Press Room

Secretary Zinke Overestimates Wind Power鈥檚 Impact on Birds, Downplays Fossil Fuel鈥檚 Risks

Wind turbines do kill birds, but oil, gas and climate change pose a much larger threat.
By 吃瓜黑料
Published March 07, 2018

WASHINGTON 鈥擨n a at the CERAweek Conference, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke argued that wind power had a similar carbon footprint than oil and gas power, and also that wind power kills 750,000 birds per year. In response to these erroneous statements, the 吃瓜黑料 issued the following response:

鈥淲ind turbines kill an estimated  birds each year, but the biggest threat to birds is climate change. in North America could lose at least half of their current ranges by 2080 due to rising temperatures,鈥 said Garry George, 吃瓜黑料鈥檚 director of renewable energy.

鈥淎 speedy transition toward a carbon-free economy that includes responsibly-sited and operated renewables is the best way to protect birds and the places they need. That future also requires the effective implementation of landmark conservation laws like the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.鈥

吃瓜黑料 strongly supports properly-sited and operated wind and solar power as renewable energy sources that help reduce the  and  by climate change. However, 吃瓜黑料 also believes wind farms and solar installations, like all forms of energy development, can and should be properly sited and operated in ways that minimize harm to federally-protected species. 吃瓜黑料 advocates that wildlife agencies fully implement existing wildlife protection laws such as the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Endangered Species Act.

To read the complete National 吃瓜黑料 Society position on wind power, please click here.

To read about the threat posed to birds by climate change, please visit .

The 吃瓜黑料 saves birds and their habitats throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education and on-the-ground conservation. 吃瓜黑料's state programs, nature centers, chapters and partners have an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire and unite diverse communities in conservation action. Since 1905, 吃瓜黑料's vision has been a world in which people and wildlife thrive. 吃瓜黑料 is a nonprofit conservation organization. Learn more at  and .

Contact: Nicolas Gonzalez, ngonzalez@audubon.org, 212-979-3068.

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