Posted on 06/07/2010 9:23:14 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
Study: Wind Farms = Bird Killers Tiffany Kaiser - June 7, 2010 11:51 AM
A recent study in Klickitat County, Washington shows that active wind farms in Washington and Oregon kill more than 6,500 birds and 3,000 bats annually.
Biologist Orah Zamora works for West, Inc., an ecological field study company, monitors the Windy Flats project, one of the largest wind farms in the United States. Zamora looks for dead birds and bats that have been severed by the spinning blades of the surrounding wind turbines in order to conduct survey's to observe how wind-power development is affecting birds.
"It's like a crime scene, and you try to figure out what happened," said Zamora. "Sometimes it's really obvious because you can see a slice mark."
These surveys are financed by the wind industry and are mainly concerned with birds like eagles, hawks, and other raptors. Klickitat County is especially a concern because the area has an abundance of prey for these larger birds, hence, they tend to stay in the area. According to the study, these birds are diving for their prey and do not pay attention to the large wind turbine blades that may be in the way.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailytech.com ...
In michigan they’re coal killers.
Migratory Bird Blenders. Now we will have to spend some stimulation money to study the blindingly obvious.
what do they call wind farms? open air cuisinarts?
In Martha’s Vineyard they are Bikini Blockers!
Well its not like the birds are covered in oil or anything bad like that. Its a quick green death so it shouldn’t bother the children, right? Oh yeah, is more expensive than burning coal, gas, oil or nuclear fusion, but its green. See how our world works?
Betcha that many of these bird lovers are pro-abortion.
Don’t believe everything you read, especially when it’s not put in context. Here are a few facts for comparison:
Utility transmission and distribution lines, the backbone of our electrical power system, are responsible for 130 to 174 million bird deaths a year in the U.S.1 Many of the affected birds are those with large wingspans, including raptors and waterfowl. While attempting to land on power lines and poles, birds are sometimes electrocuted when their wings span between two hot wires. Many other birds are killed as their flight paths intersect the power lines strung between poles and towers. One report states that: “for some types of birds, power line collisions appear to be a significant source of mortality.”2
Collisions with automobiles and trucks result in the deaths of between 60 and 80 million birds annually in the U.S.3 As more vehicles share the roadway, and our automotive society becomes more pervasive, these numbers will only increase. Our dependence on oil has taken its toll on birds too. Even the relatively high incidence of bird kills at Altamont Pass (about 92 per year) pales in comparison to the number of birds killed from the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska. In fact, according to author Paul Gipe, the Altamont Pass wind farm would have to operate for 500 to 1000 years to “achieve” the same mortality level as the Exxon Valdez event in 1989.
Tall building and residential house windows also claim their share of birds. Some of the five million tall buildings in U.S. cities have been documented as being a chronic mortality problem for migrating birds. There are more than 100 million houses in the U.S. House windows are more of a problem for birds in rural areas than in cities or towns. While there are no required ongoing studies of bird mortality due to buildings or house windows, the best estimates put the toll due collisions with these structures at between 100 million and a staggering 1 billion deaths annually.
I can’t stand Obama any more than the rest of us, but wind energy is good.
I have seen other studies which say they are not a danger to birds. Of course, jetliners are a danger to birds also.
Maybe it only kills GREEN birds!
Yummy...low cholesterol meat...
What's the current cost per kWh of electricity derived from nuclear fusion? Please limit your response to power plants located on planet Earth.
If it takes a fast strong wind to turn the windmill blades and a slow weak wind comes out the other side.
Wouldn't that cause the Earth's rotation to slow down?
< giggle-snort-fart >
Trying to keep a straight face here. ;)
To me, it's unsightly, and even worse, it's a pipe dream that isn't effective at all. Until someone figures how the electricity can be stored, it's expensive, erratic, takes way too much maintenance, and worst of all requires back up the equivalent of what the turbines can generate when there's no wind, therefore saves nothing
Only if you are at a place where the wind blows regularly. At my house, solar panels would easily win the race, though they'd have to be actively moved to avoid the shadows of the trees.
So.....we get green energy AND less bird *hit on my car? Sounds great.
Only if your island capsizes.
How much money was spent on documenting the bleedin’ obvious?
Theoretically it’s so cheap, it will not need to be metered.
Wind Farms result in smarter birds....if you believe in evolution.
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