(Image credit: Eyewitness News)

Do you live in the West Palm Beach, Florida area? If so, we need your help!

AUTEC, or the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center, is a United States Navy project offering underwater testing, in-air test facilities and support to United States, Canadian, British, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and other military and civilian organizations.

The mission of AUTEC is to study new, more advanced ways to conduct war. A major national security liability is being cast as a security asset. Americans, Bahamians, marine life, and the climate are paying the price. Our government is playing war with its own submarines in the Bahamas while ocean temperatures shoot off the charts. Floridians are footing the bill.

AUTEC is causing problems right here at home for the residents of the Bahamas and West Pam Beach. Here’s a non-exhaustive list:

1. Noise pollution from acoustic tests and training sessions, which can be harmful to whales and dolphins
2. Discharges of chemicals, fuels, and other hazardous materials from the testing and operation of submarines and other equipment, which can harm the marine environment and local ecosystems
3. Risk of accidents or incidents during the testing of advanced weapons and equipment, which could potentially cause damage to the base, harm personnel, or cause environmental damage.
4. Disturbance or damage to sensitive marine habitats or ecosystems, such as coral reefs, due to the extensive underwater testing and operations
5. Potential destruction to crab populations, marine mammal strandings
6. The potential for seismic activity or other disturbances due to the extensive use of explosives and other high-energy devices in testing and training activities.
7. Introduces PFAS, AKA "forever chemicals"
8. "Electronic Warfare Threat Simulator" uses electromagnetic radiation (EMR)
9. Harm marine life + disrupt local ecosystems
10. AUTEC requires high amounts of energy, likely from fossil fuels, contributing to air pollution and climate change
11. AUTEC is linked to cancer, neurological disorders, and reproductive problems, and other health issues.
12. AUTEC introduces chemical contamination into the area from the materials used in the simulators and other equipment on the base
13. AUTEC also causes noise pollution into the West Palm Beach area through frequent flights to/from the Navy testing site.

Is this really the best use of our resources? At a time when we are facing a deadly and dangerous war in Europe that has a real risk of escalating and even going nuclear, shouldn’t we be studying better ways to advance diplomacy? On March 9, 2023, the Biden-Harris Administration submitted to Congress a proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Budget request of $842 billion for the Department of Defense (DoD), an increase of $26 billion over FY 2023 levels and $100 billion more than FY 2022. Shouldn’t we be spending on problems like the economy, growing social and economic inequality, growing threats to democracy and the rise of autocracy at home and around the world, and the climate emergency?

CLOSE U.S. MILITARY BASES IN FLORIDA THAT ARE A THREAT TO THE ENVIRONMENT, OUR COMMUNITIES AND OUR FUTURE!

Contacts: David Gibson - [email protected], 110-220-0223, https://peacejusticenow.wixsite.com/website

Atticus FN - [email protected]