We can’t turn a blind eye to turbine truthsA farmer with the...

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    We can’t turn a blind eye to turbine truths

    A farmer with the dead eagle near Waterloo Wind Farm. Picture: Vanessa HunterA farmer with the dead eagle near Waterloo Wind Farm. Picture: Vanessa Hunter

    The lasting image for me from visiting wind farms is the broken carcass of a wedge-tailed eagle decomposing in the sun.

    On-site examination showed a punctured skull and major fractures of the right wing, including a significant break about 75mm from the shoulder.

    An autopsy found the juvenile eagle had been struck by a wind turbine blade and fallen to the ground where it died over several days from starvation or lack of water.

    Most depressing was the response of TRUenergy, which operated the Waterloo Wind Farm, 120km north of Adelaide, to the discovery. The immediate reaction was to claim that none of its resident eagles was missing. The second was to insinuate that the dead raptor had been taken to the site by persons unknown out of mischief.

    When the autopsy result was in, TRUenergy said the findings were inconclusive.

    Bird deaths are a big deal for wind farms around the world, but they are routinely dismissed or ridiculed, as have been complaints about noise.

    A common claim is that more birds die flying into windows or are eaten by domestic cats.

    But how many raptors are found dead at the base of a skyscraper? And how many white-bellied sea eagles get crash-tackled by cats?

    What limited research there is, including by AGL in Australia, shows that 30 per cent of wind-farm bird deaths involve raptors that breed slowly and are meant to live a long time.

    This is at the heart of concerns by Bob Brown over the Robbins Island wind farm proposal in Tasmania.

    Neighbouring wind farms that were supported by Dr Brown have had an unwelcome impact on local eagles, which are distinct from mainland wedge-tailed eagle populations.

    The most recent research in the US has found there is a greater risk of fatal collision with taller turbines.

    The turbines proposed for Robbins Island are much, much bigger than existing facilities. As a result, they can be expected to have a bigger impact.

    Dr Brown has done everyone a favour drawing attention to the impact of wind turbines on wildlife, including birds and insects.

    Better planning and record-keeping is needed to safeguard nature from what might be well-intentioned efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

    As well as higher electricity bills and subsidies, the public deserves to know what is the full ecological cost involved.

 
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