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?
by Stimpleton J Cat March 2, 2013