Slashdot Mirror
Wind Turbines Kill a Few Birds
Guppy06 writes "The Houston Chronicle has an article about how a 7000-turbine windfarm in Altamont Pass, California (the world's largest collection) has killed an estimated 22,000 birds during the past 20 years or so of operation, 'including hundreds of golden eagles, red-tailed hawks, kestrels and other raptors(.)' There are efforts to keep the operators from renewing their permit until they take measures to protect bird populations. To put things in perspective the article goes on to point out that the Exxon Valdez spill is estimated to have killed around 250,000, while the whole story can just about be summed up by one quote by a biologist: 'When you turn on your lights you kill something, no matter what the source of electricity.'" Killing 3-4 birds per day doesn't seem too bad. It's a shame that larger, rarer birds are getting killed, but... How many birds would die from the acid rain that a coal power plant would cause?
We are probably headed for world peak oil production in the next 20 years anyway. We'll have to switch to something eventually. Nuclear is probably the way to go. Say goodbye to cheap gasoline for everyone's automobiles, however. And before anyone says it, hydrogen is a pipe dream.
... it is called Kazaa =)
Don't you know it is now both immoral and criminal to think beyond the next quarterly report?
> There is no such thing as a "pure master race"
Bullshit! I am the pure master race. Only problem is, pure does net necessarily equal good: pure shit is still "pure."