David's Comments

No one seems to have mentioned all the work done on the bird and bat problem by the American Bird Conservancy and on bats by the Bat Conservation International. Neither of these organizations, as I recall, think much of the work of the advisory committees. The problem is that there are no efforts at mitigation in case of serious bird or bat problems. The industry has not promised to shut down for a short period, turbines during migration if bird kills become a problem, and there are no regulations that require mitigation.

To think Texas produces environmental impact statements on anything is really a joke!

In Texas, wind (and maybe solar) is the only energy supply that is not regulated, and because of this, the wind industry is not following any guidelines that ensure that serious environmental problems are not being caused by wind turbines. Along the Gulf Coast south of Corpus Christi, there is a corridor of bird migration and now there are several wind farm installations. Are these installations killing birds and bats. The wind industry is not letting anyone assess the damage to wildlife, mainly birds, caused by these installations. Should be raving about Texas' adoption of wind power? If it were properly regulated that the wind industry was concerned about their environmental impact, then yes, we should. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Let's just run rufshod over the envirnment - to hell with nature!

It will be terrible when this project is constructed because southern Chile where this project will be is very high quality environment that has not yet been despoiled. These dams and powerlines will cause great harm to the world's environment and that is why so many people are fighting it. Another tragedy in the making in the name of clean energy.

I live in San Antonio and have had a 3 kw solar installation for 4 years generating over 2 MW-h of energy. Meanwhile the population has risen by at least 10%. Unless the population of this area stops increasing, all these efforts will not be sufficient. I guess the political leaders are doing what they can, but they are not solving the problem of continued population growth with the increase in everything including energy. Where will the water come from. Global warming is already moving the climate in the San Antonio area towards desert which is decreasing water supplies and population is increasing demand. The trends do not point to sustainable anything.

As Pogo said "I have met the enemy and they is us." Too many people consuming too much = non-sustainability. This has been coming for years and it is finally happening.

This is a good idea in a bad location. This is a very environmentally sensitive area; these companies know that; it has caused them to be sued; they are wasting valuable time and money. Why this project is not moved to a part of the desert that ATVs have destroyed is beyond me. Why do these corporate types think they can bully their way into destroying yet more of the little natural heritage that we have left?

There goes some more rainforest, with its loss comes more climate change to the world and less rainfall to the US southwest with more flooding in the midwest and northeast. Can't somebody do something about the population of Brazil before the whole weather of the earth is changed?

The photograph shows one major reason why wind energy is less than green. The habitat disruption caused by the huge swath of clearing by these power lines will be devistating to many species of animals trying to survive climate change and development gone amuck. If only wind energy was replacing coal fired plants and we were using existing corridors for power lines, the enviromental damage might allow wind to be classified as "green." Renewable, yes; green - maybe.

Kolbert's interview, like 3 others I've seen, left out the "crowded" part. If we don't recognize that there are now too many people, all our innovation will be for naught; we can't solve the problem, especially the biodiversity crash. The species with the big brain must recognize and act on the overpopulation issue, or the Dave Letterman comment will be prescient. Overpopulation #1 issue and renewable energy is #2. Solve #1 and solving global warming will be much easier.

BCI has tried to also work with other wind farm companies. FPL did not like the results that BFI was getting at one of their wind farms, so the denied further access to BCI for this kind of conservation work.

Interactions between bats and birds and wind turbines and the disruption to habitat is a serious issue that is not being adequately considered in our rush to wind generated electricity. Wind energy needs regulation like coal, nuclear, etc., but it is being handled by each state differently -- Chaos by another name. Wind energy could be green if we handled it correctly, but we are not; thus, wind energy is only less brown than, say, a new coal fired plant.

The basic problem is increased demand for electricity in an economic system that sees only growth as necessary. Too many people wasting too much energy is the basic problem, and it is 50 years too late that we begin a discussion of what to do about this.

The warranty on the batteries in my Insight is 10 years. This vehicle is currently 8 years old and there have been zero (0) problems with the batteries, or any other part of the car. This is pretty good battery life.

I've watched a lot of birds in Guanacase and am aware of how windy it is, but I certainly hope the Costa Ricans have done their avian studies and know that the location of this wind farm is not going to kill a lot of birds, or if it actually does, there is some sort of mitigation requirement in place to alter the operation of these turbines. Bats in the tropics are also at risk from these wind farms - they chase the blades unless this problem is foreseen.

Costa Rica is so beautiful, it is sad to see that it might be ruined by badly needed renewable energy projects.

Will this wind farm kill a lot of migrating birds? Raptors by the millions pass very close to this site, especially in the autumn, and there is no mention of any mitigation if raptors are being killed. This is a great example of rushing to a renewable energy without sufficient regard for the environment. And just why is the wind energy industry in Texas not regulated like oil, gas, coal, and nuclear? That is probably because of the "influence" of Boone Pickens and others in west Texas with the PUC and Texas legislature.

The problem with renewable energy is that it is going ahead with such speed that the consequences are not clear.

The author needs reminding that wind power is not green when it destroys wildlife habitat and kills birds and bats. This could be avoided if careful turbine siting is used by the wind farm operators. However, presently, wind energy is not a regulated energy industry in many places (why not?) so the farm operators are ignoring this inconvenience. I hope this black aspect of the "green" wind industry is recognized and changed before we go completely "hog wild" plastering turbines all over good wildlife habitat.

Abandoned farmland is very important bird habitat. With a severely declining songbird population in the United States, using more marginal lands for biofuels will probably further reduce the population of songbirds. This conflict in resource use is the result of overpopulation, an issue that no one addresses, but is a problem we must do something about soon.