Legal Double Standard: Oil Companies Get Indicted for Bird Deaths While Wind Companies Get a Pass

Eagle killed by wind turbine, one of 1,200 daily wind-related bird fatalities:

The graphic video above shows a magnificent eagle getting killed by a wind turbine.  According to a 2009 estimate from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (reported on the American Bird Conservancy website here), those bird fatalities happen more than 1,200 times every day (440,000 deaths annually and 50 deaths every single hour of the day on average).   For the millions of documented wind-related bird fatalities that have taken place in recent years, how many wind companies have been prosecuted? None - they get a pass.  

In contrast, 28 migratory birds (including ducks) allegedly died after landing by mistake in oil waste pits  in western North Dakota between May 20 and June 11, and seven oil companies are being charged by the U.S. attorney for North Dakota for violating the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act. 

As Jack Dini wrote in the Canada Free Press: "When it comes to protecting America’s wildlife, environmental organizations and federal law enforcement officials have a double standard: one that’s enforced against oil, gas and electric utility sectors, and another that exempts wind and solar power from prosecution despite evidence of a multitude of violations."

And from today's WSJ: "It's hard to believe anyone deserves prosecution for incidental bird deaths, but it is a blatant injustice to indict companies whose oil operations may kill a few birds while giving a pass to wind operators that kill them by the thousands. The Administration can loathe carbon fuels all it wants, but that loathing doesn't justify selective and foolish prosecution."