I've heard planty of concerns over bird kills from turbines before. It's too bad that it happens but there is no way we can live on Earth without leaving footprints. There are no perfect solutions. Even "clean" energy comes with some costs. The best thing you can do is take the path of lesser evils.

 

Exactly how I feel, and this is the first time I have ever seen a bird hit by a turbine even though it is well documented.

 

The U.S. transportation system kills lots of wildlife. I took out half a flock of blackbirds coming around a curve once. Several pheasants have met the grill on my truck. So far no deer. Ran over a raccoon once in my Bronco and have probably ended a few squirrels lives. Speaking of squirrels...how many power outages are cause by them and how many of them poor critters get roasted in the process each year?

You see where I'm going here?
Ever step on an ant? Swat a mosquito? Fly?

Ducks are sacred. I get it.

 

LOL no power outages by squirrels. Not yet at least lol. I'm not banging on the wind turbines, believe me, this is my career and what provides for me. I was just using it as an example since I have seen several hunters in waterfowl magazine say these turbines are destroying migration paths. This is the first time I have seen a dead bird period, and it just happened to be a canvas back. 90% of bird fatalities are caused by vehicles, so.... Wind turbine protesters go bark up another tree.. :hammer:

 

It is a well known and established fact than many wind turbine fields kill a lot of birds. There are plenty of reports on it if you do some research. It is good the one you are in doesn't show much evidence. Then again do you have many coyotes in your area? Evidence gone!

 

Is it a concern yes, but we need clean energy more than we need ducks. Don't worry too over time ducks will learn to stay away from them.

 

Is it a concern yes, but we need clean energy more than we need ducks. Don't worry too over time ducks will learn to stay away from them.

They are worse on bats than they are on waterfowl, but in any case I'd hardly call wind energy clean. Tons of $$$ and infrastructure for too little return.

 

The end product looks clean untIl you account for the manufacturing process and energy it takes. Then add in shipping and fuel to get the turbines here from Europe. Green energy is a money sucking joke.

 

Yup guys lets just keep using oil from the middle east because thats working out great isnt.

 

Turbines obviously offer a more challenging obstacle for waterfowl with the moving blades but even stationary objects like powerlines can be deadly to waterfowl. One particular swamp that I've shot hundreds of woodies in over the years is next to a powerline ride of way and I have seen several ducks fly headlong into the crossing wires. It can be somewhat humorous to hear the "Thwong" of the hit and see the bird fluttering down at the first signs of daylight until you consider how many others do the same with nobody to observe the event...and yes I retrieve the bird and count it in my daily bag and save the ammo in the process.

 

Yup guys lets just keep using oil from the middle east because thats working out great isnt.

Maybe we should drill our own :thumbsup:

We have more than anyone else. So much, we can't even measure it.

I'm ok with solar, doubtful of biofuel, but wind is the worst of them all by far. My cousin worked in idaho building huge windfarms for 9 months. One night they got drunk with the enigneers and did some math. They figured out that they would have to build almost 300 windfarms of that size to match the annual output of an average sized nuclear plant. The landmass needed would be larger than New Jersey. They didn't care to interpolate the cost, I'm sure they were frightened enough with what they discovered.

Tell me how that's green or cost efficient.

 

Solar used to be pretty inefficient too. I expect that turbines will eventually be made that are worth the cost and require less area. As for drilling more oil, I'd be inclined to leave ours where it is. It wouldn't have a great effect on oil prices and It's not has if it is going anywhere. It's sorta like the old business rule of always expanding with other people's money. Imagine a future world where mideast oil actually started to be used up, while our supplies remained untapped. The region would loose strategic importance and we could ignore their killing each other. The sheiks could then find something else to do, like build sandpaper factories.

 

Never said I liked Wind energy did I. Just said I think we need to start looking into green energies. I think solar could be a possibility. I agree with u that wind energy doesn't produce enough energy, but Im kinda of sick walking into big cities and smelling all the gas. Too bad they don't put solar panels in NY city, thanks to Obama tho we don't have the cash!

 

Wind is VERY effective... My turbines each put out 2.2 Mega Watts. Each megawatt can supply 3,000 homes...I have 63 turbines. They are very effective...

 

Maybe we should drill our own :thumbsup:
We have more than anyone else. So much, we can't even measure it.

Should we drill our own oil? Of course. Do we have more oil than other countries? Hell no!

 

The ducks learn where our blinds are they will learn where the turbunes are as well. I'm for alt energy like wind and solar, but am nowhere near educated enough to say what will work and what will not. In my state of delaware we have ethanol added to our fuel 10% worth. Made from corn, we used to have a surplus of corn every year now they're using it, thats great, but now the chicken farmer down the road pays more for his feed, beef producers pay more for their feed, my food prices go up, and to top it off it takes twice as much alcohol to make the same amount of power as gasoline. So it may burn a little cleaner, but i'm using more of it now, not to mention my 1984 chevy doesn't like nor does my boat, so either way you look at it they got ya by the short and curlies. If we drilled our own oil we would just sell it to china and buy it back later like we do our metal.

 

Yup guys lets just keep using oil from the middle east because thats working out great isnt.

its going to be awesome when we use up all of their oil and we still have ours.

