Thus, the wind industry wants to use more public land - and of course, more public money - so that it can continue killing the public's wildlife with impunity. But since the wind industry can claim that it is doing something - no matter how insignificant - with regard to carbon dioxide emissions, the Obama administration is willing to go along, and even help the industry hide the extent of its bird kills. If there is a more obvious example of crony capitalism to be had in our country than the treatment the wind industry now enjoys, I can't think of it.

"We find it absurd that the Department of Justice, in conjunction with the Fish and Wildlife Service, could reasonably conclude that three oil and gas operators should face prosecution for the incidental killing of seven birds at the same time it considers permits to kill between eight and fifteen bald eagles."

The wind-energy lobby has sought such permission for years, insisting that eagle-kill permits ought to last longer than the current limit of five years. Last April the Fish and Wildlife Service agreed, and it published a Federal Register notice saying it planned to extend incidental-take permits to 30 years so as to "facilitate the responsible development of renewable energy."

By using mathematical formulas derived from these studies, the average distance of a large bird carcass found under the 2.3 MW turbines at Wolf Island would be 101 meters from their towers. This average is far outside the search areas used. The Wolf Island mortality studies used search areas of only 60 and 50 meters. These studies clearly missed most of the carcasses. It also does not account for wandering cripples and wind personal interference.

Wind farm owners worry about prosecution under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) if a whooping crane is killed by one of their turbines. So the industry is seeking an exemption under the ESA, known as a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), if a crane is accidentally killed.

Highlanders For Responsible Development (HRD) has donated $1,000 to support a West Virginia University research effort to better determine the status and behaviour of golden eagles in the central Appalachians, including Highland County and the surrounding area. A major concern for HRD and the WVU research group is the potential for golden eagle mortality and population impacts associated with construction of utility-scale wind turbines on mountain ridges in the region.

Although it has the potential to be a green source of energy, wind power as it currently is being developed kills hundreds of thousands birds each year, including bald and golden eagles. ...The birds that are publicly acknowledged as being killed therefore represent just a fraction of the true toll.

The wildlife service says that monitoring and reporting by the wind energy operators "will be critically important for assessing impacts to eagles" under the proposed rules, and that the agency will conduct "periodic evaluations" of permitted sites. But the acreage devoted to wind turbines has exploded in the past decade; wildlife service staff has not. Effectively enforcement of these permits is a dubious prospect.

When bald eagles confront danger, most normal Americans would leap to protect America's national symbol. But Team Obama wants to give wind-power companies long-term permits to butcher bald eagles on the altar of green energy.

When bald eagles confront danger, most normal Americans would leap to preserve, protect and defend America's national symbol. But Team Obama's response is completely different: It wants to give wind-power companies long-term permits to butcher bald eagles on the altar of green energy.

"Many environmental groups have been claiming that too few people are paying attention to the science of climate change, but some of those same groups are ignoring the science that shows wind energy's negative impacts on bird and bat populations." That willful ignorance may be ending.

None of which has deterred U.S. Attorney Timothy Purdon from pressing forward, despite criticism that the case is a targeted effort to advance the Obama administration's war on fossil fuels.

Absurdity aside, this prosecution is all the more remarkable because the wind industry each year kills not 28 birds, or even a few hundred, but some 440,000, according to estimates by the American Bird Conservancy based on Fish and Wildlife Service data. Guess how many legal actions the Obama Administration has brought against wind turbine operators under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act? As far as we can tell, it's zero.

The extreme position is the one being effectively advocated by the wind power industry: that the industry should receive a blanket exemption from the government's enforcement of these laws. The wind industry's refrain that birds are also killed by other sources, particularly cats, is fallacious.

Wildlife advocates argue they're not on some quixotic quest - not tilting at windmills. The extinction of dozens, if not hundreds, of animal species by man's encroachment over the years is powerful evidence that we must zealously protect endangered species. We cannot allow Darwin to just sort it out.

the Altamont Pass, Calif., wind farm's cruel blades pulverize 4,700 birds each year, according to the National Audubon Society. Victims of this green power plant include golden eagles, red-tailed hawks, American kestrels and burrowing owls. ...Environmentalism's avian holocaust will continue - 33,000 birds annually, according to a 2002 Fish and Wildlife Service estimate - until government pulls the plug on subsidies for inefficient, unnecessary and deadly windmills.

Will Wolfe Island's eco-terminations prove more palatable with the public because they are caused by a ‘green industry'? If Canada follows the United States' lead, wind turbines will get a free ride.

Although the turbine industry claims that turbines kill less than 1% of the bird population, the majority of these birds would comprise of the species related to birds of prey. And since prey creatures are usually only 10% of any animal population, this 1% claim suddenly becomes more of a concern. ...There's nothing wrong with green initiatives, but it's important to put wind turbines in locations that are logical for people, wildlife and the environment and not just because of a convenient power supply.

The controversy surrounding wind farms in America has been brewing for over 25 years. The debate centers around the use of the deadly propeller style wind turbines and the large death toll to what are supposedly protected species. One of these species, the federally protected golden eagle, has been at the forefront of this debate from the beginning. This is for good reason, because at Altamont Pass California, 50-75 golden eagles have been killed each year in the blades of the prop wind turbine.

Two of California's highest priority environmental causes, promoting renewable energy and saving the California condor, are on a collision course. The proliferation of prop wind turbines and their well documented history of killing birds of prey have put the future of California condor at great risk. The fact is, in recent years many missing Condors have most likely perished at wind farms in California. Many of the captive bed condors, released into the wild since 1992 have turned up missing. Nearly 1/3 of all the captive bred condors released, perish for unknown reasons. If one looks into the scientific literature, collision is nearly always listed as a major cause of death to Condors.