Press Room
Scroll down for press releases, program areas, key activities, partnerships and collaborations, backgrounders, and reports.
New AEI Special Report: Sonar FactCheck
Digs deeply into the Navy and NRDC talking points on active sonar
[READ OR DOWNLOAD SONAR FACT CHECK REPORT]
New! AEI BLOG/FEED Subscribe to receive news and research highlights [GO THERE]
|
Contact: Mission Statement: The Acoustic Ecology Institute works to increase personal and social awareness of our sound environment, through education programs in schools, regional events, and our internationally recognized website, AcousticEcology.org, a comprehensive clearinghouse for information on sound-related environmental issues and scientific research. Our overarching goal is to encourage appreciation for the sounding world and the development of ethical public policies regarding sound. For a quick look at our work, see recent Members-only quarterly bulletins: [GO THERE] AEI's website resources and our Special Reports and Spotlight Reports have garnered enthusiastic responses from top government agency staff, field researchers, journalists, and NGOs. A few of the kudos we've received:
The Acoustic Ecology Institute was founded in 2003 as a spin-off of EarthEar.com, a commercial environmental soundscape art catalog. It was incorporated in April 2004 and received approval as a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization in June 2006. AEI provides access to news, academic research, public policy advocates, and articles and essays about sound and listening. These diverse threads of information and passion are designed to be of service to policy makers, the media, and interested individuals. Our website, AcousticEcology.org, is an unparalleled resource for issue updates and reliable background information. The site features a News Digest, science summaries, Special Reports, and extensive lists of research labs and advocacy organizations on all sides of the issues. Executive Director Jim Cummings is well-versed at helping to flesh out the shades-of-grey reality that is often rendered in stark black and white by interest groups on all sides of the story. [SEE BIO OF JIM CUMMINGS]
Press Releases08/08: Sonar FactCheck Released - Decoding the conflicting rhetoric coming from the Navy and NRDC [READ PRESS RELEASE(pdf)] [DOWNLOAD PRESS RELEASE (doc)] [READ REPORT ONLINE] 02/08: Ocean Noise 2007 "Spotlight Report" Released - Scientific findings, policy developments, and key issues to watch in 2008. [SEE PRESS RELEASE] [READ REPORT ONLINE] [DOWNLOAD REPORT(doc)] [DOWNLOAD REPORT(pdf)] 02/07: Ocean Noise 2006 "Spotlight Report" Released - Scientific findings, policy developments, and key issues to watch in 2007. [SEE PRESS RELEASE] [READ REPORT ONLINE] [DOWNLOAD REPORT(doc)] [DOWNLOAD REPORT(pdf)] BackgroundersBackgrounder on Seismic Surveys at Sea - Seismic surveys using airguns, used to make loud sounds whose echoes can reveal oil and gas deposits beneath the sea floor, have gotten caught up in public concern about Naval active sonar injuring marine mammals. This backgrounder sketches the basics about airguns and seismic surveys, which do not have the clear association with marine mammal strandings that some sonars do, but remain major contributors to ocean noise. Ocean Acoustics - An AEI online primer on the complexities that make intuitive understanding of sound underwater difficult for those of us used to air-based hearing. Includes sections on key topics, and links to other sites that explain ocean acoustics. [GO THERE] ReportsAcoustic Ecology Institute Special Reports [GO THERE] Seismic Survey Reseach Summary Current program areasOcean Acoustics – Building an archive of research reports and conference proceedings addressing the ways that ocean environments are being studied through sound, and impacted by sound. Educating the general public on basic issues related to ocean acoustics, in order to foster more informed public policy discussions. Media – Writing/editing an online News Digest [GO THERE] and Special Reports covering sound-related environmental issues, with active outreach to place stories in the press on these topics [GO THERE]. Maintaining News Archives on Ocean, Wildland, and Urban issues, and compiling resources useful to the media (links to advocacy groups across the policy spectrum, background on key issues, summaries of science findings). Public Policy – Engaging in dialogue with public lands managers and agency personnel as they develop new regulations and management plans. Guest-edited a special edition of the Journal of International Wildlife Law and Policy on the subject of ocean noise. Providing contacts and links to advocacy organizations across the policy spectrum. Science of Sound – Writing layman's summaries of recent field research [GO THERE]. Providing annotated coverage of upcoming and recent scientific conferences. In 2006, launching a new program focusing on creative presentations of scientific research, which engage the imagination and inform the public [GO THERE]. Education – Maintaining an online Educators’ Resource Center [GO THERE], with curriculum materials and access to broader acoustic ecology resources. Presenting sound-awareness programs in classrooms, including a guessing game using recordings of nature, group discussions of sounds we encounter in our daily lives, sound walks, and sound mapping. AEI Key Collaborative and Outreach Activities, 2004-8
Partnerships and CollaborationsAEI is engaged in ongoing dialogue and exchange of expertise with many other organizations, including Winter Wildlands Alliance, NOAA/NMFS, Ocean Noise Coalition, Seaflow, National Park Service Soundscape Program, National Forest Service planners, Marine Mammal Commission, Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans, NRDC, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Chamber of Shipping of America, and researchers at academic institutions worldwide.
|
||||
| © AcousticEcology.org, 2008 | Privacy Policy | Site Map |