The most common pro-wind argument is that we are already losing lots of birds due to collisions with buildings, cars…. etc. Does this mean that Wind Farm supporters feel that they are entitled to kill their share of wildlife? Should the Wind industry be forced to pay the hefty fines that the oil industry pays for similar violations? Should Obama order a moratorium on any further wind farm development until we can be guaranteed that they will be safe to wildlife and the environment (as he has done with offshore oil development? Your thoughts?

“Bird deaths soar at wind farms”

by: Associated Press
Monday, September 21, 2009

“For years, a huge wind farm in California’s San Joaquin Valley was slaughtering thousands of birds, including golden eagles, red-tailed hawks and burrowing owls.

The raptors would get sliced up by the blades on the roughly 5,400 turbines in Altamont Pass, or electrocuted by the wind farm’s power lines. Scientists, wildlife agencies and turbine experts came together in an attempt to solve the problem. The result?

Protective measures put in place in an effort to reduce deaths by 50% failed. Deaths in fact soared for three of four bird species studied, said the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area Bird Fatality Study.

The slaughter at Altamont Pass is being raised by avian scientists who say the drive among environmentalists to rapidly boost U.S. wind farm power 20 times could lead to massive bird losses and even extinctions.

New wind projects “have the potential of killing a lot of migratory birds,” said Michael Fry, director of conservation advocacy at the American Bird Conservancy in Washington.

“There’s concern because of the scale of what we’re talking about,” said Shawn Smallwood, a Davis, Calif., ecologist and researcher. “Just the sheer numbers of turbines we’re talking about – we’re going to be killing so many raptors until there are no more raptors, in my opinion.”

Non-wind utilizes fined heavily

Some see a double standard for wind farms.

ExxonMobil pleaded guilty in federal court in August to the deaths of 85 birds at its operations in several states, according to the Department of Justice. The birds were protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and Exxon agreed to pay $600,000 in fines and fees. In July, the PacifiCorp utility of Oregon was ordered to pay $10.5 million in fines, restitution and improvements to their equipment after 232 eagles were killed by running into power lines in Wyoming, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

That is far fewer than the estimated 10,000 birds (nearly all protected by the migratory bird law) that are being killed every year at Altamont, according to Robert Bryce, author of Gusher of Lies: The Dangerous Delusions of “Energy Independence.”"

http://www.tulsaworld.com/site/printerfriendlystory.aspx?articleid=20090921_298_0_Fryasu871005

Trevor….. So what you are saying is that the Wind industry wants its share of the killing!!! Sheesh!!