Michael, Thanks for your comment. The main opposition in Oregon is coming from the commercial fishers rather than advocates for whales. Fortunately, it appears that the two industries can easily coexist; there's good data (cited in the piece) suggesting wind turbine areas are actually beneficial for fish stocks. California has held quite a few successful auctions for offshore leases already, and while I don't know in detail the arguments that California whale advocacy groups may have raised, I'm sure that, given the exhaustive public hearings, their concerns were fully heard.
Climate change itself is, in my view, the much bigger threat to whales.
" The suit alleges that the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued permits for the South Fork and Revolution Wind projects on Cox Ledge, despite acknowledging serious irreversible harm and without adequate environmental impact studies.
“Over the last few months there were several back-and-forth filings by Green Oceans plaintiffs and responses by both BOEM and Revolution Wind,” said Lisa Linowes, executive director of the Wind Action Group and a member of the Save Right Whales Coalition, which is also a plaintiff.
The recent Supreme Court decision that overturned the Chevron deference and curtailed the power of federal agencies, Relentless v. Department of Commerce, was initiated by Seafreeze Ltd.
East Coast offshore wind installations have generated criticism from folks concerned about the impact on the whale population. The visible deaths of a number of cetaceans which have washed ashore not only gave rise to a lot of comment, but also to, I believe, some legal suits.
The whale-loving population of the East Coast cannot compare to the size and influence of that group out West. I'd judge the impetus to come from the many successful initiatives to save the salmon, as a model for the Save the Whales movement.
All of this doesn't mean that I personally know any whale-based opposition to West Coast offshore wind installations -- everything in your article is news to me. It's just something that I would expect, and which goes without mention.
Michael, Thanks for your comment. The main opposition in Oregon is coming from the commercial fishers rather than advocates for whales. Fortunately, it appears that the two industries can easily coexist; there's good data (cited in the piece) suggesting wind turbine areas are actually beneficial for fish stocks. California has held quite a few successful auctions for offshore leases already, and while I don't know in detail the arguments that California whale advocacy groups may have raised, I'm sure that, given the exhaustive public hearings, their concerns were fully heard.
Climate change itself is, in my view, the much bigger threat to whales.
" The suit alleges that the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued permits for the South Fork and Revolution Wind projects on Cox Ledge, despite acknowledging serious irreversible harm and without adequate environmental impact studies.
“Over the last few months there were several back-and-forth filings by Green Oceans plaintiffs and responses by both BOEM and Revolution Wind,” said Lisa Linowes, executive director of the Wind Action Group and a member of the Save Right Whales Coalition, which is also a plaintiff.
The recent Supreme Court decision that overturned the Chevron deference and curtailed the power of federal agencies, Relentless v. Department of Commerce, was initiated by Seafreeze Ltd.
From Michael Schellenberger's outfit, this morning.
https://www.public.news/p/wind-industry-is-killing-sea-life
East Coast offshore wind installations have generated criticism from folks concerned about the impact on the whale population. The visible deaths of a number of cetaceans which have washed ashore not only gave rise to a lot of comment, but also to, I believe, some legal suits.
The whale-loving population of the East Coast cannot compare to the size and influence of that group out West. I'd judge the impetus to come from the many successful initiatives to save the salmon, as a model for the Save the Whales movement.
All of this doesn't mean that I personally know any whale-based opposition to West Coast offshore wind installations -- everything in your article is news to me. It's just something that I would expect, and which goes without mention.