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Wind power for the birds? Turbine blades can be lethal for birds and bats
Sometimes it's not easy being green.
Proponents say Michigan is ideal for wind generation, a Green Power energy source that is pollution free and self renewing.
But some worry that spinning wind turbine blades up to 85-feet long could be lethal scythes for migrating birds, especially if, as some predict, wind generation gathers steam in Michigan.
November 28, 2005
by Paul Overeiner
in The Jackson Citizens Patriot
"It's kind of a 'Catch-22' kind of thing," said Ron Hoffman, a Jackson-area wildlife biologist and co-chairman of the Michigan Audubon Society's sanctuary program. Last month the General Accountability Office, formerly the General Accounting Office, the federal watchdog agency that investigates government spending, released a study that indicated wind-powered generating stations can have a significant impact on bats and birds, particularly when such facilities are located in or near flyways used during spring and fall migrations.
Meanwhile, Dan Bishop, a spokesman for Consumers Energy, said the so-called "green energy" programs have been popular with customers -- a pilot program that... [continue via Web link]
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