4 ms·

Will this be safer for bird life?

by kebman 7y ago

djrogers 7y ago
Modern wind turbines already are safer for bird life. The windmills that killed raptors were the small fast-moving ones, which are being replaced by more efficient, and gigantic, slow moving ones.
- mikepurvis 7y ago
  Do you have citation for this? I looked on Google and it's a jumble of conflicting reports. My reason for doubting is that modern turbines turn slowly in rpm, but the blade tips are still moving extremely fast. Like, just barely sub-sonic fast. So I could well believe that might still be an issue especially for large birds.
minikites 7y ago
We should try to make wind turbines safe for birds because it's the right thing to do, but we should focus our energy elsewhere if preserving bird life is a goal: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/01/chart-cats-vs-turbines/ https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/01/chart-cats-vs-t...
luc4sdreyer 7y ago
The risk that wind turbines pose to birds is already very small. Wind farms kill 440 thousand birds per year. Meanwhile, building windows kill about 500 million, and cats another 500 million. A standard wind turbine kills 4.27 birds per year, so of course you shouldn't build a massive wind farm in an area with endangered birds. Outside of that case, what if the whole US was powered by wind energy? That would mean 315333 wind turbines, causing 1.34 million bird deaths per year. That's still negligible compared to cats, windows, hunting or communication towers. sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_wind_power#Birds https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_wind_p... The US uses 473 GW on average, A standard wind turbine produces 1.5MW. 473000/1.5 = 315333. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_in_the_United_States#Consumption_by_source https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_in_the_United_States#Co...
- fruktstav 7y ago
  It’s not all about numbers. Wind turbines kill rare, and threatened species, such as birds of prey and bats. Cats and window accidents mostly kill very common species.
  - dvtrn 7y ago
    Why was this comment flag killed???
  - plorg 7y ago
    ...which is why, as the parent states, they shouldn't be built in the habitats or flight paths of endangered species. Environmental impact studies are now a routine part of the wind farm development process, and have been for over a decade.
  - fred_is_fred 7y ago
    How many birds do you think a mountain top coal mine kills?

Will this be safer for bird life?

by kebman 7y ago

Will this be safer for bird life?

Modern wind turbines already are safer for bird life. The windmills that killed raptors were the small fast-moving ones, which are being replaced by more efficient, and gigantic, slow moving ones.

mikepurvis 7y ago
Do you have citation for this? I looked on Google and it's a jumble of conflicting reports. My reason for doubting is that modern turbines turn slowly in rpm, but the blade tips are still moving extremely fast. Like, just barely sub-sonic fast. So I could well believe that might still be an issue especially for large birds.

minikites 7y ago

We should try to make wind turbines safe for birds because it's the right thing to do, but we should focus our energy elsewhere if preserving bird life is a goal: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/01/chart-cats-vs-turbines/ https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/01/chart-cats-vs-t...

luc4sdreyer 7y ago

The risk that wind turbines pose to birds is already very small. Wind farms kill 440 thousand birds per year. Meanwhile, building windows kill about 500 million, and cats another 500 million. A standard wind turbine kills 4.27 birds per year, so of course you shouldn't build a massive wind farm in an area with endangered birds. Outside of that case, what if the whole US was powered by wind energy? That would mean 315333 wind turbines, causing 1.34 million bird deaths per year. That's still negligible compared to cats, windows, hunting or communication towers. sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_wind_power#Birds https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_wind_p... The US uses 473 GW on average, A standard wind turbine produces 1.5MW. 473000/1.5 = 315333. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_in_the_United_States#Consumption_by_source https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_in_the_United_States#Co...

fruktstav 7y ago
It’s not all about numbers. Wind turbines kill rare, and threatened species, such as birds of prey and bats. Cats and window accidents mostly kill very common species.
- dvtrn 7y ago
  Why was this comment flag killed???
- plorg 7y ago
  ...which is why, as the parent states, they shouldn't be built in the habitats or flight paths of endangered species. Environmental impact studies are now a routine part of the wind farm development process, and have been for over a decade.
- fred_is_fred 7y ago
  How many birds do you think a mountain top coal mine kills?