[va-bird] Re: windpower Post article

At 09:19 AM 12/27/2003 -0500, Christian Kessler wrote:
>don't know the answer to your very good question, but do know that
>cell-phone & radio towers are also hard on birds.  understand that a big
>part of the issue there is the strobe lights to warn low-flying
>aircraft.  the birds apparently fly into the lights.  but more
>information would be nice.  also noted that the previous report
>indicated 44,000 birds over 20 years, which is 2,200 birds a year -- but
>what does that mean in context?  I have no real idea.  jck

My personal opinion is that the overall number, while it is always
appalling to think of numbers of birds dying, is not very significant.
I say this because the number of birds killed every year by many other
human-related sources is huge in comparison:

House cats: ~1 billion
Buildings: 100 million to 1 billion
Autos: 60 million to 80 million
Power lines: hundreds of thousands to 174 million
Pesticides: 67 million

(These are annual totals for the U.S. only.)

As one of my previous postings indicated, what DOES seem like a
legitimate concern is the composition of birds killed in Altamont Pass
--particularly golden eagles (protected under the federal Bald and
Golden Eagle Protection Act) and burrowing owls (a declining species).

I believe that while wind plants may present a threat to specific species
at specific sites, they are not a significant threat to birds-in-general.

I hope that answers your question about context--if it doesn't, ask
again and I'll try again.

Regards,
Tom Gray
American Wind Energy Association 

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