North Atlantic Right Whale

In our previous article, we discussed the death of the North Atlantic Right whale that is possibly due to the seismic activity used to build the wind farm off the coast of NJ. North Atlantic right whales are an endangered species with just 300 or left.

Clean Ocean Action, Protect Our Coast NJ, Save Long Beach Island, Defend Brigantine Beach and the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association are calling on President Joe Biden to investigate the whale deaths and freeze all offshore wind farms activities along New Jersey and its neighboring states.

There will be no thorough autopsy here because, whale deaths due to Wind farms is considered excusable when trying to avert “planetary catastrophe” from “Global Warming.” Nuclear energy has long been recognized as a better solution, environmentally speaking.

In a February 2005 letter, the Massachusetts Audubon Society estimated that the proposed Cape Cod wind project alone would kill up to 6,600 marine birds each year, including the roseate tern, which is on the endangered list.

It’s not much of a leap to look toward the wind farms as a possible cause of whale deaths. There have been many studies, particularly in Europe related to North Sea wind farms, about the impact that these forests of steel have on marine life.

Between January 9 and February 4 of 2016, 29 sperm whales died on England, German and Dutch beaches. Environmentalists and the news media offered multiple explanations – except the most obvious and likely one: offshore wind farms.

In 2017, three minke whales washed up on the UK coast, apparently distressed by the offshore wind farm. It was argued that the sonar communication between the whales was being confused due to the turbines.

A 2006 report Effects of offshore wind farm noise on marine mammals and fish, says:

‘McCauley et al. (2006) found strong behavioral reactions in humpback whales to airgun sounds at a received broad-band level of 172-180 dBp-p (duration = 60 ms; frequency range = 0.1 – 2 kHz). This would correspond roughly to a threshold of 166 dB0-p. If we take the broadband value of the pile-driving noise (see Table 6; value ~ 228 dB0-p for 1.5 m piles and ~ 238 dB0-p for larger piles) and calculate transmission loss to be 15 log (r) – we arrive at a 60 km radius for behavioral reaction.’

The report also warned that the noise related to pole-driving for wind turbine bases could result in permanent hearing damage to various whale species and and lead to beaching events. Whales are known to be able to detect the operational noises of wind farms over very large distances. With the oceans filling up with wind farms, humans could be driving marine life insane – like trying to live in an apartment underneath a noisy neighbor.

A 2021 study into Taiwan’s ‘Thousand wind turbines project’ in the Taiwan Strait says:

‘The offshore wind farm life-cycle includes planning, construction, installation, operation maintenance, and decommissioning. The noise and vibrations generated by offshore wind turbines during the construction and operation phase have recently been found to negatively impact hearing sensitivity and cause behavioral changes in numerous marine organisms even at ranges many kilometers distance from the wind farm.’

While the noise is most extreme during the construction phase, the operational continuous low-frequency noise irritates marine life. In particular, this study warned about the danger posed to chorusing fish who may struggle to attract mates, spawn, communicate, or function under such condition resulting in ‘cascade effects on behavioral and ecological processes’.

A recent case against a wind farm in Victoria was settled in favor of residents who complained about not being able to sleep due to noise from a nearby wind farm. A 2021 study, Effects of low-frequency noise from wind turbines on heart rate variability in healthy individuals, said that low frequency exposure ‘has been found to cause a variety of health conditions’ and that ‘exposure to LFN from wind turbines results in headaches, difficulty concentrating, irritability, fatigue, dizziness, tinnitus, aural pain, sleep disturbances, and annoyance’ while it also ‘may cause increased risk of epilepsy, cardiovascular effects, and coronary artery disease’.

In order to ‘save the planet’, environmental movements are in danger of making it less livable. At the very least, we should stop allowing Net Zero and renewables industries to use the threat of apocalypse to justify damage to the environment. This ‘for the greater good’ mentality might very well destroy our oceans.