Elon Musk's SpaceX expansion proposal coincides with drastic drop in endangered bird populations

[TexasTowelie]

Elon Musk's SpaceX expansion proposal coincides with drastic drop in endangered bird populations near rocket sites


Are Elon Musk's rockets blowing up all the birds?

It's a question the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will have to answer as regulators evaluate the billionaire's proposed expansions at Starbase—SpaceX's rocket production and testing facility in Boca Chica, Texas. Musk's company has sought to build out its footprint at the south Texas campus to facilitate future launches of its Super Heavy lift-launch vehicle.

Federal approval on said expansion, however, depends on the facility passing a number of regulatory evaluations and benchmarks, including an environmental impact survey that has raised questions about the effects of rocket testing and increased human presence on local wildlife in the area.

According to documents obtained by CNBC through a Freedom of Information Act request, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) noted a marked reduction in the population of several species of endangered birds in the area during its evaluation of Starbase's influence on local ecosystems. The FWS stated around half of the preexisting number of piping plovers— a small, sand-colored shorebird— had vanished since the arrival of SpaceX in the area.

"It is not clear what happened to the 'missing' plovers, but if SpaceX activities have resulted in the loss of over half the Boca Chica population then the entire critical habitat is being impacted," the FWS wrote in a draft opinion to the FAA.

Read more: https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/business/technology/article/Elon-Musk-Texas-Starbase-Boca-Chica-birds-17147259.php

[tirebiter]

1. The birds aren't real

[SleeplessinSoCal]

2. any wind farms in that area?