No, Biden isn’t killing off Atlantic whales

We aren’t whaleologists — actually, the term is cetologist; we just looked it up — but neither is Tucker Carlson. So take it with all the grains of salt in the ocean when he blames Joe Biden for an elevated rate of whale deaths off the Atlantic Coast.

Carlson blames an uptick in offshore wind exploration for a die-off. That exploration involves some targeted sound mapping that may be upsetting whales’ navigation systems.

As pure PR strategy, Carlson’s theory floats: Everyone loves whales, so if something can be blamed for killing whales, everyone will hate that thing. Twelve Jersey Shore mayors — with plenty of other reasons to oppose offshore wind — are calling for an offshore wind moratorium.

But as science, it stinks, and sinks. Start with data. In the last two months, two sperm whales and eight humpbacks have beached, five of them on the Jersey Shore. One just washed ashore on Long Island’s Lido Beach. That’s not good, but it’s out of context. There were 19 reported humpback strandings along the coast in 2022, and 10 in 2021 — fewer than the 33 in 2020, the 27 in 2019, 25 in 2018 and 34 in 2017. Why was Carlson not then howling about Donald Trump’s mass slaughter of gentle, majestic marine mammals?

Another question that answers itself: Why has Carlson never sounded alarms about the sounds produced during offshore oil exploration, which experts say are much more intense?

There are a range of reasons whales might be dying. Arrive at an answer first, guided by science — then determine how to curb it. Give no credence to people who have thrown lie after lie at wind power. They’re shooting hot air out their blowholes.