Posted on 09/08/2009 7:16:51 AM PDT by Titus-Maximus
On Aug. 13, ExxonMobil pleaded guilty in federal court to killing 85 birds that had come into contact with crude oil or other pollutants in uncovered tanks or waste-water facilities on its properties. The birds were protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which dates back to 1918. The company agreed to pay $600,000 in fines and fees.
ExxonMobil is hardly alone in running afoul of this law. Over the past two decades, federal officials have brought hundreds of similar cases against energy companies. In July, for example, the Oregon-based electric utility PacifiCorp paid $1.4 million in fines and restitution for killing 232 eagles in Wyoming over the past two years. The birds were electrocuted by poorly-designed power lines.
Yet there is one group of energy producers that are not being prosecuted for killing birds: wind-power companies. And wind-powered turbines are killing a vast number of birds every year.
A July 2008 study of the wind farm at Altamont Pass, Calif., estimated that its turbines kill an average of 80 golden eagles per year. The study, funded by the Alameda County Community Development Agency, also estimated that about 10,000 birds—nearly all protected by the migratory bird act—are being whacked every year at Altamont.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
LOL! I was just thinking of Don Quixote when I read this article!
‘Sounds like shredded poultry to help feed folks in Obamavilles.’
It’s called ‘Shredded Tweet’
While they can look better, vertical wind mills are less efficient because half the time a wing is being pushed into the wind, using rather than collecting energy. Extremely large/slower moving two blade designs may be the best way to go, but their foundations require enough concrete to build a small nuclear plant. The manufacture of concrete emits huge amounts of CO2. I'm still scratching my head why we should address climate change by removing large amounts of energy from the wind which causes more man-made climate change than a coal plant.
Federal court takes highest bidder only.
“IN” liberal dems hate Exxon - so they do the double standard thing - people they hate are held to a different standard than the ones they favor. Wind farms could kill every bird on the planet and we wouldn’t hear a peep out of the MSM...
ask Owl Gore
I spent the other day driving the Great River Road along the Mississippi. There are several coal-fired power plants near the dams. Apart from the immediate vicinity of the plant, there is little visual evidence of any environmental impact.
Wind farms, on the other hand, destroy the landscape for miles.
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