ATOC: Sound Policy or Enviro-Vandalism? Aspects of a Modern Media-Fueled Policy Issue

Abstract

The recent debate surrounding the effects on marine mammals of the proposed Acoustic Thermometry of Ocean Climate (ATOC) experiment has revealed sharp incongruities in approach by the public, their elected representatives and the scientists behind the program. Much of the current outcry has arisen as a byproduct of rapidly evolving environmental attitudes and information technology to which none of the key parties to the issue has yet fully adjusted. The process of dissemination and assimilation of scientific information that guides the progress of issues of increasing complexity is no longer in equilibrium with evolving technology. Specifically; this paper argues that there are two crucial components to an incipient instability in public and official response to emerging scientific policy issues: (1) The extremely rapid and broad dissemination of information made possible by the information highway, and (2) The great pressure to paraphrase and attempt to formulate a position without investing the full resources required to adequately comprehend the issues. The ongoing ATOC debate serves as an informative illustration of the vulnerability of scientific inquiry to policy shifts based on overly simplified analysis of complex scientific issues- analysis that may be abetted by recent advances in information technology.