West Virginia Wind Energy Project In Maryland Court

I am relying on the An American Lion blog to report on the legal action against a wind energy project in West Virginia. The title is The Bat Massacre of West Virginia, which might make you think it is anti-wind towers, but the gist of it seems to be that windmills kill far fewer birds and bats than other things, like windows, cats, power lines, etc. Here's part of the article - I recommend the whole thing to you, if you're interested in some thoughts on the environmental costs of wind power, weighed against its benefits.

"Cowan, 72, a longtime caving fanatic who grew to love bats as he slithered through tunnels from Maine to Maui, is asking a federal judge in Maryland to halt construction of the Beech Ridge wind farm. The lawsuit pits Chicago-based Invenergy, a company that produces "green" energy, against environmentalists who say the cost to nature is too great."

"The rare green vs. green case went to trial Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt.
It is the first court challenge to wind power under the Endangered Species Act, lawyers on both sides say. With President Obama's goal of doubling renewable energy production by 2012, wind and solar farms are expanding rapidly. That has sparked battles to reach a balance between the benefits of clean energy and the impact on birds, bats and even the water supply."

"At the heart of the Beech Ridge case is the Indiana bat, a brownish-gray creature that weighs about as much as three pennies and, wings outstretched, measures about eight inches. A 2005 estimate concluded that there were 457,000 of them, half the number in 1967, when they were first listed as endangered."