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Expert Says Glass Is Major Threat to Birds

Posted by michael on from the fly-slower dept.

dlkf writes "According this AP article, 'Glass is ubiquitous and it's indiscriminate, killing the fit and the unfit... estimates (are) that collisions with glass kill up to 1 billion birds a year in the United States alone.' First wind turbines and now glass. What will they come up with next..."

4 of 170 comments (clear)

  1. Heh... by DiscoOnTheSide · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Just like walls and other cars are a major threat to drivers, porn sites to computer geeks, and a job in the real world for all those heavily pierced freaks. I don't consider this THAT newsworthy... :) (Not Trolling, just burning some midnight karma. :))

    --
    Viva La Revolucion! Buy a Mac!
  2. not much can be done about this by bersl2 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The problem, of course, is not the glass; it's this pesky desire of ours to have transparent artificial barriers as part of our dwellings---something which will not go away.

    Much of the time, my sympathies lie mostly with the animals; but in this case, they're kinda on their own. Survival of the fittest...

    May they all live long enough to have more sex than I do...

    (Which leads me to a deep thought: right now, at this very moment, millions (billions?) of creatures are having sex. None of them are me.)

    Goddamn I need sleep...

    1. Re:not much can be done about this by ajagci · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The problem, of course, is not the glass; it's this pesky desire of ours to have transparent artificial barriers as part of our dwellings---something which will not go away.

      You're right--it won't go away. Just like that pesky desire to pollute or to take over all arable land. However, desires can be curbed, and it is a mark of civilization that we do curb our desires and don't live out every one of them.

      In the case of glass, there are plenty of architectural ways in which we can have brightly lit dwellings with gorgeous views without creating traps for birds.

      Much of the time, my sympathies lie mostly with the animals; but in this case, they're kinda on their own. Survival of the fittest...

      Humans are fittest, for now, so, yes, we can kill off all other (large) animals. Trouble is, in the long run, that is not an adaptive strategy for us: we are dependent on a functioning environment. So, what you suggest, namely not worrying about the survival of animals, is, in the long run, maladaptive for us: it will bring about our own extinction.

    2. Re:not much can be done about this by ajagci · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The article itself talked about some alternatives. In fact, that was the point of the article: it didn't say "no more glass", it said "let's make an effort to make glass more bird-safe". Other alternatives I have seen are silhouettes of predators, nets, screens, careful gardening, and various patterned reflective coatings on the outside.

      Of course, simply having vertical blinds, Venitian blinds, or sheer curtains on the inside will probably already reduce the problem: they look like a solid surface from the outside but stil give you a good view from the inside. Even bug screens probably make windows a little more visible and less reflective from the outside and cushion any collision.

      I suspect birds hitting windows is mostly a problem with modern office buildings, where there is lots of glass, plenty of energy-efficient (=mirror-like) outside coatings, no curtains, and no bug screens.