[va-bird] Re: windpower Post article
- From: Tom Gray <tomgray@xxxxxxx>
- To: va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2003 18:04:16 -0500
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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