Highs and lows for right whales

– Feb. 21, 2024 –

Good morning! We have good news and bad news for highly endangered right whales today, plus movement on the controversial zoning changes prescribed last fall for Sapelo Island. Finally, we have a story on lawmakers pushing solar and the state’s largest utility pushing back. Read on!

Questions, tips or concerns? Send us a note at staff@thecurrentga.org

Editor’s note: The Coast Watch newsletter published Feb. 14, 2024 cited an incorrect the date for EPD’s virtual public hearing for Twin Pines’ draft mining permits. It will be held at 6 p.m. on March 5.

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A whale dies and two are born

Last week was Whale Week, a celebration of these creatures that are among the largest and oldest on Earth. It turned out to be an eventful week for North Atlantic right whales, a highly endangered species that gives birth off the Southeast coast. First, a cargo ship spotted a whale carcass off Tybee. Researchers towed it to the beach where they examined it and determined a likely human-related cause of death. Read the full story here.

The week ended on a much more hopeful note, however, as researchers documented two new right whale calves, bringing the total so far this season to 19. See how that total compares to recent years here.

Federal wildlife officials have proposed an expansion of regulations meant to protect right whales from injuries like those that probably killed the yearling and injured another newborn earlier this year. But those regulations have been stymied by the recreational fishing industry, harbor pilots and some in Congress including U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter (R- St. Simons). (See regulation details here.) Conservation organizations last week filed a newly-amended lawsuit to force movement on the rules.

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Sapelo in court

After McIntosh County rezoned Sapelo Island’s Hogg Hummock last fall, Black residents of the Gullah-Geechee community mounted a legal challenge. Superior Court Judge D. Jay Stewart heard oral arguments on the county’s motion to dismiss that complaint Tuesday. While long-time residents worry the bigger, fancier homes ushered in by the rezoning will price them off Sapelo Island, those arguments remained unaddressed at the hearing. Instead, attorneys argued more technical points.

After the hearing, staffers from One Hundred Miles gave a brief update on the status of a petition aimed at forcing a referendum on the rezoning.

Read the full story here.

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Utility casts shadow on solar

Georgia lawmakers are trying to make solar more accessible by reducing barriers to community solar. That’s typically a mid- or small-sized solar array that customers subscribe to or buy a portion of the energy produced. It’s an option for people who are unable to install solar panels on their roofs because they are renters, can’t afford the upfront costs of solar, or because their roofs are too shaded.

While lawmakers are enthusiastic about community solar, the state’s largest utility, Georgia Power, is adamantly opposed to expanding it. Georgia Recorder’s Jill Nolin explains why in this article.

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Also noted:

•  A fishing rights bill moved forward in the Georgia legislature. Opponents say it fails to provide for kayakers and canoeists because it employs an old definition of “navigable.”

• Parts of Georgia have cooled more than half a degree F over the last 50 years. Why? Trees. Intense reforestation across the Southeast helps explain a puzzling “warming hole” in this region that defies the trend of rising temperatures worldwide.

• The Guardian reports that companies knew for decades recycling was not viable but promoted it regardless, as a Center for Climate Integrity study finds.

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