Wind Turbines Killing Bats

Evidence indicates that the hibernating bat population in the eastern U.S. is being decimated by wind turbines and it's not from the chop 'em up "lawnmower effect."

Bats, like other mammals, have delicate alveoli in their lungs. The thin membranes can't withstand extreme pressure changes, and suffer from "barotrauma," like scuba divers' ears and lungs when they go deep under water without equalizing properly.

Ninety percent of the bats that researchers at the University of Calgary found under turbines had died of internal hemorrhaging, not from collision with the blades. In fact, only fifty percent of the bats showed signs of impact.

Additionally, when the turbines are shut down, bat death rate drops by 50-80%.

Bat deaths plus bird deaths caused by the lawnmower effect coupled with the NIMBY factor will act to impede the implementation of wind energy as a meaningful substitute for fossil fuels.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.