Ears Wide Open

Yellowstone Snowmobile Plan, Take Three, Released - The long-awaited Draft Environmental Impact Statement for managing winter use has been released, and contains few surprises, thanks to a series of preliminary releases by the Park Service over the past year. While the final preferred alternative won't be announced until after a round of public comments, it appears that the current status quo will largely be maintained. Snowmobiles will be allowed in numbers a close to historic averages, but greater than have actually been entering in recent years, but all will be required to be part of guided tours, much to the chagrin of the snowmobile community. A key pass from the East gate outside Cody, Wyoming, will be closed to snowmobiles due to the amount of work needed to keep it safe from avalanches. Environmental advocates, along with every former Park Service Director save the most recent, continue to call for snowmobiles to be banned, as decided in the initial winter use plan during the Clinton administration, due to air quality and noise concerns. Current snowmobile and snowcoach use creates audible noise for park visitors during the majority of the day. A proposed regulation will be released in late spring, with the final EIS and Record of Decision planned for fall. Sources: Jackson Hole News and Guide, 3/28/07 [READ ARTICLE] NewWest.net, 3/27/07 (snowmobile advocates) [READ ARTICLE] North County Times, 3/27/07 (Former Directors' Letter) [READ ARTICLE]
Yellowstone National Park Winter Use Planning Website, 3/27/07 [WEBSITE]
[See AEI Special Report: Yellowstone Winter Use]

Coast Guard EIS Highlights Impacts from LNG Terminal - A proposed offshore Liquified Natural Gas terminal to be built off the coast of southern California would be loud enough to affect boaters three miles away and perhaps scare whales from their coastal migration route, according to a 3,000-page final environmental impact report prepared by the U.S. Coast Guard, California State Lands Commission and U.S. Maritime Administration. Public hearings over the next 70 days will address plans for the first LNG Terminal on the US west coast. Among concerns noted in the report are increased air pollution, risks of explosion or terror attack, and noise issues. The 971-foot long gas-processing vessel, moored 14 miles offshore, would unload 800 million cubic feet of natural gas per day from tankers, and pump the gas to shore via underwater pipes. Noise from construction and operation of the facility — including helicopters, ships and machinery — could affect marine mammals; the report calls for greater use of sound-reducing technologies and changes in operations during gray whale migrations. It projects that the noise would be loud enough to interfere with ship-board conversations a half mile away. Source: LA Times, 3/10/07 [READ ARTICLE]
RELATED: NMFS Needs More Info on Noise Impacts of California LNG Terminal - The National Marine Fisheries Service has told the United States Coast Guard that it cannot sign off on plans for a liquefied natural gas terminal proposed for the Malibu coastline, because it has not been given enough information about how Cabrillo Port will impact sea animals. The decision could further delay or cause more serious problems for BHP Billiton’s request to anchor an $800 million, aircraft-carrier-sized LNG terminal off the coast. And as a result, some commercial whalewatchers along the Central California coast are suddenly watching Cabrillo Port warily. Cabrillo Port’s construction and eventual 24/7 gas boiler operations could be loud enough to cause migrating whales to avoid Santa Monica Bay and the Santa Barbara Channel, traveling instead on the far side of the Channel Islands. “If this thing scares the whales away, they will elect to completely by pass the channel and migrate outside the back of the islands,” said Santa Barbara whaleboat Capt. Dennis Longaberger. “That could completely destroy us.” Source: Malibu Surfside News, 2/15/07 [READ ARTICLE]
RELATED: California Coastal Commission Unanimously Rejects LNG Terminal - The CCC has dealt another blow to the proposed Malibu LNG terminal, voting 12-0 to reject the proposal. With the vote, the CCC joined the California Lands Commission in calling the environmental impact analysis deeply flawed. In addition to providing no mitigation to address birds attracted to lights, Sarah Wan noted that the terminal would generate noise higher than 120dB in over 300 square miles of ocean water, through which whales migrate. The decision is expected to be challenged. BHP Billiton officials said they would consider their next move over the next few days. The company has 30 days to appeal to U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez. The day before the hearing, BHP Billiton tried to prevent the commission from reviewing the project and also urged the federal Maritime Administration to halt an ongoing federal review of the project. Source: LA Times, 4/13/07 [READ ARTICLE]

