Wind Energy vs. Golden Eagles - KQED QUEST

[@taregsami]

In some airports, there are special radio frequency signals that prevent birds to enter landing/take-off zone, so it is not possible to apply the same technology to wind turbines to keep birds away?!

[@gc99289]

Good point. Maybe it's a cost issue?

[@dogfriendly8074]

It's been 2 years since you posted this comment. Has anything changed??? Our Government is killing our National Bird. The killing of Eagles is still happening.

[@lemonlimelukey]

get rid of these archontic pillars of destruction.

[@flymastera8199]

lemonlimelukey , Are you using that word in proper context here?

[@jclar3565]

Ugly as hell how am I supposed to look at the subtleties in nature and appreciate them on the 580 Freeway when all I see is these massive looming death machines. By the way France laughs at us they have gone 100% meltdown proof safe clean nuclear. We still go to war over oil and litter our landscape with these ugly things thinking we have plenty of land to do so.

[@skipperrussell2025]

@@jclar3565 Nuclear, solar, or liberals on a treadmill. I would choose using liberals on a treadmill.

[@isabellebeluch8298]

And the infrasound they give is dangerous

[@shanemurray8930]

We io

[@zeuson88]

What If you put grids surrounding the turbines?

[@pvillaluna1]

We have these in California they are so unsightly I feel like they actually ruin the environment

[@91Kingscrib84]

Where do you think this is shot? Altamont Pass, CA.

[@jcepri]

They think the same of humans, so we're even.

[@husq48]

@@jcepri No, they don't think at all, that's what makes us different.

[@jcepri]

The truth is, neither us know.

[@jcepri]

They let you think they don't think, but they are secretly planning to rule the universe.

[@Arofraksta]

The eggs and the chicken in the nest are also kielld, if one of the parents are kield.

[@flymastera8199]

Curt Widlund Of course they don’t count collateral damage. Aborting baby chicks doesn’t count as a life. Unborn chicks have no rights. Hypocrites. 🤥

[@gc99289]

Yes, chicks starve to death. Very sad, but that's predator life.

[@skipperrussell2025]

Green energy liberals are mentally ill.

[@jcepri]

The idea that a turbine can produce that much energy is amazing.

[@edrabideau7639]

They are O energy efficient. Energy used to make the tower, blades, concrete slabs etc make them a ZERO efficiency. 😢

[@shaun6827]

If the eagles that got killed were covered in oil then the public would be outraged.

[@tomhall4276]

Bingo!

[@keithwhitlock7021]

Probably 1,000,000 apex birds are killed each year by the turbines.

[@GoA7250]

Do you have a study showing this... I am interested.

[@skipperrussell2025]

@@GoA7250 100 is too many.

[@GoA7250]

@@skipperrussell2025 Agreed, but do we have evidence of this? Show me the evidence so I can show others.

[@operator6471]

All this renewable energy that produces 1% of total energy needs which is increasing at 2% per year. To keep up with just 1% would result in every square mile of Russsia covered in windturbines by 2050 and still the major producer of energy would be fossil fuels!

[@RonanTetsu]

Ehhh FALSE. Renewable make up over 20% of total energy with wind providing 20% of that 20% (4%). Solar would only need to occupy a small portion of an entire state to fully produce energy for the country; Wind Turbines are different because they must be placed in specific areas that are are, DUH, windy. They also have much more spacing from each other than solar farms. Nuclear energy is not as pervasive due to stupid Republicans prioritizing deadly coal over very safe energy (that has been under researched due to Trump's dumb war on China that failed)

[@operator6471]

@@RonanTetsu It's more like 5% of total energy needs built to date, including hydro, which is huge and tidal etc. With total energy needs increasing at 2.5 % per year. Solar and wind are a minuscule part of the mix.

[@operator6471]

@@RonanTetsu As you can see wind and solar are tiny compared to Hydro which is included in renewable energy figures- ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy

[@keithwhitlock7021]

Like they could not see this coming.

[@vincentrobinette1507]

It's an easy mistake to make, when trying the first time with a pilot program. They have done studies, and by making the turbines taller, the birds are below the blades of the larger machines, when they "go in for the kill". Fewer taller machines, with more space between them, is pretty much the best solution. You can't find a solution, until there's a problem.

