How often to a see a neighborhood cat kill a bird? All too often.
This is always a topic of discussion to those that oppose wind energy....bird's flying into them.
In regards to 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:
Man-made structure/technology
Associated bird deaths per year (U.S.)
Feral and domestic cats
Hundreds of millions [source: AWEA]
Power lines
130 million -- 174 million [source: AWEA]
Windows (residential and commercial)
100 million -- 1 billion [source: TreeHugger]
Pesticides
70 million [source: AWEA]
Automobiles
60 million -- 80 million [source: AWEA]
Lighted communication towers
40 million -- 50 million [source: AWEA]
Wind turbines
10,000 -- 40,000 [source: ABC]
Interesting facts...
Now, don't get me wrong. Bird's are important to me, I am an avid bird-watcher and you don't want to know what I spend a month on bird seed...
Birds are important to our eco-system, but wind energy is too!
Have a good week,
Brenda
7 comments:
Well, that settles it. We need to do away with windows. :-P
Thanks so much for this post. It is so important to analyze data, as you have done here, and not draw conclusions based on emotions or sound bites.
Wind energy and birds I didn't know there was a problem. I love birds and I am sure as smart as our scientists are they can come up with a good solution for the birds too. Thanks for info.
I love birds too, and have feeders all over for them to help them survive, but I do agree that it's time we stop being foolish and start being a country that can produce it's own energy, instead of relying on other countries.
How often do you run into a bird with your car...does that mean we should do away with them as well?
Hi! I live in Idaho and we have a lot of wind turbines here, too. My husband works for Idaho Power Co. and works with the wind turbine owners (John Deere owns the majority of them here). We were driving by some turbines recently and I asked my DH why they weren't painted "John Deere Green." He said they actually did paint some that color at first, but the birds kept running into the blades. They did some testing and apparently white is the easiest color for them to see, that's why the turbine blades are now white, not green. Just a little wind turbine trivia for those that are interested ...
love your post and i think it is so important to look at the whole picture and not just a sound bite.
I'm with you!
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