The word “Noise” resides in an etymological basket along with the words “annoyance” and “obnoxious.” “Noise” is thought to have been derived from the Latin “noxia’ (to hurt or damage), and Middle English “nausea” (to quarrel). Although some etymologies reach…
What Noise Annoys an Oyster?
When the ocean noise pollution issue came up on everybody’s sonar, the main concern was about the impact of noise on whales and dolphins – what we in our industry refer to as “charismatic megafauna.” There are a number of…
Celebrating a Ten Year Milestone!
I am both honored and humbled that our work has been supported by friends, community, and private foundations for TEN years! In 2007, after 15 years of pro-bono work as “science advisor” for various Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations (eNGOs) and “writer…
Layers of Distraction
A pretty tumultuous week has thwarted my plans of digging into the Barcelona Animal Communications Symposium. In the wake of senseless attacks on tourists on the Barcelona Ramblas, the importance of scientific inquiry pales. We can only hold the victims…
Report from Omaha
A bit over two weeks ago I was in Omaha, Nebraska, at “The 4th International Symposium on Acoustic Communication by Animals.” This event is put up every few years by the Acoustic Society of America (ASA) and allows scientists outside…
Mikey lays an egg…
I spent all last week at an animal communications conference in Omaha and wanted to detail that in this week’s newsletter. But it was brought to my attention that our last newsletter needed some tidying up first. The newsletter topic…
This should just about settle it…
The jury still seems to be out on the biological impacts of seismic airgun surveys. While there is ample evidence of migratory, feeding, communication, and other behavioral disruptions in marine mammals, and habitat and dispersal disruptions in fish – along…
The Big Wheels of the Oil Industry
Under the rubric “If it ain’t broke, smash it!” of the current Administration, we’ve been busy the last two weeks reviewing and filing public comments on some items that fell out of Executive Order 13975 (EO) which seeks to clear…
World Ocean(s) Day – honoring the sea
Our planet has orbited the sun once more to place us all in position for World Ocean Day! Originally proposed by Canada in 1992 at the UN Summit in Rio de Janeiro. While Ocean Day has been celebrated in…