The Winds of Change
Colleen Walsh is a student in the Masters of Coastal and Ocean Policy program at UNC Wilmington. She received her bachelors in Environmental Studies and Coastal Management from Eckerd College in 2017. Colleen uses Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to visually convey environmental issues in hopes of bridging the educational gaps between scientists, policy makers, and citizens. Block Island Offshore Wind Farm (Photo: Kayana Szmczak of The New York Times ) Proponents of offshore wind contend that it will curtail CO2 emissions and boost US energy independence without further strain on the limited available land. The northeast coast provides optimal wind speeds for energy generation and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has already identified several areas suitable for leasing to wind developers. There is broad support from advancing growth in renewable energy and improving its energy independence as evidenced in the mission statements of the Environmental Protec