it has been know for years that the ugly, noisy, unreliable wind turbine have been killing birds for years. Now the Obama administration has given the industry free reign to kill eagles and other birds of prey with no fear of reprisal. Just me but I would much rather see clean reliable natural gas generation instead. Odd part is that with the unreliability of wind generation their will have to be fossil fuel generation backups for the windmills to ensure grid reliability. So birds die and electricity gets more expensive and al for noting except the wind energy billionaires like Tom Steyer get richer. What I find odd is that Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe claims that by upping the limit to 4200 deaths per year they are saving birds. To me that is truly through the looking glass thinking Firms wont be penalized if their turbines kill as many as 4,200 each year. The bald eagle, a national symbol that is generally protected from harm, wont be flying so high next year. The Obama administration on Wednesday finalized a rule that lets wind-energy companies operate high-speed turbines for up to 30 years even if means killing or injuring thousands of the birds and their golden eagle cousins. Under the new rule, wind companies and other power providers will not face a penalty if they kill or injure as many as 4,200 bald eagles each year, nearly four times the current limit. Deaths of the more rare golden eagles would be allowed without penalty so long as companies minimize losses by taking steps such as fixing power poles to reduce the risk of electrocution. The new rule will conserve eagles while also spurring development of a pollution-free energy source intended to ease global warming, a cornerstone of President Obamas energy plan, said Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe.
It's weird how right-wingers only become interested in conservation. http://www.politicalforum.com/curre...crifice-bald-eagles-fight-global-warming.html http://www.politicalforum.com/current-events/239130-permit-kill-bald-eagles-raises-questions.html http://www.politicalforum.com/envir...-wind-farm-wants-permit-kill-bald-eagles.html http://www.politicalforum.com/current-events/334800-kill-eagle-felony-your-not-green-energy.html http://www.politicalforum.com/polit...675-when-perfectly-legal-kill-bald-eagle.html http://www.politicalforum.com/curre...permit-thousands-eagle-deaths-wind-farms.html http://www.politicalforum.com/polit...-golden-eagles-fall-prey-wind-industry-2.html http://www.politicalforum.com/curre...nevada-wind-farm-brings-federal-scrutiny.html
one would think that the Obama administration would be aware of all the reports in the links you listed and instead of increasing the limits for birds killed from wind generators he would be be reducing them. thanks for the links backing up the OP's claim that wind power is just an expensive way to kill birds. Oh and this right winger was a member of the Sierra Club back when it was about the environment not a political organization. These days though the NRA, Ducks Unlimited etc seem to be the only ones who care about wildlife
Threaten the habitat of a few minnows or a couple of gopher tortoise, and environmentalists go crazy. Kill several 100,000 birds from wind turbines, environmentalists claim its ok. Do you see the hypocrisy and why the environmentalists are actually just political tools?
Wow, I looked at your USA today link, the "study" it references, the study "was funded by American Wind Wildlife Institute, a non-profit that works with the wind industry, wildlife agencies and environmental groups to promote responsible wind energy". The cigarette industry says tobacco doesn't kill. The wind industry says wind turbines don't kill. What a surprise.
Bald Eagles are no longer threated/endangered. Hell, we have bunches of 'em in Texas. Tall building and building with mirrored glass kill far more birds every year. I'm not a fan of wind turbines but killin' birds ain't the reason.
Oh can your phony baloney tears fir wildlife. You just like to throw Fecal matter and spew out lies after lies about the BO administration " letting" wind farms kill off eagles.
Kill a few hundred million through coal and oil pollution and the right-wing ignores the problem. If it makes you feel better, the wind turbine industry is taking steps to reduce the number of bird deaths. http://www.voanews.com/a/bird-friendly-bladeless-wind-turbine-mimics-nature/3057122.html So what are the other power generation industries doing to mitigate the hundreds of MILLIONS of deaths caused by coal and oil?
Dad was a voting Democrat. He was the kind of person who did not bore you with politics though. When he bought 20 acres of good redwood tree forest, he was for the Sierra Club. Then he saw them ruin the forest industry in his area. He later told me, if the Sierra Club is for it, he was against it. They sure did go political.
I realize that the Eagles are in good shape population wise but they are only part of natures chain. The dine on rodents like a number of other predators. Nature is pretty good at self regulating itself when man is not interfering with the process. Heck I was a voting Democrat for a number of years, campaigned for Carter....his Presidency ruined the party for me. Anyway over here you get a bunch of political activists masquerading as environmentalists and a few conservatives interested in conservation and genuine pollution.
Are you claiming that because the oil and coal industries are hypocritical that the environmentalists can also be hypocritical? Two wrongs make a right? That animal deaths are deemed either acceptable or tragic based on the political reason for their death (I'm sure the animals will be comforted by that thought as the wind turbine slices them in half)?
What's hypocritical? If you have one thing that kills tens of millions of animals and one that kills hundreds of thousands. Which one do you think they would pick?
can you source that tens of millions or did you just make that up on the spot. I bet I could do a walkaround of a natural gas or coal fired plant and not find a single dead eagle
They would pick their politically correct approach no matter how many animals and people it killed. Remember, the environmentalists killed a dam (which is far cleaner than oil or coal) because of a couple of minnows. But they love wind turbines even if its a disaster to wildlife.
Old school environmentalist like you and I are a dying breed. It's very sad that the movement our generation founded to clean up legitimate pollution and to protect some of our most pristine and beautiful areas has become nothing more than a left wing anti capitalism anti American political operation populated by stooges and useful idiots
It isn't just wind. The ivanpah solar plant in California's Mohave desert has acres and acres of movable mirrors that focus sunlight to a collector on top of a tower. If a bird flies through the beam it gets burned alive.
We need to be looking at smaller configurations that are more in line with personal use. As many little windmills and whirllgigs as people put in their yards for decoration, maybe we need to hook them up to a battery.
I'm all for roof top solar and completely against bulldozing thousands of acres of open land for subsidized corporate solar.
Just an FYI, a "right winger" signed into law the endangered species act which was largely based on the then endangered bald eagle. Nixon ring a bell?