Although
offshore oil drilling has been put on the back burner for the next five years,
the rising threat to marine life lingers along the east coast.
Seismic
testing in the Atlantic Ocean is the precursor to offshore drilling, according
to Oceana, the largest international ocean conservation and advocacy
organization.
Geophysical
companies use seismic airgun blasts to help determine the most beneficial area
off the coast to drill for oil. These blasts of compressed air that go off
underwater every seven to 16 seconds for days, weeks or months could injure as
many as 138,000 whales and dolphins along with other marine mammals, according
to Oceana.
These
marine mammals and fish rely on their ability to hear for survival. Basic needs
such as hunting for food, communication, navigation and reproduction are all
dependent on their hearing capacity, according to Oceana.
"These
sound waves can completely distort their ability to assess the surrounding
environment," said Ed McGinley, an assistant professor in the Natural
Science department at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida.
The
intensity of the seismic blasts was compared to standing 100 feet away from a
jet on a tarmac, McGinley said.
"I
don’t think you can do this type of testing and not have a severe impact on the
environment," McGinley said. "There's going to be vast amounts of
marine life lost if they do this."
The
scheduled use of airgun blasting is threatening to coastal city's everyday life
also. Commercial and recreational fisheries along with coastal employment and
tourism are at risk as well.
In
the state of Florida, there are government officials willing to work with the
public on protecting the coast's marine life and local fisheries from the
effects of seismic testing.
Bill
Nelson, the senior United States Senator from Florida, has devoted time against
seismic testing and exploring for oil in Florida.
"It's
an essential to preserve our marine ecosystems and the fishing economies in
Florida," said a representative from the senator's office. "We oppose
anything that would go against commercial and recreational fisheries."
Over
92,000 recreational and commercial fishing jobs in the state of Florida could
be impacted by airguns or drilling along the east coast along with 293,385
ocean-based tourism jobs, according to Oceana.
"No
one's going to want to live in an area where dead dolphins and whales wash
up," McGinley said.
Seismic
testing and its detrimental effect on marine life could be more of an issue in
coastal cities further up along the east coast, according to John Jaeger, an
associate professor of Geology at the University of Florida.
"In
general, Florida's geological history is not one that would suggest we have a
large amount of petroleum in our surrounding areas," Jaeger said. "As
you go further up the coast there's a greater likelihood for finding those
types of rocks."
The
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) receives many permit requests for
seismic testing by geophysical companies. There are seven pending permits for
testing along the east coast and one permit issued in July, according to BOEM.
The
proposed area for upcoming testing stretches from Delaware to central Florida
with an area twice the size of California, according to maps published by
Oceana.
After
this past election, local environmental activist groups have been yearning for
President Obama to go the extra mile and completely take oil exploration off
the table before his term is up.
"We
want President Obama to permanently protect the Atlantic Ocean along the east
coast," said Hunter Miller, a member of St. Augustine's Environmental
Youth Council (EYC). "That's the ultimate goal."
Hunter
Miller received an award of excellence from Oceana in Washington D.C. for EYC's
fight against seismic testing and offshore drilling.
A
Trump presidency brings every fossil fuel extraction project to the forefront
of what's important because the president-elect is a climate change denier,
Miller said. Environmental activist groups are advocating for alternative
energy sources and hope to have the power of organization on their side.
"A
lot of people get disenfranchised about activism," said Miller. "But
the power of organization and building a broad coalition of people to affect
change is very great."
In
a perfect world, the shift to cleaner renewable energy sources to protect
marine life would be painless and simple, but unfortunately, the complete
switch to wind and solar energy is not feasible, McGinley said.
"There
are strides we could take to lessen our dependence on fossil fuels, especially
in places like Florida, called the Sunshine State," said McGinley.
"We need to make a massive investment in renewable energy, but until we
get politicians that are readily able to accept the science at the time, I
don't foresee a huge investment coming."
If
local communities feel that they would prefer not to have these surveys done,
they need to make sure their voices are heard by the federal government, Jaeger
said.
"We
only get one shot at this," McGinley said. "There's not another Earth
we can go to."
