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I like the idea of wind turbines, but in practice I think PV is the way to go (long term). I realize that for now it's a blend of technologies, but PV doesn't k
by Aelinsaar 10y ago
I like the idea of wind turbines, but in practice I think PV is the way to go (long term). I realize that for now it's a blend of technologies, but PV doesn't kill millions of birds and bats. I grant you, it's better than burning coal, but still we can do better eventually.
- ams6110 10y agoPV can kill or destroy habitat of other creatures, though this is probably almost entirely avoided in certain circumstances (rooftop installations, for one) where the damage has already been done.
- Aelinsaar 10y agoEverything we do, does that. Fortunately the places we put PV tend not to be virgin forests or other places we haven't already destroyed for our benefit.
- TillE 10y agoWind turbines aren't built in virgin forests either. They're generally in farmland, which is pretty well ecologically destroyed already.
- JoeAltmaier 10y agoIn California they seem to go just about anywhere. Sure not virgin forest, but maybe native savannah? http://www.energy.ca.gov/wind/overview.html http://www.energy.ca.gov/wind/overview.html
- Aelinsaar 10y agoI never claimed that they were, and bats and birds are prevalent in farmland.
- Houshalter 10y agoHouse cats kill 1,000 times more birds than wind turbines. Even cell towers kill more. It's nonissue.
- Aelinsaar 10y agoPer capita, or overall?
- Houshalter 10y agoOverall.
- Aelinsaar 10y agoAs of 2012, the estimate is something like 225 thousand wind turbines around the world. The best estimates I could find for domestic cat populations is between 200-600 MILLION.
- Houshalter 10y agoI have no idea why per capita estimates are relevant at all in this context. Wind turbines are vastly larger than cats and serve an entirely different purpose. The point is birds are not going to go extinct even if we increase the number of turbines ten fold. It wouldn't even make a dent in the bird death rate, which cats are only a small part of.
- JoeAltmaier 10y agoHm. Birds multiply by X every year in the spring. Yet each fall we have about the same number of birds as last year. Brutal fact: the fate of almost all birds is to be eaten. If not by cats, then other creatures that live in the cat niche too. Remember domestic cats are a tiny fraction of the world population.
- maxerickson 10y ago