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Bob Brown Windy Farms too Noisy (Read 17682 times)
buzzanddidj
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Re: Bob Brown Windy Farms too Noisy
Reply #105 - Jan 24th, 2012 at 1:51am
 
buzzanddidj wrote on Jan 18th, 2012 at 8:31pm:
Andrei.Hicks wrote on Dec 20th, 2011 at 3:09pm:
Wind turbines look a bit sh*t from what I can see.

Then again, if my house is powered by a nuclear plant, ..... I really couldn't give a toss as long as its nowhere near where I live.







I THINK you're "safe"


There will NEVER be a nuclear power plant built in Australia


After the mass radiation entering the atmosphere and food chain in Fukushima - and a century of cancers and birth defects resulting - I see the chance of any more plants being built on the Pacific Rim as not very likely


http://arkitehti.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/no-nukes.jpg









Seismologists predict big quake likely for Tokyo

January 23, 2012



Japanese researchers have warned of a 70 per cent chance that a magnitude-7.0 earthquake will strike Tokyo within four years - much higher than previous estimates.

Researchers at the University of Tokyo's earthquake research institute based the figure on data from the growing number of tremors in the capital since last year's March 11 earthquake off north-east Japan, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported.

According to the meteorological agency, an average of 1.48 earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from three to six have occurred per day in and near Tokyo since March.

That is around five times as many as before the disaster, the researchers said, according to the Yomiuri.

The Japanese government has forecast that the chance of a major quake of magnitude 7.0 or more in the Tokyo region is 70 per cent over the next 30 years.

Naoshi Hirata, one of the University of Tokyo researchers, says the results show seismicity has increased in the area around capital, which is expected to lead to a higher probability of a major quake.

The magnitude-9.0 earthquake last year and the resulting tsunami left more than 19,000 people dead or missing and crippled the cooling systems at the Fukushima nuclear power station, causing meltdowns in some of its reactors.

The last time a "big one" struck Tokyo was in 1923, when the magnitude-7.9 Great Kanto Earthquake claimed more than 100,000 lives, many of them in fires.

Previously, in 1855, the Ansei Edo quake also devastated the city.

Japan, located on the tectonic crossroads known as the Pacific Ring of Fire and dotted with volcanoes, is one of the world's most quake-prone countries, with Tokyo lying in one of its most dangerous areas.

The megacity sits on the intersection of three continental plates - the Eurasian, Pacific and Philippine Sea plates - which are slowly grinding against each other, building up enormous seismic pressure


http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-23/seismologists-predict-big-quake-for-japan/...






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Re: Wind Turbine Illness ~ Dubious
Reply #106 - Jan 24th, 2012 at 4:09am
 
Science on wind turbine illness dubious, say experts


FEARS that wind turbines make people sick are ''not scientifically valid'', and the arguments mounted by anti-wind farm campaigners are unconvincing, according to confidential briefings given to the state government by NSW Health.

Documents obtained under freedom-of-information laws show that health officials repeatedly warned ministers last year that there was no evidence for ''wind turbine syndrome'', a collection of ailments including sleeplessness, headaches and high blood pressure that some people believe are caused by the noise of spinning blades.

But the department's advice contrasts with the view of the Planning Minister, Brad Hazzard, who was responsible for draft guidelines, released in December, that significantly tighten the approvals process.

"I take the view that the jury is still out on the health impacts from wind farms,'' he told the Herald last night. "When it comes to people's health, I'll take a precautionary approach every time.''

Mr Hazzard said his view was consistent with that of NSW Health in that strong planning guidelines minimised any risk. The guidelines include a proviso that anyone living within two kilometres of a proposed turbine can send it through an extra planning process that takes account of health impacts.

NSW Health said in its briefings that the guidelines would minimise any health impacts but was scathing of presentations to the government by anti-wind farm groups, including the Landscape Guardians.

One study by Nina Pierpont, which is central to the claims that wind turbines make people ill, was dismissed as ''not of sufficient scientific rigour'' by NSW Health. ''This 'study' is not a rigorous epidemiological study; it is a case series of 10 families drawn from a wide range of locations,'' according to the ministerial briefing on July 5 last year. ''This work has not been properly peer reviewed. Nor has it been published in the peer-reviewed literature. The findings are not scientifically valid, with major methodological flaws stemming from the poor design of the study."

The documents, obtained under FOI laws by the environment group Friends of the Earth, say existing studies had been examined and no known causal link could be established. The assessment undermines the claims of an anti-wind farm group, the Waubra Foundation, which had been lobbying the government for a moratorium on new wind farms.

