Once a cause championed by the left, the responsibility of protecting endangered species like the North American Right Whale has fallen to young conservatives and libertarians like CFACT collegians. Our students have been hard at work raising awareness throughout the country, steadily shifting the Overton window of public perception surrounding offshore wind and its deadly consequences.
In Florida, collegian duo Lilly Moran and Luciano Di Piazza set up shop in Nova Southeastern University’s student union. While Lily manned her camera, Luciano donned his whale hat and CFACT shirt and began inviting passing students to knock down “wind turbines” with a tennis ball while he explained the dangers offshore wind farms pose to marine life. Whale-shaped crackers were dispensed for successfully knocking the turbines down. According to Lilly, “It was a surprise to meet a few students who already knew about the harmful effects of these offshore windfarms to the whales given the lack of news coverage this issue has.” In all, Lilly and Luciano spoke with dozens of students, equipping them with informational flyers and the truth about offshore wind.
Meanwhile in Texas, collegian June Htike was manning her own “Save the Whales” booth on the campus of Rice University in Houston. Strategically placing her table outside the student library at a busy sidewalk intersection, June’s exhibit quickly drew the curiosity of many pedestrians. Loving the game, June took advantage of their captured attention to inform interested students about the dangers offshore wind poses to endangered species such as the North American Right Whale. After speaking with more than two dozen people, June remarked, “People really liked playing the game. It was great to inform people on the adverse effects of green energy, which isn’t widely known to most people.”
Last but certainly not least, in North Canton, Ohio, CFACT collegian Ashlee Garner took time out her busy schedule at Walsh University of golf tournaments, work, and school assignments to inform her fellow students on the dangers of supposed green energy. Camping out in her university’s “David Center,” or the campus welcome center, Ashlee spent the better portion of three hours conversing with students of all walks of life and majors about offshore wind’s impact on endangered whales.
Passing out whale crackers to more than sixty students skilled enough to knock down the “turbines,” Ashlee reports that students on campus were very receptive to what she had to say. “Multiple people asked when my next event would be and asked if they could join the group to follow along with the future events! Some had heard about the issue already but had no idea how dire the situation is for many species like the North American Right Whale. After chatting, they were interested to learn more about the issue.”
Thanks to the continued efforts of CFACT collegians throughout the country, critically endangered marine species have a better shot at thriving for future generations to come.
