Whales could be a blast into the past

The Trump administration is on the verge of approving undersea air gun blasts that could push the North American right whale to extinction. Toss the idea overboard. It’s environmentally destructive, and counterproductive to weaning America off fossil fuels.

Energy exploration companies use the air guns to search for undersea gas and oil deposits. But the booming blasts, which would go off every 10 seconds for months, interfere with whales’ echolocation, which they use over distances of 20 miles (32km) or more to keep in touch, guide each other to food, help mates find each other and keep migrating groups together. The air gun blasts, which can travel more than 1500 miles and resound through areas where the whales breed, also could separate mothers and calves.

The Obama administration rejected the plan for ‘‘seismic testing’’ with air guns, but the Trump administration has revived it.

Outside the Trump administration, other officials get it. Governors up and down the Atlantic coast – Republicans and Democrats – are opposed to new undersea drilling, and many cities and counties have passed resolutions in opposition as well. Focusing on drilling for more fossil fuels when we should be pursuing renewable energy is the wrong policy, especially if it sends a majestic denizen of the oceans to extinction.