"The documents from NSW Health confirm our belief that the foundation has been 'cherry picking' data that supports its allegations about 'wind turbine syndrome' by talking with people who believe they have … symptoms,'' said a Friends of the Earth spokesman, Cam Walker. ''This becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy and is not the basis of good science … Yet, as has been noted by a growing number of medical authorities, there is no credible evidence of a causal link between turbines and ill health.''

The president of the NSW Landscape Guardians, Humphrey Price-Jones, claimed to have observed a ''churlish attitude'' among NSW Health officials who had sat through presentations by anti-wind farm groups.

''We find it extremely peculiar that the Department of Health would dismiss, out of hand, anecdotal evidence,'' Mr Price-Jones said. ''The fact that it is anecdotal doesn't mean it should be ignored or cast aside.''

The group believes evidence linking illnesses caused by low-level sound from turbines is mounting and would soon be impossible for the government to ignore. It said a thorough investigation was required.

A landowner near Lake George, Marcia Osborne, said her family had had no medical problems or trouble sleeping from the seven or eight turbines close by. ''Quite the opposite really, they've done nothing but help us,'' she said.

''We are farmers … things were pretty tough [during the drought] … When they asked us if they could put a wind farm on the place it was like a gift from God. We used to curse the wind, now we get paid for the wind.''

The guidelines are on exhibition until March 14.

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/energy-smart/science-on-wind-turbine-illness-d...
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Re: Bob Brown Windy Farms too Noisy
Reply #107 - Jan 24th, 2012 at 6:19am
 
We were wrong on turbine noise, admit protesters

Monday, October 31, 2011

When they first heard there were going to be four giant wind turbines on their doorsteps, villagers feared the worst.

But now even some of the most hardened protesters have admitted fears over the noise have come to nothing.



...


The county's first commercial wind farm has towered over the countryside between the villages of Gilmorton, Ashby Magna and Dunton Bassett, near Lutterworth, since its construction in March.

Concerns over noise from the 410ft turbines prompted swift action from residents who campaigned against the project. However, after being in operation for almost a month homeowners have said they are getting used to the gentle "swoosh" of the giant blades.

John Phillips, 70, lives in Ashby Road, less than a mile from the wind farm. He said he was against the construction at first.

He said: "I went to all the protest meetings and I was against them from the start.

"But now, I must say they don't really bother me. I can't hear them and I can barely see them.

"It's like the industrial revolution all over again – people don't like change until it actually happens and they get used to it."


Kelly Gamage, 33, moved into her home in Gilmorton in July, and said she had no idea about the plans to build a wind farm there. She said: "It was a shock when we found out, we certainly didn't expect anything like this when we moved in.

"At first we didn't want them on our doorstep, but now they're up, they're not doing any harm and there's no noise coming from them."

The turbines, which cost £1.8million each, stand between the three villages.

David Dewes, who owns Low Spinney Farm, after which the wind farm is named, said: "I think now the ice has been broken people are warming to them. Our home is very close to one of the turbines and the most we hear is a slight swooshing sound – some people have said it's quite calming actually."

The wind farm, which is connected to the National Grid, is expected to provide enough power for 5,000 homes.

It is estimated that it has produced 2.5 gigawatts of electricity since the blades began turning at the start of October.

Parish councils at Gilmorton, Ashby Magna and Dunton Bassett will receive £5,333 a year as part of the agreement with the developer, Broadview Energy.


http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/wrong-turbine-noise-admit-protesters/story...




‘Wind turbine syndrome’ due to anxiety, not wind turbines

August 13, 2011

Once we perceive that something bad, dangerous or threatening is in our lives (or in our immediate environment) we become hypervigilant and aroused. People who are in an anxious state typically experience high startle reflex, insomnia, headaches, nausea, twitches, electrical sensations and various other symptoms.
I see them every day. The symptoms described by the affected individuals in the program are very typical somatic symptoms associated with hypervigilance. Some, like the man who described “a sensation of his heart wanting to leap out of his chest, and just feeling as if he was going to – about to die”, are experiencing panic attacks.

While some people suggest that these individuals are just noticing random symptoms that we all experience, and attributing them to the wind turbines, in my view the individuals interviewed on the 4 Corners were clearly anxious and distressed, and were experiencing genuine physical symptoms. Anxiety related symptoms are not imagined – they are real.
When these individuals leave the area they feel better because they feel safe – hypervigilance drops and nervous arousal subsides. However this is not the same thing as the biological pathways that are being proposed by those who claim a direct causal link between turbines and ill-health.


http://yes2renewables.org/2011/08/13/wind-turbine-syndrome-due-to-anxiety-not-wi...



