Right (Whale) Fever: Flynn Goes all in on ‘Boomer and Gio’
Dead whales popped up Thursday morning in an odd place – the “Boomer and Gio” show on radio station WFAN.
The off-beat discussion – at least for a program devoted to sports – gave at least one critic of the state’s fledgling off-shore wind initiative a chance to weigh in.
That was Republican Assemblywoman Vicky Flynn from LD-13 in Monmouth County, who
displayed the “Save the Whales” mantra so prevalent today among the state GOP.
If you think there’s some irony in the right adopting a motto coined almost 50 years ago by the left wing organization Greenpeace, you are not alone. Greenpeace at the time was condemning the whaling industry. The immediate battle in New Jersey is not about harpoons, but plans for wind turbines.
Gio, whose name is Gregg Gianotti, seemed at first a bit perplexed by all the fuss, wondering why people just don’t go to the beach, enjoy the sun, and not worry what may happen out in the ocean.
Flynn soon thereafter dialed into the show to make the following points – points familiar to those who follow state politics. They were:
Wind turbines are ugly and, as such, pose a threat to the beauty of the Jersey Shore.
Turbine preparation already is causing underwater sounds that are disorienting whales and leading to their deaths.
And last, but not least, the state just gave a sweetheart deal in the form of a tax break to off-shore wind developer Orsted, a Danish company.
Afterwards, Flynn thanked the hosts and WFAN for “bringing attention to this issue.”
And she urged support for a Republican bill to stop sonar testing and wind turbine mapping because of “recent unexplained deaths of marine life off the coast of New Jersey.”
Whether these deaths, or at least most of them, truly are unexplained depends on your perspective.
Some supporters of the state’s off-shore wind program note that many Republicans, who never have been all that keen in supporting clean energy in the first place, are just using dead whales on the beach to make a political point. It is good politics. Underwater sonar activity may seem foreign to many people, but a huge whale carcass on the beach is not.
It’s worth noting that a few months ago, Shawn LaTourette, the state’s DEP commissioner, said environmental changes were causing the deaths. He explained that as ocean waters warm, large schools of a food fish called menhaden now gather close to shore. As whales follow, they are more prone to vessel strikes in what is a very busy shipping lane.
As the WFAN show continued, the hosts did find a report that, indeed, attributed the death of one of the washed up whales to a vessel strike.
Many environmental issues break down along conservative and liberal lines.
Flynn insisted, however, that opposition to wind turbines has now become a bipartisan issue.
That can be debatable. Those who yell the loudest are not always the majority.
Then again, Democratic leaders suddenly seem squeamish about off-shore wind.
A statement earlier this month from Senate President Nicholas Scutari and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin said the following:
“The legislature has concerns about the (Board of Public Utilities) approach on the offshore wind projects. There are still many unanswered questions about the economic impact these projects will have on ratepayers as well as potential impacts to one of our state’s largest economic drivers, tourism at the shore. The BPU should be able to share these impacts with the communities affected and the legislature before moving forward with these new offshore projects.”
Not exactly a ringing endorsement.
Maybe Flynn is right about bipartisanship.
And if so, that’s not good news for the Murphy Administration.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Picture is “Humpback Whale Breeching” © Bruce Irschick. BY CC2.0 from Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.
Thank you for reporting the truth
Yes I appreciated reading this …. ‘It’s worth noting that a few months ago, Shawn LaTourette, the state’s DEP commissioner, said environmental changes were causing the deaths. He explained that as ocean waters warm, large schools of a food fish called menhaden now gather close to shore. As whales follow, they are more prone to vessel strikes in what is a very busy shipping lane.
As the WFAN show continued, the hosts did find a report that, indeed, attributed the death of one of the washed up whales to a vessel strike.’
Orsted, the wind turbine company, must be stopped. They will not only destroy the environment and kill more whales, dolphin and the commercial fishing grounds off of the NJ coast, it will kill NJ shore tourism with the view of skyscraper wind turbines that will provide little to no energy assistance to NJ. Just ask the Germans and Swedish that are dismantling their open water wind turbines. They are a total waste and a disaster to the environment. They’ve killed hundreds, if not thousands, of sea birds and land birds. They’ve polluted the waters with oil leakage and when they catch fire and spew toxic chemicals into the water. And, then there’s the disposal of worn out parts and wind turbines themselves. Where do these parts go? They don’t biodegrade in nature. They have to be buried somewhere. More toxic landfill.
No, the wind turbine experiment touted by Governor KNUCKLEHEAD Murphy is nothing more than a massive payday for Murphy (in the tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars) and his lap dog Democrat-Communist cabal in Trenton, and in the NJ Administrative State. The wind turbine debacle must be stopped once and for all. New Jerseyans will be hit with even more taxes, directly & indirectly, because these turbines are not cost-effective and will wind up costing New Jersey taxpayers more than before they were installed.