I don't wish to start another wind turbine debate but found this story of
interest.
Terry B
Orange NSW
Wildlife ring tones result in dropped birds
Renee A. James
I have another story to add to my ''now I've seen everything'' file. According
to the Center for Biological Diversity, thousands of consumers have responded
enthusiastically to its offer of free endangered species sounds, re-mastered as
ring tones for cell phones. These would be the very same cell phones that
require transmission sites, the ones that scar the landscape and contribute
more towers, metal and waves to our neighborhoods and open lands. Is it me, or
is this the most awkward, and improbable, marriage of nature and technology
ever?
Why settle for a pop song or a sound bite from a favorite movie when your phone
can alert you to an incoming call with the sound of a mountain yellow-legged
frog instead? A press release stated that the organization offers about 40
sounds, ostensibly for people searching for just the right ring tone to signify
their environmental awareness. For now, the most popular nature sound for cell
phones is the orca whale, but people who visited the center's Web site also
appear to be entranced by the sounds of the Beluga whale, boreal owl,
blue-throated macaw and Yosemite toad. In the coming weeks, it plans to add the
polar bear, gray wolf and many more species to the list of choices.
As you select your free ring tone from the center's Web site, you can also
download information and photos about that particular animal, aquatic creature,
bird or reptile and read more about what you can do to preserve wildlife and
save the species from extinction. According to Peter Galvin, the center's
director, ''Ringing phones are now starting conversations about the need to
protect endangered species.''
That may well be true, but ringing phones - at least those that utilize a
bird's call - may start another kind of conversation. Paul Schmidt, assistant
director for the migratory birds program at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
states that cell phone towers are just the latest in technology towers that
have threatened birds for decades. In a Los Angeles Times article that appeared
in November, he claimed ''We're talking millions of birds dying because of
these towers.'' The truth is, ever since the advent of the lighthouse, birds
have been drawn to beacons of light that provide a warning or a welcome to
ships and aircraft. But the proliferation of towers, due to the broadcasting
industry and now, cellular technology, have dramatically increased the number
of lights in the sky across the country, far away from the coasts and
mountaintops that previously housed these towers. (In 1996, there were 24,802
cellular transmitting sites in this country. By 2006, that number had grown to
197,576, although not all of these are individual towers.) Estimates of the
annual death toll among migratory birds due to dangers posed by cell towers
alone ranges from 4 million to some 50 million birds.
The Los Angeles Times article quoted another official from the Fish and
Wildlife Service who also has reservations about adding towers to the national
landscape. Albert Manville, a senior wildlife biologist in the Division of
Migratory Bird Management said, ''These structures continue to grow
exponentially and we're going to see more and more problems.''
There is a way to make the towers more wildlife friendly, and it comes at a
high price. Some studies have shown that blinking white lights are less
hazardous to birds than steady-burning red lights, but this type of strobe
lighting is considerably more expensive than a steady light. If tower builders
and cellular companies reconfigure their systems, guess who will pay the bill
for those less harmful lights? (On the other hand, most communities don't want
distracting blinking lights on their towers; they prefer a steady red light.)
But, back to those wildlife ring tones. You could argue that the Center for
Biological Diversity is simply embracing the genie that can't be but back in
the bottle - cell phones - and using them to call attention to the plight of
all kinds of endangered species. If even a small percentage of cell phone users
learn about the environment and the dangers we pose to a number of animals
through irresponsible or unsafe behavior, that's a good outcome.
It just still seems odd to me that the very lifeblood of cell phone technology,
the transmission towers that carry signals from place to place to place and cut
down on those annoying ''dropped calls,'' may result in more than a few -
pardon the expression - dropped birds.
Renée A. James lives in Allentown. Her e-mail address is and her
blog is http:// reneeaj.blogspot.com.
''Estimates of the
annual death toll among
migratory birds due to dangers posed by cell towers alone
ranges from 4 million to some 50 million birds.''
RENÉE A. JAMES
==============================www.birding-aus.org
birding-aus.blogspot.com
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