A major US power company has pleaded guilty to killing eagles and other birds at two wind farms and agreed to pay $1 million as part of the first enforcement of laws protecting birds against wind energy facilities. 
 
Until the settlement announced on Friday with Duke Energy and its renewable energy arm, no wind energy company had been prosecuted for a death of an eagle or other protected bird.

The company pleaded guilty to killing 14 eagles and 149 other birds at its Top of the World and Campbell Hill wind farms outside Casper, Wyoming.

The deaths, which included golden eagles, hawks, blackbirds, wrens and sparrows, occurred from 2009 to 2013.

"Wind energy is not green if it is killing hundreds of thousands of birds," said George Fenwick, president of the American Bird Conservancy, which supports properly sited wind farms.

Wind farms are clusters of turbines as tall as 30-storey buildings, with spinning rotors as wide as a passenger jet's wingspan.

The blades can reach speeds up to 270km/h at the tips, creating tornado-like vortexes.

Eagles are especially vulnerable because they don't look up as they scan the ground for food, failing to notice the blades until it's too late.

"No form of energy generation, or human activity for that matter, is completely free of impacts, and wind energy is no exception," the American Wind Energy Association said in a statement.

The case against Duke Energy and Duke Energy Renewables was the first prosecuted under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act against a wind energy company.

The Obama administration has used the law against oil companies and power companies for drowning and electrocuting birds.

Once a wind farm is built, there is little a company can do to stop the deaths.

As part of the agreement, Duke will continue to use field biologists to shut down turbines when eagles get too close.

It will install radar technology similar to what is used in Afghanistan to track missiles. And it will continue to report all bird deaths to the government.


w w w . daily telegraph . com . au / news / breaking-news / us-wind-farm-guilty-of-killing-birds/story-fni0xqlk-1226766921714

(Remove spaces for link)

270km/h  a man made tornado....

not bad..

I did read where its against the law in USA to even own a feather from an Eagle. so to kill 14 must be a shocker...

this cannot only be happening in Wyoming surely??? ::)


Backseat_Pollie wrote on Nov 23^rd, 2013 at 7:30pm:

Once a wind farm is built, there is little a company can do to stop the deaths.

We put safety mesh over fans to prevent injury. Why can't we do the same for a wind turbine?
:-/

Bam wrote on Nov 23^rd, 2013 at 10:21pm:

We put safety mesh over fans to prevent injury. Why can't we do the same for a wind turbine? :-/

Birds don't need to come into contact with the fan blades to be killed or injured. Just being in close proximity can literally tear them apart.

Shame they don't kill 'NIMBIES'.

Kat wrote on Nov 24^th, 2013 at 5:27am:

Shame they don't kill 'NIMBIES'.

Then why don't YOU put one in YOUR back yard and see if you can sleep at night when they're spinning? You know how much power one wind generator made in an entire day in one of the biggest wind farms in the UK? Just enough to boil a single kettle of water. Wind power is financially unviable (needing massive subsidies) and is extremely unreliable. Oh and by the way, you know what they use when the wind is too low to turn the fans? That's right - a diesel generator!

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b76/timbo2530/birdAndturbines.png

With regard to bird fatalities, it says: "Wind turbines represent an insignificant fraction of the total number of bird deaths caused by man-made objects or activities (eg building structures, transmission lines, and keeping domestic cats)." According to the CSE, for every bird killed by a turbine, 5,820, on average, are killed striking buildings, typically glass windows.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/feb/27/wind-energy-myths-turbines-bats

So clearly this is just another Daily Telegraph beat up. The Murdoch media are an absolute disgrace.

http://en.ria.ru/images/15888/53/158885316.jpg

http://truecostofchevron.com/assets/images/ads/ad2011-endangered-species.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eUqk4Y6QspU/TcwT1rmof5I/AAAAAAAAADw/G7RKXzglSys/s1600/image-9-for-gulf-of-mexico-oil-spill-animals-covered-in-oil-gallery-346032826.jpg

http://naturescrusaders.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/oilsoakedbird.jpeg

http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/replicate/EXID44251/images/bird2.PNG


Quote:

