Environmental Controversy Surrounding the Endeavour Tomography Experiment

About a week before the R/V Marcus G. Langseth was due to sail for the Endeavour Tomography experiment, three Canadian environmental non-government organizations, Ecojustice, the Living Oceans Society and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society filed lawsuits in the Canadian Courts in an effort to stop the experiment on the basis of the threat to marine mammals. They did this despite the fact that the experiment had undergone a rigorous permitting process in both Canada and the US, had been timed to minimize the likelyhood of encountering marine mammals, and would employ a team of marine mammal observes to enforce strict mitigation measures should any marine mammals approach the experiment. The lawsuit was accompanied by a blizzard of publicity in which the environmental groups systematically lied about the impacts of seismic experiments on marine mammals. Their aim was to gain a quick victory over unprepared academics in order to excite their well-meaning supporters and lead to financial donations they need to stay in business. Luckily Columbia University (Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory) which operates the R/V Marcus G. Langseth fought back and with the help of strong letters of support from several prominent Canadian and US scientists the lawsuits were dismissed. The net impact was a one day delay to the experiment and a meaningless change in the marine mammal mitigation requirements. During the 14-days of airgun shooting, the marine mammal observers were unable to see or hear a single marine mammal.

To learn more you can read

1. A scientific and societal justification of the experiment.

2. An extensive discussion on the Panda's Thumb which engages the environmental groups before they are made to look foolish.

3. The University of Oregon press release following the experiment.

4. An essay I wrote on the whole affair.

5. A spoof Victoria Times Colonist artile - the Times Colonist was one of several Canadian newspapers that consistently printed whatever the Environmental NGO's told them with little fact checking or objectivity.