I’m reaching out with a time-sensitive message: today is World Oceans Day. But as I’m writing this email, Big Oil is putting our oceans and endangered Southern Resident orcas in danger.
Disastrous Big Oil projects are polluting our waters – threatening to wipe out the last 74 of these unique whales. These orcas are already mourning a recent loss to their family – a baby orca that disappeared shortly after being born near Christmas. And just one major oil spill could mean their extinction.
That’s why I need your help today: we’ve set an urgent $55,000 fundraising goal in honor of World Oceans Day today. Every contribution will go towards stopping Big Polluters in their tracks, working towards a healthier future for endangered Southern Resident orcas, and protecting our only Earth. Every cent counts – so please, will you donate anything you can today to set the pace for World Oceans Day and get us one step closer to meeting our must-hit goal?
The Southern Resident orcas are grieving, starving, and on the brink of extinction. Miscarriages are all too common, and young emaciated orca bodies have been found lifeless and separated from their families.
You may be familiar with the story of Tahlequah – an orca mother whose precious baby died just thirty minutes after she was born. Devastated, she carried her body over 1,000 miles before finally letting go.
Tahlequah’s story is a testament to how deeply connected orcas are to one another, and how intensely they feel emotion. They can become so distressed that they are driven even further into starvation – making them more vulnerable to human-driven threats like oil spills.
That’s why Big Shipping and Big Oil’s projects are serious threats. The proposed Roberts Bank T2 Terminal would bring more loud shipping traffic, making it harder for orcas to hunt with their sonar. The ever-increasing ship noise would also drive away the Chinook salmon that orcas eat. As if that isn’t bad enough, a massive oil pipeline expansion was recently completed, meaning a seven-fold increase in oil shipping through orca habitat. With the transport of oil, a disastrous spill is not a matter of “if”, but rather “when.” These projects could be enough to drive precious orcas to extinction – and we can’t let that happen.
The harm extends to local coastal communities, too. Those who once watched orcas thrive could instead be seeing oil-covered sea life washing up on their shores. People that make their living fishing could see their livelihoods devastated by the polluted waters and damaged fisheries. And the noise and air pollution generated by the massive ships from these projects will significantly impact the lives of countless people living nearby and endangered orcas alike! This isn’t the future we want to see.
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We need your help to protect Southern Resident orcas before we lose them forever and protect people and the planet from mega-polluting industries like Big Oil. At Friends of the Earth, we’re fighting tooth and nail to keep Big Polluters accountable and preserve our ocean habitats for the sake of threatened and endangered marine wildlife, people, and our entire planet. But we rely on support from generous activists like you – who know how high the stakes are and will fight day after day for our planet.
Every dollar you give today will go towards our $55,000 World Oceans Day goal and continue our critical work to preserve our oceans and the planet.
Rush a membership donation now and help protect Southern Resident orcas, our oceans, and our planet!
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Standing with you,
Marcie Keever
Oceans & vessels program director,
Friends of the Earth
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