Posted on 02/17/2024 10:20:26 PM PST by Red Badger
By commissioning expensive and inefficient wind and solar electric generating facilities, India may have dug the grave of its own efforts to save the critically endangered great Indian bustard. Erected to avert a faux climate crisis, the so-called renewable machines and their attendant transmission lines are helping to drive one of Earth’s largest flying birds to the brink of extinction.
Avian aficionados such as myself have long bemoaned prioritizing wind and solar technologies at the expense of endangered species. Yet, the relentless push for needless climate solutions seems to ignore this as “green energy” installations and avian fatalities increase in tandem.
Though well documented, the issue of bird fatalities worldwide is frequently downplayed and, at times, even deemed a regrettable but essential consequence of the quasi-religious war against global warming.
As a master’s student at the University of East Anglia, U.K., I did a specialized research thesis on the collision-mortality of endangered bird species in Southern Portugal, which included kestrels, eagles, falcons, harriers and the European great bustard, which is a relative of the Indian bird. Numerous other species were affected as well.
Listed as Critically Endangered on the Red List of Threatened Species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, the great Indian bustard stands more than 3 feet high and weighs more than 30 pounds.
The bird is endemic to the Thar desert region of West India. It has now become conclusive that wind and solar transmission lines in this region are driving their numbers very close to extinction in the wild.
In 2008, a survey estimated that there were only around 250 great Indian bustards in existence, limited to the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat. Fast forward to 2018, the count had dropped to 150, with 25 of these magnificent birds housed in the government’s captive breeding centers.
Prerna Singh Bindra, a wildlife conservationist and former member of the National Board for Wildlife, says, “In recent years, the death blow to the great Indian bustard has come from unexpected quarters — the expanse of wind farms and power transmission lines that crisscross its last remaining habitats … The question that needs to be asked is, how green is renewable energy when it leads to the extinction of a critically endangered species?”
If timely action is not taken, these grassland birds could be soon declared extinct, according to Indian biologists. The bustard’s habitat was greatly restricted by transmission lines belonging to wind turbines. This is a common problem worldwide. Collision mortality, loss of breeding and forage habitats, and impedance of migratory pathways are some of the main impacts of wind turbines.
It is not just the bustards. Over 100,000 birds of diverse species die as a result of electrocution from transmission lines connecting wind and solar to the grid, according to a Wildlife Institute of India report. The Supreme court of India, in a 2021 order, asked utility companies to install underground transmission lines and install markers to lessen hazards to birds. However, the companies continue to violate this order. Government interest in the case seems to be lacking, with insignificant funds allocated toward the issue and no proactive measures to assess bird populations or document changes in habitat.
While the country is very clear about ensuring continued use of fossil fuels to meet energy needs, the government’s delay in dismantling useless renewable energy projects is especially disappointing in light of their devastating effect on birds.
The arguments of “green” advocates that equate green energy infrastructure with house cats that also kill birds trivialize the issue. The feline at home is more likely a target than a predator of raptors and would rarely encounter aquatic species.
In this instance, the color of the climate alarmists’ favored machines is blood red, not green.
We should cite a source for this. Some may argue that hunting and/or loss of habitat is contributing to the bird’s decline.
Who says so?
This commentary was first published in American Thinker on February 11, 2024.
Vijay Jayaraj is a Research Associate at the CO2 Coalition, Arlington, Virginia. He holds a master’s degree in environmental sciences from the University of East Anglia, U.K.
Every other form of energy that is found to result in the destruction of animals is banned.
Why not solar and wind, too?
Killing the environment.... to save the environment. What a novel idea.
Poor bustards..
they don’t have a chance...
Over 100,000 birds of diverse species die as a result of electrocution from transmission lines connecting...
How does this happen?? sounds like a little exaggeration goin on here...
C’mon greenies! Where is your care now? These people are silent when they know 100% that these wind generators are killing off wildlife wherever they are installed. They are co-conspirators to the destruction of the environment.
Lots of YouTubes showing just that…
The Bible tells us the Earth will become unlivable just before Christ’s return. EVERYTHING will die if He doesn’t come and put a stop to it.
I always thought it would be nuclear war. It may be that the Environazis come up with a way to remove ALL CO2 from the atmosphere so that plants die and then the animals die................
As technology increases, the options for the scenarios prophesied in Revelation increase.
Some idiots are working on devices that will remove ALL CO2 from the atmosphere.................
I know. And they have NO idea what is going to happen when they do. Or maybe they do and that is the intent. After all, Satan’s mission is to kill, steal, and destroy.
I have some CO2 removal devices I am planting this spring. They are very efficient and are completely environmentally friendly and become more efficient as the years pass and take no maintenance.
It does seem to put people at cross purposes, doesn’t it. It’s okay as long as it keeps people fighting against each other over it. /s
Jesus did say that unless those days are shortened, no flesh will be spared. But for the elect’s sake, they will be shortened. We are not told in what form it will come, only that it will be bad. And yes, lack of CO2 in the atmosphere almost destroyed all life on earth at least once in the distant past. Never was it because of too much.
Maybe when they are finally extince, the car companies can appropriate their name.
How about a Tesla Bustard?
Bloody bustard!
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