4,500 Animals Killed in BP Spill ... And Counting As BP moves to permanently seal the blown-out well that unleashed 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the focus is turning to the toll of the disaster. It should be said that the true and total toll will not be known for some time, until scientists have had a chance to properly investigate the extent of the damage above and below the sea. But there are some things we can start looking at now: Like the direct number of casualties among the Gulf's wildlife the spill has claimed so far. Thousands of animals -- birds, sea turtles, dolphins, and reptiles -- have been killed so far. Birds have fared the worst -- 3,902 have officially been collected dead*. These birds include the threatened brown pelican, Louisiana's state bird. The birds are killed after ingesting oil while attempting to clean it off of their feathers. 1,869 have been collected alive, and some 775 of those have been released into the wild -- though many scientists believe that only a small percentage of those will survive. 517 sea turtles, all of which are considered endangered, have been killed by the spill. Another 500 oiled turtles have been collected alive, and their future is uncertain. Many of these turtles belong to a species called Kemp's Ridley, the smallest and most endangered sea turtle in the world. 71 marine mammals, mostly dolphins, have been killed over the course of the spill thus far. One solitary, unidentified reptile has also perished in the spill. These numbers are still rolling in, and at a much faster pace than before. As Mother Jones explains, "More injured and dead wildlife has been found in the 25 days since BP capped the well than when it was still spewing." This is thought to be due to the fact that rescuers have now been able to venture into sensitive areas for the first time. The Times-Picayune breaks down the alarmingly increased rate that new dead wildlife is being discovered at:     37 oiled birds were collected on average each day prior to July 15, with 71 oiled birds collected on average each day after July 15.     Prior to the cap, 56 percent of oiled birds were collected alive. Since then, only 41 percent have been collected alive.     More sea turtles have been collected now than during the first three months of the spill: 428 oiled sea turtles recovered in total, with 222 coming in the only past past 10 days. And I know it's become part of the conventional wisdom regarding this spill that things could have been much worse for the Gulf wildlife -- and while I'm certainly glad that it hasn't been worse, we have to bear in mind that this is far from over. And every time you hear that these casualty numbers are "lower than expected", consider that thousands of animals -- all of which helped comprise vibrant, unique ecosystems -- would still be alive today if it weren't for a massive oil spill that raged uncontrolled for months. *All the figures come from the official Deepwater Horizon response's Consolidated Fish & Wildlife Collection Report. Actual figures may be higher. More on Wildlife Deaths in the BP Gulf Spill 3000 Birds Now Killed or Covered by Oil in the Gulf 467 Endangered Sea Turtles Killed by BP Spill So Far Oil, Dead Sea Turtle and Baby Dolphin Wash Ashore on Island Off Gulf Up Close and Personal With the Birds Threatened by the Gulf Oil

http://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/4500-animals-killed-in-bp-spill-and-counting.html

don't drive a car then..

Swagman wrote on Nov 24^th, 2013 at 9:47am:

don't drive a car then..

then give us electric cars instead of smashing them up. :(

http://www.evnut.com/images/ev1/ev1_grave/ev1_crush1.jpg

http://www.evnut.com/ev1_crushed.htm

American birds should be educated how to live with wind farms. Foe example Australian birds don't have this problem they happily poo on wind farms.

To every action, there are consequences. The questions are,[list bull-blackarrow]

what is the significance of those consequences;

what are the consequences of alternatives and

what is the significance of the alternatives' consequences?
http://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1383039396/0#0
http://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1383039396/2#2
http://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1383039396/91#91
http://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1383039396/100#100

Sir lastnail wrote on Nov 24^th, 2013 at 9:50am:

Swagman wrote on Nov 24th, 2013 at 9:47am: don't drive a car then.. then give us electric cars instead of smashing them up. :( http://www.evnut.com/images/ev1/ev1_grave/ev1_crush1.jpg http://www.evnut.com/ev1_crushed.htm

Get them your self.  There's lots of you environmentally concerned climate alarmist lefties.  Risk your hard earned cash and start manufacturing electric cars.... 

