Guest “Do whales do this on dolphins?” by David Middleton
Vineyard reclaimed by the wind by new federal lawsuit
Via Robert Bryce
December 27, 2021Despite more than a decade of hype and promises of billions of dollars in federal and state subsidies, the offshore wind boondoggle – and yes, boondoggle is the right word for it – continues to be embroiled in delays. and litigation.
The latest push to deal a blow to the nascent industry recently as the Austin-based Texas Public Policy Foundation sued three federal agencies in the United States District Court in Washington DC on behalf of several commercial fishing groups. The lawsuit alleges that the permit awarded to the proposed 800-megawatt Vineyard Wind project violates multiple federal laws including the Extraterrestrial Lands Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, The Mammal Protection Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.
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The lawsuit was filed four months after a study found that waters south of New England were Important habitat for right whales. Between 2011 and 2019, about 327 unique Right Whale were discovered in the area. Furthermore, endangered whales have been seen in the area south of the Vineyard Wind site every month for the past few years. The study also showed consistent use of the proposed site for wind energy development by one-third of species and nearly one-third of breeding females.
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It’s time to end the hype about offshore wind and gifts to foreign corporations. Let’s hope these lawsuits work out and they turn the offshore wind business upside down once and for all. I’ll close by saying once again that if policymakers are serious about decarbonizing the grid, they need to be serious about nuclear power.
Robert Bryce is the host Power Hungry Podcast, documentary producer, Juice: Insulation explains the worldand the author, most recently, of The Power Question: Electricity and the Wealth of Nations.
Whale populations in the immediate vicinity of the proposed Vineyard Wind project have increased nearly sevenfold over the past decade.
It is thought that there are only about 400 right whales worldwide and half of them appear to be in progress sit in swim in to block the construction of this boondoggle.
Whales have to use growing southern New England wind energy areas
July 29, 2021
Habitat in Southern New England is important for North Atlantic right whales. With offshore wind development planned in the area, it is important to work with stakeholders to minimize the potential impact on whales and other protected species.
According to aerial survey data collected over the past decade, right whales are increasing their use of the waters south of New England, including areas where offshore wind energy development is expected. The proposed offshore wind installation is in waters off the southern coasts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Understanding and mitigating potential impacts from construction noise, increased boat traffic, and habitat change will be critical to protecting and conserving this endangered species. This study supports the Administration’s goal of deploying offshore wind while protecting biodiversity and promoting ocean co-use.
The study was published July 29 in Endangered Species Research. Marine mammal researchers from NOAA Fisheries and colleagues at the New England Aquarium and Center for Coastal Research examined aerial survey data collected between 2011–2015 and 2017–2019 . Data was collected in offshore waters including the Massachusetts Wind Energy Region and Rhode Island. Data from these two time periods were used to determine the distribution, residence, demographics and movement of whales within the region.
“We’ve found that the proper use of whales in the area has increased over the past decade and since 2017 whales have been sighted in the area,” said Tim Cole, head of the aerial whale survey. It’s almost monthly, with large numbers occurring during winter and spring,” said Tim Cole, head of the aerial whale survey at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center and a co-author of the study.
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Increased noise, Vessel traffic, Possible habitat change
The construction and operation of hundreds of wind turbines can increase ocean noise, ship traffic, and possibly alter habitats. All of these factors have the potential to affect right whales.
Increased boat traffic in the area will entail a greater risk of boat ramming, one of the leading causes of right whales serious injury and death.
Increased noise from the construction and operation of wind turbines and boats can also directly impact important whale behaviors and interfere with the detection of important acoustic signals. These types of effects may also be related to physiological stress and may influence the whale’s use of the area.
The presence of wind turbine facilities can impact atmospheric and oceanographic conditions, including potential changes in ocean stratification. This may alter the formation of plankton assemblages and thus provide feeding opportunities for right whales.
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A taste of their own medicine
What’s really ironic is that the Texas Public Policy Foundation is using the same tactic Enviromarxist Terrorist Organizations Environmental groups have slowed and/or blocked offshore oil and gas operations.
NRDC sues to challenge seismic testing in Gulf of Mexico
July 22, 2021 Michael Jasny
Among the animals most at risk from the effects of seismic testing are whales in the Gulf of Mexico – one of the most endangered cetaceans on the planet.On January 19, shortly before President Biden took office, the National Marine Fisheries Service publish a regulation allow widespread harm from seismic oil and gas testing in the Gulf of Mexico, with minimal protection for marine mammal species. It’s not the only bad decision the Trump administration has made in its hour of decline, but it’s all outrageous.
By law, the oil and gas industry would be allowed to harm whales and dolphins — disrupting their feeding and other vital behaviors and in some cases possibly injuring them—more than 8 million times in the next five years. It will be allowed to continuously harass species that are still decades after recovering from Deep water horizon to spill.
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Now, the entire manuscript of the NRDC is a bunch of lies and it’s not a seismic “test”. We have carried out seismic surveys in Gulf of Mexico for about 80 years. After 20 years of exclusivity, real geophysical contractors are required to make basic data available to the public and can be downloaded from USGS. These data are of immense value to academia.
Almost every square mile of OCS USA covered by 2d and 3d seismic surveys, and there has never been a record of the use of marine shotguns harming marine mammals.
Will air guns used in seismic surveys kill dolphins, whales, and sea turtles and destroy
coastal community?To date, there is no documented scientific evidence that noise from air guns used in seismic and geophysical (G&G) activities adversely affects marine fauna or coastal communities. . This technology has been used for more than 30 years around the world. It is still used in US waters off the Gulf of Mexico with no known adverse effects on marine fauna or commercial fishing.
BOEM (2014)
While marine seismic surveys are transient noise sources with a long history of not harming whales, offshore wind turbines are a constant source of noise with little history of their effects on whales… And ironically Ironically, marine seismic survey is required for offshore wind farm site features. Irony can be so ironic!
Save the planet?
References
Quintana-Rizzo E, Leiter S, Cole TVN, Hagbloom MN et al (2021) North Atlantic right whale habitat, demographics and movement patterns Eubalaena glacialis in an offshore wind energy development site in southern New England, USA. Endang species Res 45: 251-268. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01137
Triezenberg, PJ, Hart, PE and Childs, JR, 2016, National Archives of Marine Seismological Surveys (NAMSS): USGS data site of marine seismic data in the US Exclusive Economic Zone United States (EEZ): United States Geological Survey Data Release, doi: 10.5066 / F7930R7P.
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