Ears Wide Open

Tranquilarians Derail Motorcycle Races in Sonoran BLM Lands - A grassroots group based in southern Arizona has convinced the regional BLM office that a proposed motorcycle race course in near Ajo would be inconsistent with conservation needs. The BLM had been preparing an Environmental Assessment, but decided that the track was clearly an inappropriate use and abandoned the EA process, issuing a letter to the applicants explaining its decision. The Sonoran Desert Tranquilarians had gathered supporting information on rare plants and animals, and the track's likely impact on desert washes. Source: Tranquilarian website, 7/17/06 [WEBPAGE] BLM Letter, 4/19/06 [READ LETTER]

Mosquitoes Tune Their Buzzes to Find Mates - An ingenious new study has shown that male and female mosquitoes respond to each other's presence by shifting the pitches of their buzzes (changing the speed of their wingbeats) until they match. Females gradually increase the pitch of their buzz, while males more dramatically lower the pitch of theirs, until they are at the same frequency. Within a second, the buzzes of the two insects are in perfect harmony. "They synchronize beautifully," says co-author Ian Russell, a neurobiologist at Sussex University in Brighton, U.K. When a similar test was run with two males or two females, their tones deviated and did not converge. Auditory communication between male and female mosquitoes is a "totally new" finding, says entomologist Peter Belton of Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, Canada. Source: ScienceNow, 7/10/06 [READ ARTICLE] Galveston Daily News, 7/11/06 [READ ARTICLE] HEAR SOUNDS: [MALE AND FEMALE(mp3] [TWO MALES(mp3)] [TWO FEMALES(mp3)]

USFS Begins Forest-by-Forest Off-road Vehicle Planning- Last year's National Forest Service decision to designate routes for off-road vehicle use on all forests is moving into the implementation phase. Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth has released a Travel Management schedule that details when each forest and ranger district will be expected to complete its inventory and final designation of routes. This process will be very open to public involvement from locals in each ranger district who are interested in either quiet recreation or motorized recreation; contact your local forests to learn when they will be holding meetings and forming collaborative planning groups. The schedule released by the forest service also gives preliminary numbers of acres of land and miles of trails currently open to motorized use. Source: National Foreset Service OHV Website, 7/8/06 [WEBSITE] Schedule [DOWNLOAD SCHEDULE(pdf)]
[See AEI Special Report: Forest Service OHV Planning]

Ultrasound May Help Treat War Wounds in Field -The US military plans a portable device that uses focused sound waves to treat troops bleeding internally from wounds sustained on the battlefield. Ultrasound can seal ruptured blood vessels deep within the body without the need for risky surgery. The lightweight device has to be designed so that soldiers can operate it with minimal training. Blood loss from wounds to the extremities is regarded as a major, preventable cause of battlefield death. "It's a grand challenge but we're keen to have a go at it," said researcher Lawrence Crum of the University of Washington. Competing teams - one headed by the multinational Philips, the other by Seattle-based AcousTx Corporation - have both been awarded contracts by Darpa to develop the technology. Source: BBC, 6/28/06 [READ ARTICLE]

World's Largest Marine Sanctuary Designated; Amount of Boat Traffic to be Determined - The Bush administration has announced the creation of a National Monument in waters surrounding the outer atols of the Hawaiian Islands. The designation will create more protection than the previously considered designation as a national marine sanctuary. In particular, all fishing will be phased out over five years. After a 60-day comment period, NOAA will set limits on the number of days per year that research vessels would be allowed in the Monument; its initial proposal is 400 vessel days per year (e.g., 10 vessels for 40 days each). The new Monument is just a bit larger than the Great Barrier Reef Marine Protected Area, making it the world's largesy ocean sanctuary. Sources: BBC, 6/15/06 [READ ARTICLE] New Scientist, 6/15/06 [READ ARTICLE]
RELATED: Brazil Creates Buffer Zone Around Reefs - Brazil has created a buffer zone the size of Portugal around key reef areas. All oil and gas development will be prohibited in 75% of the zone. Source: Conservation International Press Release, 5/22/06 [READ PRESS RELEASE]

Vampire Bats May Remember Sound of Victims' Breath - A new study suggests that vampire bats may remember the sound of the breath of cows they recently fed on, allowing them to feed again on ankles still healing from earlier visits, which would be easier than piercing healthy cowhide. The thumb-sized bats feed mostly on the ankles of cattle; the laboratory study showed that vampire bats can be trained to respond with near 100% accuracy to the sound of an individual's breathing. Source: Nature, 6/15/06 [READ ARTICLE]

High-Pitched Ringtone Lets Kids Use Cellphones Without Adults Hearing - A high-pitched device called The Mosquito, developed last year to annoy kids and keep them away from stores [SEE AEI NEWS ITEM], has been adapted for use as a ringtone, this time benefiting the young ears that can hear it. The 17kHz tone, too high for most ears over 20 years old or so to hear, allows kids to engage in text messaging in places--such as in classrooms--where cellphone use is prohibited. "When I heard about it I didn't believe it at first," said Donna Lewis, a technology teacher at the Trinity School in Manhattan. "But one of the kids gave me a copy, and I sent it to a colleague. She played it for her first graders. All of them could hear it, and neither she nor I could." However, not all teachers are left out: at Roslyn High School outside New York City this spring, a high-pitched ring tone went off that set teeth on edge for anyone who could hear it. To the students' surprise, that group included their teacher. "Whose cellphone is that?" Miss Musorofiti demanded, demonstrating that at 28, her ears had not lost their sensitivity to strangely annoying, high-pitched, though virtually inaudible tones. "You can hear that?" one of them asked. "Adults are not supposed to be able to hear that," said another, according to the teacher's account. She had indeed heard that, Miss Musorofiti said, adding, "Now turn it off." Source: New York Times, 6/12/06 [READ ARTICLE(sub)]

Stress Impacts of Noise Linger - A long article in Men's Health offers an unusually cogent overview of the pervasive impacts of noise in our lives, including a visit with Gordon Hempton to an increasingly rare place of true quiet, the author's exploration of his daily urban routine with decibel-meter in hand, and a good overview of research into noise-induced stress. Among the key studies summarized are ones suggesting that even modest (50-70dB) road noise increases stress among commuters, which lingers even after they park and enter the workplace, and a related finding that people working in noisy settings retain high levels of stress during the night, and sleep less deeply. Source: Men's Health, May 2006 [READ ARTICLE]