Posted on 08/16/2011 4:32:36 PM PDT by Hunton Peck
As California attempts to divorce itself from fossil-fueled electricity, it may be trading one environmental sin for another -- although you don't hear state officials admitting it.
Wind power is the fastest growing component in the state's green energy portfolio, but wildlife advocates say the marriage has an unintended consequence: dead birds, including protected species of eagles, hawks and owls.
"The cumulative impacts are huge," said Shawn Smallwood, one of the few recognized experts studying the impact of wind farms on migratory birds. "It is not inconceivable to me that we could reduce golden eagle populations by a great deal, if not wipe them out."
Windmills Generating Electricity
California supports roughly 2,500 golden eagles. The state's largest wind farms kill, on average, more than 80 eagles per year. But the state is set to triple wind capacity in the coming years as it tries to become the first state in the nation to generate 33 percent of its electricity from clean energy sources by 2020.
"We would like to have no bird deaths and no bird injuries. But, once again, we have to balance all the needs of society. All the people who want to flip their switch and have electricity in their homes," said Lorelei Oviatt, Kern County planning commissioner.
Kern County has identified some 225,000 acres just north of Los Angeles as a prime wind resource area. Unfortunately, the area's rolling hills and mountains are prime hunting grounds for raptors and a layover spot for migratory birds traveling between Canada and Mexico. The updrafts enjoyed by birds of prey are ideal for generating power.
"I'm not against wind power -- it is a viable form of energy generation -- but it needs to be developed more carefully," Smallwood said.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
They can always surround the blades with a metal guard, like you see on household fans.
Stick a KFC under each windmill. At least then the birds won’t go to waste.
But, seriously, why can’t these be fitted with a grill that allows air to flow through but not birds? If these windmills were being run by Exxon/Mobil, you’d have the EPA demanding it be done before they were even allowed to go online.
Why not use the libotard environmental whacko’s system against themselves by filing law suits against the wind farms that are killing migatory species of birds?
But kill the birds that eat the fish, and you get fish overpopulation, and lots and lots of dead fish. PETA sad again.
Mmmm! Fried golden eagle! Can be a little stringy, but the flavor can’t be beat!
I assume any kind of grille would reduce efficiency tremendously, below even the paltry levels they’re achieving now. Wouldn’t matter so much for a room fan, since they’re supposed to be net consumers of energy anyhow.
I’m no expert. Just guessing here.
In 10 . . . 9 . . . 8 . . .
There’s a Twin Cities radio talker who uses the term “windmilling” to describe the situation in which conflicting environmental concerns or other liberal fetishes butt up against each other.
The standard liberal response to those episodes of cognitive dissonance, of course, is to blame the first conservative politician or organization that comes to mind, whether doing so makes any sense at all or not.
Unlike uranium-based reactors, LFTR's use commonly-available thorium, uses the fuel in an easy-to-make form (thorium dissolved in molten sodium fluoride salt), uses a very safe reactor design, generates a tiny fraction of the radioactive waste of uranium reactors, and best of all the waste generated has a radioactive half-life of under 300 years! 
We could build 400-500 1,000 MW LFTR's and essentially replace almost every coal-burning powerplant in the country, tremendously improving the air quality. So what are we waiting for?
They never are willing to lead by example, are they?
Do they kill moonbats??
Here’s another real world fact that’ll go unmentioned by the MSM ! Not that this is “new” news. Those with any association with wind power are familiar with the price wildlife pays to feed watermelons’ “green energy” fix.
‘Fore God, how damn dumb can these people get ? !!! God’s flying creatures use the passes and prevailing winds in order to migrate as they’ve been doing for tens of thousands of years. Now a bunch of lickspittle eco-wackos (having decided puttng rotary guillotines in those passes in order to “harvest the wind” was a good idea), are working overtime to conceal/deny/obsfuscate the consequences of their stupidity ! >PS
Feed the shredded poultry to the starving victims of the Baraqqi Depression.
Oh, wait. The avg family of 4 gets $600/month in food stamps and is obese.
Obama's goal isn't to replace coal with nuclear or anything else that works well. They want to replace coal with things that DON'T work and sell our coal to other countries. They are trying to destroy the economy.
“Do they kill moonbats??”
If so, I say fund them! No matter the cost!
See, when Big Oil kills a birdie, it must be stopped, but when "green energy" does it, it's a non-event.
Don't anybody point out that oil spills occur NATURALLY all the time, but afaik, a windmill only appears where somebody took the notion to build one.
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