As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Sunday 15 December 2013

4 Things That Kill More Birds Than Wind Farms

Duke Energy, the operator of two major wind farms in Wyoming, was recently fined $1 million dollars for eagles and other birds killed by wind turbines. Although I’ve got little love for Duke Energy (they single-handedly killed 900,000 fish in North Carolina), I do care about the continued expansion of wind power in this country.

This case brings the cyclical debate of wildlife vs. clean energy to the federal level. Yes, I meant cyclical. Here’s how it usually goes (in my head):

1. “Fossil fuels are killing the planet and everything on it (including birds). Let’s switch to renewables like solar and wind.”
2. “Oh man, birds are being killed by wind turbines, and I love birds and believe endangered species should be protected.
3. “Punish the wind farms for killing birds!”
4. “Wait, if we stop building wind farms, or use $1 million fines to discourage companies from building them, it just continues our dependence on fossil fuels.”
5. “See number 1.”



No comments:

Post a Comment