With California’s ambitious renewable energy goal, the state needs wind power. But California’s largest wind farm cluster at Altamont Pass unintentionally kills golden eagles, burrowing owls and other threatened birds. Now, wind companies, scientists and environmentalists are working to bird-proof these massive wind farms.
@cag66 Cag… wind turbines need to be placed where there is a lot of wind, and where there is a lot of wind, there are a lot of birds.
You can’t substantially reduce deaths without substantially reducing wind farm outputs.
Comment by stealthbeast — July 31, 2010 @ 3:56 pm
@stealthbeast Its not as simple as that. Im a big fan of wind farms but you need to place them in areas where there aren’t endangered birds and set them up in such a way to reduce deaths. Its the details that are important and companies need to do their due diligence.
Comment by cag66 — July 31, 2010 @ 3:57 pm
That is a huge oversight. I am a big fan of wind power but we need to be clever about where we put them. The wind farm owners should pay to help preserve these species.
Comment by cag66 — July 31, 2010 @ 4:22 pm
fuckin green assholes, it’s better to burn natural resourses, i kill more birds with my car in a year then a windturbine
Comment by lisboa6 — July 31, 2010 @ 4:31 pm
@darrylmueller : The real problem is that they won’t use the vertical-axis wind turbines, instead of the bird-killing prop turbines. Propeller turbines are dangerous to live near and they self-destruct in stormy weather from high winds. Since they only make less than 2% of the power needed, there is no justification to suffer with their bird-killing ugliness. Solar panels produce much more power, present no hazards, and are hardly noticeable on the roofs of homes. Vote NO to wind farms!
Comment by JBC814 — July 31, 2010 @ 5:26 pm
hahaha i live RIGHT by that area.
Comment by Mypagedamit — July 31, 2010 @ 6:24 pm
greenies will only be happy when all the turbines are gone and we”re burning coal!!
Comment by bigrobnz — July 31, 2010 @ 6:56 pm
why don’t they put covers over the turbines like our home fans?
Comment by GoodMan06 — July 31, 2010 @ 7:29 pm
Vertical Axis turbines won’t kill any bird , while producting much more energy
Comment by PleasureTV — July 31, 2010 @ 7:55 pm
Friends and subscribers welcome. My home wind turbines just won a Green Design Contest. Look at the videos, neighborhood friendly windpower.
Comment by HomeWindTurbines7 — July 31, 2010 @ 8:26 pm
stealthbeastility….yep that pretty much sums up who you are…
to bad you’re never spent a day in a wildlife clinic working to rehab these injured
birds! I started and ran the only wildlife clinic on the weshingtons coast, for seven years..and it’s a real shame you have not one clue about what you’re raving about…you have a future with the tea baggers but that’s all.
Take your uniformed crap somewhere else.
Comment by goose2goose2 — July 31, 2010 @ 9:13 pm
You make energy with coal, environmentalists yell at you for CO2 emissions. You make energy with nuclear power plants, environmentalists yell at you for irradiated waste. You make energy with wind, environmentalists yell at you for killing bird life. You make energy with dams, environmentalists yell at you for bottle-necking freshwater from rural communities. You make energy with geothermal vents, environmentalists yell at you for dispensing methane gas.
You can’t win with environmentalists.
Comment by stealthbeast — July 31, 2010 @ 9:33 pm
Eventually l guess lol.
Comment by stealthbeast — July 31, 2010 @ 10:31 pm
@niltomega
you saying putting up turbines causes large deficits?
Comment by ajre82 — July 31, 2010 @ 11:21 pm
evolution shall teach them not to fly into the turbins
Comment by 0marius0 — August 1, 2010 @ 12:15 am
I feel like choking some of these people, especially that blond bitch with the blue shirt….oh how proud she is to see her efforts shutting down turbines, tearing them down and hauling them off…oh DON’T hurt the birdies…we have to stop sea-level rise, but not if it means killing some of her birdies!
These people are never satisfied. Watch goof-ball California juggle one tree-hugger wish list after another…only human extinction will make them happy.
Comment by randommagnum — August 1, 2010 @ 12:21 am
Also, consider how much energy it takes to create a solar cell vs its output. Solar energy is far less attractive when you take in the whole picture, and realize it’s not just a matter of setting up some sunlight collectors.
Comment by callistopwns — August 1, 2010 @ 12:28 am
Solar cells are very expensive to make, and generate a TON of toxic chemicals. When you look at total pollution generated vs actual levels of energy output, you’ll find solar energy is highly overrated. Nuclear energy, despite everyone’s misplaced and somewhat ignorant trepidation of, is the way to go, until we learn to harvest fusion energy efficiently.
Comment by callistopwns — August 1, 2010 @ 12:44 am
@WiiPTV everything on this planet lives in a symbiotic relationship including us. You start un balancing this relationship and everything suffers. We as humans live very short spans compared to this planet. Just because there isnt an immediate effect doesnt mean there will not be one. By elminating species we loose a life form. As far as we know the only life we know is here, the universe is pretty empty and dead so far. So whate we do now may effect future generations 50 yrs,100,200, who knows
Comment by dinglenutzz — August 1, 2010 @ 12:45 am
Bravo StarNationVideos, well said….and absolutely a 110% true. You are obviously well educated and have done your research. Solar is the way to go. Research solar cells and start covering rooftops and large buildings with them. Imagine your house roof covered in solar cells, you would be self sufficient and totally green. With the right research (no corporations allowed) they could be very efficient and look sleek and not an eyesore.
Comment by dinglenutzz — August 1, 2010 @ 12:49 am
We need to do a full winter shut down to continue polluting the earth in exchange for a few birds. ..Sure.
This is provably one of the most annoying videos i have seen in years. And Im pro green planet. But im against extreme sentimentalists and pro save everything on earth which is an unrealistic view of the world.
Their inconvenient thinking aint what is going to create cost effective n pollution free energy sources anytime soon.
Comment by WiiIPTV — August 1, 2010 @ 1:29 am
The worlds most lethal, the wooorlds most this and that. What an annoying video.
Comment by WiiIPTV — August 1, 2010 @ 2:08 am
@ KQEDondemand
Bird-proof? Interesting. Im dieing to see what are they going to come up with. Bids avoid planes, buildings, helicopters, cars, people, etc.
Can you please explain why are you saying this are bird grinders?
We need the power for the cities etc. we aren’t talking about home renewable energy.
Comment by WiiIPTV — August 1, 2010 @ 2:09 am
@ jasong19711
Lol
Comment by WiiIPTV — August 1, 2010 @ 2:26 am
what planet am I living on???? one that is so fucked up I am ready to get off it, by the name of Earth over run by in infestation known as homosapiens!
Comment by jasong19711 — August 1, 2010 @ 3:13 am