BC Seismic Survey Cancelled - An academic seismic survey scheduled to take place this fall in fjords and intercoastal waterways of British Columbia has been cancelled by Canadian regulators. The National Science and Engineering Research Council has withdrawn its application for an environmental assessment of seismic testing to explore how batholiths -- large bodies of rock -- interact with the pre-existing crust of the continents. "We are very disappointed. I have put in probably more than a year of my time cumulatively trying to get this thing to go and it's very frustrating and disappointing we have to take this decision," said Ron Clowes, geophysics professor at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Clowes said Fisheries and Oceans Canada claims there is a lack of sufficient and appropriate data to determine whether testing would result in harm to marine creatures, particularly those recently listed under the Species At Risk Act, including orcas, fin whales and humpback whales. The steep slopes of the surrounding coastline, combined with the biological richness of the intercoastal waters make it extremely difficult to predict how sound will propagate and so therefore what sound levels animals may be exposed to. "One of the things we were going to do was move the whales out of the way. That's standard mitigation procedure all over the world," said Clowes. (ed. note: while it is common practice to assume whales will stay away from loud sound sources, it is not general practice to actively try to make whales move away from seismic vessels; this could have been a way that project planners were attempting to address concerns about unpredictable sound levels due to steep bathometry) Fisheries and Oceans estimates it could take four years of study to reach a level of certainty that could justify the issuance of permits. The researchers argued the acoustic impact did not pose a danger and that similar testing in the region in 1994 had not disrupted the behavior of marine mammals. The lead Canadian scientist told CBC Radio the project still had some funding from the U.S. government, and the researchers might see if they could collect the geological data using land-based testing. Source: Vanouver Sun, 3/22/07 [READ ARTICLE] Globe and Mail, 3/12/07 [READ ARTICLE] Canada Today/Reuters, 3/9/07 [READ ARTICLE]

Nerves May Use Sound, Rather Than Electricity - A new study by Danish scientists suggests that communication between nerves may take place via sound or vibratory waves, rather than electrical impulses, as long belived. The lack of evidence for heat given off by nerves, as would be expected if electricity were involved, led to the new inquiries. The researchers propose that the lipid fats in the membranes of nerve cells could transmit vibrations efficiently. Their suggested mechanism could also explain how anethesia works; changes in the temperature of the lipids would diminish their ability to transmit information between nerves. Source: CBC, 3/9/07 [READ ARTICLE] Press Release (with picture), 3/7/07 [READ PRESS RELEASE]

Wind Turbines Too Noisy, Say Mainers, Texans - Two small communities, very different landscapes, one issue: the whooshing of wind turbines. While proponents have long claimed that the sound of the blades is inadudible, or nearly so, above the sound of the wind that drives them, communities near small wind farms are finding that "insignificant noise" is in the ears of the beholder. In Shallowater, Texas, the local school district installed a small wind farm that is saving $75,000 per year in electricity costs. But Chad Dugger, whose house is 225 feet from the nearest turbine, “I can hear them when they turn off and turn back on. It’s extremely loud in the house I can hear it at night even with the TV on in the living room,” says Dugger. Another area resident, who want to remain anonymous, says, “It’s a pulsating sound just a ‘whooooo’, that’s the part that bothers you.” To some living nearby the sound is not a problem. “Most of the time sort of harmonic you know, just kinda ‘swish, swish’ every once in a while,” says Shallowater resident Dawayne Pounds. Resident Amy Garland adds, “It’s just a humming sound, not a bad sound." Meanwhile, the Freedom, Maine Board of Appeals overturned earlier approval of three turbines, saying that earlier faulty background ambient noise data had been used, and that the turbines would exceed the town's noise standards. Source: KCBD Lubbock 3/3/07 [READ ARTICLE] Maine Today, 3/9/07 [READ ARTICLE]

