Southern Resident orcas need you as they mourn Ripple’s death

Dear Friend, Don’t let the shipping and fossil fuel industries wipe out Southern Resident Killer Whales: Donate $27 to Friends of the Earth today. If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately: [Donate $5/month immediately]( [Donate $27 immediately]( Southern Resident orca K-pod is now at its lowest number in almost half a decade. Ripple, the only calf of orca mother Deadhead, is now presumed dead. His death comes as a blow to his pod, which has the lowest count of the three Southern Resident pods at just 16 orcas -- and they were already just one oil spill away from extinction. We need to act immediately to protect Ripple's remaining family. [Please rush a $27 donation to Friends of the Earth and help us reach our $5,200 goal before midnight tonight!]( As we mourn Ripple’s death and his mother’s pain, we are reminded of Tahlequah, the orca mother who carried her dead calf’s body for weeks in a gut-wrenching tour of grief that captured hearts around the world just a few years ago. These whales are more than just a number or a statistic. They are more than irreplaceable ecological engineers who help keep their entire ecosystem healthy. These whales are beautiful, intelligent, complex animals from tight-knit families who feel and grieve every loss. And now, their entire population is on the brink. Ripple’s family needs your support. Protect endangered orcas today and make your $27 donation. If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately: [Donate $5/month immediately]( [Donate $27 immediately]( This family of majestic orcas, once a common sight in the waters of Washington and British Columbia, are struggling to survive. The whales are starving, and the threats to their survival are multiplying. Foremost among these? The Roberts Bank T2 shipping terminal and the Trans Mountain Pipeline. The Roberts Bank T2 project is a massive, proposed container shipping facility that developers want to build at the mouth of British Columbia’s Fraser River. The facility will disrupt the migration patterns of Chinook salmon, the main food source for the endangered orcas. It will force young salmon into open ocean waters before they are strong enough -- creating a chronic lack of food for the now-73 Southern Resident orcas that remain, including vulnerable new calves. The Trans Mountain Pipeline would be just as deadly, pumping an additional 590,000 barrels daily of toxic tar sands oil -- the dirtiest kind -- and exponentially increasing shipping in Southern Resident critical habitat from 60 to 400 oil tankers per year. That is more than one oil tanker per day racing through orca critical habitat! This would be a ticking time-bomb of toxic pollution, just waiting to spill. And in the meantime, both of these projects would dramatically increase noisy oil tanker and cargo ship traffic, disrupting both the orcas’ sonar that they rely on to forage for food, and their food source itself -- at a time when many orcas are already starving. There’s only one way to save these whales from extinction: Stop these disastrous megaprojects in their tracks, and secure permanent protections for whales. Don’t let the shipping and fossil fuel industries wipe out Southern Resident Killer Whales and donate $27 to Friends of the Earth today. If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately: [Donate $5/month immediately]( [Donate $27 immediately]( Ripple is gone. His loss has already rocked his family, but it may herald more severe consequences for the already-struggling pod. Southern Resident Killer Whales have long been struggling to survive. Made up of only three pods -- tightly-knit family groups -- their mortality rate is increasing and their birth rate is decreasing, as the whales become skinnier and more malnourished. Experts say that a lack of Chinook salmon -- and resulting hunger and stress -- has kept them from reproducing successfully. New calves have only a 50-50 chance of survival. The whales are also threatened by pollution, which affects their health, and underwater noise from shipping disrupts the echolocation they use to hunt. With such a small family, these endangered orcas are disproportionately impacted by the death of even one family member. The Roberts Bank T2 Shipping Terminal and the Trans Mountain Pipeline would magnify every threat these orcas face. Just one oil spill could wipe out this entire population of whales. That’s why we need your help. Powered by members like you, Friends of the Earth has been fighting for the whales of the Pacific Northwest. We’ve stopped major threats to these whales before and your membership gift today can help us ramp up our fight for orcas and our planet. But it’s a tough uphill battle -- and we need to stop these proposed projects so the whales can have a chance. With Ripple’s death, it’s never been more important to take action to protect these special orcas. Stand with Ripple's family and all Southern Resident Killer Whales. Support Friends of the Earth with a $27 donation. If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately: [Donate $5/month immediately]( [Donate $27 immediately]( Standing with you, Marcie Keever Director of oceans & vessels program, Friends of the Earth Contact Us: Friends of the Earth U.S. Washington, D.C. | Berkeley, CA 1-877-843-8687 [Contact us]( Email Preferences: [Click here to unsubscribe]( Learn more: www.foe.org/news www.foe.org/about-us www.foeaction.org Connect: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Flickr]( © 2022, Friends of the Earth. All Rights Reserved. [supporter]