Crunching Numbers | 6,800,000

The number of birds who die every year in North America because of communication towers

["Numbers rule the universe," Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras said. For the month of May, 13.7 Billion Years will reprise the theme from September 2010, presenting a new number to think about each weekday.]

Every year, birds migrate from North America to Central and South America. Nearly 7 million of them die en route by crashing into the thin guy wires that prop up some 1,000 communication towers that are taller than 900 feet, according to a new study.

“This is a tragedy that does not have to be,” said lead author Travis Longcore, associate professor in the USC Spatial Sciences Institute.

"These birds eat insects and keep our forests healthy," Longcore said. But, "In the presence of the solid red lights, the birds are unable to get out of their spell…They circle the tower and run into the big cables holding it up."

Read more: http://news.usc.edu/#!/article/34016/millions-of-birds-perish-at-communication-towers-usc-study-finds

Watch a video of Travis Longcore explaining this issue: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWlr_UEWOiY&feature=player_embedded



ACTION ALERTS

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image: Longcore, et. al