February 6, 2005: Headlines: COS - Congo Kinsasha: Global Warming: Entergy Wind Power: Bats: Speaking Out: Washington Post: Mike Tidwell says in Washington Post op-ed that wind farms in Pennsylvania and West Virginia already are reducing the amount of coal that would otherwise be burned to power our regional grid

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Congo - Kinshasa (Zaire): Special Report: Writer and Environmental Activist Congo Kinshasa RPCV Mike Tidwell: February 9, 2005: Index: PCOL Exclusive: RPCV Mike Tidwell (Congo Kinshasa) : February 6, 2005: Headlines: COS - Congo Kinsasha: Global Warming: Entergy Wind Power: Bats: Speaking Out: Washington Post: Mike Tidwell says in Washington Post op-ed that wind farms in Pennsylvania and West Virginia already are reducing the amount of coal that would otherwise be burned to power our regional grid

By Admin1 (admin) (pool-151-196-48-182.balt.east.verizon.net - 151.196.48.182) on Saturday, February 12, 2005 - 1:26 pm: Edit Post

Mike Tidwell says in Washington Post op-ed that wind farms in Pennsylvania and West Virginia already are reducing the amount of coal that would otherwise be burned to power our regional grid

Mike Tidwell says in Washington Post op-ed that wind farms in Pennsylvania and West Virginia already are reducing the amount of coal that would otherwise be burned to power our regional grid

Mike Tidwell says in Washington Post op-ed that wind farms in Pennsylvania and West Virginia already are reducing the amount of coal that would otherwise be burned to power our regional grid

Safer for All Living Things

Sunday, February 6, 2005; Page B08

A year ago, a small but vocal group of critics of wind power said that proposed windmill farms in western Maryland and across Appalachia would put millions of migratory birds at risk of death by collision. Their predictions turned out to be fantastically false. Further, scientists believe that properly located wind farms could have zero -- yes, zero -- effect on resident and migratory bird populations across Appalachia.

Now concerns have been raised about wind farms causing bat fatalities ["Researchers Alarmed by Bat Deaths From Wind Turbines," front page, Jan. 1]. Bat fatalities have been recorded at three Appalachian wind farms, including the Mountaineer Wind Energy Center in Tucker County, W.Va., where the 2004 death toll was estimated at 1,500 to 4,000 bats.

Although these bat deaths are unlikely to have a biologically significant effect on the resident or migratory bat populations, they are cause for concern. Bats are vital to ecosystems because they consume insects that are harmful to forests, human health and agriculture.

Researchers are unsure why the bats are hitting the windmills, but they already have some solid leads on prevention. For example, at the Mountaineer facility, it was observed that most bat fatalities occurred in summer months, usually just before and after storms and on warm nights with little wind. Scientists speculate that these conditions affect the bats' echo-location abilities. This pattern, if it holds true, could allow wind farms to shut down when summer storms or warm, low-wind evenings are predicted. Windmill blades also can be "feathered," or turned sideways, so that their rotation is slowed, which could reduce bat strikes greatly.

Another possibility for lowering bat fatalities is the use of an "acoustic deterrence." Researchers say it might be possible to rig the windmills to broadcast a high-frequency sound inaudible to most humans but enough to steer the bats away from danger.

We desperately need clean sources of energy such as wind power -- and on a big scale. The effects of global warming caused largely by dirty sources of power, such as coal-burning plants, are already evident in our region -- from the water-level rise of the Chesapeake Bay to the spread of infectious diseases to the growing impact on agriculture in Maryland and Virginia. Global warming is bad for bats, people and all living things.

Americans are a problem-solving people, so the idea that we cannot quickly address this unexpected challenge in Appalachia doesn't wash. The real threat to bats is coal and global warming, not windmills.

In the past dozen years, 490,000 acres of Appalachian mountain forestland have been turned into a moonscape by "mountaintop removal" to mine coal. This devastating coal-mining process is going on in Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee and, especially, in nearby West Virginia.

How many Appalachian bats were exterminated in the past dozen years as a byproduct of this process? Surely millions. At least 244 species of birds have been affected too. People, especially children, also are suffering.

Thanks to regulatory help from the Bush administration, another 326,000 acres of prime Appalachian land are scheduled for mountaintop removal in the next seven years. This means that between 1992 and 2012, the equivalent of the Maryland panhandle will be blown up. That's right: Garrett County, gone; Allegany County, a wasteland; half of Washington County, a parking lot.

And this devastation is done before the coal is even burned. After combustion comes acid rain and the code-red smog days; skyrocketing childhood asthma; and suffocating nitrogen flows into the Chesapeake Bay. We get the soot and the mercury poisoning of pregnant women. And we get global warming.

Left unchecked, global warming is expected to cause the extinction of a quarter of the world's land-based plant and animal species by 2050. That would include, of course, lots of bats and birds. Maybe there'll be a heavy toll on us, too.

Some critics say wind power does nothing to alter coal consumption. But wind farms in Pennsylvania and West Virginia already are reducing the amount of coal that would otherwise be burned to power our regional grid. More important, the Maryland Public Service Commission projects that the state will need a staggering 11 million megawatt hours of new electricity capacity by 2010. Virginia will need about the same.

Where will we get this electricity? Natural gas prices are so high that gas-fired power plants no longer are being built. That leaves wind and coal as the only two power sources that investors are willing to back.

It's clear to a growing number of Americans that the future of our world depends on clean, renewable wind power. And the sooner we get there, the better -- for us and the bats.

