Solar and Birds

[Cozarkian]

Here's some depressing news. Southern California efforts to be green are killing migratory birds. Apparently, not all solar technologies are created equally, as the Ivanpah plant's method of directing light at a water-filled tower appears to be particularly effective at killing birds in a rather gruesome manner.

Here's a story with links to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife report and another local news story: http://www.slate.com/blogs/wild_thi...sfws_report_on_california_facilities_and.html

 

[jana519]

When birds flew into the hottest areas, observers saw them emit streams of smoke from their feathers. On-the-ground staff found birds with their flight feathers burned away, some still alive but unable to fly.

Geez Louise. I'm no scientist, but hopefully they will figure out some way to reduce the number of mirrors needed. Otherwise thousands of birds stand to die each year.

 

[PottedMeat]

this would make a nice final semester project for engineering/env science at some calif university

 

[glenn1]

Okay, so fossil fuels are out, solar kills birds, ditto for wind power, hydroelectric hurts fish spawning, and nuclear will create Godzilla. How exactly do environmentalists want us to create energy, or is their plan that we just revert to paleolithic hunter-gatherers?

 

[K1052]

They don't actually know if a lot or a few birds are being killed by the solar flux. They're still trying to figure it out.

 

[ericlp]

pick your poison. I guess you have no problem killing thousands of fish and marine life when we have an oil spill?? I'm sure they didn't die a wonderful death. I'd rather be burnt up than suffer for weeks.

This story is obviously for someone looking for a handout. It's not about the birds but how much they can get in court to be quiet.

I wish non of our actions killed anything but just on my way home I hit a chicken trying to cross the road. I wonder how many birds and animals die from driving? I bet a lot less die from solar.

Clean energy is at least trying to do the right thing to slow down global warming...

 

[theeedude]

Interesting. Cool project though.

 

[Abwx]

Geez Louise. I'm no scientist, but hopefully they will figure out some way to reduce the number of mirrors needed. Otherwise thousands of birds stand to die each year.

Unless the sun brillance double or even triple there s no way to reduce mirrors sizes, and even then , it s us who would be roasted on the process...

 

[Smoblikat]

Natural selection.

The smart birds know not to fly directly into areas of extreme heat.

 

[nehalem256]

So solar gives us electricity AND fried "chicken"? What isn't to like?

 

[Thebobo]

Its more like chicken charcoal the fried.

 

[DrPizza]

Plenty of farms with crops very attractive and susceptible to birds have figured out how to prevent the birds. A few simple propane cannons, set to go off every so often, keeps the birds away.

That'll be $20,000 please, as my consultancy fee.

 

[DrPizza]

found 233 birds of 71 different species at three California solar facilities—Ivanpah, Genesis, and Desert Sunlight—during random surveys over two years. That’s not a huge number of birds (though the limited scope of the collections means it’s just a fraction of the actual deaths),

Why is it a limited scope? Do they have a lot of cats there carrying the birds away? Do other birds come in and bury the existing birds? You'd still find their little skeletons. And, 80-some birds per facility... even if it was 8000 birds per facility over 2 years, that's an incredibly trivial number. It's estimated that in the U.S. alone, domestic cats kill around 3700000000 birds each year. That is, cats kill roughly 100 million birds for every one bird that's killed at one of these facilities each year.

 

[WHAMPOM]

Must be great updrafts at such solar facilities, that would be a boon for migratory fowl. Silver lining man!

 

[WHAMPOM]

Here's some depressing news. Southern California efforts to be green are killing migratory birds. Apparently, not all solar technologies are created equally, as the Ivanpah plant's method of directing light at a water-filled tower appears to be particularly effective at killing birds in a rather gruesome manner.

Here's a story with links to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife report and another local news story: http://www.slate.com/blogs/wild_thi...sfws_report_on_california_facilities_and.html

And TV, radio and cell towers don't do the same? Do I need to mention tall buildings, water towers and the ever present road ways? Heat makes updrafts that attract birds, getting fried doing so is the chance they take.