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Re: Bob Brown Windy Farms too Noisy
Reply #108 - Jan 24th, 2012 at 10:58am
 
It is a bit late to close the gate after all the cows have got out of the paddock.

All the arm waving from the armchairs and pointless posturing and copying biased reports from parties who gain financially from these Bob Brown whirling noisy inefficient costly monstrosities is not going to make the slightest difference to the 3 states that have already done the research and concluded simply that the swirly twirly noisy environment spoiling inefficient mouse power blots on the landscape have to be kept 2km away from existing residences.

You arm waving hysterics should have got out of your armchairs and campaigned BEFORE the governments made the decisions.

The next interesting part will be to see what legal claims for compensation are lodged by landholders who are being adversely affected by noise and vibrations from these environmentally damaging monstrosities. The claims will be on the basis that landholders were knowingly given misleading info when the development applications were put up.

What will really get the legal thing going is when one of these heavily loaded large mechanical structures fails and disintegrates and hurls large chunks of debris and kills someone or something or damages a house. All that is required is for the rotor brake to fail in a hi wind and it will all come crashing down. If the cooling fails then the generator part will overheat and catch fire. These things only have a life of 25 years and as they get older the probability of a catastrophic disintegration rises dramatically - particularly if the costly maintenance is neglected. Anyone living close to one of these potential disasters should make certain their insurance covers damage caused by a disintegrating windy pole mounted doodah.

An interesting theory re the low frequency vibrations is that the huge hollow support is shaken by the huge whirling rotor and acts like a giant didgeridoo.
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Re: Bob Brown Windy Farms too Noisy
Reply #109 - Jan 24th, 2012 at 12:01pm
 
juliar wrote on Jan 24th, 2012 at 10:58am:
It is a bit late to close the gate after all the cows have got out of the paddock.

All the arm waving from the armchairs and pointless posturing and copying biased reports from parties who gain financially from these Bob Brown whirling noisy inefficient costly monstrosities is not going to make the slightest difference to the 3 states that have already done the research and concluded simply that the swirly twirly noisy environment spoiling inefficient mouse power blots on the landscape have to be kept 2km away from existing residences.



You are such a massive enermy of freedom juliar. If its not forcing kids to register their bikes, its putting in draconian planing permission restrictions on windmills, just because you dont like either.

A regular little dictator you are.
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Re: Bob Brown Windy Farms too Noisy
Reply #110 - Jan 24th, 2012 at 2:15pm
 
juliar wrote on Jan 22nd, 2012 at 10:42pm:
Frog,

You have lost the debate and you are frustrated by this fact so you are now using the typical Labor technique of avoiding the topic and unsuccessfully attacking the person - a classic admission of defeat.

I wouldn't say 'unsuccessfully!! Or 'lost the debate, for that matter.You appear to be the one doing all the spitting and spluttering!

The things you are saying are so trivial as as to be embarrassing. You just are not much good at debating. Emotional outbursts always say the same thing - you don't have any valid argument. The silly self contradictory nonsense you write about the studio enhancement totally justifies the conclusion that you are simply out of your depth.
And you are the expert?? I presume your adviser is your 8yo son.

The purpose of the studio enhancement, if that is what they did,
(Well, did they, or didn't they? You were the one to first suggest it, so make up your mind.)
would be to emphasize the voice and to attenuate the ambient noise for dramatic effect. Just to confuse your poor little mind a bit more the interview may have been conducted on more than one day and the wind had dropped when they did the interview which seems to be causing you so much distress and delusion.

No 'distress and delusion' on MY part, too bad I can't say the same for you.

Get out of your armchair and stop waving your arms about and challenge the state government and ask to see their justification. Go and speak to your local member.



It is YOU who are calling the Australian landholders LIARS - so justify yourself because you have failed dismally so far. I dare you to go and confront these landholders and call them LIARS to their faces.

Not those 'landholders' who have inlstalled the product who, I might add, seem quite happy with such.

By the way did you vote for the GREENS - you certainly fit the profile of a typical uninformed idealistic GREENS voter.
Are you trying to infer here that YOUR opinion is informed??



Wink Wink
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« Last Edit: Jan 24th, 2012 at 2:24pm by Lobo »  

"What's in store for me in the direction I don't take?"-Jack Kerouac.
 
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Re: Bob Brown Windy Farms too Noisy
Reply #111 - Jan 24th, 2012 at 2:16pm
 
buzzanddidj wrote on Jan 23rd, 2012 at 12:03pm:
juliar wrote on Jan 22nd, 2012 at 10:42pm:
Frog,

You have lost the debate













SWEETHEART ...

