Wind is good, but it is well known to kill birds. What to do about that?
" Forestry Statistics 2015 - Environment:
Causes for the decline in woodland birds may include a lack of diversity in habitats and food sources, loss of habitats and food sources through damage caused by increasing deer populations, and a reduction in some migratory species following pressures in other parts of the world. "
Source: British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
Forestry Statistics 2015 - Forestry Statistics 2015 - Environment
The European migratory birds wintering in Africa, and twice a year, flying through the war zones.
SATELLITETRACKING.EU
Furthermore, my opinion that there is the reasonable argument:
"BEN SCHILLER 05.05.14
Wind turbines kill birds. It's a fact that critics of the wind industry love to repeat. See, for example, the work of Robert Bryce, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Reading his frequent writing on the issue, you would think that wind turbines are a singular menace to airborne life, a threat like no other.
The truth is a little less dramatic. In fact, wind turbines are bad for birds, but buildings are worse. And so are electricity transmission lines and pesticides. And cats. (Birds have many enemies.) You can see as much from this graphic that Bloomberg News put together from U.S. Forest Service data. It shows the relative carnage from turbines compared to other deadly threats:
This isn't to minimize the damage that wind farms do. The Wildlife Society estimates that turbines kill 573,000 birds (and 888,000 bats) every year, including many eagles. It does add some context, though. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says power lines kill 175 million birds a year, and nobody complains much about them, except to say we might consider putting more pylons underground.
In any case, the wind industry is well aware of the problem and is working to fix it. (Grist recently outlined eight possible solutions, from better siting away from migration routes to ultrasonic device that could deter birds from getting too close). More to the point, complaining about bird deaths without weighing up wind's larger environmental benefits is to miss the wood for the trees. Turbines are bad for birds, but fossil fuels are surely worse overall."
Think Spinning Turbines Are Bad For Birds? Look At Where You're Sitting
