Some improvements were recently made to the acoustical standards but most were “academic” and just promised to remove some of the ambiguity from the regulations. But a troubling component was the somewhat arbitrary tinkering with the Low Frequency exposure thresholds – substantiated with…
While catastrophic whale strandings first brought the public’s attention to the ocean noise impacts, a greater noise concern is the impact of the ever increasing “acoustic smog” from human noise sources. This problem is called “masking” – what happens when…
A few weeks ago we put out a newsletter commenting on the candor of the U.S. Navy in the release of their Hawaii-Southern California Testing and Training Range “Draft Environmental Impact Statement (HSTT-DEIS). I’ve just sent in our comment letter…
If you have been anywhere within earshot of the media recently you may have noticed that the Oilmen are on a bit of a rampage. Any sustainable energy program, environmental regulation, or legal challenge that does not promote their agenda…
I’ve just finished reviewing a 1600 page “Draft Environmental Impact Statement” (DEIS) issued for public comments about the five year plan for oil and gas exploration in the Arctic. The objective of the “draft” is to provide US citizens the…
An article appeared today in “CNN Opinion” by Chris Clark and Brandon Southall focused on the impacts of noise on marine life. It is an informative read and also highlights two important trends in the field. First, it points to…
OCR advisory board member and acoustic ecologist Jim Cummings sent us a New York Times article about life aboard geophysical research vessel (RV) Marcus G. Langseth wherein marine geologist Bernard Coakley writes about the acoustic environment aboard the vessel after…
Yesterday the Supreme Court heard the Navy Sonar case that originated in California early this year when the Whitehouse attempted to overrule a district court judgment on the US Navy’s proposed sonar exercises off of the California cost. The actual…
In an unprecedented ruling yesterday afternoon, Judge Florence-Marie Cooper constrained the Navy from deploying mid-frequency sonar in state waters. While at first brush this case may appear to be about establishing a balance between national security and the environment, in…