"Windfall" the movie

http://firstrunfeatures.com/trailers_windfall.html

 

Reviews:

By Colin Covert, Star Tribune, Minnesota

Wind power was supposed to be the free lunch of green energy; Laura Israel's evenhanded documentary reminds us that everything comes at a cost. Focusing on an idyllic upstate New York farm town, she charts the community's growing disillusionment with the 40-story turbines. As the progressive locals learn about the giant fans' drawbacks -- flickering shadows, bird and bat kills and an incessant low-frequency hum -- town meetings turn contentious. The film isn't agenda-driven advocacy, but an invitation to think critically about an alternative energy source often presented as a panacea <universal remedy>. (U.S., 83 min.)

--Copyright © 2011 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.

 

By Ann Hornaday, Washington Post 

With the Oscar-nominated “Gasland” (and its flame-throwing plumbing) enlightening viewers on the environmental and public health implications of natural gas drilling, and with nuclear power’s reputation in meltdown as a global community turns an anxious gaze toward Japan, some hardy souls may see hope in wind power. After seeing “Windfall,” those optimists will probably emerge with their faith, if not shaken, at least blown strongly off course.

“Windfall” takes place in Meredith, N.Y., a once-thriving dairy-farming community of fewer than 2,000 tucked into a bucolic Catskills valley that is teetering between post-agricultural poverty and hip gentrification. When Irish energy company Airtricity offers leases to build windmills on some residents’ properties, the deals initially seem like a win-win. A little extra money in the pockets of struggling farmers, an environmentally sound technology, those graceful white wings languorously slicing the afternoon sky — what’s not to like?

Plenty, as the concerned residents in “Windfall” find out. Not only do the 400-foot, 600,000-pound turbines look much less benign up close, but research has suggested that their constant low-frequency noise and the flickering shadows they cast affect public health; what’s more, they’ve been known to fall, catch fire and throw off potentially lethal chunks of snow and ice. 

Soon Meredith succumbs to drastic divisions between boosters, who see Airtricity’s offers as a godsend for the economically strapped community, and skeptics, who see the leases as little more than green-washed carpetbaggery. “Windfall” chronicles the ensuing, agonizing fight, which largely splits lifelong residents and the relatively new “downstaters,” who’ve moved in from Manhattan and want to keep their views and property values pristine.

...Wisely letting Meredith’s residents speak for themselves, the filmmaker avoids simple good-guy-bad-guy schematics, instead enabling each side to state its case.

Israel, a film editor making her feature debut here, has owned a cabin in Meredith for more than 20 years, a fact never made clear in “Windfall,” which is,

nonetheless, filmed with careful, dispassionate distance. In large part, the documentary follows Israel’s process of discovery. Although she wasn’t approached for a lease, she initially supported wind power in the community, she said in an interview. “I wanted a turbine on my property, which motivated me to learn more about it,” she explained. “A lot of the people in the film are illustrating the process I went through, from initial excitement to having it unravel as you find out more about the subject.”

Full review at http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/ann-hornaday-reviews-windfall/2011/03/17/ABEaySs_story.html#comments

The Scientific Alliance: The Limits to Renewable Energy

"<Although the report>  focuses on the UK,  the essential messages are relevant anywhere.

Our main conclusion is that wind power (which is the only technology which could be deployed on a large enough scale to have a chance of meeting the UK government’s ambitious targets) cannot fulfil the expectations which policymakers have for it. The primary objective of the present UK and EU energy policy is to reduce fossil fuel use, and hence also carbon dioxide emissions.... The challenge is immense.

In principle, the use of ‘free’ wind energy is a good idea, but in practice it can deliver less than we might think. The primary problem with wind, as with other renewable energy sources, is that it is intermittent. Although windy and calm days can be forecast reasonably reliably, the wind rarely blows steadily. Since wind turbine output follows a cube law, a doubling of wind speed leads to an eight-fold increase in electricity output (and vice versa). Even when these variations are smoothed out across large arrays of turbines and wind farms spread across wide areas, the power delivered to the grid varies considerably over short timescales.