[@EricDeVette]

Those bird choppers hardly produce power. It’s ridiculous. Stop this birdmurdering nonsense.

[@Yetipfote]

Oil industry: "Yeeeeeesss! Oh yeeeeees!!" *Mr. Burns hands*

[@Jemalacane0]

The oil industry supports wind power.

[@colstace2560]

It's pronounced tur-bine not turban, a turban is a head scarf

[@westkoastdogg6680]

haha, was just about to say this aswell. The silent E at the end!!!

[@flymastera8199]

col stace , maybe their turbans are to tight.

[@terrystripling2971]

Well ...it isn't that the bird can't see the wind turbine, but the wind energy that is produced sucks the bird into turbines right??

[@josephkool8411]

Why don't they put cages around these eagle grinding machines? Even nets would work

[@Buzz-Of-Craze]

Millions of Birds, Bats and Insects Killed by Wind Turbines Each Year!

[@silversmoke4159]

Poor bats

[@raduantoniu]

This is a very difficult moral problem. What is more desirable, the conservation of rare bird species or reducing our greenhouse gas emissions which cause the extinction of other species indirectly?

[@lemonlimelukey]

take into account that the statistics show that maintaining and depending on turbines costs more to run and that climate change has next to nothing to do with carbon emissions and it becomes obvious this was never anything but a joke.

[@vincentrobinette1507]

It's becoming much easier, by studying, and finding solutions to the problems. Putting fewer, but taller machines, greatly reduces the number of bird strikes, while reducing maintenance costs, thus, the cost of power. Everything that was said in this video is correct. Having large numbers of small machines, closely spaced was a recipe for bird strikes. By replacing them with fewer larger machines, means that when birds "go in for the kill", they are now below, rather than the same altitude, of the spinning blades. Also, there is much more air space between machines, for the birds to circle in. This cuts the incidence of bird strikes, to less than 1/5 the previous number, allowing the populations of owls, falcons, and eagles to recover. All that, and we have more power, with far less consequence.

[@francismarion4450]

How many species have been killed by greenhouse emissions?

[@hugheaston7598]

Wind and solar don't do a damn thing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Both are intermittent energy sources that only generate for a minority of the time (about 30 percent for wind, 10 percent for solar). That means something else (usually coal or gas) has to generate for the remaining 70 to 90 percent of the time, to provide the continuous supply of electricity people need. Basically they're a green fig leaf for what is actually mostly fossil fueled electricity.

[@tomhall4276]

What speicies have been killed by greenhouse gasses?

[@BLMCFR]

Why is it that any other industry would be shut down for decades to study the problem to prevent any bird deaths let alone endangered birds, but yet wind turbines are given a pass and kill so many birds and bats every year??

[@tomhall4276]

Good question. Crickets!

[@draganaasceric]

Probably because we don't have time to study this problem for decades, given that it is necessary to switch to renewable energy sources as soon as possible. Also, there are several ways we can combat this problem: painting turbines in black, bladeless turbines, and smart camera systems... By the way, an incomparably greater number of birds die because of domestic cats, skyscrapers, and even traffic.

[@SuperTherndon]

Wouldn’t it be nice if they put a fan cover over those things?

[@fireguy96]

They should change the color of the turbines to help the birds see it better

[@kishorilalkishoreda5719]

It would have been better if they didn’t remove the turbines instead, put a nice concrete ground, that way the eagles and other birds would not hang around where the turbines are.

[@francismarion4450]

You couldn't think of a better way to kill eagles.

[@brianthetowerguy979]

Take them all down

[@trumanhw]

*I have a GREAT idea - why not use NUCLEAR ENERGY!!!*

[@vincentrobinette1507]

Too expensive. The return on investment takes so long, that many who would invest, might not live long enough to see their dividends. It's not a safety issue, as much as it is economics.

[@hi_imparis6375]

that is for nukes.

[@thepope2412]

@@vincentrobinette1507 It's expensive because of needless regulation.

[@bastipro1333]

Why not geothermal energy in the west coast

[@Yetipfote]

Why not NOT use only a single means of energy production??

