ACI-NA Rocks Austin!

10.15.2009 | HMMH |

I’ve just returned from the ACI-NA Annual Conference in Austin, Texas, the Live Music Capital of the World, which offers me an opportunity to talk about temporary threshold shift.  TTS occurs when one is exposed to significant noise levels for a temporary period of time – listening to the Eggmen at Maggie Mae’s for several hours Monday night, for example.  A study in the 1980’s measured the temporary hearing loss of volunteer subjects exposed to a Bruce Springsteen concert.  The average sound exposure during the four-hour concert was 100 dBA.  The subjects’ hearing was tested 30 minutes and 16 hours after the end of the concert; immediately after the concert 5 of the 6 subjects experienced significant threshold shift (<50 dB) predominantly in the 4-8 KHz range; by 16 hours after the concert ended, hearing had returned to normal in all of the subjects.  I don’t know about the rest of you who were there on Monday, but my ears are still ringing.  However, I wouldn’t trade it for the world!

Other excitement at the conference included:

• Peter Bergen, CNN National Security Analyst and author, offered the crowd some very insightful information on where he thinks al Qaeda – and affiliated movements – are positioned today.  I was inspired to buy his book, The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of al Qaeda’s Leader.  Listen to a podcast of Bergen’s analysis of current threats to aviation (recorded live at ACI) here.
• Unveiling of the SAGA Database, including a press conference.  Congratulations again to all the folks who worked so hard to make the SAGA database a reality.
• Lots of discussion on EPA’s proposed airport deicing effluent limitation guidelines (ELG’s).
• A great presentation by Kristi McKenney on Adaptation Planning for Climate Change and implications for airports.
• I also provided an update on current airport noise topics.

Look for the Environmental Affairs Seminar presentations to be posted soon on the ACI-NA website.

I’m looking forward to the next Environmental Affairs Committee Conference in San Antonio, April 13-16, 2010