To an extent, the electricity grid can cope with that, although the problem gets more difficult as penetration of renewables increases. However, there are periods when the wind hardly blows, and each year we experience some of these at times of high demand, particularly in winter evenings. The worst situation is to have a stable area of high pressure over the country. In winter, this leads to calm, very cold conditions, while in summer it is equally calm, but very hot. In the UK, peak demand comes in winter but, in countries further south, there will also be increased demand for air-conditioning during summer heat waves. In both cases, power would have to come from sources other than wind.

The opposite problem can also occur. If the wind is blowing too strongly (above about 50mph), turbines must be shut down to avoid damage. This is exactly what happened last week in Scotland and northern England. According to a Sunday Times report (Storm shutdown is blow to future of wind turbines), wind farm output on Thursday 8 December fell from 2GW to 708MW between 9am and noon."

Unless consumers are prepared to tolerate an intermittent supply of electricity, fossil fuel generating plant – largely relatively inefficient open-cycle gas turbines – has to be left idling in order to ramp up its output quickly and balance the grid. The result is that wind farms save less fossil fuel overall than their output would suggest. Experience from Ireland, which already has a higher proportion of wind energy capacity than the UK, shows that installing new capacity produces diminishing returns in terms of fuel savings; beyond a certain point, erecting more wind turbines saves no more gas or coal and merely adds cost and insecurity to the system.

But despite the additional costs and inefficiencies which wind energy brings, there are moves afoot to install still more.

Full article at http://www.cambridgenetwork.co.uk/news/article/default.aspx?objid=86395

Wind Turbines and Public Health

The link below will take you to an app. 7 minute video produced by the Waubra Foundation in Australia.

This organization has been the international leader in compiling documentation from all over the world on the health effects on humans caused by commercial wind turbines.

*  Note:  1 kilometer = .62 mile or just over half a mile   10 km = 6 miles  *

http://www.youtube.com/user/WaubraFoundation

Farmers' Concerns

This link takes you to a very brief but well-worth watching video about
a proposed NextEra wind development in Adelaide-Metcalf, Ontario, Canada.
Farmers there have the same concerns that farmers in the U.S. do.
The proposed footprint of the development is 6,500 hectares = 16,060 acres.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKQ7RIMXjKY&sns=em

PETITION OPPOSING MARSHALL COUNTY WIND DEVELOPMENTS: Just highlight, copy & paste the entire petition below to a blank document, print & fill it out, mail it. YOUR VOICE COUNTS!

 PETITION OPPOSING ANY COMMERCIAL WIND FARMS IN MARSHALL COUNTY

My name is _______________________________  and I hereby petition       

                                (please print your name)

the Marshall County government bodies and the courts of Indiana to deny any commercial wind farms from locating in Marshall County. I reside in Marshall County at

_____________________________________________________________

                                           (street address) (city) (state) (zip)

We are concerned about the health effects from the commercial turbines affecting our family and other members of our community.

We are concerned about the destruction of the visual environment of our region.

We are concerned about the detrimental effects on birds, bats, livestock, and our environment as a whole.

Please do not take the chance of damaging our health, our environment, our property values, or our right to common enjoyment of our community, farms, and homes.

Signature____________________________________________

Address____________________________________________

            _____________________________________________

Phone  _____________________________________________

E-mail  _____________________________________________

Please copy this petition and have one person sign each individual petition. Send petitions to CPOSMC, P.O. Box 46, Culver, IN 46511. You must be 18 years of age to sign.

Wind farms are "absolutely useless", says Duke

 The Duke of Edinburgh has made a fierce attack on wind farms, describing them as “absolutely useless”.

By Jonathan Wynne-Jones

9:30PM GMT 19 Nov 2011

In a withering assault on the onshore wind turbine industry, the Duke said the farms were “a disgrace”.

He also criticised the industry’s reliance on subsidies from electricity customers, claimed wind farms would “never work” and accused people who support them of believing in a “fairy tale”.

The Duke’s comments will be seized upon by the burgeoning lobby who say wind farms are ruining the countryside and forcing up energy bills.

Criticism of their effect on the environment has mounted, with The Sunday Telegraph disclosing today that turbines are being switched off during strong winds following complaints about their noise.

The Duke’s views are politically charged, as they put him at odds with the Government’s policy significantly to increase the amount of electricity generated by wind turbines.

