One of the arguments that wind farm opponents like to make is how the wind farms lead to increased bird deaths, including some rare species such as bald eagles. Others contend the wind farms also kill bats, such as those that make their homes in the caves of northwest Oklahoma.
Experts say it is a special concern for the large populations of migratory bats, such as the Mexican free-tailed bat, that use caves in the region during summer. In the northwest part of the state, there is a significant bat population such as near the Selman Bat Cave which hosts one of Oklahoma’s largest maternity colonies of Mexican free-tailed bats.
The issue of bird deaths from wind farms got the attention recently of the conservative “Unleash Prosperity Hotline”, authored by economist Stephen Moore:
The New York Times poked fun at Trump earlier this week because he called for a national study on bird deaths due to the 150,000 wind turbines that chop up our fine feathered friends. The Times bashed Trump for “specious investigations into… bird deaths caused by wind turbines” in an editorial blaming Trump for rising energy prices.
According to the American Bird Conservancy, “Bird collisions with turbines and associated infrastructure are increasing yearly,” and annual bird mortality is somewhat less than one million per year.
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There are billions of birds, so the relative number of deaths is pretty trivial.
On the other hand, threatened species like Whooping Cranes, California Condors, Golden Eagles and other raptors are especially vulnerable to the twirling blades. Why they are attracted to windmills is beyond our pay grade.
What we find hypocritical is that we don’t recall the Times or environmental groups complaining when we knocked out a good portion of our logging activities out west 35 years ago to save the Spotted Owl.
Throwing thousands of lumberjacks out of work was a small price to pay. It turns out the Barred Owl was outcompeting the Spotted Owl, and destroying the timber industry made no difference.
Oil and gas companies have faced massive fines and even CEO prison sentences when a few random condors get stuck in oil pits. The wind energy companies don’t even have proper burials or moments of silence.
Apparently, it’s much more cruel and unusual for a migrating bird to be trapped in an oil pit than to be chopped up in a 300 foot Cuisinart. Or something like that.
