tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311929704697522769.post4130603042370091684..comments2024-03-28T00:15:16.769-07:00Comments on Mojave Desert Blog: Four Mojave Wind Projects Begin Early Environmental ReviewShaun G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17039896758011526968noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311929704697522769.post-32709650066475391712015-11-11T19:49:51.562-08:002015-11-11T19:49:51.562-08:00Looking at this and other maps of potential wind p...Looking at this and other maps of potential wind projects always disturbs me. It's not just a matter of this or that project going through, it's the full brunt of all the future wind turbines they want to build. There are already 45,000 in America and over 250,000 around the world, and reports of full scale deployment call for 3 or 4 million in a wind-zombie utopia. How anyone with environmental credentials could look forward to even 100,000 more is beyond me. Wind turbines are the most invasive industrial project of the century, indeed all the centuries, when you consider their total spread and stark visual impact. They go up in places that we always thought were safe from industrial development. It's really quite tragic when you take in the full scope of the future.GeoThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06899661101057358233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311929704697522769.post-32818245178965336602014-05-01T12:00:25.446-07:002014-05-01T12:00:25.446-07:00Good news. ABC Birds plans to challenge the law al...Good news. ABC Birds plans to challenge the law allowing 30 year eagle "TAKES" by wind farms. http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/releases/140430.htmlPenny Melkohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05472489829769478304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311929704697522769.post-66188321600368761892014-01-06T10:50:59.755-08:002014-01-06T10:50:59.755-08:00I want to educate readers on some wind turbine rel...I want to educate readers on some wind turbine related facts related to the killing of golden eagles. These are facts that have been kept from the public. These facts are important because they illustrate the ongoing corruption within the process. With these wind projects it does matter what the impacts, there will be a countless parade of industry and political shills that will attempt to wipe them away. Dead eagles are just part of the destruction. <br /><br />In California the current FWS estimated wind turbine mortality to golden eagles from about 3000 MW of installed wind energy capacity is 109 per year. Pay attention to this.............. About 60 of these golden eagles killed annually are from the wind projects at Pacheco Pass, Montezuma hills and the wind turbines in the Tehachapi region. This does not account for the eagles killed by wind turbines further south in CA. These are golden eagles killed outside of Altamont Pass in California. The totals would be much higher with proper studies and transparency, especially at Altamont Pass where new estimating factors and undersized carcass search areas have been put in place that have lowered the "official" reported golden eagle mortality. <br /><br />The fact is, any of these wind turbines placed in eagle habitat will kill eagles. In the Western States of California, Idaho, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Wyoming and Washington, most of the industry’s 32,000 MW of installed wind energy capacity is located in eagle habitat. If one were to believe the low mortality estimate of 109 golden eagles killed per 3000 MW, this still works out to one eagle death per 27.5 MW of installed capacity. Projected out across the Western US at this rate, the estimated kill rate is 1164 golden eagles annually. <br /><br />In contrast everybody should look back to the highly publicized (AP) 2013 Journal of Raptor Research Study reporting or suggesting that 85 eagles were killed by wind turbines over the last 15 years in the United States. The so called study was pure nonsense because the truth is that thousands and thousands of eagles have been killed by wind turbines over the last 15 years in the US. <br /> Jim Wiegandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06169123898727390580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5311929704697522769.post-24974838466640931162014-01-06T10:46:43.369-08:002014-01-06T10:46:43.369-08:00The Golden eagle is in a serious state of decline ...The Golden eagle is in a serious state of decline but studies that would show this have been deliberately avoided by the wind industry and Interior Department. At best that I believe there are less than 300 nesting pairs of golden eagles left in all of California and Oregon. This expands out to a population of no more than 1000-1200 golden eagles when including all juveniles and sub adults. <br /><br />Just two wind farms, Altamont Pass and the Montezuma Hills are killing at least 75 eagles per year. This is not even close to 5% wind mortality threshold stated in the Eagle Conservation Plan.<br /><br />With the current FWS Eagle Take Policy, the FWS's objective is to manage the species by authorizing take (kill) at a level that is less that 5 percent of the local area population. Despite the low estimated eagle mortality derived from filtered wind industry studies, the mortality rate from these two wind farms in CA is not even close to 5%, it is in the range of 25%-50% per year for the regional eagle population. In fact with proper studies and analysis I believe that that the golden eagle mortality from both the Montezuma Hills and Altamont Pass Wind Resource areas would exceed 5% percent of the total golden eagle population for all of California and Oregon combined. This amount of mortality far exceeds any reasonable or ethical meaning for the term "regional population, yet this slaughter continues.<br /><br />To compensate for this killing the FWS has stated there are 526 golden eagles living within 150 miles of these two projects. This figure is far from being true. In fact I believe that the FWS would have a very hard time proving with actual occupied/productive nest site data, that there are even 100 nesting pairs of golden eagles now left in all of California. In other words, this proof would exclude all the bogus nest site data (empty or abandoned) and vague eagle territory data that is currently being used to embellished golden eagle population estimates.<br /><br />The Fish and Wildlife Service of BLM will put on a front and be seeking public input on the issuing an eagle take permits for these projects. But it is all an act. The Interior Department doesn't need any input because they know about the eagle slaughter taking place from turbines. They are not disclosing it, and asking for public input when they already have this information is silent fraud.<br /><br />Jim Wiegandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06169123898727390580noreply@blogger.com