Imagine, visiting the Jersey Shore with your family, when what washes up next to your beach towel? Not one, not two, but eight dead dolphins. Or a dead humpback whale. These scenes have actually become commonplace up and down the shore, just as our families are preparing for Memorial Day vacations.
What’s the cause? Well, our endangered marine life may be dying off due to our Governor’s reckless quest for a revolutionized, “green” economy in what he has dubbed the “Next New Jersey.”
In 2019, Governor Murphy signed an executive order to massively increase New Jersey’s offshore wind dependency. Since then, the state has sold two massive contracts to build the state’s first offshore wind turbines, covering nearly 200,000 acres (covering a distance roughly the same length as Wildwood to Philadelphia) of ocean. As sonar testing began on these projects, whales started washing up on New Jersey beaches in record numbers unseen in fifty years. These die-offs, according to Gov. Murphy and the “experts,” are merely a coincidence —
but you and I know better: this is all part of Governor Murphy’s energy disaster plan.
Let’s be clear: Governor Murphy is sacrificing our fragile marine ecosystem, and our tourism and fishing economy, at the altar of “green” energy, all to satisfy the left-wing as he runs for president.
Imagine if another state down the coast had dead whales and dolphins washing up in record numbers on its shores because of offshore drilling. Greenpeace, the Sierra Club and Phil Murphy would be holding hands, surrounding the whale carcass, tears streaming down their faces while singing kumbaya. When the natural environment is ravaged in the name of green energy, their tears are nowhere to be found.
The Governor’s hand-chosen experts claim “no evidence” that the sonar testing is killing off marine mammals, but that’s because they’re refusing to even investigate the issue. Instead, they choose to hide behind studies they will not share with the public, and dismiss the concerns of elected officials like myself as fabricated “right-wing outrage.” This year New Jersey has seen more dolphin and whale deaths in a 3 month period than we would expect in an entire year. Regular citizens of New Jersey, many of whom support environmental conservation and rational policy-making, are alarmed.
Whales and dolphins, especially, are highly complex mammals with sophisticated family pods, long gestation cycles and complex territories. It’s no surprise that these higher-order animals are the first victims of Governor Murphy’s irrational “green” policies. But they surely won’t be the last. These wind farms also pose a threat to New Jersey’s commercial fisheries. Massive concrete foundations built into the fragile ecosystems off our coast can have significant ramifications on fishing stocks. This also affects regular New Jerseyans who want to take their kids fishing, or who simply want to enjoy a fresh seafood dinner this summer. As these massive wind farms are constructed, the fishing lines may come back empty, and we may see droves of dead migratory birds raining on our beaches and in our neighborhoods as well. The fact is that our Governor is pushing ahead with plans to plant hundreds of Empire State Building-sized turbines just off the coast of many of New Jersey’s most picturesque and environmentally vulnerable beaches, without conducting a single environmental report worth the paper it was printed on.
It’s got to stop — New Jersey should pause the mass construction of these offshore wind farms until we understand their real impact on NJ wildlife and fishing stocks.
Let’s remember, too, that there are real solutions out there for people that care about environmental conservation, sustainability, wildlife, and keeping energy costs in check for working New Jerseyans. As State Senator for New Jersey’s First Legislative District, I’ve been proud to call for a greater investment in next-generation nuclear power, one of the few tested green technologies that can actually lower our carbon emissions. The federal government is beginning to make investments in next-generation nuclear, and entire countries like France generate an overwhelming majority of their power from this source.
Clearly, we must hit pause on the reckless mass construction of wind farms on our coastline. But we must also explore positive solutions that protect our environment as well as our economic future. As we near the Memorial Day beach weekend, it’s time to get serious on the environment.
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Senator Michael L. Testa, Jr. is a State Senator representing New Jersey’s First Legislative District which includes Atlantic, Cape May, & Cumberland Counties. He is a dad, husband, and leader in fighting for the needs of New Jersey’s working families
