Congressman blasts Trump official with air horn after he said air gun tests don't hurt whales [View all]

[jpak]

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Congressman-blasts-Trump-official-with-air-horn-13672106.php

A hearing on the threat seismic testing poses to North Atlantic right whales was plodding along Thursday when Rep. Joe Cunningham pulled out an air horn and politely asked whether he could blast it.

Before that moment at a Natural Resources subcommittee hearing, Cunningham, D-S.C., had listened to a Trump administration official testify, over and over, that firing commercial air guns under water every 10 seconds in search of oil and gas deposits over a period of months would have next to no effect on the endangered animals, which use echolocation to communicate, feed, mate and keep track of their babies. It's why the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration gave five companies permission to conduct tests that could harm the whales last year, said the official, Chris Oliver, an assistant administrator for fisheries.

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"It's fair to say seismic air gun blasting is extremely loud and disruptive . . . is that correct?" the congressman asked.

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