[@jclar3565]

Don't LIE right in my face in special English: Eagles aren't just "distracted" and "not paying attention". Fact: turbines turn at 180mph! They suck everything into their blades from all around them! They don't "hit" turbines. BIG LIE! Turbines hit them. You actually believe that Eagles are dumb distracted shitty fliers?? Wow.

[@beedebawng2556]

Great point.

[@smilsmff]

really why no evidence besides what the say? there are no pictures/videos, why does an Eagle not fly into a MT side ? yet a moving object is difficult

[@terrybrown5035]

Need to pull all these windmills down or cut them up terribly ineffective for what they cost and the maintenance involved too bad government virtually pays for all of them and their maintenance.

[@momdoan]

I'm sure there are solutions like perhaps putting up some perches with nests, nearby. yes some are harmed with change but then solutions to resolve that.

[@nn-nu8hf]

that would just draw the birds to the area of the wind turbines.

[@Roverpiggy2435]

American architects during the 80s: *What if we build like a thousand of the near a birds habitat… genius… God I love crack!*

[@jamesdond1]

Building a windmill farm causes millions of tons of CO2 to be put into the air. It starts with the mining of the ore to make the steel, copper, aluminum, glass fiber, and plastic materials needed to build them. More CO2 is emitted by shipping all these materials by diesel trucks to a factory and then to the site. Even the worker's emissions of CO2 need to be counted. At the site more tons of CO2 are pumped into the air in building the massive concrete foundations. Then over their life, they will go through tens of thousands of gallons of oil needed to maintain their gearboxes and such. Added to all this is the CO2 emitted by the building of the necessary transformers, power lines, and roads. After all that they produce power in some places only a few hours each day, they clearly do not produce zero CO2 for each kWh of power as their proponents claim. Several studies have shown that most wind farms generate far more CO2 in their lifetime than they offset when compared to natural gas-generated electric power. Adding their downside is the fact that kill endangered species, destroy the beautiful countryside and cause noise pollution to the point that thousands of homes across the nation have become unlivable. All that and they produce power at a cost many time that of traditional generating systems. On their positive side, thousands of politicians, and business people have made millions of dollars by getting their hands on tax dollars, for without that they simply cannot produce power at a cost that anyone could afford in a totally free market. It's time to stop building them... and return the world's countryside to normal...

[@destructionandmore5430]

So does the deooooo

[@vincentrobinette1507]

This video is actually quite realistic. It confirmed my theory, that the number of bird strikes are but a few dozen a year, not the hundreds, or thousands, claimed by the radicals, whom are not willing to see the whole picture on all the problems being solved by renewable energy. It's fun, watching them latch on to that, and use that as ammunition against wind energy. It's a lot like the Anti-nuclear crowd, always referring to Chernobyl, and Fukushima, when ever someone mentions nuclear power.(at least, they have a point) Right now, it's cheaper to install wind and solar, than new coal, and natural gas. The only problem with nuclear energy, is that it is now one of the most expensive options. Wind and solar will win on a purely economic standpoint. The only thing keeping it from taking over, is the problem with storing excess energy, so it can be dispatched when needed. That's still expensive, because it hasn't matured yet, like generating capacity has. It will be a couple of decades, before we will have enough energy storage, to displace the need for base load plants.(coal, nuclear, natural gas) For now, it will have to start out small, serving as a replacement for peaker plants. I'm a big fan of the big fans!

[@earlysda]

Climate Change supporters should be forced to fly thru these windmills everyone morning on their way to work.

[@olanlevan8470]

GGonzalezPerez21- If it were true he would! Its fake. Sustainable development and carbon taxes are money making schemes to complement globalism. These birds are victims of the greatest con put on the masses by the elite who fly around in jets and go home to mansions that use 3K$ per month in electric bill! These fascists are lying to you. Look at California after SB375 and SB32. How many homeless there now?

[@isabellebeluch8298]

They should be force to live next to them and see how they health will improve

[@FDT_24]

This is a great clip. You have to remember that in the 1980s this technology was new and we didn't know as much as we do now. Like they showed, the larger turbines end up being better for the birds. They go from maybe 75 to 100 feet, up to now 3 to 400 feet. Most of the people that have negative comments need to do more research and better understand the technology as well as understand the negative implications of other forms of energy production. As long as scientists as well as energy companies work together, a common goal can be met while pleasing both sides.

