Wind whips up health fears

Wind whips up health fears

www.oregonlive.com

Sherry Eaton pulled into the driveway of her rural, high-desert home to see one of several giant wind turbines being assembled a half-mile away.

"I started to cry," Eaton, 57, recalled of her first sight of the Willow Creek Wind Project in late July. "They're going to be hanging over the back of our house, and now there's the medical thing."

"The medical thing" is new research suggesting that living close to wind turbines, as Eaton and her 60-year old husband, Mike, soon will be doing, can cause sleep disorders, difficulty with equilibrium, headaches, childhood "night terrors" and other health problems.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Interesting news isn't it?

So perhaps these "alternative" energies aren't the best solution after all. Of course this says nothing about the larger picture, this is still very interesting news.

www.oregonlive.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

This is a load of BS, wind turbines cause no such "health" problems. Loads of people in Holland live next to them and experience no problems what so ever.
This is just another misinformed ignorant American report...

reply to post by nyk537


Misinformation indeed. Okay I get it. Lets see how we can deprecate or disparage one of the cleanest energy solutions.

I'm not going to discredit this idea yet. My wife is especially sensitive to EMF and gets very wierd around high tension power distribution lines, so I could see where being near what is basically a giant EMF field generator like a wind turbine could have quite a negative impact on her.

As for the good people of Holland... those windmills are water pumping mills and are totally uncomparable to electricity generating wind mills. Research, my friend, research! The electric generating windmills in most of the Nethrlands are in Denmark and are located offshore. We're talking here about something basically in people's back yards vs something out to sea. (I'd like to call out your nationality for being ignorant now... unfortunately I don't know where you are from, so typical ignorant humans)

Well, if there is a problem I am sure it will be solved. For instance, researching whether or not the article is true and then just suggest to move the wind mill further away from houses.

Originally posted by Unlimitedpossibilities
Well, if there is a problem I am sure it will be solved. For instance, researching whether or not the article is true and then just suggest to move the wind mill further away from houses.

Don't bet on that. Look how long they continued to put HT distribution lines over peoples' homes before even considering that the reports of sickness, cancers, even people going postal might have some merit. Even now, they've only got a bare minimum 250 foot corridor buffering the lines in most urban settings, which is enough to keep people from losing their minds, but not enough to keep people from still suffering severe headaches, sleep problems, and there is still abnormally high cancer levels in people who live that close to them.

Originally posted by Unlimitedpossibilities
Misinformation indeed. Okay I get it. Lets see how we can deprecate or disparage one of the cleanest energy solutions.

No misinformation here friend. I'm simply relating the article as it was found, and don't appreciate the assumption that I'm bashing an energy source (even if I am).

Which brings me to my next point…wind energy is never going to be a "solution". We are never going to be able to drive cars, fly planes, or sustain a military on wind power. It's a pipe dream that offers no real solutions. Sure it may provide a few percentage points of our energy needs, but it is never going to be a solution.

If someone has a problem with windmills I think they should go live under the smoke stack of a coal burning power plant. Either that or go live in the woods with no electricity and stop bitching. Leave it to a fellow American to complain about green energy...

I truly hope this nonsense does not stop the installation of any windmills.

Once again I am being accused of being against other forms of energy when I have made no such comments regarding the original article. I am simply relating a news story that is relevant to the current discussions going on in this country.

And don't give me that "against green energy" crap either. I'm not against any type of energy that will effectively supply our demands. Wind, however, is not that energy. Wind power supplies about %1 of American energy needs right now, and can never supply much more than that. Regardless, wind cannot be used to drive cars or fly planes or power boats; pretty much the main things we need reliable energy for.

So all this "green" stuff needs to stop because it gets us nowhere. Just because something is "green" doesn't make it right. And just because something may not be considered "green", doesn't make it wrong.

