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.
Conservative Forces at Work: The Opposition to Wind power in Australia
By
Neil Barrett
In the short to medium term the fossil fuel interests and their supporters – both witting and unwitting — are fighting the battle of their corporate lives to preserve the privileged position they’ve held for so long. Largely because of economic and environmental considerations which strongly favour renewables and possibly because of the reactions of local people such as those at Waubra, the anti-wind forces will almost certainly lose in the end, but not before they’ve done a lot of damage to Australia’s attempts to cut emissions and to the wind industry in particular.
A Re-Evaluation Of The Wind Concerns Ontario Health Survey
By
Malcolm Hamilton
The conclusion is that the symptoms reported for people living near wind turbines identified by the WCO survey are not significantly different than those experienced by the general population, i.e. there is no evidence of wind turbines causing adverse health effects.
ReNewEconomy: Abandoning homes due to wind farms: the deep fragrance of factoid
By
Simon Chapman
My paper concluded that the claim was a factoid promoted by wind farm opponents for dramatic, rhetorical impact. The claim sits alongside other contestable claims made by wind farm opponents, including a list of symptoms of Biblical pestilence proportions (currently numbering 236) said to be caused by wind farm exposure, the promotion of non-diseases, claims that wind farms can rock stationary cars 1km away, make people’s lips vibrate 10km away and that they can be heard at up to 100km.
Wind Turbine fires
By
David Clarke
The report stated that ‘some 80,000 ha of national park were destroyed by a wildfire ignited by the turbine debris’ and gave an Australian Broadcasting Commission report as a reference. In fact, the ABC Net site referred to mentions a blaze that “consumed more than 70 hectares” and did not mention wind turbines at all. In fact it was referring to another fire that happened four years after the turbine fire.
Wind Crank Index
By
Mike Barnard
With thanks to the long-lasting science Crackpot Index, this Wind Crank Index is intended to provide a simple way to figure out how you should invest your time: helping the person understand more about wind energy or figuring out how to correct the damage they are doing.
Etwas Luft: Why Copenhagen Hasn’t Seen A “Wind Turbine Syndrome” Pandemic
By
Ketan Joshi
Even if Denmark had its own ‘wind turbine syndrome’ organisation, I strongly suspect the phenomenon wouldn’t take hold. The Middelgrunden Wind Farm happens to be half-owned by Middelgrunden Wind Cooperative – 10,000 investors that own 10 of the 20 turbines.
