dagblog - Comments for "Birds, Bats and Wind"

So, what's been killing off

Susie — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:04:56 +0000

So, what's been killing off the birds and bats before the turbines were up? Did turbines kill the bees too? Do people get cancer from the wind energy? Is there an emergency plan for a huge wind spill? Well..........at least the snakes are safe. <--- (all sarcasm)

Is anyone seeing the absurdity of this? Have you ever watched the trucks in and out near the entrance to a deep mine? Seen the disruption of trees, water and animal habitat at a strip mining site? Have you ever seen the grounds around a gas drilling site 10 years later?

Kill off all the bats and a

Donal — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 00:58:25 +0000

In reply to There is nothing that is

Kill off all the bats and a lot of crops will die.

There is nothing that is

Richard Day — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 00:53:19 +0000

In reply to Birds, Bats and Wind

There is nothing that is free.

Change one thing in an environment and a hundred events could take place affecting the populations of thousands of species.

There is no free lunch and certainly no free energy.

In the end every new advance of industry must survive a benefits/burden test.

Nobody is going to tell me that birds are not killed every day as a direct result of some coal burning electrical plant. Birds die, fish die, certain insects die...people die.

There was discussion of using

Donal — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 19:27:56 +0000

In reply to Good stuff, but I'd like to

There was discussion of using radar in the ClimateWire article, but greens don't actually want to drive the animals out of their habitat. There was also discussion of using vertical axis wind turbines, but AIUI they aren't as efficient in generating power.

I think the problem is one of planning and design, and as I have experienced, no one likes to have to meet another code.

Good stuff, but I'd like to

Verified Atheist — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 19:18:21 +0000

In reply to Birds, Bats and Wind

Good stuff, but I'd like to see more of an emphasis on solutions. They say, "It's not hard to do", but I'm not sure what the solutions are other than to move to sites where the wildlife at stake is less endangered. What other solutions have been proposed? Is it feasible, for example, to put up a wire mesh or something? Can annoying sounds beyond the human audible range be used to repel birds/bats? I'm just brainstorming here, so maybe these ideas are idiotic.