Wind, solar energy contribute to bird decline

It’s funny and sad when the do-gooders or the animal-rights nuts claim to be doing something great for nature or the ecosystem, but we learn their efforts are actually making things worse.

Most of them think hunting, fishing, trapping and even training a hunting dog to hunt are bad for wildlife, but they have no clue that their shopping malls and gated communities have destroyed vast habitats for both game and non-game species.

I’m not against progress, but let’s recognize habitat loss as the number one destroyer of flora and fauna worldwide. That’s no secret to those of us who truly understand nature and man’s role in that balance (or imbalance).

The “green” movement (now called the Green New Deal) basically blames all manner of human progress for so-called climate change. It used to be called global warming until the evidence didn’t support that term, so any time there’s a severe storm, flood, heat wave, cold wave or stiff breeze, the climate change theorists point their fingers.

Climate’s been changing throughout the history of the earth and there’s plenty of geologic evidence of that. But suggestions that man’s presence on earth the past 150 years or so with our evil cars, furnaces and factories poised to destroy the planet is just arrogance, as comedian George Carlin stated more than 20 years ago in one of his classic standup acts that you can watch on YouTube.

A good friend of mine who studied the scientific world most of his life once told me that the best evidence suggests solar activity, not human activity, is the likely culprit for any significant climate change. Solar flares, sunspots and the like have most closely corresponded with temperature changes.

Changes in temperature tend to lag behind carbon dioxide levels by a few hundred years. Hundreds of thousands of years of climate changes suggest that an increase in carbon dioxide tends to eventually increase the temperature, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Environmental Information, but the link between CO2 levels and climate change as cause and effect “remain exceedingly difficult.” If you want some fun, Google “Climategate.”

We saw many giant windmills stretched out across several western states on our summer vacation, and they certainly seem to be a great way to generate almost-free electricity. Experts say that in addition to causing constant noise and annoyance for human neighbors, these wind turbines and wind farms kill hundreds of thousands of birds a year. Check out a YouTube news video about a California solar panel plant ignites passing birds in flight at www.youtube.com/watch?v=emBY6phmn9E.

An article in townhall.com thinks these two sources of “green” energy may be responsible for a loss of up to 29 percent of the world’s birds. As coal plants have disappeared (289 coal plants have closed), wind farms and solar panel plants have replaced them.

The bright blades and reflective surfaces of the turbines and solar panels attract both birds and the insects they eat. Evidence of the bird slaughter has been evident for years at the bases of these seemingly innocent sources of energy.

The Townhall article cites a 2014 news article that estimated more than 573,000 birds were killed by wind turbines then, so imagine how many are being killed by them now. One California solar farm with 170,000 mirror-like solar panels kills more than 28,000 birds annually.

And these bird killers do not discriminate, killing common and uncommon birds alike. The article points out that many common species “play an integral role in pollinating flowers, regenerating forests by spreading seeds, and controlling pests.”

The article also refers to a New York Times article that claims the number of birds in the United States and Canada has fallen by 3 billion, or 29 percent, over the past 50 years. The mystery affected more than 500 species of birds, including common ones like robins and sparrows.

Of course, it’s a logical jump to blame the disappearance of birds solely on solar panels and wind turbines, but it’s just another example of good intentions gone awry. Here’s a link to the fascinating story: www.nytimes.com/2019/09/19/science/bird-populations-america-canada.html.

Like it or not, we are stuck with internal-combustion engines, fossil-fuel heating and factories for the foreseeable future. I, for one, am OK with that, because I sure don’t want to go back to subsistence farming and living in caves, and I’m pretty sure you don’t want to, either.

Ross Bielema is a freelance writer from New London and owner of Wolf River Concealed Carry LLC. Contact him at Ross@wolfriverccw.com.