CRE’s long standing policy is make all our posts available for public comment. We received a number of informed comments on our request for the Business Insider to retract its statement on seismic operations.
One of our readers wrote:
Repeating the highly emotive and sensational misinformation and lies being promulgated by environmental organizations like Oceana (which must be the source for the misinformation and lies included in the animation in the Business Insider article given the use of the “100,000 times” claim) is very lazy and misleading journalism. There are many facts that clearly demonstrate that lies and misinformation are being “fed” to an unsuspecting public, presumably in the push for circulation in the case of the media and, it the case of the environmental organizations like Oceana, the funding dollars!
1. The sound of a seismic pulse is actually about the same as that of a jet taking off – basic physics tells us that. Thus to say “100,000 times greater” is a downright lie!
2. Most whales generate significant sounds in the ocean – both by their vocalisations and by their activities. The intensity of a humpback whale breaching has been measured at the same intensity as the sound of a seismic array at just 68m. Thus, there is no way they can be deafened as the source is being towed behind a seismic vessel and the whale would avoid the seismic vessel anyway.
3. As stated by other responders, there are no known cases of whales being adversely affected by seismic surveys in over 40 years of surveys using compressed air as the source.
4. There are a number of whale populations that have been closely studied for extensive periods in the same areas that seismic surveys have been carried out and their populations have been increasing at close to biological maximum. Hence no impact from seismic surveys.
5. A seismic array operates at 2000psi. I could go down to my local hardware to purchase a high pressure water cleaner which operates at 1900psi. The water cleaner could be damaging within a metre but at 20m a person would probably not be showered! It’s the same with a seismic array, at about 20m, the pressure would be down to that of a garden hose!
Need I go on?
Please get your facts right and stop peddling misinformation and lies in pursuit of ulterior motives