I wouldn't totally write off physical complaints attributed to these wind turbines. We once installed those ultrasonic pest devices in our house, and we all got terrible headaches and were constantly in a state of agitation until we removed them. Better the mice than the skull pounding headaches! I believe some people are just more sensitive than others.

I wonder if these turbine generators give off electromagnetic radiation like high tension power lines do..

I'm wondering if they're referring to low frequency oscillations..ie certain frequencies generated can cause nausea etc.

It's effects were first studied after an underground base was evacuated when scientist fell ill..it was attributed to a bust bearing (on a large fan supplying fresh air through huge shafts.)
Since developed into crowd dispersing 'weapons'.

If this IS the case then it would be/should be a simple matter of changing the rotation speed of the assembly as the range of the adverse frequency is VERY small.

Originally posted by Unlimitedpossibilities
Misinformation indeed. Okay I get it. Lets see how we can deprecate or disparage one of the cleanest energy solutions.

Cheapest solutions? Have you looked at the upkeep on wind turbines? They're very expensive if we're talking about the commercial farms. Home turbines are a different matter and are very good. The commercial ones need new blades when they break, constant adjustments to the electrics, replacement panels when they go down, peopel on site all teh time to monitor them, not to mention the damage to wildlife when birds fly into them.

Basically wind turbines on a mass scale are rather rubbish in energy production, i think the future is about combining technologies not relying on one of them. Hopefully we'll find a balance.

reply to post by nyk537


I have a problem with the accuracy of those peoples allegations. Nobody in their right mind would build a wind turbine so close to a residential area or house. In terms of effectiveness structures cause a reduction in power, that is why almost all wind turbines are in flat areas like farmers fields and on top of hills like in north queensland. Apparently there are only 2 urban wind farms and both occupy unused space

en.wikipedia.org...

Originally posted by ImaginaryReality1984

Cheapest solutions? Have you looked at the upkeep on wind turbines?

Actually upkeep for wind power is relatively cheap, its just the return funds that make it appear expensive. I think it takes something like 20 years to break even

I like the idea of combining several sources of power myself as 1984 said. I think our country went wrong when they stopped building nuclear power plants back in the 80's.

Originally posted by nyk537
Once again I am being accused of being against other forms of energy when I have made no such comments regarding the original article. I am simply relating a news story that is relevant to the current discussions going on in this country.

You were accused of nothing. Get over yourself.

Whatever health impacts wind turbines could possibly have don't mean squat. The health impacts from a coal burning power plant are more severe and affect a much greater population. A windmill in your backyard is MUCH better than a coal burning power plant or a reactor. If people are so 'sensitive' to these types of things perhaps they should live out in the woods with the Amish.

I do know from experience, having spent a couple of night here, next to Britain's largest turbines, that you can hear them and I guess some sensitive people may be affected by the noise.





These turbines are around 1600ft in the Welsh hills, well away from any permanent residence. Whether such wide roads and electricity stations should be situated in areas of relative wilderness is another matter

I'm really amazed. Every time I think I have accepted human stupidity, someone rises to the occasion and shows me I ain't seen nothin' yet.

From the original article:


Just because someone once claimed that wind turbines were completely harmless, it is not a given that this claim is so. Just as the claims about the horrendous effects of CO2 are utter bunk, so are the claims that wind power has to be OK because it is 'green'.

Please, people, get some real facts and think these things through. Sure, wind is great, but there are now reports of a possible problem. Shouldn't we check out the claims before we proceed headlong? The very reason we now have these smoggish power plants is because someone refused to openly accept the claims that they were polluting and harmful. Do we really want to make the same mistake again?

I am still amazed at the correlation between the windfarms and the areas of global temperature anomalies. They actually coincide both chronologically and geographically. Yet no one mentions it, because windfarms are 'green'.

TheRedneck

Thank you.

It's nice to see someone else who doesn't jump the gun just because something is classified as "green".

It's funny though that people like you and I are the ones criticized during issues like this.