Obama to Give Wind Farms 30-Year
Pass on Eagle Deaths
by Robert Wilde 6 Dec 2013
The Obama administration is about
to approve a rule that will ensure the death of golden and bald eagles for the
next 30 more years.
Hundreds of thousands of birds die
each year flying into the deadly turbine blades atop the soaring towers that
compose wind farms. The rule will
give wind farms thirty year permits for the “non purposeful take of eagles-that
is where the take is associated with but not the purpose of, the activity.’’
The take of eagles is also a euphemism for the slaughter of them.
The wind farms fulfill Obama’s
ambitious pursuit of developing renewable energy sources. Unfortunately, some
bird species being destroyed by the turbines are not renewable. As a result,
Obama finds himself wedged between the ire of opposing green groups. In July,
wildlife groups met with administration officials and lobbied against the
granting of 30 year permits for energy companies that own the wind farms.
Wildlife groups are advocating
shorter leases and insist that a 30-year free pass for eagle “taking” is too
long. They argue that before we are stuck with three decades of the rule, there
are still some unanswered questions about how to prevent the destroying of the
birds. Julie Falkner, the Defenders of Wildlife’s Senior Director of Renewable
Energy Programs pondered, “The question is what is the science telling us about
how to prevent eagle takings, and we’re still waiting for the science to tell
us how that works.”
Wind Farms
Study: Wind Farms Killed 67 Eagles in 5 Years (Past
Research)
from AP 11 Sep 2013, 11:00 AM PDT
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