70 Golden Eagles killed

[DCasper]

That is terrible and disturbing. Why haven't we heard about this before?

 

[airen]

http://www.sibleyguides.com/conservation/causes-of-bird-mortality/

I still don't trust that video... the odds are stupidly against that guy being in the perfect place like that. And even if he was it's a vulcher, not an eagle. IF it's real, it's still awful. But he's misrepresenting it, and that's bad reporting.

I do apologize for my old information. I argued a point that was no longer true, and I stand corrected. I went back to my source and discovered that it was referring to one company, not the industry as a whole...

 

[chickened]

There isn't much out there that does not kill birds and wind turbines are just another one to add to the list. The argument over which one is worse is really irrelevant because most other causes do not produce power. Heck I bet more birds die from disrupted nests and habitat loss... by humans. This just goes to show how quickly the powers at be are quick to push something down our throats in the name of green which really isn't as some here suggest.

Nothing is really green if it effects the environment the only standard for green is in one's head. We all know how impossible it is to get that **** out once it is in there. I just think it is ridiculous to think we will not disrupt something for someone no matter what we do.

I actually am not against wind power I just wish it were cost effective. Those turbines never will pay for themselves before they wear out or so I am told. Then again unless I am the one doing the actual research we really do not know for sure that the facts are not skewed on how great an investment they really are. They do look terrible against the scenery.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

The standard right now across the nation is coal. If you are going to talk about how bad wind turbines look, I have to ask would would rather see them or another coal plant pumping out black crud.


If we are going to talk about all the death involved in wind turbines, why dont you ask how many fish get chopped up going threw screws of a hydroelectric dam every day.

Would you even want a nucular power plant in sight of your home.


Which option do you want next door. Fact is that wind turbines are the most environmentally friendly power option we are using. And they have created thousands of jobs here in the US. Yes, some birds died. But you cant compare that damage to nature. You have to compare it to other power options. If you want to compare those turbines to nature then your are actually comparing your damage to nature. Did you turn a light on this morning, watch TV or sign on to BYC. Have you had children that did similar things this morning. Remember every child you have is a choice to destroy more nature to make room for them to live, an room to produce the things they will expect out of life. Those birds died because of me an you not because of a wind turbine. If it was not birds, it would have been a few thousand times more fish or the whole environment with coal.

 

[mom'sfolly]

Bottom line is that ALL energy production has an environmental cost...hydro, solar, wind, nuke, coal, whale oil, wood burning, waste burning, whatever. The argument should be for "greener" energy, not "green" energy. Hydro is generally cleaner than most, but put your dam in the wrong place and the environmental consequences could be dramatic. The same is true for the poorly placed and badly designed turbines at Altamont.

Visual pollution is a real problem as well...but I think the vast parts of west Texas I recently drove through would be much prettier with a few thousand wind turbines...

 

[chickened]

Personally I think they should designate some rivers for power, some for no power. As for fish getting chopped that is old technology they have screens and here on the Columbia they barge fish past the dams.

I may be wrong but currently there are no wind mills on public land at least in OR. and Wa. which was a boom for farmers and cattlemen that owned land barely able to support cattle.

I think the ocean is the next energy source with wave energy and currents.

I agree about west Texas.

 

[Mattemma]

Poor birds.Couldn't they put reflectors like red mylar on the blades? Solar is better imo.If the turbines need oil then it is not getting away from the dependence on oil so what is the point? Having hit peak oil we really need to make other things work better without ANY oil.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Poor birds.Couldn't they put reflectors like red mylar on the blades? Solar is better imo.If the turbines need oil then it is not getting away from the dependence on oil so what is the point? Having hit peak oil we really need to make other things work better without ANY oil.

Never happen.. Oil will be with us for ever as a lubricant. An to say that using oil as a lubricant is the same as using oil as fuel, the math does not support that. Or that because a wind turbine use oil as a lubricant that wind turbines are pointless, the math does not support that ether.

 

[airen]

Solar is so SO much worse than wind. The chemicals waste needed to produce a solar cell is disgusting, and the output generally doesn't make up for that waste... its a very low producer.

Turbines pay for themselves in five years... along the Gorge anyways. With good maintenance a turbine will last 20... but then what? A massive graveyard? The corporate lease will long have expired and I doubt these customers/ farmers are planning for dismantling or replacement.

Nuclear is BY FAR the cheapest and most efficient producer of power... but it has some waste issues.

Coal and gas are finite- our grandchildren will see the end at out rate of consumption.

I don't think wind is the answer, but until some major changes happen its the best we have, in my opinion.

 

[Matthew3590]

I am a fan of cold nuclear fusion.