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Endangered animals displaced - citizens 'illegally restrained' - this is wind farm development in India...and a warning to us all. Researchers in India have discovered that wind farms are having a detrimental effect not only on birds but also on mammals. Studies carried out by the highly respected Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, and reported in Indian newspaper The Telegraph, concluded that noise from the turbines and blades of wind turbines drives away mammals — mostly herbivores, whose exit in turn causes displacement of larger animals and carnivores. They point out that this brings them into closer proximity with humans increasing the incidence of man-animal conflict. Ineffective, Futile - And Hugely Destructive The construction of wind farms in India has been responsible for disastrous damage to the environment. In 2012, The Hindu newspaper reported that the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) had condemned the local government for its approval of Enercon's Andhra Lake Wind Power Project which they say caused "substantial forest destruction and triggered large scale soil erosion". The Telegraph, commenting this week on the worrying growth of the wind industry, pointed out that "300,000 trees were hacked down to construct a road [to service the wind farm] along the Bhimashankar sanctuary in Maharashtra, a known habitat of leopards, pangolins and the Indian giant squirrel." Significantly their editorial also noted that it takes approximately 100 tonnes of steel, 400 tonnes of concrete, 6.8 tonnes of fibreglass, not to mention copper and cast iron to generate one single megawatt of wind-generated electricity. These startling figures illustrate just how ineffective and futile wind power really is. It's a deception on a grand scale. Citizens Denied Access To Countryside Moreover, the Andhra Lake wind farm's managers have been accused of illegally denying citizens access to the countryside where the turbines were located, "not only are their rights under the Forest Rights Act not being recognised, they are being illegally restrained in their movements on hills they have inhabited for centuries.” the WGEEP has said. Extinction By 'Green' Wind Projects At least one species will be extinct very soon directly due to the wind industry. Some of the planet's rarest creatures including the pangolin and leopard may be next. We should learn lessons from the environmental catastrophe that is happening in India as a direct consequence of irresponsible and sinister wind farm development. Here in the UK, big energy companies continue to push for more and more industrialisation of our countryside and coast with little concern for the consequences. Habitat and wildlife will be lost forever. Warnings From India The catastrophic environmental destruction and the alleged violation of people's rights in India is a warning call to us all. If we continue to industrialise the natural environment, wherever we are in the world, then the damage to wildlife and natural resources will be overwhelming and irreversible. As wind farms begin to proliferate across our lands, will we too be forbidden from accessing our open spaces? The wind industry must not be allowed to prosper at the expense of all that is precious in our countryside. For India much damage has already been done. For the rest of us there is still a chance to save our open spaces from the invasion of this nasty industry that is still, in spite of all the warning signs, spreading like a virus across the planet.  Leopards and other endangered mammals are threatened by wind farm development (picture for illustrative purposes only)
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"....there is at least a possible link between the proliferation of offshore turbines and the increase in whale deaths. It's logical, no?" Perhaps a bigger mystery even than the unexplained deaths of up to 100 whales washed up on Scottish and Irish beaches during the past few months, is the fact that much of the media has been strangely quiet over the matter. It's thought that very many more of the mammals might have perished at sea, meaning that several hundred whales might have died. While there is, with some justification, an overload of publicity about plastics in our seas causing harm to wildlife, there have been few reports highlighting the shocking numbers of whale deaths that appear to be due not to plastic but more likely to sound pollution at sea which affects the delicate sonar that the whales use to navigate and communicate. Military Sonar And Oil Exploration Blamed.... Fingers have been pointed at military manoeuvres in the waters of the North Atlantic as well as deep sea oil and gas exploration. But what many of those pointing the fingers seem to ignore entirely is that there are now vast banks of huge wind turbines around the Scottish coast, throughout the North Sea and in the Irish Sea which emit low level noise capable of disorientating the sensitive marine mammals. While it is important to consider all explanations for the whale deaths, it seems suspicious to me that the notion of wind farms contributing to the huge number of beached whales is no longer even mooted as a possibility. Yet, to many, the correlation between wind farms and whale deaths is substantial. Unusual whale mortality has also been reported from the East coast of the USA and Denmark, both areas in which there happen to be offshore turbines. As recently as last year the idea was