Why do I support offshore wind development in Humboldt County? It’s not just about economics, though the potential for a few dozen to a few hundred long-term jobs is certainly welcome. Every job matters. But the real reason goes deeper — it’s about reversing a dangerous cycle of decline and stepping into a role that serves both our local community and the wider world.

Wil Franklin.

Humboldt County, like many rural communities, is caught in a downward disinvestment cycle. As opportunities vanish, people leave. As people leave, businesses shutter. As businesses disappear, fewer jobs remain — and so more people move away. It’s a self-reinforcing loop, a kind of economic gravity pulling everything downward. It starts with one or two closures on Main Street and ends with boarded-up storefronts, declining school enrollment and homes sold below value because there’s no one left to buy them. This is what disinvestment looks like, and it feeds on itself. The longer it continues, the harder it is to reverse.

Offshore wind presents one of the most meaningful opportunities we’ve had in decades. Let’s be clear: no action comes without a reaction. A project as large and complex as floating offshore wind will have impacts — on our port, our landscape, our ecosystems and our way of life. We must face that honestly. There will be difficult conversations, trade-offs, and things we’ll have to manage with care and responsibility. But avoiding change doesn’t mean avoiding consequences — it just means choosing a different kind. Inaction, too, has a cost.

And yet, there’s something extraordinary — almost cosmic — in Humboldt Bay’s position. By pure geographic coincidence, we sit just miles from some of the most powerful wind resources on the entire planet. The winds off our coast are world-class, unmatched in consistency and strength. And Humboldt Bay just happens to be one of the only ports that can facilitate the staging and assembly of wind turbines. That natural gift isn’t just an opportunity. It’s a responsibility.

We have the chance to contribute to something much larger than ourselves: the global shift away from fossil fuels and toward a cleaner, more sustainable future. That’s not hyperbole. If we capture even a portion of that offshore wind potential, we’ll be helping to reduce carbon emissions, fight climate change and accelerate a necessary transformation for all of humanity. Here in Humboldt, we don’t have to look far to see the impacts of a changing climate. Warming oceans are changing fisheries, changing feeding grounds and changing primary productivity. Grey whales showing up to their historical feeding grounds are finding food deserts and distress. Rising sea levels threaten our coastlines and our culturally significant religious sites and ancestral homes. We all see and live in the smoke from catastrophic forest fires each summer.

We know from lived experience that more extreme weather events are becoming the norm, not the exception.And yes, a decentralized bottom-up approach like putting solar on every home is also important. As is conserving and generally consuming less. All-of-the-above will be required of us. But none of the bottom-up approaches help solve the energy demands across California, the nation and the world. We can do so much more with the gift of the serendipitous providence of the Port of Humboldt Bay.

That’s a legacy we can be proud of. Our community — long defined by resilience, independence and a strong relationship with the natural world — can wear this effort as a badge of pride. Helping the world transition off destructive fossil fuels isn’t just a moral imperative. It’s a service. And it’s a service Humboldt County is uniquely equipped to provide.

Offshore wind won’t solve every problem we face. But it offers a chance to change the trajectory — from disinvestment to investment, from decline to revitalization, from despair to hope. With careful planning, community engagement, and a clear-eyed view of both the challenges and the potential, we can make this work for Humboldt. And we can do it in a way that our children — and the planet — will thank us for.

Let’s not walk away from that responsibility. Let’s rise to it.

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Wilfred Franklin was born and raised in Humboldt. He is the Director of North Coast Small Business Development Center where he combines his teaching and entrepreneurial past to help build a connected, diverse and equitable economic base in our region.