Whaling Expedition

An enterprise operated under the guise of scientific research, or some other unassailable cause like “saving the earth”, which could not otherwise be justified. The term is applicable to a wide range of activities not limited to whaling that are typically subsidized and which obtain a product through obsolete, redundant, or ineffective methods.

Germany's energy policy has become a sort of whaling expedition. Who would have thought that saving the earth could be so expensive?