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Texas Wind Farm's Radar Technology Protects Migrating Birds

guardian.co.uk — US wind farms kill about 7,000 birds a year but radar systems developed for Nasa can prevent fatal collisions by detecting approaching birds and analysing weather conditions

Who dugg this? Made popular May 3, 2009

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47 Comments

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  • aggieandrew, on 05/03/2009, -4/+23This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. They're wasting all this time and making our most promising renewable energy resource more expensive by worrying about 7000 birds a year when millions are killed by cars and buildings?
  • tbhurst, on 05/03/2009, -0/+9I think that's illegal.
  • oneofakynd, on 05/03/2009, -1/+8i hope this works to save the exploding bats too
  • diggydougie, on 05/03/2009, -0/+7We killed 8,921,265,000 chickens in the US alone in 2008.
  • GiggleStick, on 05/03/2009, -0/+7Texas Instruments
  • jasdf, on 05/03/2009, -2/+7Do people really care if 7,000 birds per year die? I think we have bigger things to worry about. If you believe in evolution, then the stupid birds will be killed and the ones with a better idea of what is going on around them will survive.
  • BoneheadFarker, on 05/03/2009, -0/+5It's only illegal if you get caught.
  • exformation, on 05/03/2009, -0/+5not to mention manufacturing the F-22 and F-35
  • Ninh, on 05/03/2009, -2/+6Radar guided automatic shotguns?
  • diggydougie, on 05/03/2009, -0/+4Whatever it takes to make a cheap natural energy source more expensive and regulated.
  • diggydougie, on 05/03/2009, -0/+4Or 7000 / 50 = 140 birds per state
    140 / 365 = .38365 birds per day or 1 bird every, 2.6 days per state.
  • mc77, on 05/03/2009, -3/+6This is not just silly, it is a wasteful and unreasonable use of resources. 7000 birds is an incredibility small number.

    I love cats, but they kill millions of birds a year in the US alone. The estimate is between 60 million to over a billion each year. Getting a small increase in the percent of people who neuter or spay their cats would do a lot more for birds at a greatly reduced cost per bird saved.

    Now, on to saving those exploding bats...
  • moepitman, on 05/03/2009, -1/+4Uhh, yeah. Ever hear of the Johnson Manned Space Center? Mission Control ring a bell?
  • jasdf, on 05/03/2009, -0/+3Delicious!!!
  • ikaruja, on 05/03/2009, -0/+3dude, the wind turns the turbines. turbines don't accelerate the wind...
  • smemily, on 05/03/2009, -0/+3Just what we need, intelligent birds who have it out for us. I've seen that movie.
  • whiskeythief, on 05/03/2009, -0/+37000 birds is the number for the whole US. This wind farm represents a tiny fraction or that.
  • ZhiZaki, on 05/03/2009, -0/+3Touche, my friend, touche.
  • Reiben, on 05/03/2009, -0/+3and in Florida
  • diggydougie, on 05/03/2009, -0/+3In the grand scheme of things - nothing.
    What happens when you build a skyscraper?
    What happens when you build an airport?
  • diggydougie, on 05/03/2009, -1/+4Electronic Data Systems, Llc (Eds)
    You know, Ross Perot.
  • Remelox, on 05/04/2009, -0/+3Wow, the Nazi had nothing on those cats.

    But from what I understand, bats need all the help they can get and most people do not realize that they are a very important part of the environment.
  • inactive, on 05/04/2009, -0/+3CO2 is a life giving gas. CO is not long lived in the atmosphere and quickly reacts to for CO2. "Green" energy sources like wind and solar simply do not produce enough power at reasonable cost, and must be utterly rejected.
  • mpn401, on 05/03/2009, -3/+6Well, forget all our young men and women in the middle east dying for people who won't help themselves, we have THOUSANDS OF BIRDS DYING ON WIND FARMS.
  • inactive, on 05/03/2009, -0/+3Well, as an electrical engineer I'll explain why that isn't done... IT WOULD BE WAY TOO ***** EXPENSIVE!!!!!!
  • whiskeythief, on 05/03/2009, -0/+2My big ass diesel 4 wheel drive pickup truck.

    Oh yea, Dell, IBM, and HP all within 3 miles of each other north of Austin.
  • Ragzouken, on 05/03/2009, -1/+3With insight like that, you just might make it off of the short bus.
  • Yeow, on 05/03/2009, -1/+3How the hell do you run into something that big?
  • diggydougie, on 05/03/2009, -0/+2The lines going to my house are buried.
    Actually I would like to see hydrogen electrolyzing plants at the wind farms. Then the only transmission would be by truck.
  • inactive, on 05/03/2009, -1/+3you're 100% correct. the only problem is when people hear about problems with changing technology they want it PERFECT. everyone is stupid. people, they're the worst. you have to save birds but you can kill all the rodents you want. Where's the justice!?
  • Scottamus, on 05/05/2009, -0/+2Bbbutttt.... Fear!!!

    ur an idiot
  • inactive, on 05/03/2009, -1/+2i disagree
  • inactive, on 05/03/2009, -1/+2you guys are smart
  • zuiquan, on 05/03/2009, -1/+2How many birds are killed per year by house cats? Anyone have any idea? Best estimates put it somewhere between 1 bird/year and several billion. That's right. BILLION. So if we're not willing to ban house cats anyone who thinks we should ban wind farms can suck a big fat donkey dong. Get a ***** grip and some ***** perspective while you're at it.
  • spokexx, on 05/03/2009, -0/+1be careful of oil people "joining" the environmentalists to smear wind power and make us all think we should stay fossil fuels.
  • inactive, on 05/04/2009, -0/+1You're an idiot...it also damages the equipment....THINK.
  • richofsilence, on 05/03/2009, -2/+2Hmmm, I never rode the short bus, but nice try!
  • choppa1890, on 05/03/2009, -2/+2troll...
  • inactive, on 05/03/2009, -3/+3At best a radar can bear witness to the carnage. It can do nothing to prevent mass bird deaths. Outlaw wind farms! Let the country us nuclear power and clean coal instead.
  • spokexx, on 05/03/2009, -1/+1there is absolutely NO such thing as clean coal. Does clean carbon dioxide and monoxide come from burning clean coal?
  • ZhiZaki, on 05/03/2009, -2/+2I could care less about a small amount of birds. What do large scale Wind Farms do to the surround weather conditions? What happens when the accelerated erosion occurs from turbulent wind coming off the turbines? I want to believe but I have fear.
  • richofsilence, on 05/03/2009, -4/+3Acronyms are capitalized in America.
  • inactive, on 05/03/2009, -9/+7Let the stupid birds die, this isn't worth the trouble...
  • inactive, on 05/03/2009, -6/+3Be nice if transmission lines could be buried.
    I think they are just plain ugly which is why retractable clotheslines came into being..
  • inactive, on 05/03/2009, -12/+8***** birds.
  • rock774, on 05/02/2009, -7/+3where's Waldo

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