Offshore wind farms are a valuable source ofrenewable energyand a crucial weapon in our arsenal in the fight against the clime crisis , but is this at the disbursal of maritime mammal ? President - electDonald Trumpsuggested so in a recent press conference – though , not for the first time , his statements lack believable backing and experts disagree .
mouth in Mar - a - Lago on Monday , Trump rallied against the renewable engineering : “ The windmill are driving the whales gaga . Obviously , ” hesaid , while referencing late whale strandings in Massachusetts .
This is not the first time the next President of the United States has speak out against malarky turbine . Trump has a longhistoryof opposition to wind power , and on the campaign trail in 2023 , madesimilar claimsthat offshore wind farms stamp out whales . These assertions were not backed up by evidence then , and they ’re not now .
Are offshore wind farms killing whales?
In short , the answer to this question is no .
Itistrue that there has been an unco high number of whale ( anddolphin ) strandings along the south glide of Massachusetts in the last year . In December , Whale and Dolphin Conservationreported a 6th large whale stranding in the sphere in just six months – an occurrence they describe as “ unprecedented ” .
Meanwhile , a juvenile humpback whale was stranded along Richmond Pond Beach in Westport last week – " the thirteenth whale that has washed up perfectly in the retiring three week from Massachusetts to Kitty Hawk North Carolina , " Constance Gee of Green Oceans toldWJAR .
grant to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ) , since 2016 , there have been a full of232 humpback strandingsalong the country ’s east coast , from Maine through Florida . In 2017 , the agency dub it an " Unusual Mortality Event " .
Crucially , though , none of these deaths are linked tooffshore breaking wind farms .
As of 2024 , no US heavyweight death has been assign to seaward windmills , per the NOAA . “ At this dot , there is no scientific evidence that noise resulting from offshore wind site characterisation surveys could potentially cause giant deaths . There are no known tie-in between large hulk last and ongoing offshore wind activity , ” the agencysaidin its latest update in March last year .
Their examinations indicate that the main understanding for strandings along the Atlantic coast are inadvertent entanglement in fishing gear and vessel ten-strike , with other causes of death include parasite - stimulate pipe organ hurt and starvation .
" We fuck what the primary threat are to kyphosis whale : it ’s very much the wallop from things like fishing and ship smasher , " Rob Deaville from the Zoological Society of London ’s Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme told theBBCin 2023 .
" To talk about wind farms being a problem take away give-and-take around the very real menace that are a job for those coinage . "
In fact , with roughly40 percentof world-wide bulk shipping now devoted to go coal , petroleum , and gasolene , renewable vigour sources surely stand to reduce the risk that ships pose to whales , while also profit the climate .
How do wind farms impact marine mammals?
All that being say , offshore wind farms can still potentially bear on marine life in anumber of way . ecologic effects of such projectsinclude : altering the soundscape , hydrodynamics , and electromagnetic fields of natural habitat , which could affect animal behaviour . Things like navigation , piranha detection , communicating , and the ability to find a Ilex paraguariensis could all be thrown into disarray as a resultant .
nothingness turbines may also shake ecosystems up by altering the abundance and variety of some marine species .
It ’s not all uncollectible tidings , though : there is some evidence to paint a picture that offshore aerogenerator could act as aforaging ground for seals , which appear to be draw to the loom blocks of metal in their home ground .
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution giant life scientist Mark Baumgartner is affirmative about their impact , tellingOceanus Magazine“I’m a little skeptical that this is going to be a major problem for whales , given that yes , there are buy the farm to be a lot of turbines out there . But given the spatial arrangement – the large area over which they are distribute – I ’m not convinced that this is going to be a major problem for alga and copepod crustacean and right whale . ”
While wind power sure as shooting has somedrawbacks , it hasnotbeen link to hulk end , despite what some political leader might be saying . It ’s an inescapable fact that jazz , and other renewable energy projects , present a central lump of our response to clime change – so , hopefully , they can continue to play their part in avail protect our major planet and the misinformation violent storm whirl around them will cease .
All “ explainer ” clause are confirm byfact checkersto be correct at meter of publishing . Text , image , and links may be edit , remove , or added to at a later date to keep information current .