The country has 3,421 turbines — 2,941 of them onshore — with another 4,500 expected to be built under plans for wind power to play a more important role in providing Britain’s energy.

Chris Huhne, the Energy Secretary, last month called opponents of the plans “curmudgeons and fault-finders” and described turbines as “elegant” and “beautiful”.

The Duke’s attack on the turbines, believed to be the first public insight into his views on the matter, came in a conversation with the managing director of a leading wind farm company.

When Esbjorn Wilmar, of Infinergy, which builds and operates turbines, introduced himself to the Duke at a reception in London, he found himself on the end of an outspoken attack on his industry.

“He said they were absolutely useless, completely reliant on subsidies and an absolute disgrace,” said Mr Wilmar. “I was surprised by his very frank views.”

Mr Wilmar said his attempts to argue that onshore wind farms were one of the most cost-effective forms of renewable energy received a fierce response from the Duke.

“He said, 'You don’t believe in fairy tales do you?’” said Mr Wilmar. “He said that they would never work as they need back-up capacity.”

One of the main arguments of the anti-wind farm lobby is that because turbines do not produce electricity without wind, there is still a need for other ways to generate power.

It emerged last year that electricity customers are paying an average of £90 a year to subsidise wind farms and other forms of renewable energy as part of a government scheme to meet carbon-reduction targets.

Mr Wilmar said one of the main reasons the Duke thought onshore wind farms to be “a very bad idea” was their reliance on such subsidies.

Prince Philip, however, said he would never consider allowing his land to be used for turbines, which can be up to 410ft tall, and he bemoaned their impact on the countryside.
Mr Wilmar said: “I suggested to him to put them on his estate, and he said, 'You stay away from my estate young man’.
“He said he thought that they’re not nice at all for the landscape.”

The Duke’s comments echo complaints made by his son, the Prince of Wales, who has refused to have any built on Duchy of Cornwall land.

Yet a turbine will be erected opposite the Castle of Mey in Caithness, where he stays for a week every August, if a farmer succeeds in gaining planning permission from Highland Council.

While they are opposed to onshore wind farms, the Royal family stands to earn millions of pounds from those placed offshore. The Crown Estate owns almost all of the seabed off Britain’s 7,700-mile coastline.....the Queen, the Duke, the Prince of Wales and other members of the family do not have any say over how the estate makes its money.

The Dutch businessman’s company describes itself as committed to preserving the planet. Infinergy, which is a subsidiary of the Dutch firm KDE Energy, is planning to build on a number of sites across the country, from the north of Scotland to Totnes in Devon.

Two-thirds of the country’s wind turbines are owned by foreign companies, which are estimated to reap £500million a year in subsidies.
A spokesman for the Duke said that Buckingham Palace would not comment about a private conversation.

Entire article and links to other related articles can be found at
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/prince-philip/8901985/Wind-farms-are-useless-says-Duke.html

Radar Disruption - Public Safety is an issue and the (partial) fix requires even more tax payer dollars

How Green

Wind Farms Disrupting Radar, Scientists Say

By Maxim Lott

Published November 05, 2011

| FoxNews.com

• 
  National Weather Service
  Rainstorm or wind farm? The circled area contains a wind farm, making it unclear whether it is also raining there.

This one's really off the radar.

Wind farms, along with solar power and other alternative energy souces, are supposed to produce the energy of tomorrow. Evidence indicates that their countless whirring fan blades produce something else: "blank spots" that distort radar readings. 

Now government agencies that depend on radar -- such as the Department of Defense and the National Weather Service -- are spending millions in a scramble to preserve their detection capabilities. A four-star Air Force general recently spelled out the problem to Dave Beloite, the director of the Department of Defense’s Energy Siting Clearinghouse. 

 

"Look there’s a radar here -- one of our network of Homeland surveillance radars -- and [if you build this wind farm] you essentially are going to put my eyes out in the Northwestern corner of the United States,” Beloite related during a web conference in April.

Spinning wind turbines make it hard to detect incoming planes. To avoid that problem, military officials have blocked wind farm construction near their radars -- and in some cases later allowed them after politicians protested.

Shepherd’s Flat, a wind farm under construction in Oregon, was initially held up by a government notice that the farm would “seriously impair the ability of the (DoD) to detect, monitor and safely conduct air operations."

