Wind Watch: Worry about whoopers

The valiant effort to save North America’s biggest bird from extinction has suffered a setback –nearly one-fifth of the cranes have died in the last 12 months. Drought and a wasting disease are the latest threats.

Feb '08: Wind Farms Threaten Endangered Whooping Crane - Science - redOrbit

Federal officials warned today that wind farms have become a potential new threat to the North American whooping crane population. Long endangered, the gigantic birds were once at a U.S. population of just 15 in 1941. Conservation efforts have restored the number to 266 today.

However, wind farms have become so widespread in the migration routes of the birds from Canada to Texas that the cranes are now at risk of death or injury from either crashing into large wind turbans and transmission lines or through loss of habitat from the farms.

"Basically you can overlay the strongest, best areas for wind turbine development with the whooping crane migration corridor," said Tom Stehn, whooping crane coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in an Associated Press report.
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Crashing into power lines represents the most common cause of death for the whooping cranes. Stehn said the industry could help by marking its power lines, which run from transmission towers. "Each crane is precious when you only have 266 [in the U.S.]," he added.

Palm Beach: Cold front coming Monday night could knock temps to record lows « Where’s my Global Warming Dude? By Global Freeze

The last time it got that cold this far into April was in 1971, when a low of 45 was recorded in the West Palm Beach area, Ebaugh said. The Glades and other inland areas might experience temperatures in the mid 30s - something not seen there since 1931, Ebaugh said.