Agencies’ green upgrades must also stop bird deaths, enviros say

By Rebekah Alvey | 02/08/2024 01:45 PM EST

Conservationist groups urged the Biden administration to allocate some energy efficiency funding to prevent migratory birds from flying into windows.

The imprint left behind by a bird that collided with a window.

The imprint left behind by a bird that collided with a window. Anguskirk/Flickr

This story was updated June 27, 2024 at 5:01 p.m. EDT.

The Biden administration needs to spend some of the $104 million recently announced for energy efficiency efforts at certain federal buildings to also make changes to reduce deadly collisions of migratory birds into windows, conservation groups said this week.

Earlier this year, administration officials said the money would be used to replace single-pane windows, install solar panels and make other improvements at 31 federal buildings.

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The Energy Department and Council on Environmental Quality should also focus on efforts to make buildings bird-friendly, such as installing screens, netting or frosted windows, the Center for Biological Diversity and American Bird Conservancy wrote in a recent letter.

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