Just had to deal with a bunch of wind turbine conspiracy theories at #StateOfEU, this polite political event I’m at in Brussels. Damn we‘re fucked. Fucked. Our notional political elite is believing in utter complete garbage.
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@jon They did an experiment where they painted (one of?) the blades in black to make it more visible, which reduced the number of dead birds by 70%.
https://www.intelligentliving.co/norway-bird-deaths-black-turbine-blades/
I'm still not sure how they reached that conclusion.
They monitored two groups of 4 turbines each, from 2006-2016. In 2013 they painted blades of one turbine group.
The numbers of dead birds found at these turbines (excluding Willow ptarmigan):
Before:
control group: 7
impact group: 11
After:
control group: 18
impact group: 6
(plus 40 Willow ptarmigan)
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.6592
And yes, that's 82 dead birds in 80 turbine years.
@billiglarper @mikaeleiman @jon
And yes, that's 82 dead birds in 80 turbine years.
How does that compare with large glass office buildings?
@jon What I always feel gets missed out on the subject of bird deaths is: nothing has a bigger overall, long-term impact on bird populations than habitat loss.
And what makes habitat loss a much, much more pressing concern? Climate change.
Over a longer period, turbines can save the lives of countless birds.
@RolloTreadway @jon just wait til people find out about the wildlife destruction caused by cars...
We know beyond any doubt that wind as part of the renewable energy mix is vital. It’s cheaper than nuclear. And sure, turbines make some noise - so don’t build them next to homes. Which you don’t anyway. #StateOfEU
Also making the case for new nuclear in France right now after the headaches nuclear had with cooling water this summer. WHAT? #StateOfEU
“And those turbines you see in Brandenburg approaching Berlin are so UGLY!” he went on. Climate change, that’s ugly. #StateOfEU
Turbines kill birds. They don’t you jerk. Your cat is more a danger to birds. #StateOfEU