Shortly after he took office, President Biden announced a goal of building 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind by 2030, enough clean energy to power 10 million homes. For the administration, the offshore wind target was a part of a larger strategy of reducing carbon pollution and putting the country on track for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. But, like many clean energy plans, this one was met with immediate resistance.
What are we to think about the actual people inside the fossil fuel industry ? It it just that they fear for their immediate financial future ?
Is it possible that they don’t believe the science ? Do they not have family that will outlive them but who will experience the hellish future ? Are they of a mind that we (the world ) will somehow pull out of this problem ? I firmly believe that there is never a clear or simple explanation to complex problems or to human behavior , so what are the factors that motivates them ? Money ? Ignorance . Hubris? Help me understand. It boggles my mind.
Thank you for this indepth explanation. I have been following this, and wondered who the hell the Nantucket folks were that were opposing the windfarm development... granted, ACK folks are much more GOP, but this came out of left field and quite aggressively. The quotes included in this article are spot on, the local news up here continually talks about the progress of the windfarm industry and next construction steps, as well as the sad plight of the right whales. Again, thank you.
We are far behind other industrialized countries when it comes to sustainable energy. My husband and I traveled to Europe often prior to the pandemic. We found it surprising if not shocking how these countries have started to switch to sustainable energy options. London black taxis are electric. Red double decker buses are electric. Many other examples of solar used to provide alternative to fossil fuel. The same in Paris. At first we thought it was money meters to park a car in the city, then we realized that they were electric charging stations, but so many of them. EU and UK implementing many innovative ideas to get away from fossil fuels. They spend more money upfront on hi-tech rail and roadways. Our train system is basically 19th century. EU has trains traveling between 150 and 200 miles per hour. Construction of roadways/highways is so cheap in the USA, this is why we have constant road repairs (potholes, etc). If you go to Germany, Italy, UK even South Africa, the road construction is far superior, resulting in projects that last years.
Roadways in Florida are constructed of cheap materials and such a thin layer of covering. Florida, known as the sunshine state is controlled by the energy corporations such as F P & L or Duke that fought against solar energy. So many more solar farms could be built to help bring down the cost of electricity. None of this will happen while radical republicans are in control.
The wind farm off of Northern Scotland has not prevented fishing (some of the best fish in Edinburgh) and have not killed off whales.
Thank you for bringing this to light. When I first learned about that initial offshore wind farm off the coast of Block Island, it was my first knowledge of the capability, and I thought it was a brilliant beginning with massive opportunity. I believe it was built by a Scandinavian (?)company (missed opportunity there for all the fossil fuel jerks and for American companies), and I thought I read that it couldn’t be seen from the shore, so no harping about it harming the view. I recently looked up wind farm locations and was happy to see there are more off our Atlantic coast and more planned. The UK and Scandinavia have several.
Naomi Klein’s “This ChangesEverything” helped me to understand why the fossil fuel giants have to keep feeding their machine. It’s money of course, but it’s money that’s already part of their books. Their financial structure (so stock price & dividends) has already included the profits from unrealized production 20 years out on rights they own to wells they’ve yet to build. So everything comes crashing down if that future is not fulfilled.
As always, Judd, you expose the underbelly of the “news.” This is such important work as compared to media/pollsters that are lazy or self-interested and don’t look beneath the surface, insread reporting superficialities. Thank you for being a true journalist.
Again, the real story, behind the story. Thank you again Judd for sharing & also thank you to Michael Thomas for the post. I dont know sometimes that it does much good to share on FB, as most folks respond to my poems, but rarely to current political or social events that I share. People like the "pretty, " but not exposure to the "pretty ugly." But this is worthy of a share. Perhaps some read & move on, but at least they'll be informed of what mainstream media isn't investigating and/ or reporting. Thank you.
It never fails to amaze me how the very rich will do anything to protect their fortunes. They will lie, cheat, and steal in every underhanded way possible but still consider themselves good citizens of this country. They are really very protective citizens of their money.
The local Asbury Park Press is owned by Gannett, and Gannett is owned by New Media Investment Group and that is owned by Fortress Investment Group/SoftBank Group. Investment to build the strength of local news isn’t inherently bad, but I don’t think it’s the goal of this group.
Nuclear power is actually the most dangerous thing there is, to the fossil fuel industry. It can totally replace them. Actually it can 200% replace them. Not only can it zero out the business for energy, but it's easy to synthesize liquid fuels like gasoline and kerosene from environmental carbon and nuclear energy. This is especially easily if you use a molten salt reactor that runs it high enough temperatures to do the chemistry directly. Companies involved with this include terrestrial energy. That's the way we get carbon neutral aviation. Simply make kerosene from atmospheric carbon and energy from uranium and thorium.
