Researchers Reveal Bird Population Declines in California Due to Green Energy Resources
A study supported by the California Energy Commission and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management revealed that the bird population in California declined due to renewable energy facilities.
A group of researchers associated with many institutions in the U.S. conducted a study to assess the vulnerability of populations for 23 priority bird species killed at the wind and solar facilities in California. The study was published in Royal Society Open Science.
As the Gateway Pundit previously reported, a green energy company pleaded guilty after it was discovered that 150 Bald Eagles had been killed by their wind farms. Green energy is not always eco-friendly. Do you remember a few years ago when Trump suggested that this could happen, and people on the left scoffed at him?
According to the study, of the 23 priority bird species killed at solar and wind energy facilities in California, 11 (48%) were either highly or moderately vulnerable, experiencing a greater than or equal to 20% decline in the population growth rates with the addition of up to either 1000 or 5000 fatalities.
Figure 3. Vulnerability (ranges from 0 (low) to 1 (high), as defined in Methods) after increases in simulated deaths for local (○) and non-local (
) populations of 23 priority bird species found dead at (a) solar and (b) wind energy facilities in California, USA. Species in black were classified as moderately vulnerable (vulnerability greater than 0.2 after simulated fatality of 5000 adult individuals). Those highlighted in red were classified as highly vulnerable (vulnerability greater than 0.2 after 1000 additional deaths) based on effects on populations in local or non-local catchment areas. Vertical lines connect local and non-local populations. The five species with names in bold were found dead at both types of energy facility.
Phys.org reported:
The researchers veered from simply counting the number of birds that are killed by alternative power sources and looked instead to gauge the impact of the combined toll that alternative power plants are taking on populations of vulnerable bird species in California.
To assess the impact on birds across the state, the researchers chose 23 species that are known to be at risk when venturing near alternative energy power plants. They collected data from prior studies involving ecological and conservation efforts and engaged in feather-collecting outings to several sites across California and then identified and counted each. They also used species range maps along with migration flyway data and bird conservation data.
They also obtained data on the placement, numbers, types and sizes of alternative energy plants in California. They then analyzed the data they amassed and use multiple techniques to determine the impact of bird deaths by species from both solar and wind powered farms. One such technique involved applying a Markov chain Monte Carlo application along with a Bayesian hierarchical modeling framework.
The researchers found that of the 23 species they studied, 11 experienced population declines of at least 20% due to exposure to alternative energy plants. They also found evidence of dangers to several populations due to harm done to migration networks, threats that go far beyond the location of plants.
You can read the study here.
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