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Bats are dying off from a fungus in addition to the bats being killed by turbines, and there ARE some species that are endangered.

The birds and bats are only one issue that we should be thinking about.

Wind energy may have its place, but that place is NOT on our Mountains. Proper placement is the key.

It's that very attitude about conservation of all things in nature that has put us in the situation we're currently in. We as a nation have forgotten how to THINK critically, We expect everyone and everything to remain the same,and then bawl like babies when all our carelessness comes back to slap us in the face.

You may not care about birds and bats,but they are nature's garbage disposal system. They clean up the carrion, they eat insects and rodents that carry diseases such as Lyme, Malaria,so on and so forth. Who cares about the birds and bats? YOU SHOULD.

You're wrong in saying "nobody cares" about the birds and bats killed by industrial wind turbines. You might not care, but you're not everybody.

Unfortunately, this site doesn't accommodate the entire Pennsylvania Biological Survey statement, so you'll need to read it at *******jvas****/news_wpd.html

Since you are not convinced by the Sierra Club statement that I provided, here's one from the Pennsylvania Biological Survey, a scientific organization that gives impartial advice to Pennsylvania's natural resource agencies:

Opinion: Wind Power Development on Public Lands — It Isn’t Worth It By the Pennsylvania Biological Survey

The Pennsylvania Biological Survey is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to increase the knowledge of and foster the perpetuation of the natural biological diversity of the of Pennsylvania. Our membership includes scientists, representatives of state and federal agencies concerned with natural resource management, and representatives of non-profit conservation organizations.

PABS technical committees serve as official advisory committees to several natural resource agencies in the state, including the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Game Commission, and Fish and Boat Commission.

Afte

Your claim that each bat breeds more than once annually and has 200 offspring with each breeding is false. All species of bats in Pennsylvania breed only once a year and have only one or two pups (offspring) annually. You can confirm this by emailing one of the most noted bat experts in the US, Dr. Michael Gannon of PSU Altoona at mrg5@psu.edu.

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and

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On a typical summer day like today, 12,000 industrial wind turbines would be needed to equal the electricity produced by one of PA's nuclear plants. Since industrial wind turbines in PA must be placed on ridgetops (not enough wind in other locations), and all of PA's ridges are forested, this means that we'd have to sacrifice 2,000 miles of forested ridgetop to develop indusrial windplants (industrial wind turbines typically are spaced 6 per mile). And that's only to produce as much electricity as ONE nuclear plant!!

No credible environmental impact analysis would conclude that the sacrifice of 2,000 miles of forested ridgetop is more desireable than one nuclear plant!

Staff to man a nuclear power plant means jobs. And lots of them. Industrial wind farms produce only 2 full-time jobs for every 10 turbines in the wind farm.

For example, the Limerick nuclear plant in the Philly suburbs provides enough electricity to power the whole city! And check out its other benefits to the community:

Limerick Generating Station has approximately 700 permanent employees, and retains additional contractors as needed. The majority of Limerick’s employees live in Berks, Chester, and Montgomery counties. The station's annual payroll is approximately $62 million. Additionally, during refuel outages, Limerick employs almost 1,200 temporary contractors, who boost the local economy during their stay.

Exelon pays federal, state, and local income and real estate taxes totaling more than $15 million every year to support governments, area schools, libraries, park districts and other taxing bodies. Spending by the Limerick plant in Montgomery

Pennsylvania's nuclear power plants operate at an annualized capacity of >90%.

Pennsylvania's wind farms operate at an annualized capacity of 30%.

Regarding bats, please contact Dr. Michael Gannon, one of the nation's leading bat researchers. He's done pre- and post-construction consulting work for industrial wind farms. He serves on the Wind and Wildlife Cooperative of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources here in PA. His email is mrg5@psu.edu.

Your last comment is totally out of line. You don't even know Dr. Stull.

PreferredStock, again you may not see a major savings but its clean energy.

How much staff is needed to handle a wind farm vs a plant? How much waste is there on a wind farm vs a plant? Answer those two questions and you should be able to see both cost and environmently why you would want these wind turbines. If absolute peace and quite is your main concern, move to an island with no people, no cars, no planes, no electricity or no indoor plumbing.

I know Jill and Todd Stull, who are suing Gamesa. They're suing because, after trying to get the noise issue resolved after 2 years of being blown off by both Gamesa and Babcock + Brown, they have no alternative. Well, yes, they do have an alternative: They could move, but their home might be hard to sell.

Todd's a gastroenterologist (M.D.). He can't sleep due to the helicopter/jet noises coming from the turbines at night, especially during times of low barometric pressure and high humidity. I think that the Stull's deserve the right to enjoy their property and not have to go to the basement of their home so that they can sleep.

The dead birds and bats are where you'd expect them: on the ground under the turbines. Want proof? Contact Dr. Michael Gannon at PSU Altoona, mrg5@psu.edu. He's done lots of consulting work for pre- and post-construction monitoring at windfarms.

In forested settings in easern North America, each industrial wind turbine kills about 50 bats per year. Thus, when completed, the Allegheny Ridge Wind Farm, which is to have 90 industrial turbines, will kill about 4,500 bats annually.

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