BIRDS VS. TURBINES:
How Wind Turbines Affect Birds
Editor's Note: Lily P. ('17) was interested in the potential cons of "green" energy sources. Her article discussed the negative impact wind turbines have on birds, and the changes being made to lessen this impact.
As a response to the recent environmental push, in the past decade wind turbines have become more commonplace. This year, the first full-scale turbine was installed in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and, “while many wind turbine proposals attract opposition on aesthetic grounds, or because of their potential to cause damage to bird and bat habitats, Mr. Outerbridge said the Sunset Park project had received a positive response from the community as well as representatives of nearby Green-Wood Cemetery and the Audubon Society ” (Schlossberg). As Mr. Outerbridge alluded to, despite the good intentions behind wind turbines, their construction has created quite a controversy. Besides the great expense of production, the noise pollution, and appearance of the turbines, people claim that the turbines harm native wildlife.
The most popular argument against wind turbines is their negative impact on the wildlife that surrounds them. Many people claim that the turbines, which cut through the flight paths of many different birds, do more harm to the local environment than good. The difficulty that comes along with calculating the exact amount of birds killed or injured by has only fueled the controversy. Some of claimed that these turbines kill 10,000 birds annually while other claim that the number is around 600,000 (Eveleth). A research team recently used texts and records centered around the bird deaths to come up with a more accurate body count of 140,000 to 328,000 birds a year (Eveleth).
Despite the relatively high mortality rate, the American Bird Conservancy is in support of wind turbines, as long as they adhere to bird-safe standards. The Conservancy urges people to be aware of the location of the turbines, so that they don’t interfere with particularly vulnerable habitats like wetlands and important nesting areas. Other research groups have brainstormed solutions to the bird mortality epidemic. Many of the turbines that have shown to be responsible for high numbers of raptor deaths have been shut down, and more care is being put into the locations of future turbines (“Summary of Wind-Wildlife Interactions”). Research also shows that the more raptors there are the more likely they are to be killed, as a result, turbines are being moved away from areas that are known to have a great deal of raptor traffic (“Summary of Wind-Wildlife Interactions”).
Since the dangers of wind turbines have come to the attention of both the scientific community and the general public, more pushes have been made to change the wind turbines themselves. The older, more dangerous turbines were replaced with monopole turbines, which were meant to be safer for the local wildlife (Curry). Despite the good intentions that inspired the construction of these monopole turbines, the mortality rates remain high (Curry). Since monopoles are taller than the older models, highflying birds become easy targets for the turbines, and as a result, a quarter to half a million birds continue to be killed annually (Curry). There have also been pushes to paint and make the turbines as noticeable as possible, so it is easier for birds to avoid the deathtraps, but, because of the newness of wind turbines, scientists are still not sure if the paint makes a difference. (“Summary of Wind-Wildlife Interactions”). Graham Martin, an ornithologist at the University of Birmingham, suggests we should almost the opposite. That instead of focusing on making the birds notice the wind turbines, and instead to lure the birds away from the turbines and into a safer flight path (Curry).
Only time will tell the lasting effects of the turbines, but hopefully we will have been able to prevent the worst, extinction of species, or irreversible damage to various bird habitats. Despite the negatives that come with these turbines, the scientific community is making strides in the effort to find sustainable and alternate energy sources. And the more we push towards improving and making our alternate energy sources safer and more efficient, the more we push against the damage that is being done to our environment.
The most popular argument against wind turbines is their negative impact on the wildlife that surrounds them. Many people claim that the turbines, which cut through the flight paths of many different birds, do more harm to the local environment than good. The difficulty that comes along with calculating the exact amount of birds killed or injured by has only fueled the controversy. Some of claimed that these turbines kill 10,000 birds annually while other claim that the number is around 600,000 (Eveleth). A research team recently used texts and records centered around the bird deaths to come up with a more accurate body count of 140,000 to 328,000 birds a year (Eveleth).
Despite the relatively high mortality rate, the American Bird Conservancy is in support of wind turbines, as long as they adhere to bird-safe standards. The Conservancy urges people to be aware of the location of the turbines, so that they don’t interfere with particularly vulnerable habitats like wetlands and important nesting areas. Other research groups have brainstormed solutions to the bird mortality epidemic. Many of the turbines that have shown to be responsible for high numbers of raptor deaths have been shut down, and more care is being put into the locations of future turbines (“Summary of Wind-Wildlife Interactions”). Research also shows that the more raptors there are the more likely they are to be killed, as a result, turbines are being moved away from areas that are known to have a great deal of raptor traffic (“Summary of Wind-Wildlife Interactions”).
Since the dangers of wind turbines have come to the attention of both the scientific community and the general public, more pushes have been made to change the wind turbines themselves. The older, more dangerous turbines were replaced with monopole turbines, which were meant to be safer for the local wildlife (Curry). Despite the good intentions that inspired the construction of these monopole turbines, the mortality rates remain high (Curry). Since monopoles are taller than the older models, highflying birds become easy targets for the turbines, and as a result, a quarter to half a million birds continue to be killed annually (Curry). There have also been pushes to paint and make the turbines as noticeable as possible, so it is easier for birds to avoid the deathtraps, but, because of the newness of wind turbines, scientists are still not sure if the paint makes a difference. (“Summary of Wind-Wildlife Interactions”). Graham Martin, an ornithologist at the University of Birmingham, suggests we should almost the opposite. That instead of focusing on making the birds notice the wind turbines, and instead to lure the birds away from the turbines and into a safer flight path (Curry).
Only time will tell the lasting effects of the turbines, but hopefully we will have been able to prevent the worst, extinction of species, or irreversible damage to various bird habitats. Despite the negatives that come with these turbines, the scientific community is making strides in the effort to find sustainable and alternate energy sources. And the more we push towards improving and making our alternate energy sources safer and more efficient, the more we push against the damage that is being done to our environment.
