‘Clean’ Wind Energy Company Could Harm 4,700 Marine Mammals with Sonar Survey

The energy company Invenergy had better have a whale of a tale to justify its activities. One big argument against supposedly “green” off-shore wind harvesting is that it can kill whales. If Invenergy Wind is allowed to do its massive sonar survey, the “clean energy” company could harm over 4,700 marine mammals.

”Clean” energy, including wind turbines, is actually toxic for the environment. But just as climate alarmists have forgotten their 50 years of failed prophecies, no amount of reality or animal deaths on land or in the ocean will penetrate to curtail inefficient and unprofitable green energy.

NOAA Fisheries, which is responsible for enforcing the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act, is looking for comments until June 21 on a proposal from Invenergy Wind. Here’s the technical description:

NOAA Fisheries has received a request from Invenergy Wind Offshore, LLC for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to marine site characterization surveys in waters off of New Jersey and New York in the New York Bight, specifically within the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Commercial Lease of Submerged Lands for Renewable Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf Lease Area OCS-A 0542 and associated Export Cable Route survey area. NOAA Fisheries is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an incidental harassment authorization to incidentally take marine mammals during the specified activities.

If, like me, you want more of an explanation, David Wojick, Ph.D., published an analysis on CFact, tweeted out by climate truth-teller Steve Milloy. Wojick insists the offshore sonar survey proposal is “massively cruel,” covering an unnecessarily large area of 6,000 square miles.

Biden regime proposes to allow Invenergy Wind to kill 4,730 whales, dolphins, porpoises and seals off the New Jersey coast during site survey.

Proposal: https://t.co/MKZihIRydyhttps://t.co/ACwAVjNnhU

— Steve Milloy (@JunkScience) June 5, 2023

Wojick said:

This possible-cable area is enormous. It runs from New York City to south of Atlantic City and from the Jersey Shore to over 50 miles out to sea…Not surprisingly, given this huge area, the predicted marine mammal harassment numbers are appalling:

138 Whales

1,900 Seals

950 Porpoises

1,742 Dolphins

Total = 4,730 or just under 5,000 supposedly protected marine mammals

This is needless cruelty personified. They clearly have no idea where the cables will go. That will be determined by who takes the Power Purchase Agreement, if anybody, and where they can come ashore to deliver the juice.

I don’t know enough about sonar surveys to say for certain whether Wojick’s numbers are correct, but it is undeniable that sonar surveys can cause the deaths of a worrying number of whales. And sonar surveys, of course, are used to map off-shore wind farms.

Sonar surveys can interfere with whale communication. Some whales and porpoises flee in terror from sonar, which can lead to their deaths. Science.org reported on an early 2022 study suggesting the sonar causes the same reaction as the call of the deadly predator, the killer whale. Marine biologist Patrick Miller explained, “Listening is as important to [whales] as vision is to humans.” Wojick, meanwhile, argued in January that “the huge 2016 jump in annual humpback [whale] mortality coincides with the huge jump in NOAA Incidental Harassment Authorizations.”

It is wildly hypocritical for a wind company that boasts of being “non-polluting” to harm thousands of marine mammals during its sonar surveys. But then again, “wildly hypocritical” perfectly describes the climate alarmist movement, “clean energy” and all.