[pct-l] wind turbines

[Gail Francis]

Hi,
Thanks for your suggestion that we look out for birds on the trail. However, except for a few of the older wind farms, which were constructed before there was much data about this sort of thing, wind farms are not a major source of bird kills. Of course, sometimes they have to be shut down during migration or other adjustments made, but the Audubon Society and others have confirmed that far more birds are killed by fossil fuel generation than by wind generation. The Audubon Society strongly supports wind power. Here are some peer reviewed studies you can read on this topic: http://www.carbonlighthouse.com/2011/09/wind-turbines-birds/  As I understand it, bats are still being killed by wind turbines, but there is not enough understanding of this problem yet to figure out how to design the wind farms differently to avoid this problem. Of course, humans and other living things are killed in large numbers by coal emissions.


I don't want to malign the person who wrote criticizing the wind farms, maybe most of us would react that way if one were planned in our own backyards, but I don't think we can afford to turn our backs on wind development. We can minimize the need for it by making our homes, businesses, school, and churches as efficient as possible and by practicing conservation. But certainly, the damage being done to mountains in California by wind turbines in no way compares to the damage being done to mountains in Appalachia due to coal mining. 


On a related note, I was thinking of keeping a daily journal on the trail just outlining basic climatic facts, like temperature, precipitation, wind, etc. If enough people do this over the course of several years, the data could be useful to climate models, wildlife management, and other science-based stuff. If other folks are interested, email me off line and we can figure out a place where people can contribute this info and share it out.

Thanks!
Gail



 
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