Tag Archives: Biden Administration

Commercial Fishermen Wary Of Proposed Sanctuary For Hudson Canyon

The Biden Administration has renewed a longstanding proposal,,, Even though most of the Hudson Canyon is about as far from the South Fork as Queens and Brooklyn, commercial and recreational fishermen from East End ports frequent the waters above it, and news of the sanctuary nomination was met with some reflexive concern from commercial fishermen, in particular, who worry that if the designation is made it could lead to them eventually being blocked from fishing in an area critical to their annual harvests. “About 25 percent of what we catch is from there, squid, scup, fluke, a lot of stuff comes out of that area,” said Hank Lackner, one of the owners of Montauk’s largest commercial fishing trawlers, the 94-foot Jason & Danielle. “And for the local fleet, the mid-sized trawlers, that’s the end of their rope — that’s as far as they can go. They don’t have another option.” photos, >click to read< 17:58

US citizens will suffer from a Hudson Canyon Marine Sanctuary

On June 8 th, the Biden Administration announced its newest attack on American small businessmen by declaring the Hudson Canyon region as a protected marine sanctuary. The Hudson canyon is the largest and deepest canyon on the US east coast, about the size of the Grand Canyon. It was created by the outflow of the Hudson River over the course of millions of years and because it is one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems on the east coast, it is also one of the best fishing grounds. In a non-sensible announcement of Biden’s plan, NOAA Administrator Richard Spinrad, joyously proclaimed that “A sanctuary near one of the most densely populated areas of the Northeast U.S. would connect diverse communities across the region to the ocean and the canyon in new and different ways”. How many different fisheries are going to be affected by a Hudson Canyon Closure? Every one of them. By Jim Lovgren >click to read the article< 17:39

Offshore wind farm plans collide with fishing industry concerns off Carolina coast

The Biden administration’s plans to develop wind power off the East Coast are drawing concerns from the fishing industry, in the latest example of climate policy colliding with the livelihood of coastal businesses. Interior officials say they are aware of the concerns and are working on regulatory guidance that would lay out how wind farm developers can minimize harm to commercial and recreational fishing, while compensating businesses for losses. Wednesday’s auction is moving forward before officials finish that work. More lease sales are planned in the next two years for regions off the coast of California, the central Atlantic region and in the Gulf of Mexico. Without federal guidance, offshore wind developers have carved out their own settlements with local fishing groups. “Saddling project proponents with the costs of fisheries compensation would almost certainly have an adverse impact on ratepayers and/or project finance,” association officials said in a January letter to U.S. officials. >click to read< 14:50

Sites off Coos Bay, Brookings targeted for offshore wind farms by Biden Administration

Two areas off the Oregon Coast are being targeted to host offshore wind farms as the Biden administration seeks to ramp up renewable energy production. The U.S. Department of the Interior announced Wednesday that the locations being identified to potentially host wind farms are about 12 nautical miles offshore Coos Bay and Brookings. The areas comprise about 1.16 million acres (468,787 hectares) in total. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland described the upcoming steps taken toward possible leasing off the coast of Oregon as “another opportunity to strengthen the clean energy industry while creating good-paying union jobs.” Bullshit, Lady. >click to read< 12:39

Feds authorize 5-day period for ropeless lobster fishing in Massachusetts Bay

Federal officials gave Massachusetts lobstermen a temporary exemption Tuesday to allow them to use ropeless lobster gear in a restricted area of the Massachusetts Bay through Saturday after state regulators rejected a similar proposal earlier this month. The exempted fishing permit was issued to a group of lobstermen organized under the name “Pioneers for a Thoughtful Coexistence,” who had asked regulators to allow them to set as many as 200 ropeless traps in areas along the South Shore, where lobster fishing is closed three months a year. >click to read< 07:48

