Hours left: Starving orcas need help

͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏    ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏    ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏    ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏    ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     ͏     [Friends of the Earth] [Donate!]( Dear friend, The newborn baby orca is gone. Help save his surviving family from extinction and protect our planet: donate $27 or more to help us hit our $82,000 World Whale Day 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]( The newest Southern Resident orca born over Christmas likely died after just one month of life. Researchers recently discovered that this poor calf wasn’t with his family – and he’s too young to be off on his own. The most likely scenario: His emaciated body sank lifelessly to the ocean floor and his family is left grieving this devastating loss. At the same time, his surviving family members are also dodging threats from Big Oil and shipping megaprojects that threaten to seal their death sentence – all in the interest of corporate profit. That’s why I’m reaching out to you today: It’s World Whale Day, and we’ve set a crucial $82,000 fundraising goal in honor of these precious orcas. But we only have until midnight TONIGHT to reach it, and we can't get there without your help. [So please, donate $27 or more to Friends of the Earth in honor of World Whale Day before another orca meets a tragic end!]( Each Southern Resident orca is an integral member of their family. Every loss is felt by the entire pod. Losing the newest orca baby – a symbol of hope for a dying population – will drive their surviving family members deeper into grief and stress. And the emotional turmoil will push them further into starvation. In this state, these precious creatures are even more vulnerable to the destructive impacts of commercial megaprojects. That means if Big Oil moves forward with their plans, orcas could be driven to EXTINCTION. Big Oil and the shipping industry could drive Southern Resident orcas to extinction. Help us fight to protect them and the future of our planet and donate $27 before the clock strikes midnight on World Whale Day! 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 killer whale populations are the lowest they’ve been since the 1980s, and a chronic lack of food is a key factor. Their main food source is Chinook salmon, which were once abundant in their ecosystems. But these fish have substantially declined in the last decade, becoming endangered themselves and leading these orcas to starvation, stress, and miscarriages. Two proposed megaprojects would make survival even harder for orcas. The Roberts Bank T2 shipping terminal project would increase cargo ship traffic and drive the few remaining Chinook salmon further away from orca habitat. The proposed Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion would do more of the same, increasing 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 carrying millions of gallons per day of toxic tar sands oil – the dirtiest kind – in oil tankers through the delicate waters these orcas call home. 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 these endangered orcas! Orcas rely on sonar for hunting – so increased noise would disrupt their sonar, confusing them and making them more vulnerable. Their fruitless hunts for the scarce fish that remain are leaving them hungry and confused. Between the 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, before World Whale Day ends at midnight tonight! Southern Resident orcas are one major oil spill away from EXTINCTION. Fight the megaprojects that threaten their existence and our planet with your World Whale Day contribution of $27 or more. 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]( It's critical that we protect orcas. They’re 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 can’t afford to lose even one more of these innocent creatures. 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 75 precious lives at stake and at increased risk, we need to step up our fight to protect them. 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 to push federal, state and local decision-makers to increase protections for Southern Resident orcas, and we’re trying to stop these deadly projects before they cause irreparable damage. But we need your help to step up our fight. Your membership donation today will help us protect these orcas and other vulnerable species as well as people and our planet from greedy corporate interests. Please rush your $27 contribution today before World Whale Day ends at midnight TONIGHT before we lose orcas forever! Cappuccino and Marina are dead. Don’t let their surviving family members meet the same fate. Donate $27 or more to Friends of the Earth before World Whale Day ends at midnight TONIGHT! 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 [Unsubscribe](//us.engagingnetworks.app/page/email/subscribe?campaignpageurl=https%3A%2F%2Fus.e-activist.com%2Fpage%2F2555%2Fsubscriptions%2F1%3Fea.broadcast.id%3D291065&ea.campaigner.email=UTxakXS4HNAgIrhgfJunoX%2Bb2C7ILXNF3twFOHcrCRE=) Learn more [foe.org/about-us]( [foe.org/news]( [foeaction.org]( Connect [Friends of the Earth on Facebook]( [Friends of the Earth on Twitter]( [Friends of the Earth on Flickr]( © 2024, Friends of the Earth. All Rights Reserved. [supporter]