Then Oregon’s senators got involved.

The fix MIT scientists came up with tells the radar not to pay attention to signals in a very small area.

“You just tell the radar processor, ‘you're going to have clutter here. Don't display it.’ You create a tiny blank spot [in the radar map] directly above the turbine,” Beloite told FoxNews.com.

In addition to the  cost o the radar development, taxpayers are on the hook for more than $1 billion in subsidies for the construction of the Shepherd’s Flat wind farm, according to a 2010 memo from Larry Summers and two other White House economic advisors.

The fix for military radar doesn't work so well for weather forecasters, however. 

“It's a lot easier to filter out interference for aviation,” Ed Ciardi, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service Radar Operations Center in Norman, Okla., told FoxNews.com. “The real problem is when rain and the wind turbines are mixed together [on the radar map.] And it's all confusing… sometimes [forecasters] throw up their hands and say, ‘who knows?’”

When the situation is unclear, Ciardi said, “they'll play it safe and maybe extend a warning.”

Ciardi said there have been occasional false alarms due to wind farm interference, but the Weather Service hasn't failed to issue any storm warnings yet.

“We're more worried about the future ... we've seen quite a few proposals for wind farms around our radars. And we have been ... trying to convince them to stay a good distance away,” he said.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/11/05/wind-farms-disrupting-radar-scientists-say/#ixzz1d2VqBwmj

Making the world a noisy place

The side-effects and complaints about commercial wind turbines are being aired world-wide. What ever happened to concerns about "noise pollution"? This from England:

Credit:  Western Morning News, www.thisisnorthdevon.co.uk 29 October 2011 ~~


Imagine never being able to open your windows at night, no matter how hot the weather…

It’s a problem some North Devon residents now claim they face since the blades of 22 giant wind-turbines at Fullabrook began to turn.

Sue Pike’s bungalow is just 600 metres (1,986 feet) from one of the 110-metre (361- foot) turbines at the new wind-farm and she says: “It is dreadful – the main sound is like a huge great cement mixer going around – then you get the loud whoosh and also whistles and hums.

“Altogether we have counted four different noises coming from it,” she told the Western Morning News. “Back in the warmer weather when the turbines were being tested we couldn’t open the bedroom or lounge windows – fortunately we are double-glazed so that helps cut out the noise – but we were stewing indoors.”

Retired farmer Brian Pugsley has lived in the Putsford area close to the centre of the wind-farm all his 67 years and he says his thoughts on the development are “unprintable”.

“It’s affected everybody in a large area, but we’re in the middle of it – you’ve got the drone of the motor and also the blade and its whooshing sound.

“I don’t know how loud it was – but it just went on and on and was definitely worst when all 22 were going round,” said Mr Pugsley referring to the recent turbine tests.

Full article at www.wind-watch.org

Visitors: recent post on lifewithdekalbturbines.blogspot.com

Friday, October 21, 2011

unexpected visitors

we had an unexpected knock on our door last night from a family who was touring this area and collecting information about the turbines. these landowners live in an area where next era is proposing turbines. they wanted to know about how our quality of life has changed and our experience with the company. the landowners heard the turbines and said they sounded like a train getting ready to go. they expressed a different perspective and a change of heart now that they have been in our area for the day researching next era, talking with others, and hearing the turbines. it is refreshing that people are doing this kind of research!

currently the turbines are lightly spinning with limited noise emitted.

 

Farm Animals and Wildlife

From Wisconsin:

"The symptoms experienced by humans may also be seen more seriously and widespread in animals leading to adverse consequences. Wild animals that have highly developed senses of hearing and vibration (bats, snakes, deer, turkey, and birds) virtually disappear from large wind developments. Domestic farm animals such as chickens, goats, and cattle are all reported to display adverse behaviors, as well as reproduction abnormalities and even death. There are many case reports of decreased dairy production and egg production in farm animals that are reversed when the animals are moved away from wind turbines."

http://www.bccrwe.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=61:letter-on-health-effects-of-industrial-wind-turbines&catid=42:health-and-wellness&Itemid=54

"Industrial wind turbines (IWTs) impact local and migrant wildlife - birds, bats, monarch butterflies, dragonflies, amphibians, reptiles, fish and other creatures - by way of ....displacement from the area around the turbines due to significant disturbance. Initial construction activity may cause local wildlife to abandon the site permanently.....

