Turbines v birds

It’s a fact – birds are killed by wind turbines, especially if they’re inappropriately sited, which is why wind power companies have to take that into consideration during the planning stage.

Every turbine-related death of a bird is lamentable, but so are the deaths caused by window strikes, collisions with power lines and cars, and cats. Each one of those other categories are individually responsible for many thousands more deaths than those

caused by wind turbines. Climate change represents the biggest long-term threat to birds by far, but because the effects are not immediate, or shockingly visible, people tend to be complacent or totally in denial.

We’ve been here before. When electricity pylons began striding across Britain’s beauty spots following

Stanley Baldwin’s establishment of a National Grid, vociferous protests followed their progress. Pylons were only part of the problem. Miles of wires connected each one to the others created a shocking visual impact on a hitherto unspoiled landscape.

We barely notice those power lines now because we’ve become habituated to their

presence. If you make a conscious effort to seek them out, however, you’ll appreciate how intrusive they actually are.

The grid transformed people’s lives as well as the landscape, and was the driver of a fledgling consumer society.

Now we think we can’t survive without our electricityhungry gadgets, air-conditioning, computers, televisions – the list is endless. Mass production became the raison d’être for industrialised societies, and our planet is now paying the price.

We’re all guilty as charged, so instead of being selective with our criticism, we should acknowledge our shared responsibility, and repeat “mea culpa” after every human-related bird strike.

Wellbank, Broughty Ferry

CAROLYN TAYLOR