To President Donald J. Trump, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey of Massachusetts, Governor Maura Healey of Massachusetts, and The Massachusetts Legislature

We the signers of this petition hereby call for an immediate halt of all offshore wind activity, both currently being installed and proposed in the ocean waters south of Nantucket, Massachusetts. The area designated for installation of wind turbines has been identified by NOAA Fisheries as critical habitat for North Atlantic right whales. In addition, this area is prominently visible from the coast of Nantucket, negatively impacting the National Historic District. We call on both the Federal Government and the State of Massachusetts to cease the industrialization of these ocean waters for the benefit of foreign big oil such as British Petroleum (Beacon Wind) and Norway’s state-owned oil and energy company Equinor (Empire Wind), and big European Energy conglomerates such as Spain’s Iberdola (Vineyard Wind), Orsted (Bay State Wind) France’s EDP and Portugal’s EDP (Southcoast Wind).

NOAA acknowledges that noise from construction, and energy exploration and development, can interrupt the normal behavior of right whales and interfere with their communication. It may also reduce their ability to detect and avoid predators and human hazards, navigate, identify physical surroundings, find food, and find mates. The North Atlantic right whale has experienced an ongoing Unusual Mortality Event since 2017. BOEM itself notes that the loss of even one right whale a year may reduce the species’ ability to recover and reach a sustainable population. It is a truism that there is always a lack of scientific evidence of something until it is discovered. We ask that the federal government carry out a thorough independent, transparent investigation of the effects of wind farm construction on marine life and halts all activity until there is conclusive scientific evidence that offshore wind construction and operation does not harm the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. These investigations need to be carried out by federal agencies with independent, third party scientific oversight. On July 16, 2024 alone, debris from a just a single broken Vineyard Wind turbine necessitated the closure of all Nantucket ocean beaches and the particulates from the debris that will be ingested by marine life are an environmental disaster. Fisheries now face the risk of contaminated catch, posing a threat to their very existence and to human health.

The proposed offshore wind farms also pose an existential threat to the National Historic District of Nantucket and enjoyment thereof by residents and visitors alike. We demand that the Federal government stop the destruction of the viewscape that is so critical to Nantucket’s National Historic Landmark status and to its tourist industry. There needs to be full consideration of the impact resulting from turbine failure, the effects of which are already being felt on Nantucket's beaches. BOEM needs to perform an unbiased and thorough analysis of the cumulative impact of the 9 offshore wind projects currently under lease on the National Historic Landmark, and to fully mitigate any adverse impact on the viewscape. Absent mitigating steps to eliminate any visual impact from all points of the Historic District, no development of these offshore wind farms should be permitted. 

These projects will endanger whales, threaten Nantucket's standing as a National Historic District, severely affect the fishing industry, negatively impact boating, curtail tourism and thus tax revenue, increase energy costs to Massachusetts ratepayers, and provide no tangible benefits to the people of the State of Massachusetts.

We urge you to stop before the North Atlantic Right Whale and  Nantucket’s very uniqueness are destroyed.