Enviros say production of Gulf oil will hurt whales, but they celebrated Biden’s offshore wind

The Endangered Species Committee met Tuesday and voted to make oil and gas drilling exempt from the Endangered Species Act. The six-member panel, made up of several Trump administration officials and which is chaired by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, voted unanimously, arguing that it was necessary to prevent environmental groups from using litigation to restrict oil production in the Gulf of America, which is becoming a threat to national security. 

“This is not just about gas prices. It's about our ability to power our military and protect our nation. That vital energy supply right now is under threat,” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said at the meeting. 

"Indiscriminate killing of endangered species," says the Sierra Club 

The environmental groups that regularly sue to stop oil and gas operations in the gulf blasted the decision. 

“This would allow the indiscriminate killing of endangered species in the Gulf of Mexico, including the critically endangered Rice's whale. There are only 51 known Rice's whales in the world — all of them in the Gulf,” the Sierra Club said in a statement. According to the Associated Press, they were recognized as a distinct species in 2021. The Rice’s whale is usually found in a narrow area in the northeastern part of the Gulf, in waters 100 to 400 meters (328 to 1,312 feet) deep.

While the reaction from these NGOs is expected, their interest in protecting whales and marine wildlife from industrial operations is considerably different when it involves offshore wind. When a 350-foot-long, 70-ton blade broke off one of the turbines on the Vineyard Wind facility off the coast of Nantucket, the Sierra Club was more concerned about the damage to public relations for the offshore wind industry. 

“Now we must all work to ensure that the failure of a single turbine blade does not adversely impact the emergence of offshore wind as a critical solution for reducing dependence on fossil fuels and addressing the climate crisis,” Nancy Pyne, senior advisor for offshore wind for the Sierra Club, said in a statement less than a week after the incident. 

Lawfare in the Gulf: "the hypocrisy is glaring" 

In a statement, Earthjustice argued that litigation isn’t preventing oil and gas production in the Gulf of America. In response to the exemption, the group vowed to file a lawsuit to overturn it so that groups like Earthjustice can file more lawsuits under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and stop oil and gas production in the Gulf. 

David Wojick, senior advisor to CFACT, told Just the News that “the hypocrisy is glaring. Oil and gas impact is tiny compared to offshore wind, which requires hundreds to thousands of 30-ft diameter piles, each driven a hundred or more feet into the seabed … But wind is ‘saving the planet’ while oil and gas are just saving Americans.”  

In the committee meeting, Interior Secretary Burgum explained that the ESA contains a clause that says, in the event the Secretary of War determines that the ESA is presenting a national security issue, then the committee shall grant an exemption. 

Hegseth said that the Gulf of America provides 15% of the nation’s oil supply. Discussions about ongoing litigation that threatened to halt oil and gas production in the Gulf of America began in January, before the conflict in Iran, he said. 

Hegseth didn’t specify what legal action he was referring to, but it may be related to a lawsuit Earthjustice filed on behalf of the Sierra Club and other environmental organizations. In August 2024, a judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland ruled that a federal agency underestimated the impact of oil and gas activities, including the risks of a major oil spill. 

Among the concerns was the impact of these operations on the endangered Rice's whale, of which fewer than 100 remain. Earthjustice explained in a statement on the ruling that the seismic guns used in oil and gas operations cause deafening blasts that interfere with the whales’ ability to communicate, care for their young, and find mates. The whales are also vulnerable to ship strikes. 

Advocating for offshore wind

When it comes to offshore wind energy, Earthjustice is not only unconcerned about potential harm to whales, it actively advocates for the industry. In May, the anti-fossil fuel group joined in a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s decision to stop all wind permitting on public land. 

“Unlike fossil fuel-fired power generation, wind turbines don’t emit harmful air pollutants like nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide that damage our lungs and bodies, or greenhouse-gas emissions that heat the planet,” the group explained in an announcement on their intention to join the coalition suing to block the band. 

In November, Earthjustice sued to try and stop the Trump administration from holding offshore oil and gas leases. Among the concerns Earthjustice raises in its complaint is whether oil and gas operations could impact future offshore wind development on the Gulf Coast. 

Jeff Reynolds, senior editor for Restoration News, said that the double standard Earthjustice and other groups have toward impacts from industries demonstrates an intellectual inconsistency in their advocacy. 

“It's obviously cognitive dissonance. The idea that we need to shut down offshore drilling, but not offshore wind, to save the whales is a classic cognitive dissonance. There's no consistency whatsoever to the things that they believe,” Reynolds told Just the News. 

Media’s double standard

The double standard is seen in how many media outlets are covering the exemption. The Guardian regularly ran interference for the offshore wind industry, with multiple articles disputing that it has any impact on whales, even though the construction of the turbines involves many of the same disturbances as the oil and gas industry but over a much larger area. Vineyard Wind, for example, covers nearly 167,000 acres. The largest oil platforms are the size of a football field.  

In a 2023 article, The Guardian reported, based on research by an anti-fossil fuel activist, that community groups opposed to offshore wind are merely shills for oil companies. The Guardian’s report on the ESA exemption, however, quotes representatives of Earthjustice and an emeritus professor of law criticizing the exemption. The article provides no counter perspectives from supporters of the oil and gas industry. 

The Associated Press reported in December 2023 that claims that offshore wind hurts whales are “unfounded.” The statement is attributed to “scientists” and the article doesn’t mention research that looks at risk to whales from offshore wind development. Among the experts it quotes in support of the “unfounded” statement is an executive at Orsted, the offshore wind developer. 

In its report on the ESA exemption, the Associated Press quotes representatives of environmental groups worried about the exemption’s impact on whales. The Associated Press’s appearance of a double standard may be related to its funding sources. In 2022, the outlet received $8 million from anti-fossil fuel groups directly in support of its climate and energy reporting. At the same time, they disclose that funding and assure readers there are no strings attached to the money.

“They selectively care about whales depending on the context. It's just like every other issue with leftists. They don't care if it ruins their narrative, but if it advances their narrative, then they're all over it,” Reynolds said. 

Kevin Killough is the energy reporter for Just The News. You can follow him on X for more coverage.