Wind turbines wrong colour for wildlife

[hunter]

Wind turbines wrong colour for wildlife

By Matt Walker, Editor, Earth News, news.bbc.co.uk

A study has revealed that a wind turbine's colour affects how many insects it attracts, shedding more light on why the turbines occasionally kill bats and birds.

Scientists say that turbines, most commonly painted white or grey, draw in insects. These then lure bats and birds - as they pursue their prey - into the path of the turbine blades.

Support for the idea comes from another study showing that bats are most often killed by turbines at night and in summer, when insects are most abundant.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9067000/9067721.stm

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I don't suppose painting them black would be a good idea.

[secondwind]

1. Interesting......K&R

[madokie]

2. Sounds plausible

[Scuba]

3. This entire problem is grossly overstated, driven by oil interests....

...automobiles kill vastly more insects and birds than windmills.

[caraher]

4. Perhaps, but this research is a good thing

It can't hurt to adopt simple measures like a different paint job to reduce bat and bird deaths.

[Scuba]

6. Sure, but if it perpetuate the myth that windmills are the end....

...of wildlife as we know it, then maybe not.

[caraher]

5. Perhaps, but this research is a good thing

It can't hurt to adopt simple measures like a different paint job to reduce bat and bird deaths.

[Sal Minella]

7. An empirical observation: of four people sitting outside on a deck this

past weekend, only one of us was mobbed and driven indoors by a cloud of small insects pestering her. The other three were not even aware of insects in the air.

She was wearing a white t-shirt. The rest of us, in darker colors, were aware of insects only because of her waving her arms furiously and finally going indoors.

Just an observation.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

8. Wildlife need all the help they can get.

ultimately, fewer people would be best for them, the planet and.... people

[eppur_se_muova]

9. Many insects can see into the UV range -- maybe 'UV dark' would do the job. nt

[Dead_Parrot]

10. Nice... :) nt

[Nihil]

11. On the other hand, so can birds so you'd want to test it carefully ...

... to make sure that you didn't counteract the "less attractive to insects" effect
with a "less visible to birds" one ...
:shrug: