World-famous US aquanaut Sylvia Earle, Explorer in Residence at the National Geographic Society, has spoken at Womadelaide 2015.
Source: Supplied
SEISMIC testing and drilling for oil and gas in the Great Australian Bight threatens whales, dolphins, sea lions, and other sea creatures, warns visiting US marine biologist Dr Sylvia Earle. Ever since she started diving in the 1950s, world-famous marine explorer Dr Sylvia Earle has been “a witness to change in the ocean” including the recent disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
“I have been a witness, in recent years, to some of the most devastating oil spills, a consequence of carelessness associated with the extraction of oil and gas from the sea,” Dr Earle said.
“Most recently the biggest spill in history, with the loss of millions of barrels of oil as a consequence of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill … where I first learned to dive 50 years ago …
“It’s likely to happen wherever drilling occurs. There’s a great safety record going back for many years but occasionally, a disaster.
“Not being prepared is one of the concerns about this development. Places that have been leased in the Great Australian Bight are right over areas that are designated for protection. It’s baffling.”
The Federal Government decision to suspend and review the national network of marine reserves, including extra protections for the Great Australian Bight Marine Park, has “opened the door to disaster”, Dr Earle said.
“Australia made a sensible, evidence-based decision to create its world-leading national network of marine sanctuaries in 2012,” she said.
“The challenge and the vital necessity now is to retain those sanctuaries and focus instead on how to strengthen them into the future, for the benefit of all Australians.”
Six oil companies including BP will spend $1.2 billion on surveys and the drilling of nine wells across 38,785 sq km of seabed this year and next.
The enormous investment comes despite a slump in world oil prices to half what they were last year.
State Development Energy Resources Department executive director Barry Goldstein said in January that if research results were favourable, the explorers would spend a further $1.1 billion on another 13 wells and 9269 sq km of 3D seismic surveys in the following three years.
“While the federal government’s review of sanctuaries for marine life places protections in limbo, destructive industrial activities are rapidly advancing on the nation’s special natural places,” Dr Earle said.
Following her appearance at the Womadelaide Planet Talks on Monday, tonight (Wednesday 6.30pm) Dr Earle will join eco-hero Simran Sethi for a public talk in the Allan Scott Auditorium, Hawke Building, UniSA City West, 55 North Terrace. Register for this free event at hawkecentre.unisa.edu.au
Great Australian Bight oil search ‘opens door to disaster’, Dr Sylvia Earle says
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