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Purveyor, Fine Asian Porn
Industry Role:
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 38,323
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Selective Conservationists: Right Wing Only Worried About Birds When Attacking Wind Energy
A network of ultra-conservative groups is ramping up an offensive on multiple fronts to turn the American public against wind farms and Barack Obama's energy agenda.
A number of rightwing organisations, including Americans for Prosperity, which is funded by the billionaire Koch brothers, are attacking Obama for his support for solar and wind power. The American Legislative Exchange Council (Alec), which also has financial links to the Kochs, has drafted bills to overturn state laws promoting wind energy.
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There's a problem with the bird-mortality argument: The vast majority of research shows that wind turbines kill relatively few birds, at least compared with other man-made structures. The statistics are shocking if you consider just how many people are crying out against wind power for the birds' sake:
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Man-made structure/technology
Associated bird deaths per year (U.S.)
Feral and domestic cats = Hundreds of millions [source: AWEA]
Power lines = 130 million to 174 million [source: AWEA]
Windows (residential and commercial) = 100 million to 1 billion [source: TreeHugger]
Pesticides = 70 million [source: AWEA]
Automobiles = 60 million to 80 million [source: AWEA]
Lighted communication towers = 40 million to 50 million [source: AWEA]
Wind turbines = 10,000 to 40,000 [source: ABC]
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Vendzilla should be happy to know that the green industry and government are already aware of the issue and working to create more bird-safe technology:
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Collisions with wind turbines account for about one-tenth of a percent of all "unnatural" bird deaths in the United States each year. And of all bird deaths, 30 percent are due to natural causes, like baby birds falling from nests [source: AWEA].
So why the widespread misconception that labels wind turbines "bird-o-matics"? It all starts with California, raptors and the thousands of old turbines that make up the Altamont Pass wind farm.
In this article, we'll find out where the statistics went wrong, how thousands of birds do end up flying into wind turbines each year, and what's being done to reduce the number of bird-turbine collisions.
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Even though up to 1 billion birds die each year by flying into windows, no one is brushing off the tens of thousands of turbine-related deaths every year. So what are we doing to lower that number?
In the past couple of decades, turbine designs have changed dramatically. Turbine blades are now solid, meaning no lattice structure to attract birds looking to perch. Also, the blades' surface area is much larger, so they don't have to spin as fast to generate power. Slower-moving blades mean fewer bird collisions.
Perhaps the biggest change in wind-farm safety, though, has to do with location. Now, all new turbine proposals are reviewed for ideal, bird-friendly placement. Wind farms cannot be built in migratory pathways, in areas with high bird populations, or in areas with special features that could possibly attract high bird populations in the future. Also, the growing trend toward offshore turbine construction bodes well for birds, since offshore wind farms have fewer bird collisions than land-based farms.
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Possibly the greatest indicator that wind turbines are not, in fact, bird-o-matics, is the growing number of endorsements by bird conservation groups. The American Bird Conservancy supports wind power with the caveat that bird-friendly placement and design be primary factors in construction [source: ABC].
The Wisconsin Bird Initiative states that wind turbines have a "low impact" on avian mortality compared to window glass and communication towers [source: WBCI]. And in 2006, the Audubon Society gave its figurative seal of approval to the American Wind Energy Association. The president of the national organization is quoted by Renewable Energy World as stating, "When you look at a wind turbine, you can find the bird carcasses and count them. With a coal-fired power plant, you can't count the carcasses, but it's going to kill a lot more birds" [source: REW].
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There are many other proposed solutions being looked at:
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Use of operational modifications ? raising the speed at which turbines start turning or not operating during key migratory times or using radar to turn off turbines when flocks pass was suggested.
Further testing on other measures, such as multicolored turbines, and effects, such as turbine noise on birds, were suggested.
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Proponents of wind energy have offered a range of solutions to reduce the killings of birds at wind farms. Siting wind turbines away from prime raptor habitat to reduce the likelihood of collisions with eagles and hawks is a relatively easy alternative.
And newer designs of wind turbines -- with a vertical axis and/or no lattice-work structure (which attracts birds of prey) -- should virtually eliminate the chance of a bird-turbine collision.
According to some reports, these mitigation strategies are already working at places like California's Altamont Pass, home to one of the largest wind farms in North America, which is now seeing fewer bird deaths than in years past.
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While the government may not be moving fast enough for your liking V, the fact is, that there is a growing awareness of this problem, and resources are being allocated to come up with better solutions.
Meanwhile, the people behind the "grassroots" anti-green energy, anti-wind turbine movement, are among the greatest corporate polluters on earth... 
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