Habitat loss or detrimental change due to IWTs and associated roads, electrical substations and transmission lines."

- Wayne Wegner     full report posted at Wind Concerns Ontario

Medical Emergency Flights + Wind Turbines = No Go

Source:  http://betterplan.squarespace.com

"Another fire..."

Notice that the newscaster intros the story with the words "another fire at a wind turbine..."
The incident was at a NextEra wind energy development.
http://www.ktxs.com/news/29378976/detail.html

Wind power: questionable benefits, concealed impacts

Not really green after all:

... if a life-cycle study is warranted for hydraulic fracturing, because drilling might pass through subsurface formations containing fresh water, similar studies are certainly called for elsewhere: wind turbine manufacturing, installation and operation, for instance.

Turbines require enormous quantities of concrete, steel, copper, fiberglass and rare earth minerals – all of which involve substantial resource extraction, refining, smelting, manufacturing and shipping. Land and habitat impacts, rock removal and pulverizing, solid waste disposal, burning fossil fuels, air and water pollution, and carbon dioxide emissions occur on large scales during every step of the process.

Over 95% of global rare earth production occurs in China and Mongolia, using their technology, coal-fired electricity generation facilities and environmental rules. Extracting neodymium, praseodymium and other rare earths for wind turbine magnets and rotors involves pumping acid down boreholes, to dissolve and retrieve the minerals. Other acids, chemicals and high heat further process the materials. Millions of tons of toxic waste are generated annually and sent to enormous ponds, rimmed by earthen dams.

Leaks, seepage and noxious air emissions have killed trees, grasses, crops and cattle, polluted lakes and streams, and given thousands of people respiratory and intestinal problems, osteoporosis and cancer.

In 2009, China produced 150,000 tons of rare earth metals – and over 15,000,000 tons of waste. To double current global installed wind capacity, and produce rare earths for photovoltaic solar panels and hybrid and electric cars, China will have to increase those totals significantly – unless Molycorp and other companies can rejuvenate rare earth production in the US and elsewhere, using more modern methods.

Made in China turbines are shipped to the USA, trucked to their final destinations, and installed on huge concrete platforms; new backup gas generating plants are built; and hundreds of miles of new transmission lines are constructed. That means still more steel, copper, concrete, fuel and land. Moreover, the backup power plants generate more pollution and carbon dioxide than if they could simply run at full capacity, because as backups for turbines they must operate constantly but ramp up to full power, and back down, numerous times daily, in response to shifting wind speeds.

Wind farms require roads and 700-1000 ton concrete-and-rebar foundations, which affect water drainage patterns in farm country. The 300-500 foot tall turbines affect scenery, interfere with or prevent crop dusting over hundreds of acres, and kill countless birds and bats. Farmers who lease their land for wind turbines receive substantial royalty payments; neighbors are impacted, but receive no compensation.

Despite these ecological costs, wind farm projects are often fast-tracked through NEPA and other environmental review processes, and are exempted from endangered species and migratory bird laws that can result in multi-million-dollar fines for oil, gas and coal operators, for a fraction of the carnage.

Perhaps worst, all this is supported generously by renewable energy mandates, tax breaks, feed-in tariffs, “prioritized loading orders,” and other subsidies, courtesy of state and federal governments and taxpayers. In fact, wind power gets 90 times more in federal subsidies than do coal and natural gas, per megawatt-hour of electricity actually generated, according to US Energy Information Administration data. And wind-based electricity costs consumers several times more per kilowatt-hour than far more reliable electricity from coal, gas and nuclear power plants.

Simply put, the wind might be free, when it blows. But the rest of the “renewable, green, eco-friendly” wind energy system is anything but.

It might be far better all around to simply build the most efficient, lowest-polluting coal, gas and nuclear generating plants possible, let them run at full capacity 24/7/365 – and just skip the wind power.

Life-cycle studies would be a positive development – for all energy sources. In fact …

“Think globally, act locally” might be a very good motto for EPA and wind energy advocates.