 

wanapasaki, i have a question and since you work on one of these farms maybe you can answer it ?? Here in Idaho wind farms are starting to pop up every where and i have heard that the most costly part is getting the wind farm attached to the power grid?? Is this true???? As for the oil thing i hate too burst everyone's bubble and i am not trying to start a fight butt the usa has not gotten one drop of oil from the middle east since the late 60s early 70s. Remember the alaskin pipe line!!! it was put up as a result of 6 oil tankers being sunk in the sueas canal . We have been lied to all these years to justify what we are doing over there. The truth is the only reason that we there is to make sure that everyone plays nice. Europe,Japan,China get there oil from the middle east. The United states gets its oil from Alaska and the gulf of Mexico.
Sorry butt everyone has been lied too

 

wanapasaki, i have a question and since you work on one of these farms maybe you can answer it ?? Here in Idaho wind farms are starting to pop up every where and i have heard that the most costly part is getting the wind farm attached to the power grid?? Is this true???? As for the oil thing i hate too burst everyone's bubble and i am not trying to start a fight butt the usa has not gotten one drop of oil from the middle east since the late 60s early 70s. Remember the alaskin pipe line!!! it was put up as a result of 6 oil tankers being sunk in the sueas canal . We have been lied to all these years to justify what we are doing over there. The truth is the only reason that we there is to make sure that everyone plays nice. Europe,Japan,China get there oil from the middle east. The United states gets its oil from Alaska and the gulf of Mexico.
Sorry butt everyone has been lied too

The cost to attach to the grid line is really not that expensive in the scheme of all expenses. We either tie into existing substations with available feeders but generally develop our own substations. The biggest costs are the land development and licensing as well as manufacturer costs of the turbines themselves

 

If you factor in resources such as gas and oil from the various shale plays around the country, we have much more energy than all the middle east. The best part is it is clean...unless you believe the Gasland / Matt Damon propaganda.

-John

 

Many occurrences with windmills aren't related to strikes but rather hydrostatic shock. I've read bat studies where a necropsy is performed and there is liquification of organs with no visible damage to the outside of the body. There are also cases where flight is disrupted by the rotors turning, creating a void of turbulence ridden air that won't let downforce be generated. It's similar to when helicopters crash when flying into areas surrounded by walls, disrupting the air waves and not allowing lift. This is why the helicopter crashed when Seal Team 6 stormed Osama's compound.

And as far as whether it's a problem or not, I would venture to say that quantitatively, it's not out of the range of mortalities from other events (predators, chemicals, etc.) in a given population.

 

Wind is VERY effective... My turbines each put out 2.2 Mega Watts. Each megawatt can supply 3,000 homes...I have 63 turbines. They are very effective...

How effective are they when the wind isn't blowing?

Nuclear works all the time, whether the sun is shining or not, whether the wind is blowing or not. That's why the US navy dropped sails (you know, the original wind power!!! :hi: )and is using nuke reactors now...it's called technology, and we need to embrace it!

 

Wind is VERY effective... My turbines each put out 2.2 Mega Watts. Each megawatt can supply 3,000 homes...I have 63 turbines. They are very effective...

How effective are they when the wind isn't blowing?

Nuclear works all the time, whether the sun is shining or not, whether the wind is blowing or not. That's why the US navy dropped sails (you know, the original wind power!!! :hi: )and is using nuke reactors now...it's called technology, and we need to embrace it!

Where do you dispose of the waste? I suggest starting on your property. :clapping:

 

Wind is VERY effective... My turbines each put out 2.2 Mega Watts. Each megawatt can supply 3,000 homes...I have 63 turbines. They are very effective...

How effective are they when the wind isn't blowing?

Nuclear works all the time, whether the sun is shining or not, whether the wind is blowing or not. That's why the US navy dropped sails (you know, the original wind power!!! :hi: )and is using nuke reactors now...it's called technology, and we need to embrace it!

Where do you dispose of the waste? I suggest starting on your property. :clapping:

Actually I heard, and I'm being serious, Copenhagen stuff's a bunch of the aftermarket in their can's lol

 

Wind is VERY effective... My turbines each put out 2.2 Mega Watts. Each megawatt can supply 3,000 homes...I have 63 turbines. They are very effective...

How effective are they when the wind isn't blowing?

Nuclear works all the time, whether the sun is shining or not, whether the wind is blowing or not. That's why the US navy dropped sails (you know, the original wind power!!! :hi: )and is using nuke reactors now...it's called technology, and we need to embrace it!

Where do you dispose of the waste? I suggest starting on your property. :clapping:

I believe the volume of waste is minimal for the megawattage you get out of it. Granted, the length of time to keep it around is an issue. I thought Yucca mountain, all by itself, was supposed to be big enough to handle holding ALL of the nuke waste generated to date in the US-- from all the power plants, all the radioactive stuff from the medical industry, all the research waste, all the bomb making waste (40 years worth...), all of it. In one facility. I used to have a pdf copy of a research paper the DoD sponsored trying to find a way to mark the site of Yucca for the next 10,000 years in a way that future people wouldn't disturb what they were planning on burying there. It was actually a facinating read. How do you mark something that's buried 2,000 feet underground, in a form that people who might not even understand what english writing is, and will withstand the effects of time (ever see any artifacts that was man made after 10,000 years???), and be understood as "hey, don't dig here, really bad mojo underground here!"

One other possible solution to the waste issue, why not load it up into rockets and launch it at the sun? Celestial fireworks! OOOOH! AAAAH!