Free Essay About Bats And Wind Turbines: Ideas Email

(Subject Line: WR 222 Ideas Draft, Section [insert section number], [insert first and last name].)

Dear ___________________,

I intend to focus my project on the effects of wind turbines on bat populations. My argument will follow on from Elizabeth Preston’s article that urged the wind turbine companies and scientists to find some solution to protect the backs. My project will expand upon Preston’s article with a similar goal—to change the policies in place by wind turbine companies to be more conservationist-minded.
My audience will consist of both the general public and the wind turbine companies. By spreading awareness and raising a cry for help on behalf of the bats, the incentive might develop for the wind turbine companies to change policy. As of now, the conversation is mainly among conservationists, animal rights activists, environmentalists, and the businessmen in charge of the wind turbine companies. These conversations are happening in environmental magazines and in some academic journals, as well as on websites and blogs for the environmentally-minded. However, it appears that except for a few bat protection coalitions, the conversation was active a few years ago, so it is important to bring it to forefront of conversation once again. That being the case, I will bring the conversation to more mass appeal while also directing my argument at the environmentalists. I will conceded that wind turbines are necessary and should exist, thus establishing common ground with the proponents of wind energy, an audience that does cross over with animal rights activists and protectors of the natural world. Even though the conversation has been going on for years, it appears that good solutions to the problem don’t quite exist, and this could be another approach to my project. Using scholarly articles to support my argument for the need for change, I can then include more innovative ideas that are being tossed around in the community.
My argument with mainly take the form of a causal argument while using facts and appeals to ethos to support it. In addition, there will be a proposal that things must change and quickly. Herein lies my biggest problem. I don’t know how deeply to delve into this proposal or if my time is better spent spreading awareness and giving a thorough overview of the issue. I want to focus primarily on the dangers wind turbines present to bats and why that is a problem, but I want to balance this with the necessity for these same turbines. It is a difficult line to tread.
My project would be best classified as an academic research piece, but I want it to have mass appeal, like a feature piece in an environmental magazine. This will help to further the conversation by bridging the gap between the environmentalists who champion alternative energy and the conservationists. Preston already brought one professional into the conversation (Paul Cyran), and I intend to bring in numerous others. At the moment, my only issue is deciding how much proposal I should include in the paper. Also, it seems that birds fit into the conversation as well, but I am not sure if I should include both bats and birds, or simply focus on the bats. It would seem like bats and birds are both important, mainly because the solutions will have to apply to day and night. Otherwise, I am excited by the project and confident I can create an engaging and original piece. My potential research articles are below.

Thank you for your time and consideration,

______________________

Possible resources:

Bats and Wind Energy Cooperative. Bat Conservation International, 2011. Web. 4 Feb. 2015.
“Bat Fatalities at Wind Turbines: Investigating the Causes and Consequences.” Fort Collins Science Center. 19 Jan. 2015. Web. 4 Feb. 2015.
Boyle, Rebecca. “WIND TURBINES KILL MORE THAN 600,000 BATS A YEAR. WHAT SHOULD WE DO?” Popular Science. 19 Nov. 2013. Web. 4 Feb. 2015.
Curry, Andrew. “Will Newer Wind Turbines Mean Fewer Bird Deaths?” National Geographic. 27 April 2014. Web. 4 Feb. 2015.
Preston, Elizabeth. "Wind Turbines Kill Bats by Impersonating Trees - Inkfish." Inkfish. 29 Sept. 2014. Web. 11 Jan. 2015.