Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Letter to Hillary Clinton
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
US Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
Dear Madam Secretary,
I am writing to convey my concern for the issue of current whaling practices in Japan. As you are probably aware, the Japanese government is using Article VIII of the International Convention For The Regulation Of Whaling, permitting them to treat, take, or kill whales for purposes of scientific research. This has allowed for their continued involvement in commercial whaling, even with the moratorium that has been in place since 1986. In any case, many people believe that the research Japan is conducting is invalid, and deliberately misusing science. This is due to the fact that thousands of tons of whale meat is being packaged and sold in Japan, and because almost all of their "research," could be attained by non-lethal means. As a keystone species, whales impact the marine ecosystem much more than the average animal. With their dwindling numbers, and Japan pushing certain species closer to extinction, sea animals are already experiencing mass environmental imbalance and the problem is only becoming more severe. With some whale populations at less than one percent of their original numbers, who knows how long it will take for an entire marine ecosystems to collapse. The actions of just one county are creating a huge irreversible problem for the rest of the world, by depleting our resources, and creating havoc in the food chain. For over 20 years Japan has been abusing science, and whaling under a technicality. If the governments of other nations, and the laws currently in place have not changed Japan's actions, the laws need to be tightened. There can be no space for interpretation of what determines "valid" research; the law should ban the killing of whales for all purposes. Because most research on whales can be done non-lethally, there needs to be a law stating that the killing of whales is in no way permitted, for research or any other means. Japan would then be forced to either comply, or face consequences for blatantly breaking the law. I realize that you recently met with Japanese officials, and I hope that you are able to voice these concerns in your next correspondence.
Sincerely,
Eli Arata-Reshes
14372 Lyons Valley Road
Jamul Ca, 91935
US Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
Dear Madam Secretary,
I am writing to convey my concern for the issue of current whaling practices in Japan. As you are probably aware, the Japanese government is using Article VIII of the International Convention For The Regulation Of Whaling, permitting them to treat, take, or kill whales for purposes of scientific research. This has allowed for their continued involvement in commercial whaling, even with the moratorium that has been in place since 1986. In any case, many people believe that the research Japan is conducting is invalid, and deliberately misusing science. This is due to the fact that thousands of tons of whale meat is being packaged and sold in Japan, and because almost all of their "research," could be attained by non-lethal means. As a keystone species, whales impact the marine ecosystem much more than the average animal. With their dwindling numbers, and Japan pushing certain species closer to extinction, sea animals are already experiencing mass environmental imbalance and the problem is only becoming more severe. With some whale populations at less than one percent of their original numbers, who knows how long it will take for an entire marine ecosystems to collapse. The actions of just one county are creating a huge irreversible problem for the rest of the world, by depleting our resources, and creating havoc in the food chain. For over 20 years Japan has been abusing science, and whaling under a technicality. If the governments of other nations, and the laws currently in place have not changed Japan's actions, the laws need to be tightened. There can be no space for interpretation of what determines "valid" research; the law should ban the killing of whales for all purposes. Because most research on whales can be done non-lethally, there needs to be a law stating that the killing of whales is in no way permitted, for research or any other means. Japan would then be forced to either comply, or face consequences for blatantly breaking the law. I realize that you recently met with Japanese officials, and I hope that you are able to voice these concerns in your next correspondence.
Sincerely,
Eli Arata-Reshes
14372 Lyons Valley Road
Jamul Ca, 91935
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Government Democracy in Action Project
This is my PSA which depicts the current situation with Japanese whaling and indicates what you can do to help.
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