Energy Musings contains articles and analyses dealing with important issues and developments within the energy industry, including historical perspective, with potentially significant implications for executives planning their companies’ future.
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August 18, 2023
Offshore Wind’s Whale Problem Getting More Attention
Thrown To The Wind, a documentary by Michael Shellenberger highlights the issue of underwater noise from offshore wind construction activity and its potential link to the surge in whale deaths. We are killing humpback whales at twice the rate for a sustainable population! READ MORE
Canada’s Clean Energy Moves
Two announcements in Ontario about building new nuclear power plants may eliminate the province’s long-term power projected shortfall. Our west, Eco-Refinery is planning to build a GTL plant producing clean diesel fuel that is better for the environment and diesel consumers. READ MORE
New England Electricity Users Rest Easier – Should They?
New electricity demand forecasts, plus more behind-the-meter solar and delayed power plant closures are giving ISO-NE officials greater comfort that winter blackout risk is reduced. READ MORE
Offshore Wind’s Whale Problem Getting More Attention
The rising number of dead whales washing ashore along the East Coast of America is drawing greater scrutiny. Michael Shellenberger, an author, former public relations official, and investigator of the Twitter Files, who now publishes a newsletter on Substack.com called Public News, has begun writing about the dead whale issue. More importantly, an organization he started, Environmental Progress, along with his newsletter has produced a 30-minute documentary on the issue of underwater noise from offshore wind construction activity and its possible impact on whales. The movie highlights how loud underwater noise may contribute to the recent surge in whale deaths despite the government’s denial of any linkage. It certainly demonstrates how uncomfortable the noise is for humans!
Starting in 2017 and up to November 2022, North American right whales have been suffering from an “unusual mortality event” with nine whales dying from entanglement with fishing gear and 20 from injuries. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has noted that the recorded deaths represent only those known to the public because the carcasses washed ashore. Any whale dying offshore where the carcass sinks to the ocean floor remains unknown. We have no accurate whale death toll.