Saturday, 2 February 2013

Slick 'People'

It appears that the oiling and deaths of many sea birds, including Guillemots and Razorbills, on the Chesil Beach in Dorset (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/feb/01/thousands-seabirds-harmed-oil-uk-coast?INTCMP=SRCH) is probably related to the illegal washing out of the tanks of some ship at sea. This is a relatively cheap thing for tanker owners to do but is, of course, completely illegal. The oiling (the material is not a typical crude or fuel oil) event could not occur at a worse time of the year so far as the effected species are concerned. Using modern forensic methods and the time frame, it may be possible to identify the culprits. Bringing them to book is another thing entirely.

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Sandwich Island Saga 62. Wind turbines and birds

Research in Norway has revealed that painting one blade of a wind turbine black, greatly reduces the number of bird collisions. ...