What Wind Turbines Really Do---Jyothi Chunduru(Entry#1)

You might think that windmills are our only chance to survive our future without fossil fuels, but is it? Yes, windmills have a medium cost, and is our most likely chance of surviving the future but what are the parts of the windmill and how much impact do they really have on the environment? One main part of the windmill is the wind turbine, actually it's the most useful part of the windmill! Did you know that in the United States, every year approximately 70,000 birds die crashing in to wind turbines. Some other victims of these dangerous wind turbines are bats. Just like for the birds the blades of the wind turbines kill these little, innocent creatures. In fact, a study in 2004 shows that in the Eastern part of the US, 2,200 bats were killed by 63 onshore wind turbines in just 6 weeks! While its doing good to the environment, its not doing so good to animal life! Wind turbines are made of concrete,steel, and aluminum which has to be transported from other places, meaning they have to use some type of vehicle like airplanes, trucks, or jets. Also most vehicles emit fossil fuels, so even though wind turbines are so called "clean for the environment," what its made of, isn't.