From Marjorie Taylor Greene to Tucker Carlson, Republicans nationwide have suddenly become very concerned about whales. 

It’s a legitimate thing to be concerned about. Since 2016, there has been an uptick in whale deaths along the Atlantic Coast. Because the whale bodies are often decayed by the time they reach shore, it’s often hard to determine the exact cause of death. 

I’ve struggled, however, to interpret Republicans’ concerns as genuine. After all, they only seem to want to focus on one potential reason for whale mortality: offshore wind energy development. And there’s little to no scientific evidence to support that reason. (They say underwater acoustic surveys may be damaging marine mammal hearing, which may be causing them to swim into boats. But past studies have shown that these surveys do not adversely affect marine mammals.)

I also struggle to believe Republicans’ concern for whales because of their history on environmental issues and endangered species. As we’ve previously reported, one of the most prominent lawsuits seeking to halt offshore wind development was filed by a conservative group that has not only advocated against the Endangered Species Act, but called for sped-up environmental review for fossil fuel projects, which demonstrably kill far more wildlife than renewable projects. 

But you can never truly know what’s in someone’s heart, right? So in the interest of optimism, I decided to listen to a hearing on the subject of whale deaths that took place in New Jersey’s State Assembly last week. 

Perhaps I’d hear even a minute of Republican interest in some of the more demonstrable factors driving whale mortality, like increases in shipping traffic and climate change. Perhaps I’d hear something that could convince me their concern for whales was driven by more than just the benefit of fossil fuel industry donors. 

Surprise! I didn’t. But the two hours weren’t fully wasted. Had I not listened to the hearing, I would not have heard the frankly badass testimony from Shawn LaTourette, the commissioner of New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection. For nearly an hour, LaTourette sparred with Republican members who tried to spread misinformation about wind energy development, while clearly communicating the urgency of the biggest threat to whales: climate change.

In today’s newsletter, you’ll learn more about what happened at New Jersey’s latest hearing on whale deaths. You’ll also hear LaTourette’s take on the whole affair. (I managed to snag an interview with him early this morning. That’s why this newsletter is a bit late in your inbox today.)

But first…

Hot off the presses

• The University of Texas is basically a fossil fuel company. A new investigation from CBS News reveals that the country’s richest public university system is raking in billions each year from fossil fuel exploration. According to the report, the UT system owns 3,000 square miles of land in the Permian Basin oil fields, which it regularly leases to oil and gas companies in exchange for royalties. The climate impact of the oil and gas extracted from UT system land is massive: 32.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from 2018 to 2022, CBS reported. That’s about the same as running nine coal plants for a year, or adding 7 million cars to the road. This is the same UT system that calls itself sustainable—and student activists are pushing for change.
  

• Actual fossil fuel companies should be paying trillions in climate reparations. For the first time, scientists have published research attempting to quantify the economic damage caused by the world’s biggest climate polluters. Published in the journal One Earth, the groundbreaking study estimates that the oil, gas, and coal industry has inflicted a “conservative” $23.2 trillion per year in damages to the climate—and that the 21 largest fossil fuel companies owe a collective $209 billion per year in reparations to the victims of climate change. Saudi Aramco should owe the most: $43 billion annually, according to the researchers. That’s a substantial sum of money—but, the researchers note, it’s “low compared to [Saudi Aramco’s] 2022 revenues of $604 billion and profits of $161 billion.” 

• Speaking of climate reparations: New York Democrats want them (or at least something like them). A few weeks ago, New York passed one of the most historic pieces of climate legislation in the country—the first-ever statewide ban on natural gas in new buildings. Now, Democrats in the state legislature are eyeing another potentially historic bill to make fossil fuel companies pay for the damage their emissions cause the state. The Climate Change Superfund Act would require the world’s biggest polluters to contribute to a state fund that pays for climate damage and resiliency projects, which are already projected to cost the state $800 billion. "Somebody's going to pay," State Senator Liz Krueger, the bill’s sponsor, told Spectrum News last week. "The question is, are the consumers going to pay, or are we going to be able get some of it directly out of these enormous companies making fortunes on their continued efforts to destroy the planet?"

“A point of frustration that I can't really characterize”

There was a point in Thursday’s hearing on whale mortality when Shawn LaTourette, the commissioner of New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection, appeared to question the sincerity of Republican state lawmakers...