A recent spate of beached whales in the Northeast is exposing rifts among activists, energizing Republicans and threatening to complicate one of President Joe Biden’s top energy goals
The deaths are happening as pre-construction work ramps up on offshore wind farms, which are a key part of the nation and New Jersey’s climate change strategy.
The political headache couldn’t come at a worse time for the offshore wind industry, which is alreadyBiden has set a national goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030, enough energy to power 10 million homes, and Murphy set a state level goal of 11 gigawatts by 2040. To achieve these goals, developers in New Jersey and other states will need to quickly install hundreds of giant wind turbines miles off the coast.
Wind supporters from the New Jersey chapters of the Sierra Club and League of Conservation Voters say talk of a connection with whales is baseless and no reason to stop the development of clean energy. They say an already-warming ocean is a known threat to whales and clean power from wind energy could help stop climate change.
Worries that sonic mapping might be affecting whales’ navigation are overblown, said Erica Staaterman, an expert at the federal government’s Center for Marine Acoustics. Staaterman said during the call with reporters that there’s a “pretty big difference” between the relatively brief and targeted sound mapping used by offshore wind and the very loud sounds used by oil and gas companies to take measurements deep beneath the seafloor.
Other environmental groups like the Sierra Club have been scrambling to tamp down the speculation and undo the notion that offshore wind is killing whales. At the same time, they’re trying to point out hypocrisy among offshore wind’s foes. Guests tour the five turbines of America's first offshore wind farm, owned by Orsted, off the coast of Block Island, R.I., on Oct. 17, 2022. | David Goldman/AP Photo
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Tucker Carlson Suggests the U.S. Should Send an ‘Armed Force’ to ‘Liberate Canada’“I’m completely in favor of a Bay of Pigs operation to liberate that country,” Carlson declared on Thursday, calling for the country’s prime minister to be deposed.
Read more »
Tucker Carlson Takes Break From M&M’s Meltdown to Suggest US Invade CanadaCarlson said Thursday that he's “completely in favor of a Bay of Pigs operation to liberate” Canada from Justin Trudeau. Read the latest from besslevin:
Read more »
Tucker Carlson on Tyre Nichols Video: But What About Ashli Babbitt?The Fox News host suggested that those who speak out against police brutality have been hypocritically unconcerned about the death of Ashli Babbitt.
Read more »
CJ McCollum’s Steady Presence Amid ‘Choppy’ Pelicans SeasonCJ McCollum, 31 years old and a decade into his NBA career, is trying his best to be calm amid the chaos
Read more »