SpaceX rocket cargo project puts Pacific seabirds in jeopardy | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Daily on Energy: EPA in court over funding freeze, NJ offshore faces manufacturing trouble, and Pacific seabirds - Washington Examiner

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Wednesday, readers! The Environmental Protection Agency’s hunt for climate “gold bars” continues, as a federal judge heard arguments from climate groups calling on the court to release the money awarded by the Biden administration. A massive wind project off the coast of New Jersey remains on hold as one developer revealed to the Daily on Energy team this week that they still don’t have a manufact…

SpaceX rocket cargo project puts Pacific seabirds in jeopardy | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

WASHINGTON >> A project proposed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX and the U.S. Air Force to test hypersonic rocket cargo deliveries from a remote Pacific atoll could harm the many seabirds that nest at the wildlife refuge, according to biologists and experts who have spent more than a decade working to protect them.

SpaceX rocket cargo project puts Pacific seabirds in jeopardy

By Valerie Volcovici

SpaceX has already had problems with testing in protected areas, and this is not a problem for it now. Johnston Atoll is now home to a million seabirds year-round, up from just a few thousand in the 1980s.

The US Air Force and SpaceX want to use a remote Pacific atoll as a test ground, which would mean the death of the animals living there.

A project proposed by Elon Musk's SpaceX and the U.S. Air Force to test hypersonic rocket cargo deliveries from a remote atoll in the Pacific Ocean could harm the many seabirds that nest in the wildlife refuge, according to biologists and experts who have spent more than a decade working to protect them. Read more (04/02/2025)