IT’S time to find out once and for all if noise pollution in the oceans is really harming whales and dolphins, a prestigious American scientific panel says.
Concerns that ships and underwater sonar equipment are deafening marine mammals have affected military exercises, and are beginning to impede scientific research. A report last week by the US National Research Council recommends that a single federal agency should be charged with tackling the problem.
People have long been worried that the cacophony produced by ships and sonar might confuse animals that use sound to communicate and navigate. The report says that while…
