The Obama administration has approved the use of sonic cannons to explore for oil and gas off the Eastern Shore using seismic survey ships which tow airguns that emit underwater explosions over thousands of miles along the coast. These blast results would transform into a survey of the seabed floor to reveal potential drill sites.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on Friday formally approved guidelines for using air cannons along the Eastern seaboard in the Atlantic Ocean from Florida to Delaware. Energy companies could buy new oil and gas leases and begin drilling in 2018 if they find profitable reserves.
The guidelines are meant to protect endangered whales and other creatures from the loud noises and increased vessel traffic, but the government's environmental impact study estimates that more than 138,000 sea creatures could be harmed.
The decision opens an area of the Eastern Seaboard larger than two California's to exploration for the first time in decades, jeopardizing (or overruling?) a 30 year+ bipartisan offshore drilling moratorium that protects America's most sensitive coastal national treasures
We pondered just what was a sonic cannon and enjoyed a chuckle at the BBC demonstration of a (ground) vortex cannon. Pretty cool!
We get the idea. Greenpeace however, had been fighting the move for a decade claiming the potential for harm to fish and mammals.
In June we had pointed to a House resolution that had the potential to lower gasoline costs by expanding drilling. Were you watching?
Full disclosure I am long two drillers (NE and RIG)
(edited @ 1:18 to add link)
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