Eco-Activist Critical of White House Approval For Sonic Oil Exploration Off NJ Coast
By Hadas Kuznits
HIGHLANDS, N.J. (CBS) -- The Obama administration has approved use of sonic cannons along the Atlantic coastline to look for oil and gas.
The newly announced approval means that oil and gas companies are now allowed to blast sound waves into the ocean floor, looking for oil reserves two miles deep.
Cindy Zipf is executive director of Clean Ocean Action, based in Highlands, NJ, where Sandy Hook attached to the mainland. She says the only ones who benefit from permission to use sonic cannons are large oil and gas corporations.
"Now that the Obama administration has approved it, every oil company under the sun will look to explore for oil off the Atlantic coast," she lamented today.
Zipf says marine life is sensitive to sound, and loud blasts could kill or greatly disturb sea life.
"At 115 decibels, human hearing is impaired after 30 seconds. This is 250 decibels! And marine life is much more sensitive to sound than humans are," she says.
Zipf says right now is a critical time off the Jersey shore for marine life, "because it's the breeding time, the migrating time."