Groups Urge Residents To Join Hands, Fight Seismic Testing

Hundreds of people are expected to gather on the beach in Monmouth County Saturday to protest seismic testing and offshore drilling off the New Jersey coast, the New Jersey Sierra Club announced.

The Hands Across the Sand event, with people joining hands on the sand, is expected to happen at noon. People will be gathering beforehand, Sierra Club spokespeople said.

"In a major victory for the environment, the Obama administration removed the Atlantic Ocean from its offshore drilling plans for the next five years," the club said in a news release. "However, with seismic testing is happening along our coast, we could see oil and gas drilling happening within a few years. Seismic testing is not only hurting disturbing marine life, but retrieving data so the oil and gas companies can drill later."

“This year, we are coming together to tell President Obama no seismic testing, and to make the moratorium on offshore drilling permanent in the Atlantic Ocean," Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said. "Without a permanent end to offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean, New Jersey is still vulnerable to an oil spill. That is why it is so important to help defend our coast and join Hands Across the Sand this year.”

Seismic testing -- which involved blasting the ocean floor with sound waves -- was conducted last summer, over the protests of a number of environmental groups, including the Sierra Club and Clean Ocean Action. A lawsuit was filed by five fishing organizations, but the suit was dismissed when the testing was completed last summer.

The research, led by Rutgers University and involving the National Science Foundation and the University of Texas, used sound waves to study sediment on the ocean floor dating back 60 million years to see how sea level rise has changed the coastline. Researchers also said the studies could help coastal communities understand sea level change over millions of years to better protect against storms like Superstorm Sandy.

The findings could be used to help make decisions on where to elevate houses, build protective barriers, relocate critical infrastructure or retreat from certain spots, researchers said.

“Seismic testing is like huge fireworks going off in our oceans," Tittel said. "This disrupts migratory patterns for marine wildlife, causes them to abandon important habitats, and disrupts mating and feeding. These practices actually promote future offshore drilling."

"At the same time, our state has become proliferated with pipeline proposals that threaten the environment and public safety," Tittel said. "These disastrous impacts are unnecessary given the technology we have for clean renewable energy. We need to end seismic testing, new power plants, and pipelines so we can truly move forward with wind and solar. Renewable energy will help mitigate climate change and improve air quality. Wind energy off our coast can meet one-third of our electricity needs. We must come together this weekend and demand windmills, not oil wells off of the Jersey Shore.”

Tittel and other groups will be meeting in Bradley Beach prior to the start of the ceremony.

(Hands Across the Sand 2015 event, via the New Jersey Sierra Club Facebook page)