For some reason, birds tend to get more sympathy than bats. In fact, many people find bats scary. This seems a little strange when you look at it objectively. After all, bats are mammals just like we are, and cute and small and furry-- just like puppies. We can probably blame most of the dislike on Bram Stoker, and the countless movies eventually spawned by his vampire creation. Even more sympathetic bat-related characters such as Batman are often portrayed as having something ominous about them (notwithstanding the occasional campy TV series). A more reasonable objection to bats may be the fear of rabies, but that is quite overblown. As Bat Conservation International states, "Statistically speaking, pets, playground equipment, and sports are far more dangerous than bats."

Of course, not every culture is biased in this way. In China, bats are seen as symbols of good luck.

Since bats are mostly harmless little critters and an important part of their ecosystems, let's have a look at how windfarms affect them.



( Bats and Windfarms )

Tags: 1k_eye, windfarms
Current Mood: good

While indications are that avian mortalities at windfarms are relatively low (with a few noteable exceptions), it still makes sense to take precautions to protect our feathered friends. There have been a number of different protocols developed; here we'll have a look at the guidelines developed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (PDF).

( Avian Protection Guidelines )

Tags: 1k_eye, windfarms
Current Mood: working

In part four, I noted that Mark Duchamp gave a four-part "recipe" for low mortality rates in windfarm studies. He meant his remarks to be an attack on the adequacy of windfarm studies (he is a major opponent of windfarms), but it may be more useful to use his four points as tests to apply to studies to help determine their validity (in other words, the less a study shows the traits of one of Duchamp's points, the more valid the study is).

( Bird Studies )

Tags: 1k_eye, windfarms
Current Mood: working

When it comes to windfarms' impact on wildlife, birds and bats are the two major concerns. This is perhaps the most contentious topic discussed, so I'll be breaking my bird and bat research down into multiple installments, starting today with basic statements from each side.

( Introduction to Birds )

Tags: 1k_eye, windfarms
Current Mood: hungry

As a new day dawns on my windfarm research, let's enter the realm of the ultra low frequency noise-- infrasound.

( Infrasound from Windfarms )

Tags: 1k_eye, windfarms
Current Mood: good