Environmental Engineering Reference
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needs to be seen in perspective as there are numerous other ways that humans affect
bird populations, many of them far deadlier than wind power. According to one study
(Erickson et al. 2005 ) , wind power currently accounts for 0.01 per cent of anthropogenic
bird mortality, while domestic cats are responsible for about 10 per cent and windowpanes
for more than 55 per cent (see Figure 6.13 ) .
Figure 6.12. The perception of impacts depends a lot on how data are presented. The
image above emphasizes the low impact on land use, while the bottom image shows the
visual intrusion of a sprawling wind farm on a natural landscape. Source: Gian Andrea
Pagnoni.
Figure 6.13. Data on the impact of wind turbines on wildlife are often presented in an
emotional way. The reality is more complex and varies greatly according to location. The
photograph on the left shows two griffon vultures that were struck and killed by turbine
blades, on the right a comparison between bird mortality attributable to wind power and
other human causes (percent). Sources: www.iberica2000.org (left) and Erickson et al.
( 2005 ) (modified).
Wind turbines are often installed in agricultural landscapes or on brownfield sites
that are ecologically far less sensitive than tropical environments. However, from a
conservationist's perspective, the death of fifty house sparrows is preferable to that of a
single eagle, as the second species is far less common. Yet larks and sparrows tend to feed
nearthegroundwellclear ofaturbine'srotor,whereasvulturesandeagles insearchofprey
fly at rotor height and pay little attention to the moving blades.
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