Experts, 'Veep' actor urge Interior to halt planned seismic air-gun surveys

摘要

Critics of the Interior Department's plan to allow the use of seismic air guns to search for oil and gas beneath the Atlantic seafloor enlisted a bit of star power yesterday from actor Reid Scott of the HBO comedy show "Veep." "The federal government wants to turn the Atlantic Ocean into a blast zone," Scott said at a briefing held by Oceana. "This has the potential to harm everything in its path, including fisheries and marine life such as dolphins, sea turtles and the already endangered North Atlantic right whale." Air guns shoot powerful blasts that Scott said are "100,000 times louder than that of a jet engine." The resulting seismic vibrations can reveal the size and location of subsea oil and gas deposits that can be reached by offshore drilling.