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A Congressman Blasted an Airhorn at a Trump Official During a Committee Hearing to Make an Important Point
Loud and clear.
Humankind's treatment of its environment has come to the forefront of the public consciousness. Issues like climate change and environmental exploitation have become a global emergency.
On Friday, one Congressman literally sounded the alarm.
Congressman Joe Cunningham (D-SC) blasted an air horn at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA] assistant fisheries head Chris Oliver. While this was certainly an unconventional approach, Cunningham was making an important point. NOAA authorized five companies to run seismic air horn tests underwater, potentially interrupting feeding patterns for legions of marine life, including whales.
Cunningham used the air horn to demonstrate how maddening and harmful these tests can be.
Watch below:
A Trump official said seismic air gun tests don’t hurt whales. So Rep. Joe Cunningham blasted him with an air horn.… https://t.co/uyv3EQ5iaR— Red T Raccoon (@Red T Raccoon) 1552012077.0
Cunningham asked Oliver if the noise was disruptive, to which Oliver said it was "Irritating" but not necessarily disruptive. Cunningham continued:
“What about every, say, 10 seconds like seismic air gun blasting goes on for for days, weeks, months?...What if you depended on sound for hunting your food and for communication? Do you think it would be disruptive?”
When asked how much louder he believed the seismic air guns were compared to the air horn Cunningham brought to the hearing, Oliver said he didn't know, but didn't think it was over 1,000 times as powerful. That's when Cunningham told Oliver that the seismic guns were over 16,000 times as powerful than the traditional air horn.
Twitter applauded Cunningham's tactic.
@RedTRaccoon I wish he hit the horn every time dude tried to talk.— Daniel Paul (@Daniel Paul) 1552080680.0
@RedTRaccoon Wow, excellent questioning @RepCunningham ! Wish you represented my district! But so glad you are ther… https://t.co/cG9qTJZWdM— JulieTiede (@JulieTiede) 1552012369.0
@RedTRaccoon What a great analogy and explanation. @RepCunningham well done.— Jeffrey (@Jeffrey) 1552054911.0
@RedTRaccoon @Laurenm57 Wow! That was excellent! Thank you Rep. Cunningham for trying to protect Marine life!— Tammy Dzwilewski (@Tammy Dzwilewski) 1552014509.0
The Trump administration's environmental policies have been a concern for Americans everywhere.
@RedTRaccoon @luvman33wife He’s been effectively put in his place & he knows it. But he’ll not change his position.… https://t.co/hNuziHdtaY— Stan Innate (@Stan Innate) 1552043938.0
@RedTRaccoon It’s astonishing how paralyzed @realDonaldTrump administration members become when confronted with the… https://t.co/BxGaKRerAV— Motorad666 (@Motorad666) 1552012448.0
@RedTRaccoon It is immoral to support these unqualified, uneducated, uninterested in basic knowledge appointees to… https://t.co/fCYAYzSk7H— kristin g bainger (@kristin g bainger) 1552074487.0
It's unlikely that Oliver will change his stance, but at least Congressman Cunningham left a message ringing in his ears.