Re:Better Question (Score 1)

The fast spinning 150 KW machines installed in California 20 years ago killed about 1.5 birds per year for totals of 3 or 4 thousand/ year. Buildings kill nationaly 500 000 million (low estimates), cars 100 000 million, transmission wires 180 000 million. Modern slow turning (15 rpm) 1000 KW or bigger machines kill much less than this, much less than birds running into natural rock. At the same time wind turbines save millions of birds from the displaced electricity, which otherwise would have beeen produced by burning coal, oil, or natural gas: 1. Acid rain kills snails critical part of bird diet for healthy eggs. 2. Mercury from burning coal in power plants has almost wiped out loons in the Great lakes. 3. Ozone, NO, NO2 hurt the respiration of birds (as they do to humans) 4. Of course habitat loss due to CO2 and global warming threatens bird populations the most. If wind turbines became more wide spread (as they are in places like Denmark where 20% of their electricity comes from wind) wind energy would save hundreds of millions of birds that annually die from toxic bybroducts from fossil fuel production of electricity. But the main reason to install wind turbines is that production of electricity now costs less than 5 cents/KWH!!! (where the wind is good) (check your utility bill to see what this means)