A new Dutch invention uses lasers to scare birds away, intended to mitigate their interference with critical industries.
As discussed on Co.Exist by Ben Schiller, birds pose a problem for many industries—they get caught in aircraft engines and wind turbines, eat farmers’ crops, and frustrate greenskeepers. 23-year old Dutch entrepreneur Steinar Henskes developed diffused laser beams intended to scare these birds away from any given location.
Aerolaser, as the product is called, uses "a green, filtered light that reduces radiation. When birds see it, they think of it as a physical danger and immediately scatter..."
For an example of a sector that could use the technological help: "The Federal Aviation Association spends hundreds of millions of dollars a year to keep our feathered friends away from flightpaths... New York's JFK Airport, for instance, has about a dozen full-time bird control staff."
So far, Aerolaser has been sold in 46 different places, including the United States of America and many European countries.
Read the full story: Keeping Birds Away From Runways, Oil Rigs, And Agriculture With Laser Beams
Protecting Birds From Window Glass
Glass windows kill billions of birds each year. Simple fixes can help.
Embracing Spring: Ways to Reconnect With Nature and Find Joy
This spring, reconnect with nature and enhance your well-being through simple activities like observing plants up close, practicing forest bathing, birdwatching, arranging flowers, and starting a container garden.
Purple Martins Call Nashville Home. Some Wish They Wouldn't
Each year, the city plays host to hundreds of thousands of birds on their way to and from South America.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion
Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority