Newsweek: stop subsidizing the slaughter, Fordney on podcast, American Bird Conservancy & Raptor Education Foundation

Newsweek: Stop subsidizing the slaughter, Jason Fordney on the podcast, the American Bird Conservancy 

Lorin and I are were in Michigan this week. It was great to be back in such a beautiful and friendly state. Even better, we got to visit Lorin's folks for the first time after many months due to Covid. We also made time to do some birding. (More on that in a future "news" letter.) We were in Michigan for my presentation on Wednesday to the Michigan Electric Cooperative Association in Grand Rapids. It was a fun event with a warm crowd. As I’ve said before, I am a huge fan of coops and the people who run and manage them. They represent some of the best of America. A short note today as we are on the plane back to Austin. (Having wifi access while flying six miles above the surface of the earth at 500 miles per hour still amazes me). Three items today:

• Newsweek: We are massacring birds to slow climate change

• Jason Fordney: Californians are “outraged” by energy prices

• In praise of the American Bird Conservancy & Raptor Education Foundation

The eagle photo above was taken in Alaska in 2016 by Andy Morffew.

On Tuesday, I published my first article in Newsweek. I was pleased to place the article in that publication as it has a large readership and it doesn’t have a paywall. I began:

• The world's biggest producer of renewable energy, the Florida-based NextEra Energy, has killed at least 150 Bald and Golden Eagles at its wind projects in eight different states since 2012. ESI Energy Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of NextEra, pled guilty to three counts of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) last week and was sentenced to probation and $8 million in fines and restitution; it must also implement a plan to protect eagles which could cost another $27 million.

• The Department of Justice's enforcement of the MBTA should be welcome news to birdwatchers and citizens alike. But there's a larger lesson here: American taxpayers should not be subsidizing an industry that has shown what the DOJ calls "blatant disregard" for federal wildlife laws. It's especially relevant right now; the prosecution of the company is coming to light at the same time that the wind industry is lobbying to extend, yet again, the federal production tax credit, which expired at the beginning of this year. The PTC, which was supposed to be a temporary subsidy, has been extended 13 times and is now the single most-expensive energy-related provision in the tax code.

• The Justice Department's April 5 press release on the agreement with the company reads like an indictment: It says that NextEra repeatedly ignored warnings from federal authorities that its proposed wind projects would kill eagles. Despite the warnings, the company went ahead with the projects.

I concluded: 

• Renewable energy promoters never tire of claiming that wind and solar are cheaper than conventional forms of electricity generation. But it is abundantly clear that wind turbines are exacting a heavy toll on our wildlife. I've been reporting on the MBTA since 1990 and on the wind sector and bird kills for over a decade. It's beyond dispute that more wind turbines mean more of our eagles, birds, and bats will be killed.

• Killing our most iconic birds in the hope that wind turbines will slow climate change is nonsense on stilts. The prosecution of NextEra should mark a turning point in American energy policy. It's time to end our infatuation with landscape- and wildlife-destroying wind turbines. It's time to stop subsidizing the slaughter of our wildlife.

Again, here’s a link to the piece. Please share it. 

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Jason Fordney, editor of California Energy Markets: It would be "a miracle" if Diablo Canyon stays open   

I have followed Jason Fordney’s work for a long time. His reporting on California’s dysfunctional electricity system is some of the best I’ve seen. In this episode, he explains why increasing numbers of Californians are “outraged” by their utility bills and why he believes there is too much emphasis in the state on “carbon molecules and not enough focus on reliability” and affordability. We also talked about the looming closure of the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, which provides about 10 percent of the state’s electricity. Fordney told me, “it would be a miracle for it to stay open...I think that ship has sailed.” It was a sobering but educational discussion. 

Again, here’s a link. The video is also on YouTube. (Please share and subscribe.) 

Unlike other "green" groups, American Bird Conservancy cares about wildlife  

As I explained in last week's epistle, and in my Newsweek piece this week, the April 5 announcement that NextEra Energy has been prosecuted under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act was a big deal. Yes, the company got off with what could be considered a slap on the wrist. And yes, given its “blatant disregard” for federal law, it should have been charged with felony violations of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. And yes, the company’s claim that it “makes significant efforts to avoid accidental collisions with bird populations, including eagles” is easily refuted by the facts laid out in the Department of Justice’s April 5 blistering press release.

But perhaps even more remarkable was the deafening silence of the big climate activist groups and NGOs about the prosecution. The Sierra Club didn’t issue a press release on the matter. Nor did the National Audubon Society, Natural Resources Defense Council, or Environmental Defense Fund. Their silence shows that the biggest NGOs in this country are completely in the tank when it comes to renewable energy. They aren’t concerned about the ongoing slaughter of our wildlife by one of the biggest utilities in the country. Instead, they are focused almost solely on the issue of climate change mitigation. In their view, it seems, we have to kill our birds and bats in order to save them. (The photo of the Golden Eagle above was taken by Richard Bartz in 2007.)
 
The notable exception to this execrable silence was the American Bird Conservancy, which has been on the right side of MBTA enforcement for years. On April 7, the group issued a blistering statement from Mike Parr, who responded to NextEra’s dubious claims by saying “the company seems to want to blame the laws and the birds for its violations...Blaming the birds is like directing cars to drive on the sidewalk and then blaming pedestrians for being run over. It is well-known that if you put turbines in eagle habitat, there will be fatalities.”
 
I interviewed Parr back in 2020 for a piece I wrote in Forbes about a Bald Eagle that was killed by a wind turbine in Ohio. At that time, Parr told me that his group is not anti-wind. Instead, he said it is seeking a “middle-ground” on regulations. But he also said that “The wind industry could prevent a lot of these bird kills, but they don’t...The regulations have all been undone in their favor and against protection.” Indeed, the prosecution of NextEra, while welcome, shows yet again, that the wind industry is still getting favorable treatment from federal regulators.
 
I’m not a joiner. I am not a member of any clubs. I don’t donate to political campaigns. But I’m passionate about birds and birdwatching. Proudly so. As I said in my Newsweek piece, killing our most iconic birds in the hope that wind turbines will slow climate change is nonsense on stilts. I admire ABC for standing up for our wildlife and for their support of proper enforcement of the MBTA and the Eagle Protection Act. You can donate to the group or join by clicking here. 

Further, if you care about raptors, consider donating to or joining the Colorado-based Raptor Education Foundation. My friends -- Peter Reshetniak and Anne Price -- and their colleagues at REF are incredibly dedicated to their jobs. They are doing great work rehabilitating injured raptors and educating the public about our birds of prey and the threats they face. 

I hope y'all have a blessed holiday weekend.

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