Health Effects

Health Effects in Humans are Potentially Attributable to Large Wind Turbines

Globally, doctors, pediatricians, and acousticians have been investigating reports and complaints from people who live near large wind turbines. The list of illnesses, symptoms,  and psychological effects is ominous. Some of these are:

   Headaches

   Dizziness

   Nausea

   Memory loss

   Difficulty concentrating

   Sleeplessness

   Ringing in the ears

   Vertigo

   Pressure felt in the ears

   Depression

   Irritability

Have you ever heard of Wind Turbine Syndrome? This is a term created by Dr. Nina Pierpont (New York pediatrician) to describe how low-frequency noise from wind turbines affects the inner ear.

Another common term used when discussing wind farms is Shadow Flicker. This is an almost strobe-like effect that happens when the sun is at a particular angle or there is a mix of sun and clouds and the blades are moving. People who are prone to seizures or epilepsy may be at risk in the vicinity of a wind farm due to shadow flicker.

There is concern about voltage (ground current) coming from the numerous lines and cables buried underground throughout wind farms. Can anyone definitively say that this has absolutely no effect on humans or even domestic or wild animals?

Dr. Bridget Osborne of North Wales wrote a paper for the Royal College of General Practitioners about how low-frequency noise from wind turbines appears to cause depression and other serious ailments in the people in her village, near which three large turbines were put up. Quoting Dr. Osborne’s paper: “When wind farm developers do surveys to assess the suitability of a site they measure the audible range of noise but never the infrasound measurement – the low-frequency noise that causes vibrations that you can feel through your feet and chest.”

Furthermore, Dr. Pierpont, among others, advises that wind turbines not be closer than 1 ¼ mile from a house or place where people live or work. This is more than 5 times the distance we are told would be required for the wind farm in Southwestern Marshall County.  

The Danish government has stopped building on-shore wind turbines due to public outcry. Their country has been in the wind power business for nearly 30 years!

Resources and References:

http://waubrafoundation.com.au/

http://windfarmfactsutah.org/HEALTH_IMPACT.html 

http://www.windturbinesyndrome.com/ 

Institute for Energy Research article, The Wind Experience  Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Bird and Bat Kills

Innocent Victims

There are hundreds of articles and websites that reveal the bloody truth about large wind farms: world-wide, both birds and bats have been killed by the turbines. At a June 16, 2011, Culver Kiwanis meeting, a NextEra representative was asked if birds have been killed by wind turbines and he stated that yes, some birds would be killed, then he added that according to the company’s studies, “more birds are killed in the United States by feral cats than by wind turbines.” It should be pointed out that bird mortality caused by wind farms is averaged across the country, so while one turbine in a remote area may only have a few (reported) bird or bat deaths associated with it, another which has been placed in or near a migratory path or area that has a high number of song birds and water fowl, may end up killing literally thousands of the creatures. By averaging the numbers nation-wide, local mortality rates end up being watered down. Additionally, wind farms are being erected at a very fast pace, so statistics about bird and bat kills become obsolete pretty quickly and should be constantly updated.

Although, according to an article in the Rochester Sentinel, NextEra says it plans to put up netting to determine the number of birds and bats in the area, long-term studies of bird and bat populations and (when applicable) migratory patterns through Marshall County should be conducted by an independent group of which all interested parties approve. A raptor specialist in Pennsylvania, Dr. Laurie Goodrich, informs us that such a study of raptors in all directions within several miles of Lake Maxinkuckee, for example, is desperately needed and, in fact, is completely lacking.

• Song birds may actually be attracted to the red lights positioned on top of wind  turbines. This has resulted in thousands of birds being killed at night in the Southwest U.S.
• The rotating blades of the turbines alter the air pressure around them and this appears to be key to the bat problem. In some areas, bats have been found dead beneath or near wind turbines, yet they have no apparent injury. Autopsies have shown that the bats’ lungs and blood vessels exploded because of the change in air pressure caused by the rotating blades. Red bats, Silver-hair bats, and Hoary bats appear to be the most vulnerable to wind turbine kills.
• Golden Eagles have been found decapitated by wind turbines in Northern California.

Obviously, the location of any grouping of wind turbines is a major factor. Given the proximity of this proposed project to Lake Maxinkuckee, and the fact that there are streams and wetlands nearby, the Tippecanoe River and Bass Lake to the west, as well as farm land and wooded areas, it is a given that water birds ranging from ducks and loons to herons, birds of prey including hawks, owls, and even eagles, and thousands of song birds and other migraters, are attracted to this part of Indiana. And although people don’t want to have a bat in their house, this creature, particularly vulnerable to wind turbines, is absolutely vital to insect control both near the water and out in the farm land. With West Nile virus being so widespread, birds and bats that feed on mosquitoes are by far more preferable than a broad range use of pesticides. Formal studies of various bird and bat species populations in Southwest Marshall County, IN, are almost completely lacking and should be carried out over a long period of time In order to include all seasons, migratory paths, and nesting sites. 

         Resources and References:

Rochester Sentinel:  Wednesday, July 6, 2011,  p.1

http://latimes.com/news/local/la-me-adv-wind-eagles-20110606,0,4078175.story

Proposed Culver-Argos Wind Farm in Marshall County, Indiana

A Florida-based wind farm company, NextEra, has its sights on a 17 thousand acre area for the construction of 60+ wind turbines. The turbines are proposed to be app. 450 feet tall, about the height of a 45 story building. This wind farm would be located between Culver and Argos in Marshall County (West to East) and from Burr Oak/ Hibbard, Marshall County, to Richland Center in Fulton County (North to South). The wind turbines will be visible from Culver's scenic town park as well as all shores of Lake Maxinkuckee and miles of the surrounding farmland.

This blog about the Marshall County wind farm proposal contains opinion, first-hand observations, and information gathered from websites and articles about wind energy. Resources and links concerning wind energy, its potential health risks, bird and bat kills, property resale impact, government subsidies, and other information will be posted throughout the blog.

This  map shows Lake Maxinkuckee and southwest Marshall County. The area within the red is an approximation of the land being considered for the wind farm in southern Marshall County and Fulton County, Indiana. You will notice that the area is within a mile and a half of Lake Maxinkuckee and is at least ten times larger than the lake.

Because the wind farm would be so close to the lake, this would be like viewing the Indianapolis skyline from the beautiful shores of Maxinkuckee.