The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management acknowledged that thousands of sea creatures will be harmed even as it approved opening the outer continental shelf from Delaware to Florida to exploration... underwater microphones have picked up blasts from these sonic cannons over distances of thousands of miles, and the constant banging — amplified in water by orders of magnitude — will be impossible for many species to avoid... Whales and dolphins depend on being able to hear their own much less powerful echolocation to feed, communicate and keep in touch with their family groups across hundreds of miles. Even fish and crabs navigate and communicate by sound.... The bureaus environmental impact study estimates that more than 138,000 sea creatures could be harmed, including nine of the worlds remaining 500 north Atlantic right whales... (and thats just counting the really big animals) Once they cant hear – and thats the risk that comes with seismic testing – they are pretty much done for,... Even if there were oil out there, do we really want that? Do we really want to see these offshore rigs set up?... By federal law, scientists cannot approach marine mammals without following careful protocols, and yet this decision will pervade their environment with noise pollution that could have a long-term impact on their population... See also: Global Warming... We cant even burn much more of the already known fossil fuel reserves without annihilating life on earth. Should we be looking for more?
Posted on: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 16:36:15 +0000
Trending Topics
© 2015