Saving right whales doesn't have to hurt coastal economies

While perhaps anathema to some, the bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter in Congress in June to compel the U.S. Department of Commerce to use technology before speed limits to protect North Atlantic right whales makes perfect sense.

Rep. Carter’s way would help preserve the population of the endangered right whale without NOAA forcing vessels between 35 feet and 65 feet in length to cap their top speed at 11.5 mph. Just as importantly, it would prevent a massive loss of jobs and a major jolt to the economies of states along the nation’s Eastern Seaboard, including Georgia, the coastal Republican’s own state.

“Look, we all want to protect our marine wildlife,” Rep. Carter stated in a weekly newsletter this past weekend. “But if we can do it in a way that is mutually beneficial, we should, and put simply, this rule is unworkable for the American people, especially coastal Georgians, and will do little — if anything — to protect the right whale.”