The offshore wind energy debate heats up after more whales wash ashore on New Jersey and New York beaches.
Although the Biden administration continues to claim that offshore wind energy has nothing to do with the increased number of whale deaths, several experts are citing evidence showing a potential correlation between the two.
President of Save Long Beach Island (Save LBI) Bob Stern, Ph.D., who was formerly the Office of Environmental Compliance director, wrote a 20-page letter to President Biden that contained a detailed, quantitative case study of how the proposed wind development project off the coast of New Jersey could pose insurmountable problems for the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. In the letter stern explains:
The risks and consequences to the right whale from the wind projects currently planned are major and imminent. Those risks and consequences for all phases of development: vessel surveys, pile driving of foundations, and turbine operation, are described in detail quantitatively in the Enclosure, using the situation off New Jersey as a case study.
Congressman Jefferson Van Drew, (R-NJ) claims the Biden administration is purposefully hiding the truth about the potential dangers of offshore wind development from the American people.
Because of the administration’s failure to take action, Congressman Van Drew, with the support of Save LBI and several other environmental groups, organized a public hearing where experts presented their concerns with offshore wind development.
Concerns over the offshore wind development are growing so fast that a group of residents, homeowners, business owners, fisherman, and tourists created a group called Protect Our Coast, which has one common goal to “stop the wind turbines off of the New Jersey shoreline and prevent the industrialization of the oceans.”
Protect Our Coast started a petition on change.org to collect signatures of those that want to stop offshore wind activity until a thorough investigation into the whale deaths has been conducted. Over 370,000 people have already signed the petition.
The mainstream media claim the uproar over whale deaths is only a right-wing conspiracy, but some are questioning the media’s intentions.
David Wojick, Ph.D., cites instances where he spoke with one writer from a well-known outlet at length, explaining the death threat of sonar harassment. The author told Wojick that they had seen the long list of NOAA numerical harassment authorizations, but none of them were ever mentioned in the outlet’s coverage of the East Coast whale deaths.
Congressman Van Drew retweeted a headline from The New York Times that claimed online shopping and climate change are partially to blame for the recent spike in whale deaths.
Experts believe some are confusing the issue, and they want to educate the public on how offshore wind development is not directly killing the whales; instead, the sonar activity involved with offshore wind development is disturbing the whales’ behavior, including how they communicate and locate food.
As the dispute grows, one organization believes some other environmental organizations are not more vocal about offshore wind development because they receive millions from wind power corporations.
In a 2022 press release, the Save Right Whales Coalition claimed that several environmental organizations collectively received over $4.3 million in donations from the wind industry, and they are supporting offshore wind energy or staying silent because they have a conflict of interest. Save the Right Whales Coalition member Lisa Linowes explained:
Our investigation sought to understand why environmental groups that have worked vigorously to protect right whales have gone silent in the face of a massive industrialization of right whale habitat. If the money flow is influencing the actions of these environmental groups, the public deserves to know.
United States based marine animal rights activists are not alone in their concern over the potential impacts of offshore wind development. A 2022 study performed in the United Kingdom noted that electromagnetic fields from undersea wind farm cables were causing lobster deformities.
Self-proclaimed experienced mariner Eric Butto, Jr., tweeted an article summarizing the UK study.
Regardless of the danger to sea life, many have also pointed out the impracticality of offshore wind development, including NextEra Chief Executive Officer John Ketchum.
Energy entrepreneur, investor, and writer Brian Gitt tweeted a quote by Ketchup summarizing the potential issue with offshore wind energy.
Opponents of offshore wind development projects hope the growing concerns will encourage the Biden administration to take a deeper look at offshore wind development before it is too late.
As stern explained in a media alert, “Save LBI recognizes the disruption to the current program that entails, but the program already faces disruption in the form of years of growing public concern, acrimony and litigation.”
