Windfarms do not Kill Birds

There have been allegations that wind turbines kill birds and thus are a negative power system overall. Science to the rescue! Ornithologists have completed a study about migratory birds and how well they fare around wind farms. The answer? Birds are fine.

The study, which is published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, was carried out jointly by four naturalists and ornithologists from the RSPB, Scottish Natural Heritage and the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). It goes against widespread allegations by critics of windfarms that clusters of turbines routinely cause serious damage to wild birds, through collision with the revolving blades, noise and visual disturbance.

James Pearce-Higgins, the lead author and principal ecologist with the BTO, said: “It was a bit of a surprise that the impact on windfarms seemed to be happening during construction rather than operation.”

“It means we should look at ways in which these negative impacts can be minimised. The next step will be to find out whether those steps are effective,” he said.

Read more.

Fracking Banned in Quebec

People love putting oil in things so much that they’ll cause fracking earthquakes. Quebec has decided there’s no fracking way in their province as the hydraulic fracturing method to get oil out of hard to reach places is too dangerous.

It’s really good to see at least one Canadian province take an educated, knowledge-based, approach to oil.

Quebec issued a temporary ban on hydraulic fracturing pending further study last March, putting a halt to exploration in the province, though companies had expected limited drilling for research purposes. Environ-mental groups, farmers and others in Quebec had spoken out against shale gas development in the province.

The committee will order several more studies with a deadline of next spring, Joly said Tuesday, with the final report targeted for completion some time in 2013. He reported that the committee learned a lot from public hearings held from November 2011 to January 2012 and said there would be further hearings, geared toward specific sectors.

Committee members plan to also travel to Alberta and B.C., and to Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, where there are also shale-gas deposits.

Read more.

Bamboo is Super!

Bamboo grows quickly and so to is the market for bamboo. The plant can be used for many different things from building to bicycles, but what’s so great about it today is that more construction sites are aware of how great bamboo is. Bamboo can be used to build stand-alone structures or be used as scaffolding at a construction site – either way bamboo also acts as a carbon sink.

The fast growing rugged grass has “unrivaled capacity to capture carbon” the article claims.

The bamboo industry hails the crop’s other environmental benefits. Because it shoots up quickly – as much as a meter (over 3 feet) in a day – it is highly renewable.

According to the Bamboo Clothing website, it thrives without fertilizers or pesticides, requires little water, grows on slopes too inhospitable for other crops, and has a 10 times higher yield per acre than cotton. Want more? It does not uproot soil (harvesting involves cutting it as it’s a grass) and it’s 100 percent biodegradable, the website notes.

The World Bamboo Organization says today’s bamboo market is $10 billion and could double in five years. China produces about 80 percent of the world’s supply, but other nations are turning to it as a cash crop.

Read more here.

New Windfarm for Shetland Islands to Power 175,000 Homes

The Shetland Islands will be getting what is expected to be the most productive wind farm on the planet. Wind blows across the islands almost all the time thus producing a space friendly to wind turbine efficiency.

The joint venture between energy giant SSE and Viking Energy Ltd, owned by the trust, will have 370MW capacity and is expected to generate enough energy for 175,000 homes – sixteen times the number of homes on Shetland.

One small turbine on a hill north of Lerwick, called Betsy, already holds a world record for its efficiency, reaching 59% of its potential output, thanks to the consistently powerful winds which sweep Shetland.

The developers said that meant the Viking scheme had the potential to be the most productive in the world. Councillor Bill Manson, chairman of Viking Energy Partnership, said: “This is good news for Shetland, good news for Scotland and good news for the fight against climate change.”

Read the rest at the Guardian.

Daily Social Well-Being Challenges

MeYou Health is an online community that is trying to get people to make small changes everyday that add up to big change. They have a suite of apps for Facebook and iPhones that remind you to drink water or partake in a daily challenge.

When you think about it, your life is the sum of little day-to-day choices – what you have for lunch, how to spend a few minutes of free time. For most of us, those little choices are made without much thought, driven by habit or a moment’s pleasure. That’s just how we’re made.

Now imagine the difference over the course of your life if you were to make enough of those little choices just a little bit better every day. It would be huge, and there are libraries of research that proves it. This is where MeYou Health comes in.

As part of the MeYou Health community, you get reminders from us and encouragement from friends to spark moments of mindfulness that wake you from routine. So instead of living on autopilot, you stop a second to think “what if?” And we make it fun! There are games, engaging Web and mobile experiences, fascinating bits of knowledge, and supportive social networks of people just like you. And all of it backed by scientific research.

Read more at their site.