Fuck the whales, we've got North Korean submarines to worry about

The New York Times has the story by Adam Liptak:

On the one hand, there is “the potential for harm to marine mammals,” Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said Wednesday at a Supreme Court argument over the Navy’s use of sonar in training exercises off the coast of Southern California. On the other, the chief justice continued, there is “the potential that a North Korean diesel electric submarine will get within range of Pearl Harbor undetected” if Navy personnel are not properly trained in the use of sonar. “Now, I think that’s a pretty clear balance,” Chief Justice Roberts said.
Other justices also indicated an inclination to overturn a decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, imposing limits on the exercises, saying either that national security concerns trumped environmental ones or that judges are not competent to weigh the competing interests.
“I don’t know anything about this,” Justice Stephen G. Breyer said. “I’m not a naval officer.” But he said he was inclined to believe, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, a sworn statement from an admiral saying the restrictions would harm military preparedness.
Richard Kendall, a lawyer for the Natural Resources Defense Council, which had sued the Navy over the exercises, insisted that courts have an important role to play in protecting whales and dolphins even when the executive branch asserts a national security interest. “The Navy cannot be judge of its own cause,” Mr. Kendall said.
The two sides agreed that sonar can harm marine mammals, but they disagreed about how much. Mr. Kendall said sonar produces noise as loud as 2,000 jet engines and that some whales die or become stranded in their frantic efforts to avoid it. Gregory G. Garre, the United States solicitor general, said the impact on the animals was minor and passing. “They hear the sound, and they go in the opposite direction,” Mr. Garre said. “It can also mean that they could have some temporary effect on their feeding or breeding patterns.”
In a decision in February, the Ninth Circuit upheld a trial judge’s order that the Navy suspend the use of sonar if it detects a marine mammal within 2,200 yards and reduce sonar levels when water temperatures reach certain levels whether or not animals are present. The appeals court stayed its order until the Supreme Court decides the case, and the exercises are scheduled to conclude in January.
At the heart of the case were arguments about the role of the courts in matters of national security. Judge Florence-Marie Cooper, of the Federal District Court in Los Angeles, had ruled that the Navy’s sonar training would not be compromised by the restrictions she imposed, a conclusion that Justice Samuel Alito Jr. seemed to find stunning. “Isn’t there something incredibly odd,” Justice Alito asked, “about a single district judge making a determination on that defense question that is contrary to the determination that the Navy has made? Is Judge Cooper an expert on antisubmarine warfare?” Justice Alito added a little later.
Mr. Kendall said Judge Cooper’s ruling was supported by ample evidence from experts and earlier training exercises.
Justice Breyer wondered whether the two interests involved, the environment and national security, could ever plausibly be reconciled. “The whole point of the armed forces is to hurt the environment,” he said. “You go on a bombing mission — do they have to prepare an environmental impact statement first?”

Rico says how come Supreme Court justices can see it and no one else seems to?