[Old School]

Those adorable Indiana bats, god bless them are the center of attention once again, only this time enviro's are not after coal companies, but other environmentalist who are behind the construction of an 124 turbines along 23 miles of Greenbrier County ridgelines. These same environmentalist who are propontents of the wind farms have delayed or stopped coal mining permits for over a decade, over the Indiana bats, and now they are fighting one of their own. I LOVE IT.

Environmentalist groups have filed a federal lawsuit to require operators of a proposed West Virginia wind farm to obtain a “takings” permit under the Endangered Species Act before they can begin operations.
According to the Animal Welfare Institute and Mountain Communities for Responsible Energy, the proposed Beech Ridge Energy wind farm in Greenbrier County will disrupt the habitat and likely kill an unacceptable number of endangered Indiana bats.


Beech Ridge Energy plans to construct 124 turbines—each 390 feet tall—along a 23-mile stretch of mountain ridge tops.

According to the environmental groups, a local cave expert has identified 27 caves within five miles of the project site, and another 113 caves between five and 10 miles from the site, that serve as Indiana bat habitat.
In addition to deaths caused by wind turbine blades directly striking bats, the lawsuit alleges the whirring of gigantic turbine blades will create low-pressure zones that cause bats’ lungs to hemorrhage, killing them almost instantly.


http://www.heartland.org/publications/en...s_Act.html

[Beetle01]

If there are that many caves within that close a distance of these turbines, why in the world are they on the Endangered Species list?

Id also like for them to specify what is an acceptable amount of bats to get killed.

[Wildcatk23]

old school, i may not agree with most stuff u say politic wise, but u have a bad *** avatar

[Panther Thunder]

Irony?

[thecavemaster]

If the goal of these groups is the protection of endangered habitat and wildlife, then it really doesn't matter what it is that is threatening them, be it wind or solar or Big Daddy Coal. Where's the irony? Irony implies some sort of incongruity, doesn't it?

[Coach_Owens87]

If the goal of these groups is the protection of endangered habitat and wildlife, then it really doesn't matter what it is that is threatening them, be it wind or solar or Big Daddy Coal. Where's the irony? Irony implies some sort of incongruity, doesn't it?

Couldnt agree with you more. If anything I would just think this strengthens the arguement of environmentalist that they have the earth in mind over profit or energy.

I studied the indiana bat and its habitat in an ecology course I took a few semesters ago, its a really interesting creature.

[Matman]

Some creatures go extinct. They did before we got here and they will continue to die out no matter what we do. Now i don't believe we should go hunt a species to death. Or fish them to death. But we need to keep in mind most species aren't meant to be here forever.

[TheRealVille]

Some creatures go extinct. They did before we got here and they will continue to die out no matter what we do. Now i don't believe we should go hunt a species to death. Or fish them to death. But we need to keep in mind most species aren't meant to be here forever.

Maybe it is intended for humans to go extinct then, and not be here forever. What gives you the impression that humans should be here longer than those bats? Maybe we should use pollutions to ensure that this will happen.

[Old School]

What's ironic about the whole bat situation is the fact that the very same environmental group that is backing the construction of the windmill project is the same one that fought to deny mining permits for coal companies. I guess in their warped minds it's ok for them to kill the Indiana bats, where as coal mining would only at worst relocate the bats.

[Beetle01]

Of course all of this is assuming that 1) do the bats fly nearly 400 feet above the mountain tops? Not likely. 2) That bats with likely the most advanced navigation of any creature, especially airborne creatures are going to fly into these things, which are spread out very widely.

[More Cowbell]

Maybe it is intended for humans to go extinct then, and not be here forever. What gives you the impression that humans should be here longer than those bats?

Probably the fact that these bats apparently aren't smart enough to NOT fly into a large fan.

[More Cowbell]

I have to say, I feel for the group that is being sued here. Environmentalists have long fought with coal companies due to (valid) concerns over how pollution from coal mining could affect the local environment. Then, along comes a group that actually came up with another solution to the need for energy. These wind turbines would seem to be the best of both worlds: clean energy with no pollution.

But then, they got sideswiped by a group that apparently puts the welfare of bats ahead of that of humans. A shame, really.

[TheRealVille]

Probably the fact that these bats apparently aren't smart enough to NOT fly into a large fan.

:notworthy

[Old School]

old school, i may not agree with most stuff u say politic wise, but u have a bad *** avatar

Thanks 23, I like it, personally I liked the other one I had a little better. It showed a miner holding up a city, the only problem was the avatar was small which made it hard to see the graphics.