At Least The Kennedy's Now Have An Excuse

Windmills are killing 1,00's of birds:

Wind farm operators in the Altamont Pass are offering to shut down half of their electricity-producing windmills during the winter to reduce bird deaths and to replace them all with more modern machines within 13 years.

But the proposal, which Alameda County officials will consider Thursday, comes with strings attached. The offer is good only if an environmental group drops its lawsuit over the deaths of thousands of birds.

The Center for Biological Diversity says it won't drop the suit it filed against wind farm operators in November because their plan to reduce bird deaths doesn't go far enough.

The lawsuit is "the only leverage we have" to force wind farm operators and county officials to tackle the problem of bird deaths, said Jeff Miller, a group spokesman. In a June 24 decision, the judge hearing the case declined to dismiss it, and it could go to trial in the fall.

A California Energy Commission study estimated wind turbines in the Altamont kill 881 to 1,300 birds of prey a year, including as many as 116 federally protected golden eagles.

RFK, Jr. is finally right about something.