The clash over what’s causing whale deaths erupted Thursday at the state Capitol, where opponents of offshore wind called for an immediate halt of wind farm development despite statements from scientists that ship traffic is the real threat to whales. It’s the latest battle in the partisan fight over clean-energy development — a debate that also played out in Congress Thursday, where the Republican-led House passed a bill that seeks to undo President Biden’s plans for a clean-energy transition.
In Trenton, Robin Shaffer, a resident of Ocean City, said, “We’re seeing a massive die-off of some of the most extraordinary creatures in our oceans — whales and dolphins. We don’t know why they’re dying. Whether there’s a correlation or not, we don’t know. But we want things to slow down, or stop, so we can get to the bottom of what’s going on,” said
“This unusual mortality event has been happening since 2016, which is well before the offshore wind energy development,” said Allison McLeod, public policy director with the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters.
Recent whale strandings in New Jersey and New York weren’t the only issue for protesters.
“They’ve got gas, diesel, oil in the turbine. They can leak into the ocean. We don’t want that. There’s the economic concern — shutting down the economy of the beach. People aren’t going to want to go to the beach anymore,” said Tom Jones of Defend Brigantine Beach.
