AcousticEcology.org is the website of the Acoustic Ecology Institute, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. The Acoustic Ecology Institute was founded in 2003 as a spin-off of EarthEar.com, a commercial soundscape art catalog.

AcousticEcology.org provides access to news, academic research, public policy advocates, and articles and essays about sound and listening. We hope that these diverse threads of information and passion will be of service to policy makers, the media, and interested individuals. Please be in touch with any comments or feedback you may have. [SEE SITE HIGHLIGHTS]

A sampling of Acoustic Ecology Institute Activities

• Wrote comprehensive research overview on seismic survey airguns (January 2004) [MORE]
• Moderated panel on Ocean Noise at the 8th International Wildlife Law Conference (New Orleans, November 2004)
• Presenting soundscape awareness programs in Santa Fe Public Schools (ongoing)
• Organized Acoustic Ecology Lecture Series at College of Santa Fe (20042/5 to 2006/7 academic years) [MORE]
• Participated in the formation of the American Society for Acoustic Ecology, AEI founder Jim Cummings elected first President of ASAE. [MORE]
• Guest edited a special Ocean Noise edition of the Journal of International Wildlife Law and Policy (published in 2007)
• Member of the curatorial team for Ear to the Earth, a symposium (December 2005) and festival (March 2005) hosted by the EMF in New York. [MORE]
• Plenary speaker at Alberta oil and gas Spring Noise Conference, 2007 and 2009
• Invited participant in Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans Science Advisory Committee to assess the effectiveness of seismis survey mitigation measures, 2009

AEI offsets carbon footprint of our website

Carbon offsets, despite the many questions about their ultimate effectiveness, remain a viable way for individuals and companies to at least acknowledge their carbon footprints, while supporting initiatives to increase use of carbon-neutral energy sources. Native Energy is consistently ranked among the most effective of the carbon-offset outfits, thanks to their focus on Renewable Energy Credits, and AEI turned to them for our site-wide carbon offset program.

We purchase carbon offsets from Native Energy to match the carbon used by AEI staff in traveling to conferences (3 tons/year), in our home office (1 ton/year), as well as the carbon used to serve up our website to visitors and the energy used by visitors while viewing our site (250 pounds/year on each end, based on published estimates of 20 milligrams per second of internet use).

This approach is self-monitored, and not a plan offered by Native Energy. For more info on their carbon offset programs, see their website. [VISIT NATIVE ENERGY]

The Acoustic Ecology Institute works to increase personal and social awareness of our sound environment, through education programs in schools, regional events, and our internationally recognized website, AcousticEcology.org, a comprehensive clearinghouse for information on sound-related environmental issues and scientific research. On public policy questions, we tend toward the precautionary principle (erring on the side of caution while awaiting definitive research). Our over-arching goal is to help find pragmatic ways to bridge the gaps between extreme positions voiced by advocacy-oriented organizations, and so to contribute toward the development of ethical public policies regarding sound.

Meet the Acoustic Ecology Institute Board of Directors and Advisory Council: [GO THERE]

[VISIT THE AEI PRESS ROOM]

Contact info
Acoustic Ecology Institute
Attn: Jim Cummings
45 Cougar Canyon
Santa Fe, NM 87508
ph 505-466-1879 fax 866-571-0416