Call for tearing out lower Snake River dams gaining support in D.C. and WA state

For more than two decades Eastern Washington residents have heard proposals to tear out the lower Snake River dams, but only recently has the idea gotten bipartisan support in the nation’s capital, said Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash.,,, In the Puget Sound, he said he sees signs scattered along roadways with an X through the words “Snake River Dams.” That support from people who don’t understand what the dams mean to Eastern Washington is coupled with growing Congressional support and interest from the Biden administration, he said. Because the dams are federal infrastructure, their future is a federal issue. >click to read< 09:40

North Carolina: Offshore wind turbines interfere with ships’ radar, ability to navigate

Gov. Roy Cooper and the Biden Administration want to make North Carolina carbon neutral by 2050, and President Biden’s ambitious plans to combat climate change lean heavily on offshore wind generation. The turbines could be a problem for fishermen. North Carolina’s fishing industry has largely been cautious in criticizing the wind turbines, saying it wants to wait for more information. “Demolition derby on the high seas thanks to offshore industrial wind turbines? Amy Cooke asked. “Add maritime navigation and radar challenges to the long list of reasons, including high cost, unreliability, environmental damage and misleading nameplate capacity, as to why offshore industrial wind is absolutely horrible public policy.”>click to read< 11:13

Energy Insecurity: Biden’s Policies Leave Americans Vulnerable to Unreliable Wind & Solar

With the magnitude of the renewable energy-driven disaster playing out in Europe hard to ignore, it seems incredible that American Green New Deal Democrats remain fixated on chaotically intermittent wind and solar. And yet, they show no signs of relenting on their determined path to inevitable energy insecurity; an approach that borders on National treachery. The only winners are, of course, the rent-seekers and crony capitalists who stand to profit from an endless stream of subsidies directed to the owners,,, Paul Driessen focuses on Virginia, It mostly means thousands of onshore and offshore wind turbines and millions of solar panels, covering 10-25 times the area of Washington, DC, Virginia’s 5,200 MW of offshore wind alone will require nearly 20,000 tons of copper. At an average of 0.44% copper in ore deposits worldwide, the copper alone would require mining and processing 4.5 million tons of ore, after removing some 7 million tons of overburden to reach the ore bodies. >click to read< 14:29

Who is the real Saudi Arabia of Wind? By David Goethel

I read the February 16th article by Teddy Rosenbluth, “New Hampshire is blowing its chance at offshore wind”, from the Concord Monitor, with interest and wished to offer some comment, both to the media covering New Hampshire, and the readers. By way of introduction, I am a research biologist and 54-year fisherman, both recreational and commercial, in the Gulf of Maine. First, I want to publicly thank both Governor Sununu and his energy spokesman, Assistant Commissioner of NH Dept. of Environmental Services, Mark Sanborn for taking a wise stand on collecting biological, ecological, economic and social implications of offshore wind development before leasing vast tracts of the Gulf of Maine. This stand is in marked contrast to other coastal governors and the Biden Administration, as well as European states, which have adopted a stance of build first and study later. >click to read< 20:18

Repeating the agenda “talking points”: Advocates say NH is blowing its chance at offshore wind – The Gulf of Maine, an area with strong and reliably blowing winds, is what Sen. David Watters called the “Saudi Arabia of wind.” >click to read<

Critics rip feds’ “half-baked” plan to save California salmon

Fishing groups and water suppliers fought the Biden administration’s proposed drought rules for California’s water system, telling a federal judge Friday the emergency plans won’t stop the demise of endangered salmon. The rules call for new water temperature targets and improved collaboration between federal and state officials on the management of California’s two main water conveyance systems. But the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations and other conservation groups cast the “interim operations plan” as a half-baked measure that will lead to a third consecutive year of salmon die-offs. >click to read< 17:36

