A new publication from the Global Warming Policy Foundation reviews the impact of wind energy on the environment and finds that it is already doing great harm to wildlife.
“The Impact of Wind Energy on Wildlife and the Environment” contains contributions from both researchers and campaigners, with a focus on birdlife.
Professor Oliver Krüger describes his cutting-edge research, which has shown how birds of prey and ducks are being killed in their thousands in Germany.
The risk to these species is so great that there is a possibility of whole populations being wiped out.
Klaus Richarz, the former head of a major bird reserve in Germany, describes how wind farm operators are evading strict compliance with the rules, to the detriment of both birds and bats.
Dr. Peter Henderson, of the University of Oxford, reviews the effects of wind turbines on a wide variety of animals. He suggests that the death toll on bats may already be ecologically significant:
“About 200,000 bats are annually killed at onshore wind turbines in Germany alone. These numbers are sufficient to produce concern for future populations, as bats are long-lived and reproduce slowly, so cannot quickly replace such losses.”
Lastly, Paula Byrne of WindAware Ireland describes how windfarms in her native country have desecrated landscapes, and have even threatened the endangered Nore Freshwater Pearl Mussel.
With an extraordinary expansion of renewable energy planned, there is potential for these serious environmental impacts to become catastrophic.
The Impact of Wind Energy on Wildlife and the Environment (pdf)
It is up to the people at GWPW [and others] to use their influence to demand that governments cease and desist the building of wind farms, and shut down those still operating pending proof that burning fossil fuels is causing global warming.
Back in 2015 the American Bird Conservancy sued the Dept of the Interior after it had granted the Wind Power Companies a 30 year Eagle Take Permit and forced them to cancil the permit
From renewable energy, save the earth, put up a windmills.
Short sighted with unintended catastrophic consequences.
The Green movement has the populace coming and going. They can’t decide really what is best, except that people are bad for mother earth, and everyone agrees nuclear and oil is bad. Other than that, complete chaos.
It is very hypercritical that the climate change movement claims to be concerned about polar bears, which are doing fine, and then forces the use of unreliable wind power which kills millions of birds and bats.
Mark Duchamp at “Save The Eagles International” has been at this for a long time. He has had medical problems, but says he is ok now.
Those who believe saving eagles is more important than operating bird and bat killing machines that only intermittently produce a small portion of its rated power. All of these killing machines are subsidized, so you are paying to kill eagles, bats, and large birds.
Does anyone Know of good reason why flying rats (bats) are protected. The UK bat conservancy council doesn’t know how many there are in the UK, let alone worldwide. When I asked them “what good sre they?”, I was told “well, they eat a lot of insects”.
Bats, all of ’em.