More Murphy hypocrisy: Save NJ bears but let the whales die (Opinion)

Gov. Phil Murphy is officially dead to me. I don’t know that we’ve ever had a more arrogant governor of our state.

About the same time sonar use in mapping and prep work for the massive wind turbine project began offshore, we had an unprecedented number of dead whales washing up onto beaches. Now we’re seeing dead dolphins washing ashore, too.

Murphy, who really wants this clean energy to save the planet from global warming and pad his progressive resume for a possible White House run, says it’s all coincidence. And you know what? It may be. It may not be related at all.

However…

Man-made sonar is known to interfere with the natural form of sonar certain marine creatures, like whales, use to navigate and get back to their pods. Their whale song is a form of sonar that can be thrown off by man-made sonar.

Low-level sonar used by U.S. naval vessels once thought to be safe for marine life turned out to be causing harm to whales hundreds of miles away.

Dolphins use echolocation to navigate. Echolocation can be jammed by sonar.

There are so many people in New Jersey concerned about a possible connection that nearly 1,000 protesters gathered in Point Pleasant Beach recently. Now mayors of 30 coastal New Jersey municipalities have all signed a letter to Murphy urging an investigation. U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J. 4th District, is calling for a temporary halt to the wind project prep work to see if it would show a sudden difference.

In typical Murphy fashion, he doesn’t care. If anything, his response is prickly. He points to federal agencies and a lack of scientific evidence making a connection between the wind project sonar use and the dying whales and dolphins.

Interesting though since these wind developers had obtained permits to allow “incidental taking” of whales normally illegal by federal law. Interesting that Benjamin Laws, the deputy chief for the permits and conservation division with the NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources, said, “There is an expectation that the work will impact marine life, including whales.”

Huh. Go figure.

Now again, I’m not ready to declare as fact there’s a connection. Maybe it’s unrelated. But with a project as long to see fruition as these giant wind turbines could it really be that terrible to just pause for two months and see what happens?

Murphy even accused some of those concerned of playing politics, insinuating they don’t actually care about marine life at all but only want to stop the progressive agenda of clean energy and fighting climate change. And of course, he points to the scientists at NOAA who say there’s no evidence of a connection.

Here’s my question for Phil Murphy. Why are these scientists worth listening to but the scientists inside your own Fish & Wildlife division of the NJDEP who told you a bear hunt was necessary were not?

Murphy ignored his own scientists for years who told him humane methods to control the bear population were ineffective. He ignored his own scientists for years when they told him the only way to manage that population was through a controlled hunt.

So Murphy, is science just a buffet to you like at one of those high-priced restaurants you enjoy? You just pick and choose what satisfies your appetite at the moment?

He has an appetite for power, control and advancing himself.

His blaming opposition on politics is disgusting because plenty of Democrats as well as Republicans are wanting a pause in the wind project. His outright refusal to listen to 30 New Jersey mayors about their grave concerns about what’s happening off their shores is arrogant. And his hypocrisy on science is ringing louder than ever.

It would sound louder still underwater.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

You can now listen to Deminski & Doyle — On Demand! Hear New Jersey’s favorite afternoon radio show any day of the week. Download the Deminski & Doyle show wherever you get podcasts, on our free app, or listen right now.

Click here to contact an editor about feedback or a correction for this story.