Backseat_Pollie wrote on Nov 24^th, 2013 at 5:20am:

Bam wrote on Nov 23rd, 2013 at 10:21pm: We put safety mesh over fans to prevent injury. Why can't we do the same for a wind turbine? :-/ Birds don't need to come into contact with the fan blades to be killed or injured. Just being in close proximity can literally tear them apart.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b76/timbo2530/birdAndturbines.png



If this weren't SO FUNNY, it'd be ...


http://lokidoberdog.weebly.com/uploads/1/4/7/6/14765648/662722198.jpg



... oh, BLOODY HELL - it's STILL funny !




http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view/931552/peter-s-angry-laugh-o.gif




FIRSTLY, a turning turbine does NOT create WIND

It is WIND - that makes a turbine turn

SECONDLY, a turning turbine does NOT create SUCTION

THEREFORE, a bird CANNOT be "sucked in" to a wind turbine

From time to time, a bird may misjudge the distance and speed of a turbine blade - resulting in a collision

MORE frequently, a bird will misjudge the speed and distance - of a moving vehicle, on a roadwayi

Swagman wrote on Nov 24^th, 2013 at 10:04am:

Sir lastnail wrote on Nov 24th, 2013 at 9:50am: Swagman wrote on Nov 24th, 2013 at 9:47am: don't drive a car then.. then give us electric cars instead of smashing them up. :( http://www.evnut.com/images/ev1/ev1_grave/ev1_crush1.jpg http://www.evnut.com/ev1_crushed.htm Get them your self.  There's lots of you environmentally concerned climate alarmist lefties.  Risk your hard earned cash and start manufacturing electric cars....

Us lefties have risked lots of our tax money but Holden and Ford keep making fossil fool junkheaps. How come ??

Sir lastnail wrote on Nov 24^th, 2013 at 10:26am:

Swagman wrote on Nov 24th, 2013 at 10:04am: Sir lastnail wrote on Nov 24th, 2013 at 9:50am: Swagman wrote on Nov 24th, 2013 at 9:47am: don't drive a car then.. then give us electric cars instead of smashing them up. :( http://www.evnut.com/images/ev1/ev1_grave/ev1_crush1.jpg http://www.evnut.com/ev1_crushed.htm Get them your self.  There's lots of you environmentally concerned climate alarmist lefties.  Risk your hard earned cash and start manufacturing electric cars....  Us lefties have risked lots of our tax money but Holden and Ford keep making fossil fool junkheaps. How come ??

Lefty governments.



Sir lastnail wrote on Nov 24^th, 2013 at 10:26am:

Us lefties have risked lots of our tax money

Risk your own cash though.  It's not up to the tax payer.  Invest it in electric car manufacturing.  If they are so efficient and economical they will capture the market if not you will go broke.... :P


...and the sky will fall in.... ;D

Backseat_Pollie wrote on Nov 24^th, 2013 at 5:20am:

Bam wrote on Nov 23rd, 2013 at 10:21pm: We put safety mesh over fans to prevent injury. Why can't we do the same for a wind turbine? :-/ Birds don't need to come into contact with the fan blades to be killed or injured. Just being in close proximity can literally tear them apart.

If we need to keep the birds further away, just make the safety mesh bigger.  ::)

buzzanddidj wrote on Nov 24^th, 2013 at 10:15am:

FIRSTLY, a turning turbine does NOT create WIND It is WIND - that makes a turbine turn SECONDLY, a turning turbine does NOT create SUCTION THEREFORE, a bird CANNOT be "sucked in" to a wind turbine From time to time, a bird may misjudge the distance and speed of a turbine blade - resulting in a collision MORE frequently, a bird will misjudge the speed and distance - of a moving vehicle, on a roadway

Canada ranks top bird killers – wind turbines not even close to top

1 November 2013


Billion dollar businesses and billion dollar interests have a lot of money they can use to attack their up-and-coming competitors. Even if those competitors are driven by clear thinking and clean energy, money directed in an effective way can make them look bad. Promoting misinformation lacks integrity, but it’s very common within large industries and economic sectors.

People are busy. They do not have the time to research each myth out there.

Thus, we sometimes get fooled.



The List of Top Bird Killers (via CBC):

1. Domestic and feral cats: 200 million
2. Power lines, collisions and electrocutions: 25 million
3. Collisions with houses or buildings: 25 million
4. Vehicle collisions: 14 million
5. Game bird hunting: 5 million
6. Agricultural pesticides 2.7 million
7. Agricultural mowing: 2.2 million young birds, equivalent to one million adult birds
8. Commercial forestry: 1.4 million nests, equivalent to 900,000 adult birds
9. Communications towers: 220,000



Wind power doesn’t even make the list above. Wind turbines have been increasingly improved in a way as to minimize bird deaths.