-- Mike Tidwell

is director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

mwtidwell@aol.com





When this story was posted in February 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:

The Peace Corps Library Date: February 7 2005 No: 438 The Peace Corps Library
Peace Corps Online is proud to announce that the Peace Corps Library is now available online. With over 27,000 index entries in 430 categories, this is the largest collection of Peace Corps related stories in the world. From Acting to Zucchini, you can use the Main Index to find hundreds of stories about what RPCVs with your same interests or from your Country of Service are doing today.
Bush's FY06 Budget for the Peace Corps Date: February 7 2005 No: 436 Bush's FY06 Budget for the Peace Corps
The White House is proposing $345 Million for the Peace Corps for FY06 - a $27.7 Million (8.7%) increase that would allow at least two new posts and maintain the existing number of volunteers at approximately 7,700. Bush's 2002 proposal to double the Peace Corps to 14,000 volunteers appears to have been forgotten. The proposed budget still needs to be approved by Congress.

February 5, 2005: This Week's Top Stories Date: February 5 2005 No: 420 February 5, 2005: This Week's Top Stories
Peace Corps swears in 12 new Country Directors 4 Feb
Kenneth Hawkinson studies oral traditions of Mali 4 Feb
Tony Hall urges politicians to bring religious faith to office 4 Feb
Dodd opposes Gonzales nomination 3 Feb
Dr. Robert Zeigler to head Rice Research Institute 3 Feb
Taylor Hackford going into television with "E-Ring" 2 Feb
President Bush's past promises in State of the Union 1 Feb
Moreigh Wolf says gays cannot volunteer with partners 1 Feb
Coleman to chair Peace Corps Subcommittee 1 Feb
Vasquez assesses need in Southeast Asia 31 Jan
James Bullington says Bush Inaugural speaks to PC 31 Jan
Allen Andersson creates foundation to promote libraries 31 Jan
Joseph Opala to film "Priscilla's Homecoming" 31 Jan
Donna Shalala embarks on aggressive UM expansion 31 Jan
Thomas Dichter says Poor Countries Need Smarter Aid 30 Jan
Alberto Ibargüen to head Knight Foundation 28 Jan
Helen Sheehy organizes "Endangered Peoples" exhibit 28 Jan

RPCVs mobilize support for Countries of Service Date: January 30 2005 No: 405 RPCVs mobilize support for Countries of Service
RPCV Groups mobilize to support their Countries of Service. Over 200 RPCVS have already applied to the Crisis Corps to provide Tsunami Recovery aid, RPCVs have written a letter urging President Bush and Congress to aid Democracy in Ukraine, and RPCVs are writing NBC about a recent episode of the "West Wing" and asking them to get their facts right about Turkey.
RPCVs contend for Academy Awards  Date: January 31 2005 No: 416 RPCVs contend for Academy Awards
Bolivia RPCV Taylor Hackford's film "Ray" is up for awards in six categories including best picture, best actor and best director. "Autism Is a World" co-produced by Sierra Leone RPCV Douglas Biklen and nominated for best Documentary Short Subject, seeks to increase awareness of developmental disabilities. Colombian film "El Rey," previously in the running for the foreign-language award, includes the urban legend that PCVs teamed up with El Rey to bring cocaine to U.S. soil.
Ask Not Date: January 18 2005 No: 388 Ask Not
As our country prepares for the inauguration of a President, we remember one of the greatest speeches of the 20th century and how his words inspired us. "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man."
Coleman: Peace Corps mission and expansion Date: January 8 2005 No: 373 Coleman: Peace Corps mission and expansion
Senator Norm Coleman, Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee that oversees the Peace Corps, says in an op-ed, A chance to show the world America at its best: "Even as that worthy agency mobilizes a "Crisis Corps" of former Peace Corps volunteers to assist with tsunami relief, I believe an opportunity exists to rededicate ourselves to the mission of the Peace Corps and its expansion to touch more and more lives."
RPCVs active in new session of Congress Date: January 8 2005 No: 374 RPCVs active in new session of Congress
In the new session of Congress that begins this week, RPCV Congressman Tom Petri has a proposal to bolster Social Security, Sam Farr supported the objection to the Electoral College count, James Walsh has asked for a waiver to continue heading a powerful Appropriations subcommittee, Chris Shays will no longer be vice chairman of the Budget Committee, and Mike Honda spoke on the floor honoring late Congressman Robert Matsui.
RPCVs and Peace Corps provide aid  Date: January 4 2005 No: 366 Latest: RPCVs and Peace Corps provide aid
Peace Corps made an appeal last week to all Thailand RPCV's to consider serving again through the Crisis Corps and more than 30 RPCVs have responded so far. RPCVs: Read what an RPCV-led NGO is doing about the crisis an how one RPCV is headed for Sri Lanka to help a nation he grew to love. Question: Is Crisis Corps going to send RPCVs to India, Indonesia and nine other countries that need help?
The World's Broken Promise to our Children Date: December 24 2004 No: 345 The World's Broken Promise to our Children
Former Director Carol Bellamy, now head of Unicef, says that the appalling conditions endured today by half the world's children speak to a broken promise. Too many governments are doing worse than neglecting children -- they are making deliberate, informed choices that hurt children. Read her op-ed and Unicef's report on the State of the World's Children 2005.

Read the stories and leave your comments.






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Story Source: Washington Post

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Congo Kinsasha; Global Warming; Entergy Wind Power; Bats; Speaking Out

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