birds and towers

I always had myself amused when I was young at the sight of huge wind mills running in the vast fields outskirts of Quilon (Kollam) in Kerala and it was such a mesmerizing visual effect as you watch the blades closely. When I grew up and understood the environment better, I felt sick at the visual pollution that is caused by these windmills if not properly designed and located.

It is a question of priority and preference over animals and technologies.

Wind energy sure should be harnessed, not at the cost of migratory species of birds and even native bird species.

I had been increasingly recieving news alerts on windfarms and bird kills (see photos); the towers and bird kills (http://my.execpc.com/CE/5F/idzikoj/passerines/towerkill.htm)

Precautionary principle can be strikingly important tool that has to be used on designed environmentally friendly stuffs like these.

Windfarms first of all in migratory pathways is very dangerous and a serious mistake.

Moving windfarms later is not an easy task too.

We CANNOT afford to live at the cost of these species.

Many such examples related to our lifestyles can be quoted... Oh, look at the Indian example - White rumped vulture and the Diclofenac case (google it :-)

Now the question is how could a precautionary principle help in such situations ?

"In the absence of scientific knowledge...." - this is how the principle starts, and it is very tough for someone to accept on the above.

One good example of the impacts if this principle is not exercised is this case : The Tributyltin as the anti fouling agent in Ship hull paints, this agent has caused sex reversions in some marine organisms (molluscans). After all that, now it is banned. Groups are working on other substitutes... who know what will be their effects ? ( this is asked by one group)

So what are you asking me to do ? Leave the ship hulls into the ocean waters without antifouling paints and have thousands of blistering barnacles all over it (It might be Captain Haddock asking)...

Sometimes I wonder what are these technologies after ?

A : Why dont we harness wind energy ?

B : What about birds ?

C : So are you interested in birds or sustainable energy utilization?

The sensible solution personally would be to scientifically design and position them in areas that maximize utilization and also not in migratory routes... (oh, thats going to be tough job man - putting people of different fields to gether and asking them to coordinate...)

This I feel is the major challenge for the environmentalists - coordination and cooperation.