“Thrilling” is not a word I thought I would ever use in describing an Acoustical Society meeting, but there were moments last week that bordered on just that. Driving this is an intersection of rapidly increasing computer processing power and…
Report from the Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans workshop
Spending the last two days in the company of geophysicists, marine mammologists, petroleum engineers and policy makers was much less grueling than I had anticipated. But the degree of collegiality was uncharacteristic of these affairs – to a point of…
Canada DFO intro
The Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is sponsoring a national workshop on the mitigation practices for seismic airgun exploration. This event will be attended by a whole array of marine scientists, oil and gas industry engineers, and a…
This little blue marble
OCR Advisory Board member and ocean champion J. Nichols and “Her Deepness” Dr. Sylvia Earle have founded an organization predicted on a delightful premise. The organization is called “Bluemarbles.org” from the metaphor of the earth seen from space being likened…
5 Year Outer Continental Shelf leasing plan hearings
Last Thursday was the final public hearing on the 5 year Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) leasing program. While this was the last chance to stand up in public to express yourself about the program, it is not the last chance…
All hands on deck! April 16 public hearing in SF.
In the last months of the prior administration many changes occurred in our energy policies that could have a profound effect on the health of our oceans. First, the longstanding moratorium on offshore drilling lapsed. And secondly, in somewhat of…
Reflections on “saving” whales
An indecent cited in the UK Independent highlights one of the tragic ironies of well-meaning citizens attempting to push stranded whales back out to sea. My speculative belief is that stranded marine mammals actually know what they are doing, and…
Earth Hour 28 March 2009
While this is not directly related to ocean noise pollution, climate change is the large rubric under which all other planetary issues dwell. There are still those who fear that taking the necessary deep actions on climate solutions will somehow…
March 2009 DC visit recap
I have just returned from my Washington DC visit. The trip was both productive and enjoyable. The ‘anti-environmental’ air of our last administration is palpably clearing, and while there remains some die-hard obstructionists in Congress, there is a profound sea…