if you stopped and got off your bike you could hear them surface and take a breath. Their breath smelled worse than they did. Smelling a whale from the seat of your bike is not worth protecting.
Thank You Republicans. Good By Belugas.









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