Graves seeks Federal Fishery Disaster Determination for Louisiana

U.S. Rep. Garret Graves recently urged the Biden Administration to declare a Fishery Disaster Determination that would provide targeted relief to one of Louisiana’s most impacted sectors and help both commercial and recreational fishers begin to recover from myriad disasters. “Our fishermen have taken a pounding over the last several years. Hurricanes, floods, unfair trade practices, over-regulation, and a global pandemic have delivered a major blow to our workforce and consumer demand,” Rep. Graves wrote in a Jan. 20 letter sent to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. Under law, only the Commerce Secretary can make this determination,,, >click to read< 08:18

Let Them Freeze: Wind & Solar Generators Couldn’t Care Less About Your Welfare

The wind and solar industries couldn’t care less whether you freeze to death when winter bites across the northern hemisphere and wind and solar output collapse. Solar panels plastered in snow and ice produce nothing; wind turbines frozen solid during breathless, frigid weather produce even less (they actually consume power from the grid to run heating systems meant to prevent their internal workings suffering permanent damage). So, if you’re sitting freezing in the dark, don’t expect wind and solar power generators to come to your rescue. No, if the lights and power are on this winter, then you ought to raise a glass for the gas, coal and nuclear power generators separating you and your loved ones from a date with hypothermia and, ultimately, the morgue. >click to read< 11:48

Lobster industry needs more time to meet new regulations

Not only is the fishery being forced to change based on insufficient evidence regarding whale entanglements, it is being forced to do so on a schedule that is both too tight and poorly timed. That has left lobstermen scrambling to meet the May 1 deadline for using special weakened rope, rope that is in short supply, if it can be found at all. The Biden administration should see that the industry can’t make this deadline without causing harm. It should be extended to a more reasonable date. Under the new rules, lobster boats must use new weakened rope, or special inserts that are designed to weaken the existing rope, depending on where they fish. >click to read< 10:03

New Jersey – Coastal towns go to court seeking more input on offshore wind

The suit alleges that the Biden administration’s plans to lease 480,000 acres off the coasts of New Jersey and New York for offshore wind development violate two key environmental protection laws, the U.S. National Environmental Policy Act and the U.S. Endangered Species Act by essentially bypassing them. As a result, the projects are moving forward without consideration for their impact on endangered species living in the area of the proposed turbines, as well as the state’s commercial fishing industry and local tourism along the Jersey Shore, according to the suit. >click to read< 10:30

A European Revelation On Climate That Biden Should Heed

Believe it or not, the European Union is set to include nuclear and natural gas on the list of industries eligible for “green” investments. Someone, please pass the smelling salts to the Sierra Club. Wonder of wonders, nuclear and natural gas make the cut. All of this has implications for the U.S., where the Biden Administration is still fantasizing that solar and wind power can soon replace all fossil fuels. If Europe can admit the truth, how about the White House? >click to read< 09:14

TPPF: Vineyard Wind Project Violates Federal Law

Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Center for the American Future filed a federal lawsuit against the Biden administration challenging the approval of the Vineyard Wind Project off the coasts of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York. The project would severely harm the commercial fishing industry in the area and destroy the lives of countless families, as well as create irreparable harm to the environment and ocean wildlife. >click to read< Included is a link to view the full text of the lawsuit 12:28

Biden’s Offshore Wind Farm Folly Is a Waste of Energy and Money

After realizing that offshore wind turbines only supply about two percent of all US grid energy (and about one percent worldwide), the Biden Administration has decided it needs a big push. It hasn’t cogitated that just maybe there’s a reason for this. There is: it’s called “physics.” The administration’s goal is a lofty thirty gigawatts of offshore wind operating by 2030, compared to currently just forty-two megawatts of offshore wind from a grand total of seven turbines. A gigawatt is 1,000 megawatts so we’d have to increase output by about 700 times. By comparison, the largest US nuclear plant produces almost four gigawatts of power, while a Japanese one produces twice that. Hence, four nuclear plants could produce more energy than the entire Biden plan. >click to read< 13:47

Happy Thanksgiving! Giblet Joe and his flock of turkey’s just stuffed your bird!

