Barotrauma is a condition resulting from drastic changes in air pressure occurring, for example, when the bats fly through an area where the pressure drops dramatically, such as it does near a spinning turbine blade.

Historically, less than one bat fatality per turbine per year is considered normal, according to scientists. At this particular wind farm, the numbers were closer to 18 bats per turbine. But researchers found that the vast majority of dead bats had no visible trauma, as if they were being struck by a blade tip moving at 250 km/hr.

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife service has sent a letter to to the developers of three wind farms in upstate New York strongly urging they consider other locations for their proposed projects. Biologists for the agency are concerned that the wind farms will further threaten imperiled bat populations suffering from an unprecedented die-off.

One of the wind energy developers, Iberdrola Renewables has decided to hold off on moving forward with the Horse Creek project until the impacts of white nose syndrome on bat populations are better understood. But developers of the other two projects have yet to make similar moves.

There is little known about the so-called “white nose syndrome,” so-named because of the white substance found on the face of the sick bats. The unexplained illness has killed of tens of thousands of small brown bats throughout the northeast over the past two winters. As temperatures warm and bats emerge from a winter of hibernation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has sent letters to three Jefferson County (NY) wind developers “strongly urging them to look at other places” for their proposed wind energy projects.

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I was a mere toddler, blanket in one hand, thumb in mouth (think Linus) - wondering what all the fuss was about.

It was dusk and the bats were out, darting this way and that, catching insects as the summer’s sun slid from view, leaving that beautiful blue light before darkness descends.

I shrugged in an awfully precocious manner, looked at mummy, then turned my eyes back to the bats.

And today, Defra (the UK’s Department for Environment, Food And Rural Affairs) have announced that bats are to be used to help measure the biodiversity of the UK.

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Named for the white fungal growth that appears around the noses of infected bats, the condition has caused the deaths of tens of thousands of bats in the Northeastern U.S., mostly in New York but now spreading to other states as well.

The syndrome was first discovered last year in four bat hibernating caves near Albany. It’s now been observed at “virtually every significant bat hibernation site in New York,” according to the Center for Biological Diversity.

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He tells the story of a bat that helped him find areas that would leak heat, and the story of that grasshopper. He shares his views on ethanol and electric automobiles, but you may not agree completely on his choice of a fuel to power electric generating stations.

You’ll find interesting ways to save energy, at home and at work, and also some tips on saving energy if you work at home. His latest post concerns wind energy, saying wind is a form of solar power. Well, enough of this: listen in and enjoy.