Destroying the Environment in Order to Save It: Biden Wants Less Space for Sea Life, More Space for Wind Farms

I know I am asking a rather ridiculous question here, but where are the environmentalists when you need them? Sure, they are there to object to the development of what may be the largest lithium deposit in the world in Nevada (which is really a nifty ingredient when making things like smartphones), but apparently, they are nowhere to be found when it comes to saving the whales or other marine life.

So, environmentalists: what gives guys? I’m old enough to remember when saving the whales was a major priority for the environmental movement. Are whales no longer trending on X, Instagram, or TikTok? Oh wait, that’s right, we’re talking about Joe Biden’s plan to add wind farms, so we’ll just put the whales on the back burner for now.

According to a piece in the Washington Free Beacon, the Biden administration is floating the plan (if you’ll pardon the pun) to place offshore wind farms along the coast of California. In 2015, the Northern Chumash tribal council nominated 7,600 square miles off the coast of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties in central California as the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary. A NOAA press release and request for public comment from last month reports that 5,617 square miles were being proposed for the sanctuary as part of the administration’s “America the Beautiful Initiative.” But the Big Guy still wants his cut.

Now the administration wants 29 miles of coastline and approximately 1,400 square miles of the proposed sanctuary for a wind energy project. As you may recall, on the country’s east coast, people have pointed to wind farm exploration activities as a potential culprit behind the deaths of whales. But it is amazing how quickly nature, tribal voices, and common sense can take a back seat to wind and solar projects, particularly when there is money involved.

The Free Beacon notes that one of the companies that would build wind farms in the area is Invenergy. That company’s founder and CEO, Michael Polsky has donated $400,000 to Democrats going back to 2016. So far in 2023, the company has spent $2.4 million lobbying Congress, the White House, and various federal agencies.

The Free Beacon reports that Polsky kicked in $72,000 to the House Democrats’ campaign committee in 2020 and 2022. He gave $35,000 to the DNC in 2016 when he also donated $75,000 to Hillary Clinton’s presidential run. Polsky himself did not donate to Biden’s 2020 campaign, but his employees saw fit to chip over $120,000. How generous. While Polsky has also made contributions to members of the GOP and Invenergy’s political campaign committee, $400,000 out of the $500,000 he has donated since 2016 has gone to Democrats.

And this story is “news” only in that it happened recently. Regular PJ Media readers may remember back in February when we told you about The Department of the Interior’s move to build a 2,600-acre solar farm in the Mojave Desert in California. This raised the ire of the Sierra Club, the California Wilderness Coalition, and local residents.

Construction was straining local water access and contributing to the dust problem, and it was also putting endangered plant and animal species at risk. Sheldon Kimber, the CEO of the company building the solar farm, Intersect Energy, donated $180,000 to Biden’s campaign and helped raise $3.2 million for the Big Guy, and his execs donated $413,000.

The Democrats’ naked avarice is on full display, but so is their genius. Environmentalists will still turn out to destroy the oil, gas, and coal industries, oblivious to the fact that Biden and the Democrats have been getting rich on wind and solar and will continue to do so, even as the bodies of whales and desert tortoises start to pile up.