Southern Resident orcas are on the brink of extinction

Dear Friend, Big Oil plans could wipe out the last 73 Southern Resident orcas. We’ve set an urgent $4,600 goal to protect orcas and the planet: Donate $27 today! If you've saved payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately: [Donate $27 immediately]( [Donate $50 immediately]( [Donate $100 immediately]( [Donate another amount]( We have devastating news. Beloved Southern Resident orcas Cappuccino, Marina, and Ripple have all died from starvation and pollution. And Big Oil and Big Shipping are about to make it worse. In the wake of their deaths, many in their families are starving, languishing, and growing weaker each day. But Big Oil and Big Shipping are at their doorstep, threatening to kick the door down. Their plans for a new shipping terminal and expanded oil pipeline could very well wipe out the last 73 Southern Resident orcas forever. [Now is the time to act, while there are still orcas left to save. Don’t let Big Oil and Big Shipping push Southern Resident orcas to extinction and pollute the planet any longer: Donate $27 or more now and help us reach our $4,600 goal before we lose another precious orca.]( Washington’s San Juan Islands are the traditional summer home for Southern Resident orcas. But this summer, we are seeing fewer of these native whales. Between 2004 and 2020 alone, there was a 75% drop in orca sightings in the area. Where have they gone? To put it bluntly, Friend, Southern Resident orcas are starving to death. With their main food source -- Chinook salmon -- on the decline, their hunts are proving fruitless. Malnourished and grieving, two-thirds of pregnant orcas lose their babies before they’re even born. And Big Oil and shipping projects would drive away even more salmon from orca habitat. That’s why orcas need your help now more than ever. Please, will you be a voice for orcas and help stop Big Oil’s disastrous plans before it’s too late? The last 73 Southern Resident orcas and the planet are counting on you! Big Oil’s plans could be the final nail in the coffin for Southern Resident orcas. Protect orcas and the planet before the loss is too great: Rush your $27 contribution today! If you've saved payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately: [Donate $27 immediately]( [Donate $50 immediately]( [Donate $100 immediately]( [Donate another amount]( Each death in the Southern Resident pods reduces the chances that the remaining orcas survive. Grief consumes the entire pod and can push them even further into starvation. With Marina’s death, her children are now three times more likely to die. What’s worse, her grandchildren are SIX TIMES less likely to survive. The facts speak for themselves: Chinook salmon -- the main food source for Southern Resident orcas -- are declining rapidly. Chemical and noise pollution are harming the whales, too. Not to mention, the recent losses of three family members have shaken their pods and driven them further into starvation. Southern Resident orcas are already facing a storm of stressors against them. We still have time to save them, but Big Oil has plans in the works that could push orcas past the point of no return. The Roberts Bank T2 shipping terminal could bring starvation and death by driving away orcas’ scarce food supply, increasing the risk of a catastrophic oil spill in orca habitat, and disrupting whales’ sonar signals with underwater noise pollution. That means these weak, stressed, and grieving orcas will struggle even more to find food, locate each other and avoid dying outright in collisions with speeding ships! Meanwhile, plans to EXPAND a major oil pipeline would inundate orcas’ delicate habitat with massive oil tankers. The expansion would send millions more barrels per day of dirty tar sands oil in tanker ships through their native waters. That means it’s just a matter of time until the next oil spill could wipe out this orca family for good. But we can still fight back! The time to fight back against Big Oil is NOW. Donate $27 now to help us hit our $4,600 goal for orcas and our planet. If you've saved payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately: [Donate $27 immediately]( [Donate $50 immediately]( [Donate $100 immediately]( [Donate another amount]( Big Oil and the shipping industry are risking the health of our orcas and our oceans for profit. If we let them get away with their dirty dealings, you and I could be part of the last generation to share the planet with Southern Resident orcas. Any orca death is devastating, but losing these precious whales could be more catastrophic than you think, Friend. Orcas play an important role in keeping the planet healthy! They release vital nutrients for phytoplankton, which in turn provide half of the oxygen we breathe. But their impact doesn’t stop there. They absorb hundreds of thousands of tons of carbon each year. This promotes healthy ecosystems and a functioning planet. These are just a few reasons why we must protect these orcas at all costs. The threatened Southern Resident population is just one major oil spill away from extinction. And we know that oil spills are not a matter of “if” but rather “when.” That’s why we need to raise our voices and stand up to Big Oil and the shipping industry. We won’t allow them to put corporate profits over the lives of precious wildlife and the ecosystems that rely on them. If you raise your voice now, we can still protect the last 73 Southern Resident orcas and stop these industrial megaprojects from destroying our oceans and our planet. But orcas urgently need your help. Your membership gift of $27 or more to Friends of the Earth today will allow us to fight these projects and the threats to orcas and our planet. Make your contribution now, while orcas still have a fighting chance, and we can stop these projects! Stand up to Big Oil and the shipping industry to protect endangered orcas and our planet. Donate $27 and help us reach our urgent $4,600 goal before the clock strikes midnight! If you've saved payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately: [Donate $27 immediately]( [Donate $50 immediately]( [Donate $100 immediately]( [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]