We should assume that the fossil fuel industry spends 70 billion a year on defensive marketing. This is simply because any organization spends 5% of its revenue, and the fossil fuel industry turns over 1.4 trillion dollars per year.
They also spent 1 billion a year advocating for wind and solar. This marketing budget helps cement the demand for Fracking methane "natural" gas. In fact the business unit at most big oil companies is a combination of wind, solar, and produced methane gas.
Nuclear power can be redesigned in 2022 to meet today expectations for economics and safety. In fact it already has been. But nobody hears about it. The fossil fill industry is busy funding both sides of the argument about so-called renewable energy. Anything to distract us from nuclear power. If we actually cared about nuclear renewable energy, the first thing we would notice is that nuclear power is renewable. There is such a thing as a breeder reactor. And even before you get there, there is 250 billion tons of uranium in the ocean. We can extract it using new Japanese polymer technology. It costs about the same as mine uranium. And you cannot reduce it. Although there's more than we need in the ocean, when you take it it comes back just like the wind and the waves. That's the definition of renewable. It's because the uranium in the ocean is in a stable concentration due to the geothermal vents which constantly replenish it from the Earth's crust.
So now you know why they're so many fossil fuel advocates, preaching to the cup 27 choir about wind and solar.
Cop 21 was particularly hilarious. Sometimes it's so foggy in France that you can't see it from Paris. The conference was carbon zero, because it was in zero carbon city, and a zero carbon country. Yet nobody at cop21 could figure out how any country could get to be carbon zero before 2050. They didn't mention the word nuclear. The only guy who mentioned nuclear power at cop21 was Elon Musk, who owns a giant solar company.
Those of you who are baffled by the refusal of the fossil fuel in industry and its useful idiots to face reality should watch "Don't Look Up" on Netflix. It's a dark comedy about how superficial mass media, short-term greed, and massive hubris conspire to wipe out the human race. Substitute drastic climate change for the asteroid in the movie and you have our current situation.
One of our SAVELBI.org volunteers saw your Substack article posted on Twitter.
“Fossil fuel industry dupes media, quietly funds non-profits to block renewable energy”.
I hope you will give me the opportunity to correct some of your observations about SAVELBI.ORG. There are three important points I feel must be corrected.
1) SAVELBI.ORG is a volunteer non-profit, non-partisan organization comprised of more than 4,000 residents, homeowners, small businesses and N.J. Shore environmentalists. We have never taken any donations from the Fossil Fuel Industry, The Caesar Rodney Institute (CRI), the Koch Brothers, the State Policy Network, or any of the other organizations you list in your story. Your article specifically states that SAVELBI has ties to the CRI organization. Such “ties” consist of infrequent phone calls with them and many other groups along the East Coast concerned with the direction of the current offshore wind program to share factual information, hardly a nefarious activity.
2) SAVELBI is not opposed to renewable energy generally or Wind Energy specifically. Our website shows that we support offshore wind energy so long as the wind turbines are sited sensibly. The current plan placing more than 350 1,000 ft tall Turbines 9 miles off LBI will make this the world’s closest, most visible ocean wind farm. The noise from operation of these large gearbox turbines jeopardizes migration of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. Placing the turbines 35 miles off LBI in another area already approved by Federal government authorities is a far better option. Please see our website. Our goal and rallying cry has been to “MOVE THEM 35 MILES OUT”!
3) SAVE LBI takes a back seat to no one in our desire to protect the pristine NJ coast and the fish, whales, and migratory birds that inhabit it. In our view, certain very important environmental reviews have been skipped, those being done do not illuminate all the problems, and community input has been ignored. Foreign corporations are lining up to opportunistically industrialize the N.J. shore line. It’s time to take a step back and think through options before we put in motion changes that can never be reversed.
Mr. Thomas, I hope you receive this note in the spirit in which it is intended. We can work together. A good first step would be for you to correct your comments about SAVELBI.ORG.
No offense, but who is traveling to NJ for tourism? It's not the destination these residents think it is. I've been several times and it's nothing special. The beaches I went to were awful.
We get news and political opinion and analysis mostly from media companies that operate for profit. They do what is good for their revenue and profit. They are especially careful about offending subscribers, potential advertisers, and share owners. This system is corrupt at its core. The greatest evil is Murdoch.
