It is good to see such widespread support in the community for safe silent (almost!) zero carbon wind turbines. The very small numbers of naysayers include those adversely impacted by the perception of downgraded real estate values and those with investment exposure to high carbon power generation.
Bird strikes always attract a few from the Paris Green set. I don't have Ozzie stats but I have been able to access some very rubbery US stats. (link: http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/wind-turbine-kill-birds.htm)
This source gives 10,000 to 40,000 bird deaths per year from wind turbines. This is an ugly statistic to be sure but the industry is responding with turbine designs with lower tip speeds and more environmentally sensitive siting. This large number of bird strikes does need to be seen in the context of other accidental bird deaths arising from human impact. The same source identifies a total of between 500 million and 1,600 million bird deaths per year from other accidental, human related causes. This means that for every bird death associated with a wind turbine there are some 10,000 bird deaths caused by other human activity.
"While few would contend that turbines are a major threat to public safety (most deaths and injuries are suffered by those transporting, erecting and maintaining turbines)..."
This is double speak at it's best. A casual reader might easily infer that the passage means wind farms "are a major threat to public safety" but the passage actually means the exact opposite. Wind farms are not a major threat to public safety. Compared to the hazards of mining and burning coal, living in the vicinity of a coal burner or living on the same planet as a species of carbon polluters, wind farms are as saintly as a white orchid.