[@libertariantranslator1929]

Nothing produces as much energy with as little damage as nuclear reactors. Obstructing nuclear kills people and eagles.

[@dogfriendly8074]

This makes me sick. EVIL

[@INoahGuy914]

Just seen an article saying 150 of them died recently , I see things haven’t changed lol dam

[@shannongibson325]

Really enjoy it. Let's check Avasva plans also

[@bowling6535]

Patterson pass has got retired now

[@craigs.handle]

How many birds did your fines replace? Why are my tax dollars supporting bird murderers.how about 10 times to discuss level of the idea of killing a baby anywhere after it would live out of the womb give me a break. This is some evil shit

[@vortex162]

“Fewer bird deaths” is still deaths!

[@riotnelson3258]

WHY TAKE THEM DOWN WHEN YOU CAN JUST MOVE THEM TO A DIFFERENT SPOT. COME ON ALL READY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@lisocampos8080]

It should be illegal to kill anything. Eat beans. It doesn't kill the plant.

[@AKB_48]

She says turbines like turban, what Sikhs wear in India !

[@ssherrierable]

It’s sad these idiots put transmitters on them poor birds as if they are going to learn or change anything for the better of them birds. They do it for there own selfish research, birds don’t wear jewelry. They don’t need it.

[@studio-vm2wf]

eagle vs wind turbine dissert wind 😲😲😲

[@vincentrobinette1507]

Birds have great peripheral vision. They're especially astute to any kind of motion. Birds are always aware of their surroundings. It's hard for me to imagine how a bird could miss a turbine blade, as big as an airplane wing, flying through the air at 120~180 miles per hour! Even if they've got their eye on a nice, tasty squirrel, or snake, I still don't see how they would miss the giant rotating blades of a turbine. Just TRY to sneak up on a bird, let me know how successful you are.(NOT!) Domestic birds may not be as cautious, because they're familiar with man-made structures. Wild birds, will immediately recognize any kind of movement in their proximity. I just don't understand how they wouldn't be aware of those huge, fast moving blades. Installing larger, and fewer turbines should help a lot, because they're higher off the ground. By the time a bird of prey "goes for the kill", they would be below the blades of the large turbines, but unfortunately, at the same altitude as the small turbines. That, and so many of them placed close together, is kind of a "recipe" for bird strikes. Few, taller machines, spaced farther away from each other should all but solve the problem.

[@thepope2412]

It's hard for me to believe that a deer will just stand still when you're about to run it over, but they do.

[@davidkuznetsov9316]

its hard for me to believe that a human can watch something happen and say I dont believe that is actually happening but that does not change the fact that it did happen

[@vincentrobinette1507]

@@davidkuznetsov9316 It does happen, but not nearly as often as opponents would like us to believe. With todays technology, it's easy for many things to be created, by CGI. While I don't doubt the authenticity of this video, I have come to believe almost nothing I hear, and only about half of what I see on the internet.

[@gretcheneckerle4737]

It's hard for me to understand why that cardinal keeps attacking my window over and over and over, but it does. Birds are not the smartest of animals unless you're talking ravens, those are spooky smart!

[@Scet8]

the suction of the wind turbine pulls them in

[@riotnelson3258]

OH I SEE DO YOU GUYS WANT ALL OF THE WIND TURBINES TO BE GONE? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@skipperrussell2025]

Hell yeah!

[@shannonamend]

I love use Avasva Solutions for that issue.

[@JonathanMendez4820]

Hahahahaha that eagle got rekt!

[@silversmoke4159]

They should've pay attention to where there flying.

[@shaalis]

It's true! Why do they fly at the damn mills?

[@CatPawns]

@@shaalis cuz the spin a 180mph sucking everthing around.

[@destructionandmore5430]

@@CatPawns your an idiot IF the blades are pushed by the wind IT WONT SUCK AIR if your thinking of a fan they are a completely different design

[@keithwhitlock7021]

Raptors kill and eat far more other raptors than the wind turbines. Turbines are a waste anyway.

[@troysbetv3464]

So the put up a bunch of structures on the land that was originally called “beautiful view”. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

[@timothysmethurst4614]

Dem birds are dead

[@bunnywabbit3867]

Anyone here after Trump ralley? Just doing my fact checking