NRDC, California Coastal Commission Sue Navy Over Rejection of Sonar Requirements - In the wake of the Navy rejecting a set of safeguards imposed by the California Coastal Commission, the National Resources Defense Council and the CCC have challenged the legality of 22 active sonar exercises set to take place off the California coast over the next two years. The sonar testing issue was discussed at the last meeting of the commission on Feb. 23 and commissioners emerged with a decision to urge the California Attorney General's office to "pursue this matter and take all appropriate action to stop it." On March 22, the CCC became the first state agency to take legal action against the Navy on the increasingly contentious issue of active sonar training; this is the fifth sonar-related suit filed by the NRDC. "We realize that the Navy must test in waters that are shallow enough to provide appropriate sonar data," Horowitz said. "But we have repeatedly requested that they simply employ common sense, reasonable safety precautions in areas sensitive to marine life." These areas would include waters around the Channel Islands, where grey whales are noted for passing through during migration season, as well as some additional safeguards at night. "The solutions are so easy to implement, and they haven't shown us any evidence that they can't do them," said Patrick Kruer, chair of the California Coastal Commission. "By rejecting simple measures the Navy is challenging the jurisdiction of the entire Commission and undermining the Coastal Act and federal coastal protection laws that apply to all coastal states. That has implications way beyond this case." Source: San Luis Obispo Tribune, 3/22/07 [READ ARTICLE] LATimes, 3/22/07 [READ ARTICLE] NRDC Press Release, 3/22/07 [READ PRESS RELEASE] Malubu Times, 3/7/07 [READ ARTICLE] Strategy Page 3/23/07 [READ ARTICLE]

Sierra Groups Find Common Ground on Winter Recreation - A new U.S. Forest Service plan, described by some as a model for compromise when it comes to conflicting winter sports in the Sierra just south of Lake Tahoe, could end 15 years of rancorous debate and courtroom battles. The proposal, which provides segregated areas for motorized and nonmotorized sports across a rugged swath of forested terrain in Alpine County, Calif., is the result of two years of discussions between backcountry skiers and snowmobilers. "One of the key factors of this was to look over a broad landscape," said Ed Monnig, supervisor of Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. "When you look at a broad landscape, solutions are available." Skiers and snowmobilers have essentially agreed on a strategy that offers something for everyone, participants in the negotiations agreed. "We healed some old wounds, and everyone came away with a good feeling," says Rob Levy, who represented snowmobile riders during lengthy negotiations. "I believe this is the best balance we'll ever get," says Marcus Libkind of the Snowlands Network, a muscle-powered winter sports advocacy group. "It's what I would call a balance in opportunities." One innovative aspect of the plan makes a popular access road available to snowmobiles only in early and late winter, reserving the area for skiers in mid-winter, when snowmobilers can access other suitable terrain. Source: Reno Gazette-Journal/Rocky Mountain News, 3/2/07 [READ ARTICLE]

Motorcycle Helmets, Air Bags Blamed for Hearing Loss - Protection against accident injuries can have unintended side effects, two new stories report. Permanent hearing loss will occur in 17 percent of people exposed to airbag deployment in cars sold in the United States, new research suggests; hearing damage is most likely when car windows are down. In the UK, efforts are underway to protect motorcyclist's hearing. Air flow in and around motorcycle helmets is often loud enough to cause hearing damage, but a new design aims to reduce the noise to safe levels. Research has shown that up to 40 per cent of professional motorcyclists such as police and paramedics suffer significant hearing loss. "About time," said one rider, "I'm fed up with having to wear earplugs; if you forget a pair it can be agony riding." Source: Consumer Affairs, 2/14/07 [READ ARTICLE] The Sun, 2/24/07 [READ ARTICLE]