There are many Policy issues surrounding climate change as well as species endangerment. Changes are trying to be made to the energy industry to address climate change. The main alternatives to fossil fuels include wind and solar energy. When it comes to species endangerment there have been many studies on effects of human impacts and much enthusiasm towards protecting species biodiversity. Although climate change has a direct effect on many of these species, I never thought that an alternative energy such as wind, which is geared toward lessening climate change, would affect species diversity just as much as fossil fuels were.
Looking at the decline of the lesser prairie chicken and its decline due to wind turbines is a perfect example of this paradox. This bird and other prairie species seem to avoid contact with any sort of building such as wind turbines, even if there is suitable habitat available. This inhibits movement of the species which correlates to poor genetic diversity. It also limits the habitat of the birds and according to the species area curve, decreased area results in decreased species richness.
Wind turbines are ideal in strong wind areas which are normally prairies, and ideal habitat for the prairie chicken. The policy question becomes: should we increase wind turbines to lessen our use of fossil fuels, or concern ourselves with a potentially threatened species. This, like all policy questions, is a tough one to answer. My suggestion would be, like the article "It’s Not Easy Being Green: Wind Energy and a Declining Grassland Bird," said, is to limit wind turbines to within 5 miles of prairie bird habitat. Although this will not be optimal for wind companies, it will be optimal for the environment as a whole. There will be less greenhouse gas emissions, less impact on prairie species and profits from wind energy.
Citation:
Pruett, Christin L., Michael A. Patten, and Donald H. Wolfe. "It’s Not Easy Being Green: Wind Energy and a Declining Grassland Bird." BioScience 59.3: 257-62. Print.
7 comments:
Where exactly is the prairie bird habitat? If it only inhabits tiny pockets in say, North Dakota, then this shouldn't really affect wind turbine placement. But if it is widespread throughout all the Great Plains, then I think the best option would be to either create designated pockets for dense collections of wind turbines, or, depending on the demand for wind-power, create designated pockets for the prairie bird. Because wind turbines are not density dependent (i.e. 10 per square mile each collect the same amount of wind as 100 per square mile), it seems like the problem can be solved simply by specifying where the prairie bird can live, and where the wind turbine can be built.
If the birds migrate, though, won't they eventually run into the turbines at some point? Even if the turbines are in small designated areas? How exactly do the turbines harm the prairie chicken? Could these birds potentially learn to live in the areas with the turbines? Is there a way to make the turbines more environmentally friendly?
This raises an interesting awareness about a few of the concerns associated with renewable energy sources. I am wondering whether it is a consideration of wind turbine producers what type of endangered species inhabit the areas they plan to build on. Is there some sort of environmental impact assessment required before coonstruction begins?
I actually visited a wind farm 2 years ago and had a similar question for the farmer whose land the wind turbines were on. I asked him if the turbines were killing birds or messing up their migration patterns. He told me he sees birds playing on the blades of the turbines quite often. I'm not sure that this response was exactly as comforting as I had hoped for but it was quite an interesting!
Here's a picture of me and Elmer with the wind farms on his land!
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v188/213/5/1148850600/n1148850600_30372862_1556.jpg
Prof Nagle cited a research source in his Energy and the Environment class that claimed more birds were harmed by commercial airlines per year than wind turbines. I know it depends on the species of bird, but just food for thought. Humans do a lot of harmful things to the environment but the benefits of clean energy might be better for society than the costs
I think the best thing to do depends on how widespread the prairie chicken population is. If the population is very widespread over a big area, then the best solution is to have dense collections of wind turbines in areas where potential wind harvesting is greatest. If the population of the birds is only in a small area, we should leave that area alone and uninterrupted and find somewhere else on the GREAT plains.
I actually think solar energy and wind energies were the best alternatives for fossil fuel. I do not think there will be species diversity problem if we pay attention on choosing the site where any species are harmed.
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