I am including a bit more on the current end-run on the Endangered Species Act (ESA). I mentioned this issue in last week’s e-mail, which was generated in response to the proposed changes to the Act in the Federal Register. The easiest…
March 2007 Strandings
I have been notified of two recent stranding events associated with noise pollution. The first is an account of three separate strandings of beaked whales in Japan this May. The article also relates that over 81 whales have stranded in…
LFA Judgement
Judge LaPorte form the 9th District courts has approved a settlement on the SURTASS-LFA sonar (Surveillance Towed Array Sonar System – Low Frequency Active). This settlement continues to limit the deployment of Low frequency Active Sonar to certain areas in…
Greenpeace Paper
Last year Greenpeace sponsored a paper on the impacts of specific noises on marine mammals. This was really the first billable job that I did under the moniker of “Ocean Conservation Research” and gently pushed us into the waters. The…
NYT article on whales and security
This NYT editorial is a fresh read on the recent movement on the fallout form the California Coastal Commission/NRDC v. the US Navy: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/02/opinion/02wed3.html?ex=1215662400&en=bb5b0e615dff8a4d&ei=5070&emc=eta1 While we can hope for the best judgment in this case from the nation’s highest court, given…
New Orleans ASA report
I have just returned from an Acoustical Society meeting held in New Orleans last week where I presented a paper on using natural occurring sounds and biological thresholds as a basis for an ocean noise criteria. Our proposed “metric” is simple to…