Which is more important, an endangered bird or sustainable energy? That has become the question in Wyoming, where a recent ruling by the state's governor has blocked future wind-turbine development in about 20 percent of the state in a move to protect the greater sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus).
The controversial move came after the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) instructed Wyoming to consider the impact to sage grouse habitat before approving any new oil or gas development, wind turbines or other development in areas where the bird lives.
According to Reuters, Gov. Dave Freudenthal actually made the decision to protect the sage grouse to try to avoid more restrictive rules that would come under an Endangered Species Act listing. "The guidelines laid out by the BLM will definitely be considered (in a listing decision)," U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) biologist Pat Deibert told Reuters.
The stupid, it burns! It burns allot!
Because it would kill a few birds the ban wind energy?
I seem to remember something from about that.
Window collisions 1,000,000,000
Powerline collisions 174,000,000
Hunting 100,000,000
House cats 100,000,000
Pesticides 67,000,000
Automobile collisions 60,000,000
Communication towers 40,000,000
Oil extraction 1,000,000
Wind turbines 6,400
The stupid, its burning again!
[...] “The birds! Think of the birds! The blades kill the birds! The blades kill the birds!”. This has led wind power to be banned in Wyoming and has slown the development of wind power down.. In 2001 there were 3,500 operational wind [...]