The headline certainly implies that this is
specific to green buildings, although that is certainly not the
case: "Migratory birds run afoul of green
buildings."
The U.S. Green Building Council, however, is working on resolving this issue for green buildings, at least:
The American Bird Conservancy and other environmental groups are working with the U.S. Green Building Council, which administers the LEED system, to develop a pilot program giving architects credit for designing bird-friendly structures.
In addition, the Conservancy has helped develop federal legislation that would require bird-safe construction for new federal buildings and mitigation on existing buildings where it is practical. U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., introduced the bill a year ago and will reintroduce it this month.
"The way we live our lives cannot be detrimental to other species," Quigley said in a statement provided by an aide.
Brendan Owens, vice president of technical development for LEED, said the Council is getting close to doing a pilot test to establish points for bird-friendly structures that could make them eligible for LEED accreditation.
"The reason it's on our radar screen is because of groups like ABC bringing it to our attention," Owens said.
The Conservancy estimates at least 100 million and up to 1 billion birds are killed annually in the United States when they crash into buildings. That number doesn't take into account the millions more that get killed when they fly into TV towers, wind turbines and vehicles.
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