Egged on by industry lobbyists, Interior Dept. weakens bird protections
https://www.revealnews.org/article/egged-on-by-industry-lobbyists-interior-dept-weakens-bird-protections/Oil blackens the banks of a pond in Washington County, Colorado, in 1995. A recent legal decision by the Interior Department revoked federal officials' ability to prosecute and fine companies that accidentally killed birds with oil pits, wind turbines or other industrial hazards. Credit: Courtesy of Gary Mowad
An American coot is slicked with oil on an evaporation pond at a commercial oilfield wastewater disposal facility in 2006. The government estimates that millions of birds are killed inadvertently each year by industrial activities. Credit: Pedro Ramirez Jr./U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
This bird, found in an oil company waste pit in central Kansas in 1997, had to be euthanized. Trapped birds often die slowly; they can starve to death, suffocate, die of exposure or absorb poisons. Credit: Courtesy of Gary Mowad