- Paul Driessen  2/28/11 Paul Driessen is a senior fellow with the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow and Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise, nonprofit public policy institutes that focus on energy, the environment, economic development and international affairs.

Wind Farms Make Bad Neighbors

Wind Turbines....

--Are not economical.  They are enormously subsidized by the state and federal government (your tax dollars).  In 2010 the EIA reported that Federal subsidies for wind energy alone exceeded the combined subsidies for all other conventional power sources.. 

--Increase electricity rates.  Denmark has the highest wind implementation in the world. The average residential US cost for electricity is 10¢ per kilowatt. In Denmark it is 35¢.    

--Will not make the U.S. energy independent.  Only about 1% of the electricity in the U.S. comes from oil. 

--Will not cause coal powered plants to be shut down.  Since wind is neither steady nor reliable, ALL wind energy developments require augmented power sources, typically from fossil fuel such as coal and natural gas, and in some areas from nuclear or hydroelectric energy. 

--Can cause value of property within sight of a turbine to decrease by 30%±.

--Are a visual blight on rural landscapes.  The turbines are up to 450 feet tall.  That’s like having 40-story buildings all across the county’s rural and undeveloped areas, much of which is prime farmland.

--Kill bats and birds--including the Indiana bat, an endangered species. Bats migrate and their deaths alone are estimated by independent experts to cause national agricultural losses in the tens of millions of dollars.

--Cause health problems from noise and shadow flicker.  Worldwide, people consistently report disturbed sleep, headaches, sleeplessness, ringing in ears, dizziness and vertigo, memory and concentration problems, irritability, and depression.  Cases are well documented and the governments of other countries are now seriously taking health effects from wind turbines into account when legislating. Animals reportedly suffer from health effects as well. Wild animals leave areas near wind turbines.

--Prevent use of crop dusters and lifeline helicopters.  Turbulence from the turbines makes it too dangerous for planes and helicopters to fly in the footprint of the wind farm.  These pilots will not fly within two miles of wind turbines.

--Are a hazard to Firefighters and EMS crews. 

Fires at wind turbines cannot be fought safely. And if a blade breaks while the turbine is operating, its fragments can be thrown 1200 ft or more. With up to 500 gal. of flammable fluids in the boxes high above ground, the dangers to public safety, first responder safety,  the environment and ground water are all legitimate concerns.

This project has been adopted by the Lake Maxinkuckee Environmental Fund (LMEF).  If you would like to make a tax deductible contribution toward this defense, please send your check, made payable to LMEF, with a notation written on the check “wind turbine project.”  You can drop off or mail your check to the office at 116 N. Main St., P.O. Box 187, Culver, IN 46511

CONCERNED PROPERTY OWNERS OF SOUTHERN MARSHALL COUNTY

WWW.MARSHALLCOUNTYIN-WINDFARM.BLOGSPOT.COM

U.S. Wind Distribution Map

This U.S. Department of Energy map shows wind distribution throughout the nation.The areas in white represent the least amount of wind. The logical question here is:
WHY MARSHALL COUNTY?

Information sheet from Saturday, Aug. 13, 2011, meeting in Culver

The Facts:

·         A Florida-based wind farm company, NextEra, has proposed a 17,000+ acre area for the construction of 60+ wind turbines. The 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 turbines are proposed to be app. 450 feet tall, about the height of a 38 to 45-story building.

·         The wind turbines will be visible from Culver's scenic town park as well as all shores of Lake Maxinkuckee, the Town of Argos, and miles of surrounding farmland.

·         The sound from the turbines can carry 1.5 miles, farther over rolling terrain and water. Sound described as “like a cement mixer in the sky.”

·         Marshall County requires that turbines be placed only 1,000 feet from homes, although globally, doctors recommend that they not be located within 1.5 miles (7,920 feet) of a home.

·         A NextEra representative has stated that the wind energy produced will not be used locally!

Potential Resulting Problems:

·         Reported decrease in property value and re-sale value for land and homes next to or within sight of a wind farm can be as much as 30%. Land value where one or more turbine is situated actually increases because of the income the land owner receives from the wind energy company.

·         Visual and audio disturbances to our everyday life: “shadow flicker” and persistent noise.