The Biden administration approved an offshore wind farm off the coasts of Rhode Island and New York on Wednesday as part of a plan to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030. The U.S. Department of the Interior announced it approved the construction and operations of the South Fork Wind project, the department’s second approval of a commercial-scale, offshore wind energy project in the United States. Last week, the department marked the groundbreaking off the coast of Massachusetts for the first commercial-scale offshore wind project. >click to read< 08:44

Oil spill victims could get financial help from Small Business Administration

Local victims of the oil spill off the coast of Orange County could be eligible for low-interest loans from the Small Business Administration, which on Wednesday declared the county a disaster area. While the move falls short of the broader federal disaster designation requested by some in Orange County, it could pave the way for companies to resume any operations, or claw back revenue, stopped or lost because of the spill that first was reported Oct. 1.,,, Terese Pearson, who helps run a family fishing business in Newport Beach, said her primary interest is resuming work, not borrowing money. >click to read< 09:15

OC residents worry offshore wind farm will destroy coastline without easing climate change

“When I first heard about it, in my imagination, it was just going to be one or two, similar to what they have off Block Island [in Rhode Island],” Hornick said. “And I thought, well, if it’s good for the earth and it’s going to be good for the environment, then we should think about doing it. And then I started to research it, and I found out that it’s not what it’s promised. And the magnitude of the project is such that I believe it will devastate our coastline.” The Biden administration has opened up the East Coast to massive commercial offshore wind farms, stretching from Massachusetts down to North Carolina,,, >click to read< 09:29

Experts Slam Biden’s Plan To Build Taxpayer-Funded Offshore Wind Farms

Energy experts criticized President Joe Biden’s plan to prioritize wind farms, arguing wind power is costly, inefficient, and indirectly produces greenhouse gas emissions.,, On average, however, offshore wind produces just 45% of its energy capacity,,, “It is amazing that they’re touting wind at the very time when the EU is going through an energy crisis, in which they’re shutting down factories, fertilizer production, agricultural processing because their wind isn’t working,” ,,,“That the Biden administration is out there touting it and we want to go in the same direction they’ve gone in, I don’t know, you can’t make this stuff up,” >click to read< 21:08  Britain to Downgrade Renewables, Embrace Nuclear Power –  In the wake of Britain’s recent catastrophic wind drought, the Boris Johnson administration appears set to embrace nuclear power as their main strategy for achieving net zero. >click to read<

Biden plans to expand offshore wind farms to all US coasts

The Biden administration has unveiled plans to expand offshore wind energy farms in a move that could see turbines built along much of the US coastline.,,, The plan is expected to meet a backlash from some coastal and fishing communities, and it needs approval from state, local and environmental groups before any construction begins. Commercial fishing companies have argued such offshore wind projects would make it difficult to harvest valuable seafood species, like lobsters. Some conservation groups also fear the large turbines will kill thousands of birds and affect marine life. >click to read< 08:31

Sea of choices confronts Biden in ocean protection

The Biden administration appears to have a head start on protecting the United States’ oceans. After all, on paper, the nation is already more than two-thirds of the way to the goal. But as the administration puts together a tracking mechanism for its pledge to conserve 30 percent of the nation’s lands and waters by 2030, environmental activists warn that frequently cited statistics provide a misleading picture of ocean conservation. At the same time, advocates for the fishing industry question counter the nation is much closer to the final objective, if not already there. They argue that conservation shouldn’t always mean activities like fishing are banned and say their industry has shown itself willing to help protect vulnerable species. >click to leave< 17:04

New Jersey fishing industry wonders if it can coexist with Biden’s planned massive wind farms

Clammers like Charlie Quintana are back from two days at sea on the Christy. Quintana worries about climate change: He says he’s noticed a change in the fisheries because of warming oceans. But he also worries that the hundreds of thousands of acres of wind farms planned for the East Coast will limit where he can catch clams,,, Surf clams were the first seafood to be regulated by the federal government, leading the way for what has become one of the most regulated industries in the nation. Where, when, how and how much are harvested is strictly monitored and enforced.,, “We are literally fighting for the existence of the clam industry to remain in the port of Atlantic City.” >click to read< 10:36

