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2.9 Billion Bird Deaths Linked to Solar, Wind
Townhall ^ | 09/23/2019 | Katie Kieffer

Posted on 09/23/2019 9:00:44 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

Feathers at the foot of a wind turbine. Bird droppings at the base of a solar panel. A coroner could use these signs to establish the cause of mass bird death. And a novelist could pen a murder mystery titled: Death by Renewable Energy.

In 1969, there were far more active coal plants in America than today. However, in 1969, there were also 2.9 billion more birds in America. In the last decade alone, 289 coal plants have closed—a 40 percent reduction. Meanwhile, wind turbines and solar panels are going up at a record pace and scientists are reporting a “full-blown crisis” in the disappearance of 29 percent of North American birds.

“Cats eat more birds than wind turbines kill!” claim wind and solar activists. But there are fewer cats in the United States today than in 2013. Meanwhile, wind turbines and solar panels are going up at an alarming rate.

Why is nearly a third of our bird population disappearing? Common birds including sparrows, robins, warblers, blackbirds and starlings play an integral role in pollinating flowers, regenerating forests by spreading seeds, and controlling pests. We may take birds for granted—but we rely on them for a healthy ecosystem.

“Habitat loss” is the top reason for this bird disappearing act according to a new analysis in the journal Science. Let’s connect the dots. Coal plants are shuttering. Wind and solar farms consume vast tracts of land. The bright blades and lights in turbines and solar panels actually attract birds—and the insects they eat. Therefore, Audubon reports, even if wind turbines are retrofitted: “every species of bird approaches a turbine in a different manner, so training blades to recognize all birds could take years of research.”

Five years ago—in 2014—Yahoo! News reported that wind turbines are responsible for killing over 573,000 birds annually. Bird scientist Shawn Smallwood testified that one large solar farm alone—the Ivanpah solar panel project in California—likely kills 28,380 birds annually. Meanwhile, we’ve built more wind turbines and solar farms. Scientists claim to be “stunned” that birds are dropping in droves. But the writing, or bird guts, has been on the turbine blade for years.

Democrat Billionaires Get Richer Off Solar, Poor Pay Higher Energy Prices

President Trump is the only American billionaire in recent memory (other than the late Steve Jobs) who understands that socialism destroys the economy and hurts poor people.

Facebook founder billionaire Mark Zuckerberg (who once hosted a “Hoodie Summit” for President Obama, inviting him to Facebook headquarters for a town hall in 2011 to help him get re-elected) is about to get much richer now that he’s building six solar projects – each the size of four football fields – in the New Mexico desert. Fortunately for Zuck, when a Democrat destroys land, it’s called “meeting energy goals.”

Billionaire former Google CEO Eric Schmitt endorsed Barack Obama for president in 2008. In 2013, he cashed in on his friendship with Obama to allocate a $1.6 billion stimulus loan toward Ivanpah solar thermal project along the California-Nevada border. Google was a joint owner of Ivanpah, and “only” destroyed 4,000 acres of pristine land and displaced a desert tortoise in the process of littering the desert with hundreds of thousands of mirrors.

The same executives jetting around the world and residing in mansions want to send the rest of us back to the caveman era. What is it to them if the rest of us lose power? They can afford to buy up 4,000 acres in the Southwest and turn it into their private solar project. Or, a crony capitalist will offer them a subsidy.

As birds die and billionaires binge, poor people pay higher prices—and face energy shortages thanks to the Democrat push for “clean” energy. Even in the energy-rich state of Texas, there are whispers of a “mandatory power cut” for consumers amid triple-digit heat. Wind and solar puts a strain on the power grid because it is not very profitable or efficient. In August, Texas became “the most expensive place to buy power in all of the United States' major markets,” reported Express-News.

Wind and solar are about 2,000 years out-of-date, and I don’t normally associate antiquity with cleanliness. The Roman and Egyptian ruins are called “ruins” because of all the dust and rubble. It’s a myth that archaic technology will result in clean air and healthy ecosystems.

We will save birds—and the ecosystems they nourish—when we stop destroying their habitats with lethal blades and blinding panels.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: birddeaths; birdgenocide; climatechange; energy; fossilfuels; renewables; solar; wildlife; wind; windenergy
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1 posted on 09/23/2019 9:00:44 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

Un-possible, AOC says wind power will save the erf.


2 posted on 09/23/2019 9:03:53 AM PDT by VTenigma (The Democrat party is the party of the mathematically challenged)
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To: SeekAndFind

millions from turbines at most


3 posted on 09/23/2019 9:05:46 AM PDT by Brian Griffin
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To: SeekAndFind

I used to work with a guy who retired from my employer and went to work for Ivanpah. From the start, the plant absolutely destroyed birds...incinerated them in flight. Ivanpah was funded by several highly profitable companies, including Google. Last I knew, it was the only plant of its kind in the US.


