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| A golden eagle in flight. Could become extinct in U.S.? |
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| California wind "subsidized" mills (of course) I am staring to get a new perspective on Cervantes... |
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| More dead eagles! Managed by the federal government! |
- Golden eagles being killed by the score by California windmills...
- The Federal government gives permits to allow eagles to die...
- Windmills kill hundreds of thousands of birds each year...
- Where dead eagles go...
- Windmills make no economic sense...
- Windmills kill other animals too...
- Germany is phasing out solar subsidies (they don't make economic sense)
- But not everyone has to sacrifice (like Kennedys and other Cape Cod Lefty Elites)...
- But maybe those Democrat Cape Cod elitists have a point?
- It is good to be a friend of Barack Obama.
- Love among the eco-ruins...
- Small Dead Animals: What are those towers?
- Obama insider energy deals...
- Althouse has the human price for windmills: neighbors vs. neighbors
- The Government is giving up on wind energy?
- Protein Wisdom on Obama's quixotic wind program...
- Smitty at TOM: Rare bird killed by Giant Turbine in Great Britain…birders watch in horror.
- Instapundit: No Nukes!
Wasn't "Take It Breezy" by The Eagles hit in the 70's?
ReplyDeleteMaybe Henley could speak to some of his Democratic pals about all the dead eagles...given all the money he has given them as an Eagle.
DeleteThe Altamont Pass wind farm pictured above was built almost twenty years ago, placed close to a bird sanctuary area and in the middle of a major migratory pathway. Today, no one would even think of locating a wind farm in such a place and to extrapolate the mortality rate at this wind farm to apply to all wind farms is not just deceptive, it's totally dishonest.
ReplyDeleteImprovements in turbine blade and tower design have drastically reduced the number of bird strikes. Blades are much bigger and turn more slowly, lessening the danger to birds. Towers are no longer constructed of lattice and they provide no place for birds to roost or nest.
Windmills kill between 10,000 and 40,000 birds per year. Power lines kill 130 million to 174 million. 60 million are struck by automobiles and anywhere from 100 million to 1 BILLION are killed flying into windows.
Get some perspective, please.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/wind-turbine-kill-birds.htm
I'm not a tree-hugging, lizard-kissing left-wing weenie. I'm a realist who understands we need all the power we can get, especially since Obama is doing everything he can to destroy our generating capacity. Windmills work and they need to be a part of our overall power plans.
The point is, why even have windmills when because of their intermittent power generation and the nature of the power grid, the cost of generating kilowatts does not (for the most part) make economic sense. Without subsidies the wind industry would be a fraction of what it is now.
DeleteI assume you are referring to this...
And no doubt: these are all valid points on bird mortality. And we should be mitigating them. But we are subsidizing an industry that is not helping the environment.
I am all for getting power. We can develop natural gas for power generation. But windmills? If they are so cost effective, then we should stop subsiding them. I am gaining a greater appreciation for Cervantes from all of this...
DeleteCreeper do you know who put the numbers about powerlines, buildings, and cars, you forgot cats that kill birds. That was AMERICAN WIND ENERGY ASSOCIATION the industrial companies feasting on billions in giveaways to Industrialize massive segments of open space and they gave it to the US Fish and Wildlife Department who dutifully published it. It is not based in any science. It was put out as a smoke screen to allow wind energy. Yes some birds do die hitting buildings and a few die from powerlines. In NJ they have 5 Industrial Wind Turbines...they each kill 76 birds and bats every year. They killed 40 Endangered Raptors in 2 years. If buildings and powerlines were killing at this rate there would be dead carcasses everywhere. Don't believe those numbers. They did a study of Golden Eagles in the Diablo Mt in California and 39% of the Eagles in the study were killed by INDUSTRIAL WIND TURBINES! Not buildings, not cats, not cars, not powerlines...INDUSTRIAL WIND TURBINES! You are being played. Golden Eagles are in decline in So. Cal. after making a comeback...do you know when they started declining...when they started massive wind farms and ignored the many dead bodies. Ever see the number of burrowing owls killed by wind turbines at Altamont...it is appalling.
ReplyDeleteI tip my hat to the house cat that can take out a golden eagle.
DeleteBTW the most cost effective solution is to be more efficient. There is a Mckinsey study that shows that efficiency projects are twice to 10 times more cost effective...and they work whether the sun is up or it is windy. They never kill animals or destroy open space. They are onsite and don't have to pump power thousands of miles with more power lines. The only difference is that GE and Vestas and various venture capital firms and lobbyists don't make billions doing it! The former Gov of Maine thought the wind turbines projects were so lucrative he left and started making money from the fraud that he authorized...they started paying him before he left office....no conflict there!
ReplyDeleteAs you noted, there is no money in efficiency for crony pals of the Democrats.
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