Earlier this year, our efforts to protect our ocean, waves and beaches off the Atlantic scored a major victory when the Obama Administration excluded areas along the Atlantic coast from offshore oil drilling in the 2017-2022 leasing plan. The federal government did so in large part from the overwhelming local opposition to this dirty and dangerous practice.
But, the battle to protect the Atlantic is far from over. There are still plans to allow seismic testing for oil and gas in the Atlantic that can only indicate future plans for drilling. Seismic testing represents the first step towards oil and gas development. Seismic testing itself is a major threat to marine wildlife and our ocean ecosystems.
Seismic surveys utilize repeated high-decibel sound blasts - underwater explosions - that saturate the marine environment with noise pollution. Vessels towing airguns will traverse large swaths of ocean, releasing acoustic blasts every ten seconds for weeks or months on end. This seismic exploration will occur over thousands of square miles and cause devastating impacts to marine wildlife and negatively impact the health of the ecosystem.
According to the Department of Interior's own estimates, seismic exploration in the Atlantic could injure up to 130,000 marine mammals over the next eight years, including the critically endangered Right Whale and the bottlenose dolphin. The noise from surveys will also disrupt millions of other mammals and sea turtles by interfering with mating, communication, and migration activities. Finally, seismic surveys will displace and cause impacts - such as temporary hearing loss - to a broad range of fish and marine life populations.
The negative effects of seismic exploration are not only limited to the ecological realm. Communities along the Atlantic coast depend on a healthy ocean to support industries such as recreation, tourism, and commercial fishing. The degradation of marine ecosystems caused by seismic exploration will put these industries - and the billions of dollars they contribute to the region's economy - at risk.
Now is the time to speak up! The next few weeks are a crucial time to make your voice heard on both planned seismic testing in the Atlantic and to ensure that the proposed 5-year drilling plan continues to protect the Atlantic from drilling. Submit your own comments on the Proposed 5 Year Plan here.
Together, we can stop these dirty and dangerous practices.