Ears Wide Open

Current Activities Highlights

It always seems that the end of the year is an energized time here at AEI, and this year was no different. One of the most widely read and appreciated reports that I do is the annual Ocean Noise recap. This year's edition was completed just a couple weeks ago, and has already spurred enthusastic response from top-level agency staff, field researchers, and NGOs:

• Your annual review is great, as there are always a few things I've missed in there.
  Mark McDonald, Whale Acoustics
• Thanks! That is not a trivial amount of information to have synthesized and boiled into a palatable packet. Very good job; I will certainly pass it on.
  Darlene Ketten, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute
• Thanks for sending your Ocean Noise report. I find it very interesting and helpful. I forwarded it to some other people within NOAA. Please continue to send me things as you think of it and I look forward to keeping our dialogue going.
  Brandon Southall, Director, NOAA Ocean Acoustics Program
• Great work! I have a quick question for you: would you point me to the research that made this finding? I'm not familiar with it. Thanks very much!
  Robin Brake, Director of Marine Science, US Navy (Office of Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Environment)
• Thanks for the report. I have downloaded and forwarded it on to fellow scientists interested in acoustics in NOAA.
  Ken Hollingshead, NOAA Office of Protected Resources, Permit coordinator
• Your report is very hepful to have. Many thanks,
  Sigrid Lueber, OceanCare (Swiss NGO)
• Thanks for the overview report. Very interesting and handy!
  Ron Kastelein, Director, Sea Mammal Research Company (The Netherlands)

This report, Ocean Noise: Science Findings and Regulatory Developments in 2007, is the latest in our ongoing series of Spotlight Reports and Special Reports, each one focusing on a particular topic. They are designed as a "ten minute version," offering solid substance and useful context, along with links to more detailed information, both on our website and elsewhere. I feel that they are among our most valuable services; there is really nothing else like them out there. The source science reports are far too long and complex to make easy sense of for most readers, and press coverage (as well as most NGO websites) do not offer nearly as much detail or substance. [AEI SPECIAL REPORTS INDEX]

To take a look at the Ocean Noise 2007 report yourself, visit its web page, where you can read it online or download a .doc or .pdf version: [AEI SPOTLIGHT REPORT: OCEAN NOISE 2007]

Editing International Journals
In the past couple of monhts, two international journals that I was asked to edit special issues of were finally published. The Journal of International Wildlife Law and Policy decided to split the proposed double issue on ocean noise across two volumes of their journal, the second of which was published in December, featuring a round-table on the precautionary principle and an innovative approach to regulating ocean noise, based on the noise criteria we use in our society to set differing noise standards based on use (eg, industrial noise limits, school noise standards, library and hospital standards). The World Forum for Acoustic Ecology has just released its 2007 volume of its Soundcape Journal, which I co-edited with Steven Miller, a cohort in the American Society for Acoustic Ecology; the issue theme was the crossroads of soundscape art with scientific research and environmental activism.

AEI's Global Reach
About a year ago, we added a nifty little image to AEI's Home Page, that shows where in the world our visitors come from, and I've been thrilled to see that we do have a truly global reach: less than half our visitors are US-based, with the balance pretty much split between Europe and the rest of the world combined. Check out the AEI "Clustr-Map" here: [GO THERE]

If you find the resources being generated by AEI useful, or if you feel our commitment to providing accessible, in-depth information on the impacts of human noise on wild habitats is an important contribution in this time of ecological crisis, then I ask that you consider helping us to generate the support we need to continue this good work. You can help by renewing your membership, by making a larger contribution, or by pointing other possible benefactors our way.

During 2008, we need to diversify our funding sources in order to maintain our 501(c)3 status, and to increase our total revenue to meet our modest budget needs and allow me to attend a couple of key conferences each year. Please, take a moment to think about people you know who may find this a worthy part of their annual giving. Clear, comprehensive, and reliable information is crucial to good decision-making and public education on these issues...and as you can see above, those working every day in this field find our work invaluable. While large non-profits raise millions of dollars to fight front-line battles, AEI's very modest budget is surely a good investment in the future, as our unique work fills a key niche in the non-profit commmunity.

The Institute needs funding to keep me on salary. In 2006 and 2007, we received two donations, totalling $25,000; this allowed me to stay on full-time salary from winter through this past fall, when the writing job picked up the slack. The Board of Directors is aiming to find 5-10 family foundations and individual benefactors who are sufficiently aligned with the Institute's mission and approach to offer annual pledges toward our modest annual budget of about $50,000.

We've set up a brokerage account that allows us to receive donations of publicly-held stocks; this option is especially useful for those who hold securities that carry large capital gains burdens, as the donation is credited at the full current value of the stock, with no capital gains tax imposed.

Thanks to AEI's collaborative relationships and role as a source of information and resources for other organizations, agencies, and researchers (see our recent activities, above), support of our work pays dividends far beyond the concrete work done here. If you know someone who may like to support this work, we would be happy to send you a concise letter of introduction to pass on to them.