It's one of the best methods for alternative energy.
The Audubon Society strongly supports wind power.
http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/copy-of-wind-power/get-the-facts-about-wind<snip>
Myth: Wind turbines threaten bird populations.
Fact: Studies show that for every 10,000 bird fatalities, less than one is caused by wind turbines. For comparison, cats cause about 10 percent of bird deaths and nearly half are caused by collisions with buildings or windows.
In fact, a recent study published Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shows that 40 percent of all species could face extinction because of global warming.
Monitoring of existing wind farms suggests that with proper location and construction, there is no adverse impact on bird populations.
It’s important for wind farms to conduct a thorough analysis of the risk to bird life as part of the environmental impact assessment of every proposal. With rigorous review, thorough monitoring, and sensitive design, wind power can be deployed without significant harm to birds (and other wildlife).
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http://science.howstuffworks.com/wind-turbine-kill-birds.htm<snip>
To most experts, though, there's a problem with the bird-mortality argument: The vast majority of research shows that wind turbines kill relatively few birds, at least compared with other man-made structures. The statistics are shocking if you consider just how many people are crying out against wind power for the birds' sake:
Man-made structure/technology Associated bird deaths per year (U.S.)
----------------------------- --------------------------------------
Feral and domestic cats Hundreds of millions
Power lines 130 million -- 174 million
Windows (residential and commercial) 100 million -- 1 billion
Pesticides 70 million
Automobiles 60 million -- 80 million
Lighted communication towers 40 million -- 50 million
Wind turbines 10,000 -- 40,000
Collisions with wind turbines account for about one-tenth of a percent of all "unnatural" bird deaths in the United States each year. And of all bird deaths, 30 percent are due to natural causes, like baby birds falling from nests
. So why the widespread misconception that labels wind turbines "bird-o-matics"? It all starts with California, raptors and the thousands of old turbines that make up the Altamont Pass wind farm.
In this article, we'll find out where the statistics went wrong, how thousands of birds do end up flying into wind turbines each year and what's being done to reduce the number of bird-turbine collisions.
<snip> http://www.audubon.org/campaign/windPowerQA.htmlAudubon's Position on Wind Power
Summary: Audubon strongly supports properly-sited wind power as a clean alternative energy source that reduces the threat of global warming. Wind power facilities should be planned, sited and operated to minimize negative impacts on bird and wildlife populations.
Rationale: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has clearly stated that the impacts of climate change are here now and will get worse.<1> Scientists have found that climate change has already affected half of the world's wild species' breeding, distribution, abundance and survival rates.<2> By mid-century, the IPCC predicts that climate change may contribute to the extinction of 20-30 percent of all species on earth.
In order to prevent species extinctions and other catastrophic impacts of climate change, scientists say we must reduce global warming emissions by at least 80 percent by 2050. Reducing pollution from fossil fuels to this degree will require rapidly expanding energy and fuel efficiency, renewable energy and alternative fuels, and changes in land use, agriculture, and transportation. To avoid catastrophe, we need to do all of these.
Wind power is an important part of the strategy to combat global warming. Wind power is currently the most economically competitive form of renewable energy. It provides nearly 15,000 megawatts of power in the United States, enough power for more than 3 million households, and could provide up to 20 percent of the country's electricity needs. Every megawatt-hour produced by wind energy avoids an average of 1,220 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. If the United States obtains 20 percent of its electricity from wind power by 2020, it will reduce global warming emissions equivalent to taking 71 million cars off the road or planting 104 million acres of trees. Expanding wind power instead of fossil fuels also avoids the wildlife and human health impacts of oil and gas drilling, coal mining and fossil fuel burning.
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