What are we to think about the actual people inside the fossil fuel industry ? It it just that they fear for their immediate financial future ?
Is it possible that they don’t believe the science ? Do they not have family that will outlive them but who will experience the hellish future ? Are they of a mind that we (the world ) will somehow pull out of this problem ? I firmly believe that there is never a clear or simple explanation to complex problems or to human behavior , so what are the factors that motivates them ? Money ? Ignorance . Hubris? Help me understand. It boggles my mind.
Thank you for this indepth explanation. I have been following this, and wondered who the hell the Nantucket folks were that were opposing the windfarm development... granted, ACK folks are much more GOP, but this came out of left field and quite aggressively. The quotes included in this article are spot on, the local news up here continually talks about the progress of the windfarm industry and next construction steps, as well as the sad plight of the right whales. Again, thank you.
We are far behind other industrialized countries when it comes to sustainable energy. My husband and I traveled to Europe often prior to the pandemic. We found it surprising if not shocking how these countries have started to switch to sustainable energy options. London black taxis are electric. Red double decker buses are electric. Many other examples of solar used to provide alternative to fossil fuel. The same in Paris. At first we thought it was money meters to park a car in the city, then we realized that they were electric charging stations, but so many of them. EU and UK implementing many innovative ideas to get away from fossil fuels. They spend more money upfront on hi-tech rail and roadways. Our train system is basically 19th century. EU has trains traveling between 150 and 200 miles per hour. Construction of roadways/highways is so cheap in the USA, this is why we have constant road repairs (potholes, etc). If you go to Germany, Italy, UK even South Africa, the road construction is far superior, resulting in projects that last years.
Roadways in Florida are constructed of cheap materials and such a thin layer of covering. Florida, known as the sunshine state is controlled by the energy corporations such as F P & L or Duke that fought against solar energy. So many more solar farms could be built to help bring down the cost of electricity. None of this will happen while radical republicans are in control.
The wind farm off of Northern Scotland has not prevented fishing (some of the best fish in Edinburgh) and have not killed off whales.
Thank you for the article,
Thank you for bringing this to light. When I first learned about that initial offshore wind farm off the coast of Block Island, it was my first knowledge of the capability, and I thought it was a brilliant beginning with massive opportunity. I believe it was built by a Scandinavian (?)company (missed opportunity there for all the fossil fuel jerks and for American companies), and I thought I read that it couldn’t be seen from the shore, so no harping about it harming the view. I recently looked up wind farm locations and was happy to see there are more off our Atlantic coast and more planned. The UK and Scandinavia have several.
Naomi Klein’s “This ChangesEverything” helped me to understand why the fossil fuel giants have to keep feeding their machine. It’s money of course, but it’s money that’s already part of their books. Their financial structure (so stock price & dividends) has already included the profits from unrealized production 20 years out on rights they own to wells they’ve yet to build. So everything comes crashing down if that future is not fulfilled.
As always, Judd, you expose the underbelly of the “news.” This is such important work as compared to media/pollsters that are lazy or self-interested and don’t look beneath the surface, insread reporting superficialities. Thank you for being a true journalist.
Again, the real story, behind the story. Thank you again Judd for sharing & also thank you to Michael Thomas for the post. I dont know sometimes that it does much good to share on FB, as most folks respond to my poems, but rarely to current political or social events that I share. People like the "pretty, " but not exposure to the "pretty ugly." But this is worthy of a share. Perhaps some read & move on, but at least they'll be informed of what mainstream media isn't investigating and/ or reporting. Thank you.
I've been to Ocean City, NJ several times. Offshore wind turbines could only improve that place.
It never fails to amaze me how the very rich will do anything to protect their fortunes. They will lie, cheat, and steal in every underhanded way possible but still consider themselves good citizens of this country. They are really very protective citizens of their money.
The local Asbury Park Press is owned by Gannett, and Gannett is owned by New Media Investment Group and that is owned by Fortress Investment Group/SoftBank Group. Investment to build the strength of local news isn’t inherently bad, but I don’t think it’s the goal of this group.
Amazing work, yet again! Thank you!
Nuclear power is actually the most dangerous thing there is, to the fossil fuel industry. It can totally replace them. Actually it can 200% replace them. Not only can it zero out the business for energy, but it's easy to synthesize liquid fuels like gasoline and kerosene from environmental carbon and nuclear energy. This is especially easily if you use a molten salt reactor that runs it high enough temperatures to do the chemistry directly. Companies involved with this include terrestrial energy. That's the way we get carbon neutral aviation. Simply make kerosene from atmospheric carbon and energy from uranium and thorium.
