A precious newborn orca may not stand a chance against Big Oil

Dear Friend, Starvation and death could be this new orca’s destiny before its first birthday. Don’t let Big Oil make things worse. Donate $27 today and help us reach our $4,500 goal for orcas, people, 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]( This is urgent: the newest baby orca born into the Southern Resident orca pods may not make it through its first year. That’s right, Friend. A precious baby orca was just born into the endangered Southern Resident orca pods. But this helpless newborn may die before it’s had a chance to live. There simply aren’t enough ‘fish left in the sea’ to feed these vulnerable whales -- meaning the little calf could starve to death before its first birthday. And to make matters worse, Big Oil megaprojects threaten to drive away the few fish that remain and spew pollution into the waters and surrounding communities. [If this newborn baby orca is going to stand a chance, we must act fast to stop Big Oil’s projects and protect our planet before it’s too late. Donate $27 today and help us reach our $4,500 goal by midnight tonight!]( This orca birth is nothing short of a miracle. Without enough food to support this starving population, most orca pregnancies end in miscarriage. But even now, the coast isn’t clear. We’re still waiting with bated breath to see if this newborn calf will survive long enough to receive a name -- that’s one whole year. It's sad, but true: the mortality rate for newborn orca calves is as high as 50%. But orcas are tight-knit creatures that mourn the loss of every family member. And if Suttles’ baby doesn’t survive, their grief could drive them further into starvation. With the endangered Southern Resident orca population at its lowest since the 1980s, they may not survive another loss. That’s why we need your support in this fight to restore this dwindling species and protect our planet before we lose these iconic whales forever. Endangered orcas are starving to death. Donate $27 today and help us reach our $4,500 goal to protect them, people, 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]( Southern Resident orcas face threats like global warming, ocean acidification, and increased water pollution. And two Big Oil megaprojects -- the Roberts Bank T2 container shipping terminal and the expanded Trans Mountain tar sands pipeline -- are direct threats to the pods’ survival and could put surrounding communities at serious risk. 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. If built, it will drive away Chinook salmon, the already scarce main food source for endangered orcas. The Trans Mountain Pipeline would pile on this already dire situation. It would pump hundreds of thousands of additional barrels of TOXIC tar sands oil each day. What’s more, it would increase oil tanker shipping in Southern Resident orca critical habitat from one oil tanker a week to more than one per day! This would be a ticking time bomb for an oil spill. And we know that with projects like these, oil spills aren’t a matter of “if” -- they’re a matter of “when.” Local communities that used to watch orcas thrive could instead be seeing oil-covered sea life washing up on their shores. Those who make their living fishing could see their livelihoods devastated by the polluted waters. Even without an oil spill, the noise and air pollution generated by the massive ships from these projects will significantly impact the lives of countless people living nearby and the survival of endangered orcas! Orcas rely on sonar for hunting -- increased noise would disrupt their sonar, confusing them and making them more vulnerable. Their fruitless hunts for the few fish that remain are leaving them hungry and confused. Between the chronic lack of salmon and the disruption of their hunting methods, orcas could starve to death and be driven to extinction. NOW is the time to do something about it. Big Oil’s projects could be the difference between life and death for endangered orcas. Rush your $27 contribution now for the sake of orcas, people, and the 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]( Southern Resident orcas are fighting for their lives against human-driven threats. If greedy developers get away with their proposed plans, it could be the final nail in the coffin for these precious whales. But it’s critical that we protect orcas -- they are important to a thriving ocean habitat and our own health. They release vital nutrients for phytoplankton -- tiny sea organisms that 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 are fighting tooth and nail to protect orcas, their ocean habitats, and our planet. But the shipping and oil industries are interested in their own profit, even if it means orca families are left reeling in grief for their deceased loved ones. All the while, local communities will be forced to breathe polluted air and suffer the consequences of marine life die-offs. Friends of the Earth is working with federal, state and local decision-makers to increase protections for Southern Resident orcas, and we’re working to stop these deadly projects before they cause irreparable damage. But we need your help to step up our fight. Your membership contribution today will go a long way to drive our work forward and ensure a healthy and just future for our planet. So please Friend: rush your $27 contribution today and help us reach our $4,500 goal before we lose orcas forever! Stand up to Big Oil and the shipping industry to protect endangered orcas, people, and our planet. Rush your $27 donation to Friends of the Earth today and help us reach our $4,500 goal! 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]