Thursday, September 19, 2013
Beak Service
"The Migratory Bird Treaty Act makes it illegal for anyone to kill a protected bird (including eagles and other raptors) by any means without first obtaining a permit."......U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service press release, 2009..............................................................................So, how well is the U.S. wind industry doing in regards to this law? Well, if you listen to the Alameda County Community Development Agency's report on the matter, the Altamont wind farm alone is responsible for the deaths of 2,400 raptors (eagles, hawks, burrowing owls, etc.) EVERY YEAR (not to mention thousands and thousands from other protected species)!! Every damn year. That certainly doesn't appear like compliance to me...............................................................................P.S. And, yes, cats and cars kill a lot more birds than wind turbines. But when was the last time that your tabby left an American bald eagle, a hawk, a falcon, or a burrowing owl at your your doorstep? If it's anything like mine is, the answer would be never.
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4 comments:
Marcus, I changes it from "of other protected species" to "from other protected species". Thanks for pointing that out because it was definitely not clear the way that I had worded it.
The price of civilization? We have all sorts of 'collateral damage',
mercury in the rivers, frequent mass shootings, "downwinders" from
the old nuke testing days, LA smog,
Aids, etc. The interface of nature
and humans..interesting.
We really should focus very strongly, much more strongly than we do now, on real pollutants such as mercury in rivers, instead of bankrupting ourselves, starving ourselves, and ruining lives going after harmless carbon.
There's a cost to civilization but there's a much bigger cost to a lack of it. Just ask Africa and various parts of Asia and Latin America.
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