Increasing unemployment in other energy industries is a problem- wind energy is quickly expanding as the movement gains more ground, and other fields such as coal and hydroelectric shrink, forced to lay off workers. The problem lays within the fact that not all personnel fired from one energy source will be hired by wind companies- in fact, very few will be (IER, 2012). .
The downsides to wind power unfortunately do not stop there. Wind-generated electricity is more expensive than that from other sources. This is a very common misconception that confuses many people. There are many things that factor into the price of wind energy, including construction and maintenance, which most directly effects the residents in the area (Frum, 2013). In addition to paying more money, the residents of that area must now cope with landscape defacement. The enormous wind turbines ruin pristine landscapes, most directly affecting views and property values (Pasqualetti, 2011). For these reasons, those interested in alternative energy should delve into the information available and learn why wind power is not the solution it is thought to be.
Flying animals that have been most affected by wind turbines are cave dwelling bats, with predatory birds such as hawks and eagles a close second. There have so far been two discernable causes in relation to death: direct contact with a turbine blade and barotrauma- significant sudden change in pressure that strongly affects smaller animals causing cavity collapse (Walrath, 2011). Bats 'see' mainly by using echolocation, which is the emission of very high pitches sounds that bounce off of objects and return to the bats sensitive ears, essentially painting them a picture of their surroundings using sound. Bats have a maximum echolocation range of about 20 yards, and a turbine blade travels in normal wind conditions at 75 meters per second. When calculated out, a bat relying on echolocation has approximately 0.
