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<br />iii. Bi rds: <br /> <br />The most common - and most <br />exaggerated - misconception about <br />both large and small turbines Is that <br />they are disproportionately harmful <br />to bird and bat populations. Even the <br />vastlylargerr utility-scale wind farms <br />that are grouped closely in large arrays <br />account for less than 0.003% of all <br />human-caused bird deaths.12 House <br />cats and glass windows; by comparisonr <br />cause 10rOOO times more bird deaths <br />than do wind turbines. No study has <br />been performed specifically to address <br />avian effects of small wind turbinesr <br />but because of their dispersed nature <br />and small sizer it can be inferred that <br /> <br />iv. "Icing": <br /> <br />Like trees! street lampsr or other <br />structuresr turbines in cold climates <br />can become covered in icer which falls <br />to the ground as it melts. But just as <br />an airplane's wing must be de-iced in <br />order for it to flYr a turbine's blade must <br />be free of ice in order to rotate at any <br />significant speed. The weight and <br />aerodynamic interference of ice buildup <br />slows the blades' rotation to a near <br /> <br />12 "Environmental Impacts of Wind-Energy Projects." <br />National Academy of Sciences, 2007. . <br />. http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id= 11935 <br /> <br />13 Erickson, et.al, 2002. Summary of Anthropogenic <br />Causes of Bird ~1ortality <br /> <br />they have an even smaller impact than <br />their larger counterparts.13 <br /> <br />Environmental impact or avian <br />migration studies should not be <br />required for individual small wind <br />turbine installations. Are environmental <br />impact studies required for every plate <br />glass window or pet license? Small wind <br />turbines in fact offer a net benefit to <br />local and global environments: they <br />emit no air pollutantsr require no mining <br />for fuel nor water for coolingr and have <br />land use "footprints" of only a few <br />square feet. <br /> <br />stand-stillr making any melting ice fall <br />straight downward rather than being <br />thrown from the blade. <br /> <br />To put this in further perspectiver a 1998 <br />study calculated that the risk of personal <br />or property damage from ice falling from <br />a (large) turbine is lower than the risk of. <br />being struck by lightning.14 <br /> <br />14 Bossanyi, Morgan, and Siefert. "Assessment <br />Of Safety Risks Arising From Wind Turoine ICing." <br />Finland, April 1998. <br /> <br />