Page 15: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (April 2022)

rapidly reducing costs and rapidly increasing capacity.

WEC is not as sensitive to public resistance, since it is virtually invisible from shore. It will inherently reduce wave impact on shores, which is actually a beneft with ris- ing sea levels. This may be resisted by surfers, but there are excellent alternatives.

The SurfWEC concept uses a breaking wave generator.

If an offshore wave farm dedicates a small percentage of its breaking wave generators to surfers, it could result in an entire offshore surfng industry with much larger optimal wave con- dition windows and improved surfng on many coasts without harassment from private or limited access beach interests.

There will be some wildlife impact, particularly with regard to offshore wind. I have not seen any studies that would indicate the effect would be devastating, but off- shore oil impacts wildlife too.

There may not be a large amount of resistance from rec- reational fsherman to sustainable offshore wind. They are familiar with the productivity of artifcial marine structures.

Commercial fshermen will resist offshore wind and WEC simply because they have not yet developed a personal vision of their future. Sustainable fshery practices are still in their infancy as far as commercial fsheries are concerned and to alter the traditional hunter gatherer mindset to a mindset that more closely resembles a sustainable ranching mentality will take time. However, if I were a betting man, I would bet on the overall beneft of harvest free zones in littoral waters that can function as nurseries to increase overall yields.

In the end, the central question should be “How will off- shore sustainable energy beneft us all?” There are many encouraging indications.

1. Much reduced risk of pollution compared to offshore oil 2. Carbon free energy instead of continuously increas- ing atmospheric carbon levels due to offshore oil 3. Very similar (if not larger) overall employment levels when compared to offshore oil energy production 4. A reduction in boom-and-bust cycles in coastal areas as compared to coastal oil since offshore sustainable energy does not run out 5. More ethically rewarding employment for the best and brightest in engineering 6. No change in maritime “can do” spirit as compared to offshore oil 7. No signifcant loss of James Bond excitement

Offshore oil was a great ride, but I am picking sustain- able offshore energy this time around.

For each column I write, MREN has agreed to make a small donation to an organization of my choice. For this column I nominate the Sierra Club www.sierraclub.org. It fghts for realistic tradeoffs between clean energy and nature preservation.