LOCATION/TYPE

NEWS HOME

[ exact phrase in "" • results by date ]

[ Google-powered • results by relevance ]


Archive
RSS

Add NWW headlines to your site (click here)

Get weekly updates

WHAT TO DO
when your community is targeted

RSS

RSS feeds and more

Keep Wind Watch online and independent!

Donate via Paypal

Donate via Stripe

Selected Documents

All Documents

Research Links

Alerts

Press Releases

FAQs

Campaign Material

Photos & Graphics

Videos

Allied Groups

Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005.

News Watch Home

Campaign seeks to protect birds from wind turbines 

Credit:  By Savannah Guyer | The Daily Iowan | daily-iowan.com ~~

Wind turbines aren’t as great for the environment as many think they are – at least that’s what one expert believes.

Michael Hutchins, the director of Bird-Smart Wind Energy Campaign for the American Bird Conservancy, said hundreds of thousands of birds are killed each year because of wind turbines.

The campaign’s goal is to protect native birds from the dangers of wind turbines located across the United States.

The conservancy is an organization focused on the conservation of national bird populations in the Western Hemisphere.

“Everyone wants to address climate issues, and everyone believes that wind turbines are a good start,” Hutchins said. “What they aren’t realizing is the negative impact they have on the population of birds and bats. The more wind turbines we put up, the more birds and bats will be killed, which has a major effect on our ecological environments.”

The biggest issue with wind turbines is the setting in which they are placed, he said.

“The location of where these turbines are put down is a big part of what’s leading to these losses,” Hutchins said. “They set them in places that see a large concentration of birds, such as areas where they migrate to, areas in which endangered birds live, and areas close to or even within bird habitats.”

Hutchins noted that while it is important to know how many birds are killed, it is hard to pin down definite numbers because wind-energy companies are secretive with their studies on avian mortality on their wind-energy farms.

Hutchins said wind turbines heavily affect raptors because although they have great vision, they tend to be focused on looking for prey on the ground rather than ahead of themselves.

Laura Semken, the Macbride Raptor Project assistant coordinator, said she does not believe wind turbines’ effect on avian mortality is an issue that needs to be confronted.

“It is sad that any creature is injured due to our engineered structures,” Semken said. “Energy is a complex issue. I think it is more important to create stable, biologically diverse ecosystems for as many species as possible.”

Wind energy is a clean and viable source because it does not produce greenhouse gases and is a solution necessary for energy needs, she said.

“Balancing energy conservation and bird protection is key to the health of our future and the future of all creatures, including raptors,” Semken said.

John Graves, the author of Broken Wing: Birds, Blades, and Broken Promises, said he believes wind turbines are a growing industry in the states, and corporations involved with this industry are not willing to lose money in order to save species.

Graves said close to 1 million bats a year are killed and that a lot of endangered species are facing the threat of extinction because of wind turbines.

“Whooping cranes are an endangered species that move straight across Iowa to get to Canada,” Graves said. “The number of wind turbines they’re facing is a hazard to their population.”

This danger to birds is not something wind energy companies are looking to fix but is something which people should be concerned with, Graves said.

“There is a problem Iowans face, and there’s no easy answer,” he said. “But there are a few ideas that can help.”

Graves said different designs, difference in speed, and the location of the wind turbines would greatly help the population of birds.

“Wind energy corporations aren’t willing to complete tasks that will help birds, especially increasing the speeds because they’re afraid they’ll lose 20 percent of their revenue, and that’s something they don’t want to happen,” Graves said. “If nothing changes with wind turbines, large birds with become extinct and small birds will become endangered by 2030.”

Source:  By Savannah Guyer | The Daily Iowan | daily-iowan.com

This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.

The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.

Wind Watch relies entirely
on User Funding
   Donate via Paypal
(via Paypal)
Donate via Stripe
(via Stripe)

Share:

e-mail X FB LI TG TG Share


News Watch Home

Get the Facts
CONTACT DONATE PRIVACY ABOUT SEARCH
© National Wind Watch, Inc.
Use of copyrighted material adheres to Fair Use.
"Wind Watch" is a registered trademark.

 Follow:

Wind Watch on X Wind Watch on Facebook

Wind Watch on Linked In Wind Watch on Mastodon