[3] Spending several years after graduating as both a producer and occasional commenter for the Pacifica Foundation non-commercial radio stations,[3] McIntyre also joined the Friends of the Earth organization and became heavily involved in their campaigns.

[2] She was later inspired to a different focus by John C. Lilly's book The Mind of the Dolphin and by the news she received while broadcasting ecology programs on the practices of whale hunting that were occurring.

[2] After attending the 1971 annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission and failing to convince them to advance a similar moratorium in a six to five country vote, she decided to form the organization Project Jonah shortly afterward, leaving Friends of the Earth in order to do so.

To bolster this awareness, she published the book Mind in the Waters in 1974 that is a collection of different material, including scientific information alongside poetry, mythology, and photographs that discuss the mental capabilities and sentient consciousness of whales and dolphins.

That same year, she published the book The Delicate Art of Whale Watching, which contained her collected musings and observations throughout her life on the nautical events she had participated in.