Opponents of offshore wind have wrongly blamed the renewable energy for recent whale strandings and deaths. Wind turbines do not cause whale deaths!
HERE ARE THE FACTS:
In 2017 the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) declared an “unusual whale mortality event” for whales. This designation was based on data that showed a steep increase in deceased whales in 2016 and 2017 washing up on America’s shores. This event began prior to offshore wind siting in the US. Misinformation about a connection between offshore wind development harming whales is simply wrong. This misconception is not based on scientific facts.
Wind surveys do not kill whales
When NOAA declared an unusual whale mortality event in 2017 there was no offshore wind project approved in NY or NJ and it was long before offshore wind survey work was conducted. A second misconception is that offshore wind survey work requires the same exploratory equipment as natural gas and oil companies. This is simply not true. Oil and gas exploration requires seismic air guns that penetrate deep into the sea floor. Seismic air guns create one of the loudest man-made sounds in the ocean that damages marine life, including whales. The sound can travel several miles through the ocean at 220-250 decibels. Blasts are repeated as often as every 10 seconds for days and weeks.
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