The following letter is in response to “Alternative energy is bad,” published in the Feb. 2-3 edition of The Stanly News & Press.

Apparently the writer of this letter has gotten facts from outer space regarding how many birds are killed each year by wind turbines and solar farms.

Let’s set the record straight. Anyone can google the various scientific and journalism reports that tell us:

1. America’s cats, including house cats that adventure outdoors and feral cats, kill between 1.3 billion and 4.0 billion birds in a year, says the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Washington, D.C.

2. Between 365 and 988 million birds die from crashing into windows in the U.S. each year.

3. Cars are estimated to kill between 89 million and 340 million birds in the United States annually, with fossil fuel power plants responsible for about 14.5 million.

4. Wind farms killed approximately 7,000 birds in the United States in 2006, but nuclear plants killed about 327,000 and fossil-fueled power plants 14.5 million.

5. Updates show that 140,000-328,000 birds are now killed by the increased numbers of wind turbines.

As to birds killed by solar farms?

Try a few thousand, not millions.

Facts matter.

Ron and Nancy Bryant,
Norwood