The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) recently responded to the findings of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report on the benefits and impacts of wind energy in the Mid-Atlantic region.
According to AWEA's Executive Director Randall Swisher, "The report verifies the fact that wind energy development's overall impact on birds is extremely low compared with many other human-related activities. More than a thousand times as many birds are killed flying into buildings, for example, than wind turbines."
With respect to bird collisions, the NAS report said, in a section entitled Bird Deaths in Context, "Clearly, bird deaths caused by wind turbines are a minute fraction of . . . total anthropogenic bird deaths—less than 0.003 percent [three of every 100,000] in 2003."
National Audubon Society President John Flicker is an outspoken supporter of wind energy. In a column he wrote for the November-December 2006 issue of the Society's magazine, he stated that Audubon "strongly supports [properly sited] wind power as a clean alternative energy source" and pointed to the threat global warming poses to birds and other wildlife.
"The wind industry is a conscientious and highly active steward of the environment and supports and funds ground-breaking wildlife research through collaborative agreements with conservation groups and foundations," said Swisher, adding, "Wind power is an essential element of the solution to both climate change and America's exponentially increasing demand for electricity . It's 100 percent clean, free and inexhaustible, and a readily available and cost-effective source of energy throughout most of the U.S."
AWEA estimates that in 2007, wind electricity will displace approximately 19 million tons of carbon dioxide—the leading greenhouse gas and primary global warming pollutant—which otherwise would be emitted by traditional energy sources such as coal, natural gas, and oil. The also say that with the growing public demand for clean energy, there is broad recognition that wind energy is essential in balancing our nation's energy needs.
For more information, check out the American Wind Energy Association press release.