put forward that wind farms might play a part in the demise of the mammals when some dead Minke whales were washed up in Norfolk, UK, close to an offshore wind farm. Suggestions That Wind Farms To Blame Dismissed Out Of Hand.... But suggestions that noise from the turbines was to blame were hastily dismissed as paranoia and ridiculed by wind industry sympathisers. What was an apparently plausible link is now ignored - and those implicating turbines with the whale deaths are mocked and treated with contempt. Perhaps there is too much money at stake, invested in the wind industry, to risk considering the possibility that the vast industrial scale turbines are a contributory factor to the whale deaths. Environmentalists Critical Of Wind Energy.... While genuine environmentalists remain highly critical of the wind industry and its motives, perhaps the faux greens are too blinkered to see the harm they might be doing, heaven forbid that anyone should threaten their fantasy of a planet powered by wind and inhabited by Unicorns. But to me there is at least a possible link between the proliferation of offshore turbines and the increase in whale deaths. It's logical, no? Or are we just going to bury our heads in the sands of ignorance and allow the demise of our precious whales (and birds and bats...) while we listen, in blissful stupidity, to the whirring of turbine blades...?  Is there a link between whale deaths and wind farms.....? "Rabbits running riot" in Border town.... local council says it will kill "as many as possible".... A cull of wild rabbits is about to begin in the Scottish town of Jedburgh as locals have complained about them eating graveside flowers at the town's Castlewood cemetery. The rabbits are being blamed for damaging wreaths and 'running riot' - in spite of the fact that the cemetery might have more important issues to deal with than flower munching bunnies - parts of the cemetery appear to be in a sorry state with several gravestones toppled and neglected. One wonders whether the council are trying to distract attention from the poor condition of the cemetery by highlighting the 'rampaging' rabbits. Typically it seems that wildlife is being made a scapegoat for an ineffective council. There is a growing intolerance of nature in towns and cities, especially it would appear in Scotland at the moment (see my other blog posts about Scottish Natural Heritage). Killing rabbits is not going to solve the problem of poor management - it just highlights the ignorant perception of some short-sighted councils and a foolish disregard for nature. Urban green spaces such as cemeteries are an important habitat for native wildlife and should not become killing fields. Kill "as many rabbits as possible".... Local Jedburgh councillor Sandy Scott announced at a recent meeting that the council will "arrange for Surekill to come in and euthanise the bunnies.” A statement from council officers suggests that the pest control company would kill "as many rabbits as possible". That's some boast isn't it.... Meanwhile another Jedburgh community councillor Graham Hayward has called for a cull of pigeons in this wildlife intolerant town. Perhaps Jedburgh is set to become the UK's first nature-free zone. It seems that might be what they aspire to. Meanwhile Jedburgh's rabbits will soon be gone and the town's cemetery will be devoid of life, something apparently the locals would deem appropriate. What will be next? Those pesky birds in the trees? The trees themselves? What a sad reflection on a very sad town. Jedburgh. Where once was life.....  Rabbits to be culled in Jedburgh... It's astonishing and very humbling to see that my petition to stop the killing of English Ravens is fast approaching the 50,000 signature landmark. When it emerged that Natural England had been issuing licences to farmers granting them permission to kill this iconic - and protected - species, there was a surge of opposition from the general public. A banal statement I received from Natural England back in August left me feeling less than impressed with their concern for the growing public outrage at their actions. So I have again contacted them (together with Defra) and asked them for a statement - a copy of my correspondence is reproduced below. The signatories of this petition deserve a considered and intelligent response to their genuine consternation at the government-sanctioned threat to this much loved bird. I'll keep you all posted - meanwhile please continue to share the petition far and wide. Thanks, Jase "Further to my correspondence of July and August, I am once again writing to you with regard to a petition calling for an end to the issuing of licences to kill Ravens in England. The petition has now received more than 41,000 signatures and is continuing to gain huge support via social media and coverage in the press. As we approach the 50,000 signature landmark, I am contacting you for a statement that I can pass on to the supporters of the cause. I feel that with such strong public feeling over this, it would be in your interest to acknowledge the concerns of so many citizens and to recognise that people do not accept any cull of a protected species, especially given that there appears to be little or no evidence to support the claims that Ravens kill farm animals - the primary reason given for issuing licences to kill the birds. We await your prompt and considered reply" CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE PETITION  |
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