"The biggest bird killer in the US (and likely, the world) is #Cats. Outdoor cats kill somewhere between 1.3 billion and 4 billion birds a year in the US alone. Let’s put it this way: for every one bird that dies in the blades of a turbine, domestic cats are dragging roughly 4,000 back to the porch."

Article: The harm caused by wind turbines isn't nearly as bad as you think...

https://www.zmescience.com/feature-post/technology-articles/sustainability/renewable-energy/birds-and-wind-turbines/

#Birds #Windmills

@nickrauchen Wind turbines could even stop within 10 seconds when birds are around. Marginally bad for energy production, but goodwill is guaranteed. Wonder why that feature is not mandatory yet.

@PeterBlok Because it is very expensive and it can only detect big birds.

@nickrauchen

@vlindervriendje @nickrauchen Relative to the costs of a whole turbine, it's peanuts.

@PeterBlok maybe but one can ask oneself the question if it is really necessary because of such few accidents and because the system doesn't work for small birds. Birds and other wildlife also adapt being around wind turbines. About 15km from my home there are geese breeding directly underneath them. The road makes more victimes. As do powerlines.

@nickrauchen

@vlindervriendje @nickrauchen Smaller birds can also be detected, provided they travel in flocks. Even bats can be detected. And when there's an incentive, even smaller, single birds could be detected.
I would argue that any death that can be prevented should be prevented. The availability of energy hardly suffers from this, neither does the price of energy. It is currently mostly left out because it is not required. Making it mandatory would help in general acceptance of wind power.

@PeterBlok Here and there, there will always be victims, no matter what we do or how much we invest. Just as people will continue to be killed in traffic accidents despite mandatory systems. Don't get me wrong, I'm on your side. Still, we have to be realistic. The number of victims per mill per year is often only one to four. I think that's roughly the number of birds that fly to their deaths into a window of a building block.

@nickrauchen

@PeterBlok Should we therefore ban windows? Moreover, we're seeing birds and other animals, adapt to wind turbines. They're clever. What if birds fly through the Netherlands where the systems work, but not abroad? They then assume the turbine is shutting down, while those abroad might not. That also results in casualties. So it's not so black and white.

@nickrauchen

@vlindervriendje @nickrauchen We normally do what we reasonably can. Like seat belts and air bags in cars, helmets on bikes. Stopping a turbine when there are big birds or flocks of small ones around sounds reasonable, right?
And it's true that wind mills hardly affect bird populations compared to other human activities, like climate change. So in a sense, they save more birds than they cause harm.
Still does not mean to keep things as they are, just make them better.