Seven dead whales have washed up on New Jersey and New York beaches since early December 2022. The appearance of so many whale fatalities in so short a time has added fuel to the existing controversy surrounding New Jersey’s ambitious push into offshore wind energy.
Numerous groups have pointed to the whales as casualties of ongoing undersea preparatory work in advance of large-scale wind farm construction.
U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-2nd) Jan. 13 called for an immediate halt to all offshore wind activity until an investigation can determine the cause of the whale deaths. He also said that he will seek congressional hearings into the matter.
Gov. Phil Murphy said he sees no reason to halt preparatory actions for wind farm construction. Murphy cited National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) analysis that states that no humpback whale has been found to have died as a result of offshore wind activities.
Murphy also said federal studies show that whale deaths have been increasing since 2016, long before offshore wind initiatives began.
For the most part, those lining up on each side of the issue had already taken positions for or against the offshore wind initiative before the first of the recent wave of whale deaths occurred. For many, the deaths of the sea mammals have hardened positions already held.
In a press release, New Jersey Sierra Club, a nonprofit environmental group, has been a strong supporter of Murphy’s aggressive push in wind farms as a major source of clean energy that will allow the state to meet its goals for eliminating dependence on fossil fuels. The Sierra Club calls attempts to link the whale deaths to offshore wind exploration “unfounded and premature.”
Clean Ocean Action is a nonprofit organization that has expressed concerns about the speed with which New Jersey is pushing its wind energy initiatives. At a gathering on an Atlantic City beach, broadcast through Facebook, the organization called for a pause on expanded permissions for wind farm development. The organization said the state is moving too quickly without appropriate studies that can define the potential environmental dangers.
Protect Our Coast NJ, an organization that self-describes as a coalition of “residents, homeowners, business owners, fisherman and visitors,” has opposed the offshore wind energy initiatives. The whale deaths add more evidence to support what their website says is the group’s one goal: “To stop the wind turbines off the New Jersey shoreline.”
Protect Our Coast accuses many of the environmental and conservation organizations that support the wind farm efforts of a conflict of interest, claiming that several the groups have accepted donations from the wind farm industry.
The most recent dead whale, a humpback, washed up on a Brigantine beach Jan. 12. The first of the seven fatalities was an infant sperm whale found on a Monmouth County beach Dec. 5, 2022.
So far, in the absence of definitive proof that the whale deaths were caused by offshore wind activities, the seven sea mammal fatalities have fed into a controversy that already existed.
In one case, the Marine Mammal Stranding Center posted the results of a necropsy on the humpback whale that washed up in Brigantine Jan. 12. The finding “suggests” that “the whale suffered blunt force trauma injuries consistent with those from a vessel strike.”
The post goes on to say, “Although there has been speculation about whether these whale deaths are linked to wind energy development, at this point no whale mortality has been attributed to offshore wind activities. We will continue to gather data and go where the science leads us.”
Back in September 2022, responding to those who argued the state was moving too quickly with its offshore wind initiative, and, for some, too carelessly, Murphy used an NPR radio call-in show to state his position.
He called the planned wind farms a “huge opportunity to access clean energy” in a way that will benefit generations to come. Adding, “I wouldn’t say it was the balancing reality, it is the objective,” Murphy went on to say the state wants “within that objective, to do right by residents, by nature, by wildlife, by fishermen.” The key phrase in those remarks appeared to be “within that objective.”
New Jersey Sierra Club Director Anjuli Ramos-Busot said action to blame offshore wind for the deaths of the whales is “irresponsible” and overlooks “the very real threat of climate change.”
Therein lies the crux of many of the arguments pro and con on the whale fatalities.
For those who are acting out of a concern for what they perceive as the rapid intensification of climate change and its impact, pausing efforts and taking more time to implement changes is a self-defeating strategy.
For those who are unsure about the direction and the actual level of real need for change, the side effects of moving aggressively are worrisome at best.
For those who do not fully accept the projected threats posed by climate change and the speed with which those threats might manifest themselves, these are moves they distrust, moves with economic and social consequences they are not ready to accept.
Thoughts? Questions? Contact the author, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
