Bat Power
 

Windmills stopped at night after bat death - BostonHerald.com

"LILLY, Pa. — Thirty-five windmills at a western Pennsylvania wind farm
have been silenced at night since a bat that belongs to
an endangered species was found dead under one of the turbines."

Can't they put ultrasonic whistles on the blades to keep the bats away? Like the whistles you can put on your front bumper to prevent deer from running out in front of you.

I'm not sure those deer whistles work. On the highways down in Texas,
the car comes over a hill at night, at 70 mph and finds a herd of Whitetail crossing the road.
But before the driver can hit the brakes, a 156 pound deer hits him in the face.


I think it's very likely the bat didn't get hit by a blade.. I've seen thousands
of bats flying at full speed, catching mosquitoes, their sonar is excellent.
That's why you never see a bat get hit by a car. But birds aren't as aware.. :(

If bats were really getting killed by wind mills, we would have noticed it many years ago.

I'd have to agree. If bats can detect insects in the air they surely can tell if a huge blade is headed their way.

On the other hand, I believe bat's sonar is roughly a cone in front of their heads, somewhat like vision. A blade coming from above or below at near the speed of sound (at the tip) could blindside a bat.

While I think it is possible for a bat to get hit by a wind turbine blade (bat focused on bug ahead while blade comes in from the side, or bat is teenager with earphones), I just don't believe it's a problem. I'm with Xringer.

Well, I am of two minds on this one...

First off, I think that everyone is underestimating bat's ultrasonic navigating ability. They are totally, incredibly amazing. I found out when I tried to shoot bats out of the air with a shot gun. I must have gone through two boxes of shells before I finally connected, and I am very good at hitting birds on the wing. Bat's are able to detect the danger of a speeding cloud of lead shot and take evasive action, this in addition to their normal ferocious behavior of devouring massive amounts of tiny flying bugs. They have way more than forward-pointing cones... they are absolutely superb creatures.

On the other hand, regarding technology and critters (as an abbreviation for all living systems)... I think that it must be incumbent on technology to prove clearly that the application of any technology will do no harm. In other words, guilty until proven innocent.

In case you haven't noticed, this planet of ours is in peril... actually not the planet itself, but the conditions that make human life possible and pleasant.

It's pretty much because of the rampage of technology, guided by the narrowest of principles... generally profit.

I saw a presentation recently by a woman who is doing primary research on harnessing ocean wave power to provide electricity. Their project is very much in touch with the natural consequences of deploying this technology... and the decisions to avoid damage to the environment are every bit as difficult and as important as the decisions of optimization of the technology.

It is the broadening of thought that is important here.

I say that if we ignore the effects of technology on the bats, we are next...

-AC_Hacker