by Horace Boothroyd III
The main objection to the increase in windmill usage has been the numbers cited for birds killed when brought into contact with the devices. Granted there is a danger inherent with any form of machinery to cause harm to those unaware of the potential dangers. But there have been no studies about the true rates of deaths caused to birds through the oil industry. That may be because there are many areas in which wildlife can be harmed by petroleum products. Not only is there the issue of spillage of the raw product as we are seeing in the Gulf there are problems with the chemicals associated with shale production and the rates of deaths caused by the pollutants created when petroleum products are used. Even some of the products being powered by petroleum are the cause of death to birds. According to some statistics automobiles cause 60 to 80 million bird deaths a year. Compare that to the estimated 10,000 to 40,000 killed by turbines and the argument against the relative ecological safety of wind power is quite weak.
continued at Daily Kos....
