Myths about Noise, Health, & Safety

Wind turbines are machines that spin in the wind and generate electricity atop tall towers. As such, the blades, transmission, and generator emit noise when the turbine is operating. Because modern wind turbines are relatively new on the landscape, a veritable cottage industry has arisen attributing a panoply of ills to wind turbines–even when they are not operating. Consequently, there are numerous studies on the health effects of the noise from wind turbines. This section includes links to these studies and to reports on the general environmental impacts and benefits of wind energy.

Etwas Luft: Belief in ‘Wind Turbine Syndrome’ seems unrelated to the presence of wind energy

By

Kethan Joshi

“The highest percentage believing [claims about wind turbine syndrome] (21 percent) was in Wisconsin, a state which has far fewer wind farms and where some political leaders have in recent years been hostile to renewable and distributed energy”

LA Times: Plunge in kindergartners’ vaccination rate worries health officials

By

Paloma Esquivel, Sandra Poindexter

California parents are deciding against vaccinating their kindergarten-age children at twice the rate they did seven years ago, a fact public health experts said is contributing to the reemergence of measles across the state and may lead to outbreaks of other serious diseases.

EPI: Wind Health Impacts Dismissed in Court

By

Mike Barnard

Wind health impacts have been dismissed in courts across the globe. This Energy and Policy Institute report assesses legal cases in five English-speaking countries pertaining to wind energy. The intent is to provide clarity in assessing potential legal liability, and to identify the weaknesses of evidence and expertise that are common in health-related suits against wind farms.

The Effects of Wind Turbines on Property Values in Ontario: Does Public Perception Match Empirical Evidence?

By

Richard J. Vyn and Ryan M. Mccullough

. . . suggest that these wind turbines have not significantly impacted nearby property values. Thus, these results do not corroborate the concerns raised by residents regarding potential negative impacts of turbines on property values.

Le Monde: Les chemtrails, un hoax climato-complotiste persistant

By

Audrey Garric

Il est par contre possible d’expliquer ce que sont véritablement ces vapeurs de condensation qui se forment dans le sillage des avions, les contrails, étudiées par les scientifiques depuis les années 1940. “L’air chaud et humide, qui sort des turbines de l’avion, se mélange avec l’air plus froid et plus sec de l’atmosphère. Sous certaines conditions, ce mélange déclenche la condensation de la vapeur d’eau de l’atmosphère en gouttelettes d’eau liquide qui gèlent ensuite quasi-instantanément pour former un nuage de petits cristaux de glace”, explique Olivier Boucher, chercheur (CNRS) au laboratoire de météorologie dynamique.

Pseudoscience: When You Really, Really Really Hate Data and Deduction

By

Ketan Joshi

The denial of deduction and causation is a necessary component in the concrete acceptance of extremely weak hypotheses, such as those underlying homeopathy, anti-vaccination fear-mongering, anti-abortion pseudoscience dating back to the 1950’s, or ‘wind turbine syndrome’.