{"id":1461181,"date":"2022-05-03T07:15:09","date_gmt":"2022-05-03T11:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1461181"},"modified":"2022-05-03T07:15:12","modified_gmt":"2022-05-03T11:15:12","slug":"environmental-groups-pocket-millions-from-wind-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/environmental-groups-pocket-millions-from-wind-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Environmental Groups Pocket Millions From Wind Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fenvironmental-groups-pocket-millions-from-wind-industry%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1461181&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A new report shows that many high-profile environmental organizations take money from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-wind\">wind<\/a> power companies, raising questions about their independence and objectivity as the Biden administration pursues large-scale offshore wind projects along the coasts of the United States.<\/p>\n<p>Titled \u201cConflicts of Interest,\u201d the <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1cKoO-4s369hKf4Z3RaVcopEmrHpGob7d\/view\">report<\/a> was produced by the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.saverightwhales.net\/conflictsofinterestreport\">Save Right Whales Coalition<\/a>, a group concerned about the potential impact of industrial-scale wind on the endangered North Atlantic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-right-whale\">right whale<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur investigation sought to understand why environmental groups that have worked vigorously to protect right whales have gone silent in the face of massive industrialization of right whale habitat. If the money flow is influencing the actions of these environmental groups, the public deserves to know,\u201d said Lisa Linowes, who belongs to the Save the Right Whales Coalition.<\/p>\n<p>At least $4.2 million in donations are documented in <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/1yifhJPGHPpXJkhOwc2Rsr73Mrb7HQ32I5Ay-GJW3Oto\/edit#gid=0\">a spreadsheet<\/a>\u00a0examined by The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n<p>Bay State Wind, a venture led by the Danish wind turbine giant \u00d8rsted, donated $500,000 to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, one of the United States\u2019 top research hubs for oceanography, marine science, and related disciplines.<\/p>\n<p>\u00d8rsted also donated an undisclosed sum to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), as proudly advertised on its <a href=\"https:\/\/orsted.com\/en\/about-us\/about-orsted\/partnerships\">sponsorship webpage<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The National Audubon Society, known for its bird conservation advocacy, has also accepted funding with ties to the wind industry.<\/p>\n<p>Both the National Audubon Society and Maine Audubon received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the New England Forests and Rivers Fund, which is financed in part by Avangrid and Eversource, both of which have large wind power portfolios.<\/p>\n<p>Ocean Wind, another \u00d8rsted subsidiary, has also funded New Jersey Audubon, as has the offshore wind firm Atlantic Shores.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, Avangrid has funded Sharon Audubon.<\/p>\n<p>Many consider wind turbines highly dangerous to birds and bats.<\/p>\n<p>While a study financed by the pro-wind energy nonprofit American Wind and Wildlife Watch estimated there were just 214,000 to 368,000 wind turbine-related bird fatalities in the United States and Canada, many other studies have arrived at higher estimates.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPlanners, decision-makers, and wind turbine operators should regard most, if not all, existing mortality estimates at wind farms as highly imprecise and potentially biased low,\u201d wrote researcher Shawn Smallwood in his <a href=\"https:\/\/wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/abs\/10.2193\/2007-006\">own study<\/a>, which estimated bird and bad wind turbine fatalities at an average of 573,093 per year in the United States. (Smallwood\u2019s study was funded by the National Renewable Energy Lab and the California Energy Commission).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are concerned that financial conflicts of interest are interfering with your analysis of offshore wind projects,\u201d coalition members <a href=\"https:\/\/www.saverightwhales.net\/conflictsofinterestreport\">wrote<\/a> in an open letter to the organizations and firms named in the report.<\/p>\n<p>Linowes, who also serves as executive director of WindAction Group, told The Epoch Times she is concerned about the lack of data on the long-term ecological impact of wind installations.<\/p>\n<p>She worries that environmental groups with financial ties to Big Wind will not push hard enough to get to the truth.<\/p>\n<p>Linowes cited a <a href=\"https:\/\/committees.parliament.uk\/oralevidence\/1938\/pdf\/\">2021 hearing<\/a> in the United Kingdom\u2019s House of Lords at which expert witnesses testified regarding the possible environmental effects of such installations in the North Sea, already an environmentally degraded habitat.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are talking about, effectively, [urbanizing] the sea by introducing all these structures,\u201d said Melanie Austen, a Professor of Ocean and Society at the University of Plymouth, during that hearing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe marine plans and the knowledge base around large-scale impacts of marine renewables are not keeping pace,\u201d Austen later added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAmericans have come to expect environmental groups to be voicing the same concerns, but it\u2019s not happening,\u201d Linowes told The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n<p>The Save Right Whale report quotes Woods Hole marine ecologist Mark Baumgartner, who told The Washington Post that \u201cwe already have a fairly industrialized ocean, with shipping traffic and fishing activities. Adding these large wind farms with many, many, many turbines is certainly concerning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As noted above, Woods Hole accepted $500,000 from Bay State Wind in 2018.<\/p>\n<p>Linowes acknowledged that an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.saverightwhales.net\/faqs\">FAQ<\/a> on her group\u2019s website that claimed \u201cit is documented that replacing the soft sea bottom with wind turbines has led to a loss of sand eels\u201d overstated the conclusiveness of that link.<\/p>\n<p>The North Atlantic right whale population has fallen rapidly in recent years, prompting concern from environmentalists.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe best available scientific information shows that the North Atlantic right whale population cannot withstand any additional stressors; any potential interruption of foraging behavior may lead to population-level effects and is of critical concern,\u201d wrote representatives of multiple environmental groups in <a href=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/media.fisheries.noaa.gov\/2020-10\/Orsted2020HRG_public%20comments.pdf\">a letter<\/a> expressing concern about the impact of surveys for offshore wind.<\/p>\n<p>Linowes and her colleagues referenced that missive in their own open letter.<\/p>\n<p>While speaking at a wind industry conference last year, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/interior-secretary-haaland-tells-wind-industry-wind-turbines-may-soon-line-u-s-coasts_4049747.html\">outlined<\/a> the Biden administration\u2019s goals for rapidly scaling up offshore wind.<\/p>\n<p>Linowes told The Epoch Times she has not heard from the groups named in the report.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think they want us to go away,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>The Epoch Times has reached out to \u00d8rsted, Avangrid, Atlantic Shores, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the WWF, the National Audubon Society, New Jersey Audubon, Sharon Audubon, and Maine Audubon.<\/p>\n<p>The Epoch Times has also reached out to the American Clean Power Association, a group representing the wind industry.<\/p>\n<div class=\"author_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"one_author_block round\">\n<div class=\"top_row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/author-nathan-worcester\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Follow<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new report shows that many high-profile environmental organizations take money from wind power companies, raising questions about their independence and objectivity as the Biden administration pursues large-scale offshore wind<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":498,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1461181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1461181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/498"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1461181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1461181\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1461181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1461181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1461181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}