EarthTechling reports:
The growth of wind power, if undertaken with reasonable care, should pose no risk to any particular bird species in Canada, according to a new peer-reviewed study. The study also suggests that highly publicized bird mortality figures out of the U.S. and Europe could be on the high side.
“Canadian Estimate of Bird Mortality Due to Collisions and Direct Habitat Loss Associated with Wind Turbine Developments” [PDF] was one of several studies undertaken as part of special issue of the journal Avian Conservation & Ecology that focused on the impact of human activities on the mortality of birds in Canada.
The researchers did find that, on average, a wind turbine in Canada results in 8.2 bird deaths per year, and they estimated that a 10-fold increase in installed wind capacity in the next 10-15 years “could lead to direct mortality of approximately 233,000 birds/year, and displacement of 57,000 pairs” resulting from habitat loss.
I find the domestic cat argument specious. Domestic cats don’t kill raptors even my 18 pound Maine Coon would not mess with an eagle. Prior to wind turbine farms cats, cars, power lines, buildings etc cumulatively kill X avians. Turbines, concentrated and passive solar kill Y. X+Y= impact on avian populations. The Y contains raptors, large passerines, large migratory species. The commercial wind turbine adverse impact on bat populations should be noted. Bats are natures pesticide, it has been calculated that one bat is as effective as $74 of chemical pesticide over the course of a growing season. The fact that wind turbines kill bats has been observed for decades but it has been only recently that wind farm induced fatalities on autumn migratory bat population have been studied. Bats are attracted to wind turbines for several reasons, motion, harmonics, and tracking insects which are also attracted by the turbines. The problem is that the bat doesn’t have to make contact with the blade to be a fatality. The change in air pressure is enough to collapse the lungs of the bat a condition known as Barotrauma. This is a particularly dangerous time for bats particularly for some endangered species because of White Nose Syndrome discovered in 2006 which is rapidly spreading. This fungus is 95% fatal and has killed between 5.7 million to 6.7 bats.
PLEASE! Anyone who is, or will be, living close to a turbine, or has a building close to one, if you could set up 24 hr. surveillance, with infrared, and zoom, that would give an accurate account of the carnage that we all know is being drastically under reported. This could be streamed onto U-tube, like those pet-cams. But this would be incredibly valuable info. to catch the wind industry at it’s game of cover-up, which they love to play. I am sure a community fundraiser, for the equipment, and volunteer technical assistance would not be too difficult to obtain, with a bit of work. Well worth the effort!
Hmm, seems kinda light.
They are planning (unless our lawsuit stops them) to build 80 600-foot-tall turbines in our area, 8 of those within two miles (and closer) of our house, in Lowbanks. Arctic birds migrate thru here. There are 25 eagles’ nests within 10 miles of us (used to be 26 but they Destroyed one for these turbines). There is a species of rare bats here.
Not looking forward to the carnage.