Fishing group’s lawsuit challenges fed review of offshore wind project

A second group has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the government’s approval of the offshore wind project that is expected to generate cleaner electricity for more than 400,000 homes and businesses in Massachusetts starting in late 2023. A coalition of fishing industry groups called the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit on Monday to review the Department of the Interior and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s approval of the Vineyard Wind I project, arguing that the green light “adds unacceptable risk” to the fishing industry without addressing its long-held concerns. >click to read< 12:18

Rep. Sherm Hutchins – Maine’s lobster industry is under siege

Maine’s lobstermen and women are under attack by the Biden Administration after a recent set of rule changes restricting seasonal lobster fishing in 950 square miles of federal waters off Maine’s coast. This is an inflexible and poorly considered attempt to protect the North Atlantic right whale population. The series of rule changes are the most heavy-handed in a long line of attempts to undermine the lobster industry here in Maine. If our fisheries are not protected, and if these rules are not reversed, Maine’s fishermen and women will not recover. >click to read< 09:47

More siege from the non-productive slugs of the enviroscam movement – Zack Klyver, science director with the group Blue Planet Strategies, has a different view on the issue. I’m sympathetic to them and know that they work extremely hard,,, >click to read< 11:25

Nantucket Residents Against Turbines: Presser Wednesday to announce federal lawsuit to halt construction

The group indicated Tuesday that their suit will be based on efforts to protect the Northern Atlantic right whale. “The MA/RI wind lease areas cover one of the whale’s last strongholds, for migration, foraging and raising their young,” the group says on its website. “We are concerned with the adverse impacts from the increased construction vessel traffic, pile driving, and operational noise on the critically endangered NARW. NOAA fisheries determined the Vineyard Wind project, which is located in one of the last North Atlantic Right Whale foraging and nursery strongholds, and which will involve thousands of miles of vessel trips, will not jeopardize the species. This determination is not supported by the evidence.” >click to read< , and >here< 14:19

Sign The Petition: SAVE OUR OCEAN from the HUGE mistake of offshore windfarms in California!

California is preparing to make a grave mistake by allowing offshore windfarms to be built. The promise of green energy is the driving force behind this decision. The truth is, this is not green at all! The ocean is the last place we need to place windfarms. There are many more disadvantages than advantages to placing these floating wind turbines on the ocean. The environmental impact will be devastating to fish, birds, whales, other sea creatures, sport and commercial fisherman and families, and to the beautiful ocean itself. >Click to read<,  Thank you for signing and help spread the word! By Michael Cohen

The“30 X 30 Plan” – The Biden Administration’s Latest Eco Con Job

Via yet another decree (Executive Order 14008), President Biden has ordered government agencies to “permanently protect” at least 30 percent of all US lands and waters by 2030. This “30 X 30 Plan” appears to presume that any areas not designated as park, refuge, or wilderness are not “protected,” even though the vast majority of federal lands are already effectively off-limits to mining, drilling, timber harvesting, and even grazing, by virtue of policies heavily tilted toward preservation and against any development.,,, But matters get truly interesting when we examine Team Biden’s plans to eradicate the 80 percent of US energy that now comes from fossil fuels and replace it with pseudo-renewable wind, solar, and battery power. >click to read< 12:20

California’s first offshore wind farm has Morro Bay fishermen worried

Wind turbines are coming. “These things are as big as skyscrapers,” says Chris Pavone, who’s among roughly 120 fishermen who trap, troll, and drop lines off Morro Bay and Avila Beach. He’s worried about what could become the first offshore wind farm on the West Coast. Approved by the Biden administration, the project would bring roughly 200 floating turbines into the open ocean off the Central Coast. >click to read< 09:42