We need wind power, and it’s nice to know that it’s not the big bird killer it’s made out to be.

For sure, there is room for improvement, but there almost always is, and that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t use the best, cleanest, safest options we have.


http://reneweconomy.com.au/2013/canada-ranks-top-bird-killers-wind-turbines-even-close-top-94095

Swagman wrote on Nov 24^th, 2013 at 10:37am:

Sir lastnail wrote on Nov 24th, 2013 at 10:26am: Swagman wrote on Nov 24th, 2013 at 10:04am: Sir lastnail wrote on Nov 24th, 2013 at 9:50am: Swagman wrote on Nov 24th, 2013 at 9:47am: don't drive a car then.. then give us electric cars instead of smashing them up. :( http://www.evnut.com/images/ev1/ev1_grave/ev1_crush1.jpg http://www.evnut.com/ev1_crushed.htm Get them your self.  There's lots of you environmentally concerned climate alarmist lefties.  Risk your hard earned cash and start manufacturing electric cars....  Us lefties have risked lots of our tax money but Holden and Ford keep making fossil fool junkheaps. How come ?? Lefty governments. Sir lastnail wrote on Nov 24th, 2013 at 10:26am: Us lefties have risked lots of our tax money Risk your own cash though.  It's not up to the tax payer.  Invest it in electric car manufacturing.  If they are so efficient and economical they will capture the market if not you will go broke.... :P ...and the sky will fall in.... ;D

f.ckoff will you.

risk your own money he says. After all of the tens of billions that has been poured into making the same old gas guzzling fossil fool polluting crap from foreign companies that are going to close up anyway.

what a f.cken cheek you have to say that :(

buzzanddidj wrote on Nov 24^th, 2013 at 10:15am:

Backseat_Pollie wrote on Nov 24th, 2013 at 5:20am: Bam wrote on Nov 23rd, 2013 at 10:21pm: We put safety mesh over fans to prevent injury. Why can't we do the same for a wind turbine? :-/ Birds don't need to come into contact with the fan blades to be killed or injured. Just being in close proximity can literally tear them apart. http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b76/timbo2530/birdAndturbines.png If this weren't SO FUNNY, it'd be ... http://lokidoberdog.weebly.com/uploads/1/4/7/6/14765648/662722198.jpg ... oh, BLOODY HELL - it's STILL funny ! http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view/931552/peter-s-angry-laugh-o.gif FIRSTLY, a turning turbine does NOT create WIND [b]- WRONG It is WIND - that makes a turbine turn - TRUE SECONDLY, a turning turbine does NOT create SUCTION - NEVER MENTIONED SUCTION THEREFORE, a bird CANNOT be "sucked in" to a wind turbine From time to time, a bird may misjudge the distance and speed of a turbine blade - resulting in a collision - EASY TO DO WHEN THE TIP IS TRAVELLING AT NEARLY 300KM PER HOUR MORE frequently, a bird will misjudge the speed and distance - of a moving vehicle, on a roadway[/b]

Backseat_Pollie wrote on Nov 24^th, 2013 at 5:20am:

Bam wrote on Nov 23rd, 2013 at 10:21pm: We put safety mesh over fans to prevent injury. Why can't we do the same for a wind turbine? :-/ Birds don't need to come into contact with the fan blades to be killed or injured. Just being in close proximity can literally tear them apart.

... and it's not just BIRDS

Won't SOMEONE think of the OTHER native fauna !


http://renews.biz/wp-content/assets/sheep-turbine-credit-Shutterstock.jpg


Many sheep owners have been reported hearing loud "popping" sounds during the night - whenever these MONSTERS are switched on - finding little trace of their animals in the morning


http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3287/2660657711_c1c9582936_z.jpg





Cows are being literally "blown away" ...


http://tonova.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/flyingcow.jpg


... only to be located, weeks later and kilometres away, as hideous mutations


http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_a0ISgjjSdtY/SgUSuDTn3CI/AAAAAAAAARU/fwGTzWLE-t4/s320/disgustingburger.jpg





And WHY aren't the Greens letting us know the REAL power source that runs their giant fans ?

Coal and nuclear



FACT