4 posted on 09/23/2019 9:06:30 AM PDT by be-baw
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To: SeekAndFind

Deforestation is responsible for most of the bird population decline.


5 posted on 09/23/2019 9:07:12 AM PDT by Brian Griffin
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To: SeekAndFind

6 posted on 09/23/2019 9:07:27 AM PDT by stars & stripes forever (Blessed is the nation whpose God is the Lord. (Psalm 32:12))
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To: SeekAndFind

Not just birds.

Bats are being slaughtered. The European bat is on the verge of extinction.

Insects are also being decimated. Bees are dying off near wind turbines, but few discuss it.

Not only are they eyesores, wind turbines are decimating our environment.


7 posted on 09/23/2019 9:10:30 AM PDT by Erik Latranyi (The Democratic Party is now a hate-group)
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To: Brian Griffin

The Earth is greener than ever.

We have more trees in the US than at any time in history.

You are wrong.


8 posted on 09/23/2019 9:12:08 AM PDT by Erik Latranyi (The Democratic Party is now a hate-group)
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To: SeekAndFind

Do those birds contain carbon? Yes? Then they’re bad birds. The Earth Goddess is better off without them.


9 posted on 09/23/2019 9:13:26 AM PDT by Telepathic Intruder
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To: Brian Griffin

“Deforestation is responsible for most of the bird population decline.”

However...

Reforestation Rates-
In the United States, deforestation has been more than offset by reforestation between 1990 and 2010. The nation added 7,687,000 hectares (18,995,000 acres) of forested land during that period. The trend in reforesting areas has been driven by organizations such as the U.S. Forest Service and the Arbor Day Foundation. Reforestation efforts were critical to maintain forest cover starting at the beginning of the 20th century, and they are the reason that there is a net positive trend in forest growth today.


10 posted on 09/23/2019 9:15:20 AM PDT by READINABLUESTATE (You cannot solidify control and power over people who are able to defend themselves.)
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To: SeekAndFind

The bottom line is that the average American can’t afford property on salt water and doesn’t have a reason to care about hypothetical rising sea levels from hypothetical global warming.

If you own a $5 million beachfront house spend $100,000 to raise it up and don’t make electricity for average folks cost more.


11 posted on 09/23/2019 9:17:14 AM PDT by Brian Griffin
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To: SeekAndFind

Slice thin and fry in healthy EVO.


12 posted on 09/23/2019 9:18:58 AM PDT by Sacajaweau
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To: READINABLUESTATE

Deforestation in Brazil and Indonesia


13 posted on 09/23/2019 9:19:25 AM PDT by Brian Griffin
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To: SeekAndFind

I must say.... this is a pleasant surprise to know that cats are not being blamed for the majority of bird deaths!


14 posted on 09/23/2019 9:19:40 AM PDT by NEMDF
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To: SeekAndFind

So just try and ponder the insects and other food sources of these birds that will no longer be trimmed and with the loss of these great creatures (birds) we will eventually see a severe unbalancing of numerous eco-systems and it will not be nice as far as we are concerned. I personally am in favor of a coal/natural gas combination along with Hydro and let the Nuclear plants run their expected lives and hopefully by then we can transition into a new technology for electric generation . The solar and wind scams are hurting everything on all aspects and Mother Nature can be very swift with retribution ....


15 posted on 09/23/2019 9:29:08 AM PDT by mythenjoseph
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To: SeekAndFind
Death by Renewable Energy.
16 posted on 09/23/2019 9:33:06 AM PDT by GOPJ ( Daniel Okrent HELP - lowlife editors at the New York Times need YOU... they've lost their way.)
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To: Brian Griffin

Except the U.S. has undergone massive re-forestation.


17 posted on 09/23/2019 9:33:22 AM PDT by VTenigma (The Democrat party is the party of the mathematically challenged)
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To: mythenjoseph

Silent Spring...


18 posted on 09/23/2019 9:33:37 AM PDT by GOPJ ( Daniel Okrent HELP - lowlife editors at the New York Times need YOU... they've lost their way.)
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To: SeekAndFind
The laws of unintended consequences. Ban horse meat, get mistreatment of horses throughout the US because they have no intrinsic worth. Solar and turbine energy and one gets millions of bird deaths, more than what would have happened if wood and coal had been used. Ban DDT and malaria comes back more virulent and more resistant to antibiotics and mosquitoes more resistant to insecticides. Liberals don't know how to leave shit alone and screw up everything they put their grubby mittens upon.
19 posted on 09/23/2019 9:38:30 AM PDT by vetvetdoug
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To: SeekAndFind

Our energy supply needs are like a cake. The only thing wind and solar can ever be is the frosting.


20 posted on 09/23/2019 9:40:37 AM PDT by Secretmtcman1
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