MYTH #28 WIND TURBINES ARE THE BIRD KILLERS

WHAT ARE STUDIES SAYING ON THE MATTER?


The risk of seabirds colliding with offshore wind turbines is less than half what was previously thought, according to a landmark new report.

The findings come from the most comprehensive investigation into the impacts of offshore wind farms on seabird behaviour ever carried out.

The research suggests seabirds will actively avoid turbines and in most cases will not crash into them.

The multi-million-pound Bird Collision Avoidance Study is the first of its kind to employ a multi-sensor monitoring system, combining human observers with a system that automatically ­captured seabird movements at a working offshore wind farm in the Channel. Radars were also used to log data 24 hours a day for two years.

- Ilona Amos, The Scotsman, Apr 19, 2018

https://www.scotsman.com/news/environment/report-finds-offshore-wind-turbines-not-as-dangerous-for-seabirds-as-thought-1-4726627 

The impact of wind farms on birds has been a topic of debate and concern for many people for years. To many, wind turbines are utterly destructive “bird blenders,” while others don’t buy into that notion. (We’ll come back to that the issue later in this article.)

To help address the bird issue completely, Jerry Lynch, the president of Sigma Design, is working towards testing, improving, and manufacturing Raymond Green’s patented wind turbine, which is designed with the specific intent to be safe for avian creatures.

https://cleantechnica.com/2012/09/04/bird-safe-wind-turbines-may-soon-take-flight/?fbclid=IwAR1o8MePY2fuzkmDEwXBZV94IgR5SIHB-qg_918qlEpEV2gpa-tB9B3TLaI

A 2009 study using US and European data on bird deaths estimated the number of birds killed per unit of power generated by wind, fossil fuel and nuclear power systems.

-for every one bird killed by a wind turbine, nuclear and fossil fuel powered plants killed 2,118 birds.

https://medium.com/science-as-fact/the-top-five-myths-about-wind-and-solar-power-debunked-43b0452ef0bc

https://theconversation.com/wind-farms-are-hardly-the-bird-slayers-theyre-made-out-to-be-heres-why-79567 

https://thinkprogress.org/myths-and-facts-about-wind-power-debunking-foxs-abysmal-wind-coverage-e314b70c4059/ 

According to a 2007 report by the National Research Council (NRC), wind turbine losses account for "a minute fraction" of bird deaths caused by human activities. In 2003, wind turbines killed an estimated 20,000 to 37,000 birds in a year. And while this may seem like a lot, it makes up less than 0.003% of bird deaths for that year. In comparison, collisions with buildings kill 97 to 976 million birds annually; cars are thought to kill 80 million birds per year; toxic chemicals kill more than 72 million birds each year; And cats? Yeah, they kill hundreds of millions of birds each year. 

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2007/05/wind-turbines-not-a-threat-to-u-s-bird-population-says-study-48393.html 

https://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/documents/R2ES/LitCited/LPC_2012/National_Research_Council_2007.pdf 

https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/02/17/wind-farms-are-hardly-bird-slayers-made-out-be-why

Not to mention that, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, up to one million birds are killed every year in oilfield production pits.

https://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/pressrel/11-64.html 


We estimate that free-ranging domestic cats kill 1.3–4.0 billion birds and 6.3–22.3 billion mammals annually.  

https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2380?error=cookies_not_supported&code=3da7165e-5447-4c9e-9466-621cb60078f5 

The National Audubon Society protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow, throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education, and on-the-ground conservation.

Why does Audubon support properly sited wind power?

Top scientific experts from around the world, including Audubon's own scientists, agree that the effects of climate change are happening now and will get worse. Scientists have found that climate change has already affected half of the world's species' breeding, distribution, abundance, and survival rates. A review of more than 130 scientific studies found that if climate change proceeds as expected, one in six species worldwide could face extinction.

Audubon’s research shows a particularly stark threat for North American birds: Our Birds and Climate Change Report confirmed that 314 species stand to lose more than 50 percent of their current ranges by 2080.

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/09/15/wind-turbines-kill-fewer-birds-than-cell-towers-cats/15683843/?fbclid=IwAR3oPQk3FhFFcyKQIDsnxeXyyfO0PhYttEI7labusDY8gOy3xbUiHz7Vvds

Apex raptors and eagles populations are much more threatened by global warming and pollution than wind farms.

Vultures are on the verge of excintion. But not because of turbines:

http://madrascourier.com/environment/vultures-are-on-the-verge-of-extinction-how-can-we-save-them/


Wind power is safer for birds than other forms of generation

Replacing all fossil fuel generation with wind turbines world wide would save tens of million birds lives annually. In the USA, the best numbers show that roughly one in 86,000 birds are killed annually by wind energy. Bats are put at much more significant risk from fossil fuel and other human impacts than by wind turbines. Displacement of fossil fuel generation makes wind a strong net benefit to birds and bats.

Global warming and pollution are the threats; wind power is part of the solution, not a problem.
https://windrocks.wordpress.com/2013/02/15/wind-farms-birds/

Soaring Migratory Birds Avoid Wind Farm in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Southern Mexicohttp://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0092462 

One Weird Trick Prevents Bird Deaths At Solar Towers

https://cleantechnica.com/2015/04/16/one-weird-trick-prevents-bird-deaths-solar-towers/ 

BONUS:

Worst oil spills.

https://www.thoughtco.com/worst-oil-spills-in-history-1203713

ExxonValdez was "only" number 35 worst: By volume, the Exxon Valdez oil spill ranks around 35th, but it is considered an environmental disaster because the oil spill occurred in the pristine environment of Alaska's Prince William Sound and the oil fouled 1,100 miles of coastline.

https://www.thoughtco.com/exxon-valdez-oil-spill-1203710

Litt ironi til slutt: 

Some satire: