3 ms·
The number of birds killed by turbines is extremely small (hundreds of thousands [0]) compared to the number of birds killed by cats (hundreds of millions to bi
by forgotpwagain 10y ago
The number of birds killed by turbines is extremely small (hundreds of thousands [0]) compared to the number of birds killed by cats (hundreds of millions to billions [1, 2]).
[0] http://www.audubon.org/news/will-wind-turbines-ever-be-safe-birds http://www.audubon.org/news/will-wind-turbines-ever-be-safe-...
[1] https://www.sciencenews.org/article/cats-kill-more-one-billion-birds-each-year https://www.sciencenews.org/article/cats-kill-more-one-billi...
[2] (slight counterpoint to 1) http://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2013/02/03/170851048/do-we-really-know-that-cats-kill-by-the-billions-not-so-fast http://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2013/02/03/170851048/do-we-...
- dreamcompiler 10y agoNot to mention cars. I hit 1-3 birds a year in my car. If every car in the US hits one bird a year, that's 300 million birds.
- nzp 10y agoThe fact that cats kill birds in no way legitimizes killing of birds by wind turbines no matter the ratio of deaths. The two are unrelated, and one bad thing happening doesn't mean that we should pile on more unnecessary bad things. If anything it's the opposite, we should try not to add to the pile.
- Animats 10y agoIt's a big problem only in a few narrow corridors. The California coastal range has a few passes that are both migratory bird routes and good wind turbine sites for smaller turbines. Pacheco Pass is particularly tough, with row after row of older, smaller wind turbines (mostly 65KW) going on for miles. It's like a Veg-O-Matic chopper for migratory birds.