Save the Carbon-Consuming Whales
The Wall Street Journal cites Senior Fellow Ben Lieberman on the lobster industry:
Ben Lieberman of the Competitive Enterprise Institute opines in the Boston Herald today:
Environmentalists want to crack down on the Maine lobster industry in the name of protecting endangered whales, but they turn a blind eye to the greater threat to whales from proposed offshore wind farms. The irony is almost as delicious as the lobster dinners at stake.
As for the impact of lobstering on whales, Mr. Lieberman writes:
The threat is almost entirely speculative. The Maine lobster industry has co-existed with migrating whales for a long time, and actual confirmed instances of harm are exceedingly rare. “The last known entanglement in Maine lobster gear happened more than 17 years ago, and that whale survived. In fact, there has never been a right whale death in Maine lobster gear,” notes Maine Lobstermen’s Association Vice President Dustin Delano…
While the Maine lobster industry has a solid track record that should dispel any concerns, the same cannot be said of proposals to introduce hundreds and eventually thousands of massive offshore wind turbines. Ten large wind farms have been proposed along the right whale’s migratory path, part of the Biden Administration’s goal of building 30 Gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030. It’s a key component of President’s climate change agenda.