Stop the Big Oil and shipping industries from killing endangered orcas and destroying our planet

Dear Friend, Only 73 orcas remain. Stop them from being driven to extinction, protect our planet, and donate $27 or more to help us hit our $180,000 Earth Day goal! If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately: [$27 donation + $27 match = $54 impact]( [$50 donation + $50 match = $100 impact]( [$100 donation + $100 match = $200 impact]( [Donate another amount]( There are only 73 Southern Resident orcas left in the world, and they’re slowly starving to death. Big Oil and shipping megaprojects are threatening the LAST living Southern Resident orcas -- all in the interest of corporate profit. These orcas are the only endangered species of killer whales in the United States, and they are starving and growing weaker by the day. But two proposed megaprojects threaten to seal their death sentence. [Help protect these 73 remaining orcas and our planet by standing up to corporate greed and donate $27 or more today and help us reach our Earth Day goal of $180,000 before midnight tonight!]( These Southern Resident orcas are a struggling family who have suffered devastating blows recently. Three beloved members of their pods -- Cappuccino, Marina, and now Ripple -- already died from starvation. Losing Cappuccino’s playfulness, Marina’s wisdom, and the hope that young Ripple brought for future of the family, has plunged their surviving family members deep into grief and stress, worsening the impact of persistent starvation for all three of the Southern Resident pods. In this state, these precious creatures are even more vulnerable to the destructive impact of commercial megaprojects. Each Southern Resident killer whale is an integral member of their family. Every loss is felt by the entire pod. But Big Oil and the shipping industry are threatening them all with proposed megaprojects that would directly impact their habitats and drive them to EXTINCTION. Big Oil and the shipping industry are threatening orcas with starvation. Help us fight for their protection and the future of our planet with your $27 donation before the clock strikes midnight on Earth Day! If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately: [$27 donation + $27 match = $54 impact]( [$50 donation + $50 match = $100 impact]( [$100 donation + $100 match = $200 impact]( [Donate another amount]( Southern Resident killer whale populations have been declining since at least 2006. Key drivers to their extinction are tied to toxic water pollution and food availability. Their main food source is Chinook salmon, which were once abundant in their ecosystems, but have substantially declined in the last decade -- leading these orcas to starvation, stress, and miscarriages. The two proposed megaprojects would drastically magnify these threats to orcas. The Roberts Bank T2 shipping terminal project would increase cargo ship traffic and disrupt Chinook salmon migration patterns -- driving them further away from the orcas’ habitat. The resulting noise from the ships will also disrupt the killer whales’ sonar hunting methods, preventing them from finding the few salmon left in the region. The proposed Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion would also significantly increase oil tanker traffic in Southern Resident critical habitat SEVEN-FOLD -- from one tanker a week to one per day! Worst of all, it will also be pushing out millions of gallons per day of toxic tar sands oil -- the dirtiest kind -- in oil tankers through this already delicate orca habitat. The threatened Southern Resident orca population is just one big oil spill away from extinction. And we know that with oil transportation projects, oil spills are not a matter of “if,” but rather of “when.” This is why we need to raise our voices and stand up to Big Oil and the shipping industry, showing them that we will not allow them to put private profit over the lives of precious wildlife and the ecosystems that rely on them. Southern Resident orcas are one big oil spill away from EXTINCTION. Fight the megaprojects that threaten their existence and our planet with your contribution of $27 or more now. If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately: [$27 donation + $27 match = $54 impact]( [$50 donation + $50 match = $100 impact]( [$100 donation + $100 match = $200 impact]( [Donate another amount]( Orcas are crucial to a thriving ocean habitat and our own health. They release vital nutrients for phytoplankton, which in turn provide half of the oxygen we breathe while absorbing hundreds of thousands of tons of carbon each year. We depend on this flow of nutrients for healthy ecosystems and a functioning planet, which is why we must protect these orcas at all costs. Each tragic death in these pods reduces the chances of the remaining orcas’ survival. With Marina’s death, her children are now three times more likely to die, while her grandchildren are SIX TIMES less likely to survive. With these 73 precious lives at stake and at increased risk, we need to step up our fight to protect them. Southern Resident killer whales are in perilous danger. You and I may be some of the last people to share the planet with these magnificent creatures if these disastrous megaprojects are allowed to move forward. That is why we need you by our side, Friend. Your membership gift of $27 or more to Friends of the Earth in honor of Earth Day will allow us to fight these projects and the threats to our planet. Make your contribution now, while orcas still have a fighting chance and you can make double the impact! Cappuccino and Marina are dead. Don’t let their surviving family members meet the same fate. Make your contribution of $27 or more to Friends of the Earth before the clock strikes midnight on Earth Day! If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately: [$27 donation + $27 match = $54 impact]( [$50 donation + $50 match = $100 impact]( [$100 donation + $100 match = $200 impact]( [Donate another amount]( Standing with you, Marcie Keever Oceans & vessels program director, 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]( © 2023, Friends of the Earth. All Rights Reserved. [supporter]