We should assume that the fossil fuel industry spends 70 billion a year on defensive marketing. This is simply because any organization spends 5% of its revenue, and the fossil fuel industry turns over 1.4 trillion dollars per year.
They also spent 1 billion a year advocating for wind and solar. This marketing budget helps cement the demand for Fracking methane "natural" gas. In fact the business unit at most big oil companies is a combination of wind, solar, and produced methane gas.
Nuclear power can be redesigned in 2022 to meet today expectations for economics and safety. In fact it already has been. But nobody hears about it. The fossil fill industry is busy funding both sides of the argument about so-called renewable energy. Anything to distract us from nuclear power. If we actually cared about nuclear renewable energy, the first thing we would notice is that nuclear power is renewable. There is such a thing as a breeder reactor. And even before you get there, there is 250 billion tons of uranium in the ocean. We can extract it using new Japanese polymer technology. It costs about the same as mine uranium. And you cannot reduce it. Although there's more than we need in the ocean, when you take it it comes back just like the wind and the waves. That's the definition of renewable. It's because the uranium in the ocean is in a stable concentration due to the geothermal vents which constantly replenish it from the Earth's crust.
So now you know why they're so many fossil fuel advocates, preaching to the cup 27 choir about wind and solar.
Cop 21 was particularly hilarious. Sometimes it's so foggy in France that you can't see it from Paris. The conference was carbon zero, because it was in zero carbon city, and a zero carbon country. Yet nobody at cop21 could figure out how any country could get to be carbon zero before 2050. They didn't mention the word nuclear. The only guy who mentioned nuclear power at cop21 was Elon Musk, who owns a giant solar company.
Those of you who are baffled by the refusal of the fossil fuel in industry and its useful idiots to face reality should watch "Don't Look Up" on Netflix. It's a dark comedy about how superficial mass media, short-term greed, and massive hubris conspire to wipe out the human race. Substitute drastic climate change for the asteroid in the movie and you have our current situation.
Very good reporting- as usual.
Dear Mr. Thomas,
One of our SAVELBI.org volunteers saw your Substack article posted on Twitter.
“Fossil fuel industry dupes media, quietly funds non-profits to block renewable energy”.
I hope you will give me the opportunity to correct some of your observations about SAVELBI.ORG. There are three important points I feel must be corrected.
1) SAVELBI.ORG is a volunteer non-profit, non-partisan organization comprised of more than 4,000 residents, homeowners, small businesses and N.J. Shore environmentalists. We have never taken any donations from the Fossil Fuel Industry, The Caesar Rodney Institute (CRI), the Koch Brothers, the State Policy Network, or any of the other organizations you list in your story. Your article specifically states that SAVELBI has ties to the CRI organization. Such “ties” consist of infrequent phone calls with them and many other groups along the East Coast concerned with the direction of the current offshore wind program to share factual information, hardly a nefarious activity.
2) SAVELBI is not opposed to renewable energy generally or Wind Energy specifically. Our website shows that we support offshore wind energy so long as the wind turbines are sited sensibly. The current plan placing more than 350 1,000 ft tall Turbines 9 miles off LBI will make this the world’s closest, most visible ocean wind farm. The noise from operation of these large gearbox turbines jeopardizes migration of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. Placing the turbines 35 miles off LBI in another area already approved by Federal government authorities is a far better option. Please see our website. Our goal and rallying cry has been to “MOVE THEM 35 MILES OUT”!
3) SAVE LBI takes a back seat to no one in our desire to protect the pristine NJ coast and the fish, whales, and migratory birds that inhabit it. In our view, certain very important environmental reviews have been skipped, those being done do not illuminate all the problems, and community input has been ignored. Foreign corporations are lining up to opportunistically industrialize the N.J. shore line. It’s time to take a step back and think through options before we put in motion changes that can never be reversed.
Mr. Thomas, I hope you receive this note in the spirit in which it is intended. We can work together. A good first step would be for you to correct your comments about SAVELBI.ORG.
Sincerely,
Dr. Bob Stern Ph.D.
President – SAVELBI.ORG
No offense, but who is traveling to NJ for tourism? It's not the destination these residents think it is. I've been several times and it's nothing special. The beaches I went to were awful.
We get news and political opinion and analysis mostly from media companies that operate for profit. They do what is good for their revenue and profit. They are especially careful about offending subscribers, potential advertisers, and share owners. This system is corrupt at its core. The greatest evil is Murdoch.