There are positive and negative effects to every innovation. Are there any significant side effects to wind turbines, apart from the hazard they pose to birds? Environmental impacts of geothermal energy. Amanda Girouard, Northwood Sure, wind turbines harness a free source of energy, take up a small piece of land, and wind is about as clean as an energy source can get, but like anything else, there’s another side to the coin, and these negative aspects are what we will be talking about today. This can result in habitat segmentation and loss for certain local animal populations. Sunlight has both positive and negative effects on the human body. Wind energy is one of the cleanest sources of electricity today; unlike fossil fuel plants, wind turbines do not emit greenhouse gases or pollutants while generating electricity. Additionally, the wind is freely available and inexhaustible in our atmosphere, meaning we will never run out of it. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. Please reserve our beautiful countryside for generations to come. However, there are some environmental impacts associated with the construction of large scale wind farms to consider. Perhaps the most widely studied negative consequence of wind power is the threat to local species populations, particularly birds and bats. If you’re in the business of building, whether as an engineer, architect, construction worker, etc., and are interested in focusing on making your operation “green”, this course on becoming a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Associate will prepare you to enter the sustainable building industry. All Rights Reserved, This is a BETA experience. Wind energy is killing our planet. The newest addition to Tethys, the Working Together to Resolve Environmental Effects of Wind Energy (WREN) hub, houses resources on land-based wind environmental research and addresses environmental issues such as interactions between wildlife and wind turbines associated with the development of land-based and offshore wind energy projects. If you go way, way down the list you get to wind turbines. Create an online video course, reach students across the globe, and earn money. And that’s good because its negative externalities are so much lower than the current energy sources that they are close to non-existent. Hopefully we haven’t ruined any fuzzy feelings you may have had for wind power, but it’s important to know that it’s not a completely consequence-free form of energy, and people, animals, and the Earth itself all feel the effects of these turbines. Other trademarks are the property of EnergySage, LLC or our licensors and are used with permission. Sure, wind turbines harness a free source of energy, take up a small piece of land, and wind is about as clean as an energy source can get, but like anything else, there’s another side to the coin, and these negative aspects are what we will be talking about today. Managed vs Unmanaged Switch – Which to Choose? Most of the complaints against wind farms are hyped by anti-wind advocates who fall into a few predictable categories. Importantly, wind turbines and their supporting infrastructure don’t take up much physical land space; however, individual turbines need to have a sufficient amount of space between them, which can add up for large-scale wind farms. About one in ten are killed by human-related means. \Right now, there’s a lot of attention focused on the various types of fuels that we utilize to get our energy from, and many of the major players, such as coal and fossil fuels, are getting a bad rap these days, and rightfully so. This question originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.