·         Addition of cell phone and radio towers on land leased for a wind farm, at the company’s discretion.

·         Threat to wildlife: wind turbines kill birds and bats both of which are necessary to our fragile ecosystem and bats in particular play a vital role on farms in the way insect control and pollination.

·         Serious threats to human and animal health and well-being: symptoms of those living near wind farms include headache, nausea, blurred vision, sleeplessness, ringing/buzzing in ears, dizziness and vertigo, memory & concentration problems, and depression.

Misconceptions about Wind Energy:

·         Wind energy is free. No! Wind energy is not economically viable and comes at an ultimately higher cost than our current energy sources. The wind industry is heavily subsidized (funded) by YOUR TAX DOLLARS.

·         Electric rates in our local area will go down. No! NextEra has stated that our local electric rates will increase.

·         The energy generated will be used locally. No! A NextEra representative said that the wind energy from this particular farm will not be used locally and may be sold out of state.

·         The wind farm will help to decrease our country’s dependence on foreign oil. No!  In the U.S., electricity is generated by U.S. coal, natural gas, and in some regions, nuclear plants.

What Can You Do?

·         Sign the petition against the proposed wind farm. Your voice counts!

·         Use this handout and our blog to educate your neighbors and friends.

·         Post questions and comments (can be anonymous) to our blog.

Additional Resources; Do your own Research:

·         “Shadow Flicker” YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbIe0iUtelQ

·         Wind turbine noise YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoVKP0G_f8M
*       Property value/resale value impact studies:
         http://www.wind-watch.org/ww-propertyvalues.php
  Health concerns:

·         www.windturbinesyndrome.com

·         http://windfarmfactsutah.org/HEALTH_IMPACT.html

            http://www.ehow.com/list_5927800_health-living-near-wind-turbines_.html

Is that a storm? Or....?

In areas where there are large commercial wind farms, an interesting - and potentially dangerous - phenomenon occurs: the motion of the turbines creates a "signature" on local doppler radar that looks just like a storm. The large rotating blades affect the flow of wind and on doppler radar, it appears there is a sizeable storm in the area. Below is an image from http://www.wlfi.com/ which is Lafayette's local tv station. You can see the date and time in the upper left corner of the radar image. This was a CLEAR day and the nearest storms were in northwestern Illinois. Where there appear to be a couple hefty storms near Lafayette, there are commercial wind farms.

The question is, can these large wind farms actually interefere with doppler's ability to show rotation in real storm clouds thus endangering the public because of late tornado warnings? If you go to a national radar image, these false storms do not show up; it only happens on the local doppler radar that is used to predict  severe storms.

Doppler Radar from WLFI.COM  Lafayette, Indiana, April and August, 2011

  Excellent visuals and explanation of wind turbines interefering w/ weather radar signals (New York):

http://www.erh.noaa.gov/buf/windfarm.htm

Don't Like Bats? We Need Them.

Some Important Bat Facts:

• Nearly 1,100 kinds of bats account for almost a quarter of all mammal species, and most are highly beneficial. A single little brown bat can catch 1,200 mosquito-sized insects in just one hour. Bats have an enormous beneficial financial impact on local agriculture and they play a key role in human and animal disease control.
• A colony of 150 big brown bats can protect local farmers from up to 33 million or more rootworms each summer.
• The 20 million Mexican free-tails from Bracken Cave, Texas, eat approximately 200 tons of insects nightly.
• Tropical bats are key elements in rain forest ecosystems, which rely on them to pollinate flowers and disperse seeds for countless trees and shrubs.
• In the wild, important agricultural plants, from bananas, breadfruit, and mangoes to cashews, dates, figs, rely on bats for pollination and seed dispersal. This is the case for U.S. agriculture as well.
• Bat are exceptionally vulnerable to extinction, in part because they are the slowest reproducing mammals on earth for their size. Most produce only one young a year.
• More than half of American bat species are in severe decline or are already listed as endangered. Losses are occurring at alarming rates worldwide.
• Loss of bats increases demand for chemical pesticides, can jeopardize whole ecosystems of other animal and plant species, and can harm human economies.

http://www.noreswindnk.com/wildlife_effects.html

Exploding Bat Lungs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRqu4WiLQfk

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.