To combat climate change, the Biden administration is prioritizing offshore wind farms. It’s a move that could power the U.S. several times over, but is leaving some fisher(wo)men worried about their futures. https://t.co/xJ5pc52lAO pic.twitter.com/rpYzqdADsR
— Matter of Fact (@matteroffacttv) August 1, 2023
Did Hillary Clinton blame the international whale community for losing the 2016 election?
That could explain this.
The Biden administration appears to be scrambling for research on the conflict between wind turbines and a highly endangered whale species on the East Coast following reports of “unprecedented” whale deaths.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), a regulatory body from the Department of Interior that leases offshore areas for energy development, posted a grant notice in May targeted at “addressing key information gaps in acoustic ecology of the North Atlantic Right Whales,” one of the most endangered whale species in the world.
The problem is the government has already approved offshore wind projects, and some experts are saying the attention to the whales is too little too late.
Why did they approve something so retarded?
Oh, right, because we live in a democracy, and that means that government officials are allowed to own shares in the projects they use government money to fund.
They are also allowed to accept basically unlimited money from lobbying groups (it is literally unlimited when you include book deals and speaking fees), including “The Anti-Whale Alliance,” a group that promotes whale genocide. (See, that’s me mixing a very serious issue with a goofy joke – it’s the style that made me famous and a hero.)
Fishermen in the region are calling the government “hypocritical” after the same federal agencies almost “regulated [them] completely out of business” in an effort to protect the endangered species without any data showing fishermen bring any harm to the right whale.
BIDEN, rambling: “We announced the first ever offshore wind sale in the Gulf of Mexico. We’re goin to the Gulf! You think I’m kidding? Heh. You ain’t seen nothing yet.” pic.twitter.com/XaXNpzMyCP
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 20, 2023
BOEM’s grant notice states, “In support of the rapid development of offshore wind (OSW) on the Atlantic OCS, the Environmental Studies Program (ESP) has identified a priority need to address knowledge gaps in the acoustic behavior of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales (NARW).”
“The overall goal of this cooperative agreement is to observe and describe acoustic behavior of NARW where significant data gaps in call rates exist and convey information about the context in which the acoustic behaviors are observed.”
Acoustics are critical in tracking and monitoring the movement and behaviors of the whales.
Annie Hawkins, executive director of the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, which aims to improve the compatibility of new offshore development with the fishing industry, said it’s “very late” for the Biden administration to be soliciting such research.
BIDEN ON WIND AND SOLAR:
“It’s cheaper!” pic.twitter.com/OVANnBcgQJ
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 27, 2023
“One of the problems is that, at least in the last few years, there’s been some conversations about what kind of research needs to be done. But, up till now, there’s been no funding. Congress hasn’t appropriated anything, nothing’s been getting done. And it’s a bit late, it’s very late to be starting to look at this stuff,” Hawkins said.
Production on at least one major wind farm project is already underway.
Why not stop it?
Oh, because everyone in the government is making money on it.
Even though it wastes money that could be spent on, you know, clearing these sickening homeless people off the streets or dealing with the student loan hoax.
The first phase of Vineyard Wind 1, the first large-scale offshore wind farm in the United States, was completed at the end of last month.
The project consists of 62 turbines, each up to 850 feet high (taller than any building in Boston) with blades roughly 350 feet long, planted 15 miles off Martha’s Vineyard.
Cindy Zipf, executive director of Clean Ocean Action, testified in March before a House Committee on Capitol Hill that “[w]hile some offshore wind may hold promise, federal and state levels have moved forward without transparency, robust and sound science or good governance.”
Zipf testified that NMFS previously found that offshore wind can increase ocean noise, which can affect the behaviors of whales; introduce electromagnetic fields that impact their navigation, predator detection, and communication; and change species composition and survival rates, among other things.
“The NMFS concludes with, ‘Offshore wind is the new use of our marine waters, requiring substation scientific and regulatory review,’” Zipf testified.
“So, where is the substantial review? Where is the commitment to the precautionary principle?”
Clean Ocean Action noted in February following the ninth whale death in the northeast that the “alarming number of [whale] deaths is unprecedented in the last half-century.”
The only unique factor from previous years is the excessive scope, scale, and magnitude of offshore wind power plant activity in the region, the group noted.
Biden should be taken to the Hague.
This is a war crime against whales.
Biden’s vision of powering 10M homes w/ offshore wind farms faces a financial challenge, putting clean energy goals at risk. Energy companies seek funding, sparking public unrest over rising power bills. 🌎
Find out more at https://t.co/QaaHh6rODH pic.twitter.com/JvK7efxU1V
— DeFiance Media (@defiancemediatv) July 27, 2023