@Rogers
This is true.
That said, it's cheaper to take a long technological step than to keep retooling with a bunch of shorter steps. It's why the US, one of the first to fly airplanes, (arguably the first, but I understand there are "alternate truths" about that...), has such an out of date traffic control system. We invested early, and now we're stuck with what was available then, until we can brace ourselves for the cost of a new system.
CFL's are more efficient than incandescent, but I'd have rather we'd stuck with incandescent until LED was mature. LED lighting doesn't have toxic mercury in it.
Possibly the most effective approach for bird-proofing wind farms would be to use the very sort of dirty tricks that make lasers and airports such a bad combination. (Temporarily) blind the birds so they don't fly into the field. Of course, this would require a fairly robust computer system to recognize when a to be protected bird needed to be warned off with a few bright flashes straight into the eyes, but that's probably more effective than painting a spiral on the hub of a turbine with 116ft, (35m) long blades.
46
@Rogers
This is true.
That said, it's cheaper to take a long technological step than to keep retooling with a bunch of shorter steps. It's why the US, one of the first to fly airplanes, (arguably the first, but I understand there are "alternate truths" about that...), has such an out of date traffic control system. We invested early, and now we're stuck with what was available then, until we can brace ourselves for the cost of a new system.
CFL's are more efficient than incandescent, but I'd have rather we'd stuck with incandescent until LED was mature. LED lighting doesn't have toxic mercury in it.
Possibly the most effective approach for bird-proofing wind farms would be to use the very sort of dirty tricks that make lasers and airports such a bad combination. (Temporarily) blind the birds so they don't fly into the field. Of course, this would require a fairly robust computer system to recognize when a to be protected bird needed to be warned off with a few bright flashes straight into the eyes, but that's probably more effective than painting a spiral on the hub of a turbine with 116ft, (35m) long blades.