YOU lost the "debate" way back HERE



http://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1324270974/0#0


( ... try and throw a few FACTS into the mix - you might get a bit of a START up)





Way, way before that, buzz.
Smiley
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"What's in store for me in the direction I don't take?"-Jack Kerouac.
 
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Re: Bob Brown Windy Farms too Noisy
Reply #112 - Jan 24th, 2012 at 2:21pm
 
All the arm waving from the armchairs and pointless posturing and copying biased reports.... (melliar)

Oh, the irony!!

Gun, Foot.....BANG!!!

Wink
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Re: Bob Brown Windy Farms too Noisy
Reply #113 - Jan 24th, 2012 at 4:35pm
 
Oh Froggo,

the childish foot stamping is quaint but is not going to get the 3 state govt's attention as they won't be able to hear the pitter patter of your little tootsies over the raucous racket from the Bob Brown windy farms.

Make yourself useful and get down to Tasmania and save the mutton birds from extinction by the utterly wilderness destroying Bob Brown windy farm at Musselroe.

Oh Froggo, you forgot to say if you voted for the Greens - that info would explain a lot about your general lack of expertise.
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Re: Bob Brown Windy Farms too Noisy
Reply #114 - Jan 24th, 2012 at 7:03pm
 
The Daylesford Downwind Dynamo

about hepburn wind
Hepburn Wind is the owner and operator of Australia’s first community owned wind farm, at Leonards Hill, just south of Daylesford Victoria.
The 4.1 MW wind farm comprises two turbines and is located at Leonards Hill, in Central Victoria, just south of Daylesford and approximately 100 km north-west of Melbourne.
Hepburn Wind is the trading name of Hepburn Community Wind Park Co-operative Ltd, a co-operative registered in Victoria, Australia.
Hepburn Wind was established in 2007 by the Hepburn Renewable Energy Association, now known as SHARE.
the co-operative
Hepburn Community Wind Park Co-operative Ltd (Hepburn Wind) is a trading co-operative registered in Victoria (Reg. No: G0003442Y, ABN: 87 572 206 200) with over 1900 members, the majority of whom are local to the project. The co-operative structure, with each member having one vote, ensures democratic control however members will receive dividends proportional to their investment. The co‑operative is managed by a board of nine volunteer directors who are elected at Annual General Meetings of the co‑operative. Operational support is provided by a local executive team.
Shares in Hepburn Wind may only be purchased by co-operative members. If you are interested in joining the co-operative and purchasing shares, please register your interest. You will then be able to download our disclosure information and application form.

electricity sales
Red Energy, a retailer owned by Snowy Hydro, purchases the total output of the wind farm. Red Energy and Hepburn Wind have developed Community Saver a retail product available to all residents of Victoria. This provides a 100% renewable electricity product at competitive pricing. In addition, Red Energy contributes up to $50 a year to the Hepburn Wind Community Fund for each customer on the Community Saver plan who pays their bill on time.

hepburn wind community fund
A proportion of the revenue from the sale of electricity, plus the contribution from Red Energy goes to community projects through the Hepburn Wind Community Fund. Per turbine, the fund is the most generous community fund of any wind farm in Australia and is projected to provide well over $1m to local sustainability projects over the next 25 years.
funding
The project’s financing comprises:
capital from members and applicants — $9,640,225
Sustainability Victoria RESF grant — $975,000
Regional Development Victoria RIDF grant      — $750,000
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank loan (10 years, not fully drawn) — $3,100,000
a debt guarantee from Embark Australia — $1,000,000
Future Energy Pty Ltd underwrote a significant portion of the early stage development costs.

more information
see our FAQs for more information
see our planning and compliance page
see our official documents page for the rules of the co-operative and financial reports
read the detailed case study at Embark
register your interest to join
contact us
http://hepburnwind.com.au/about/

An inside glance into the potent powerhouse on long legs:-

Why just two turbines?
The scale of the project is suited for the energy requirements and financial resources of our community. The site of the Hepburn Community Wind Farm is suitable for only two turbines. Our rules permit us to invest in more wind turbines, however any additional turbines will not be on Leonards Hill.

How are the turbines be maintained?
We have entered into a comprehensive and long-term maintenance and services contract with REpower Systems.
REpower employs service technicians that maintain turbines at several sites across Victoria. The turbines are also monitored from a 24 hour control room in Germany.
Our wind farm manager lives approximately 800 m from the turbines and oversees works on site.

What responsibility do members have for the activities of the Co-operative?
Each individual member’s risk is limited to the value of their fully paid up share capital (as well as any personal debts owing to the co-operative) upon winding up. Members are not otherwise liable for the activity of the co-operative.
We maintain a comprehensive insurance policy which specifically addresses risks of claims arising from the operation of the wind farm.

What kind of turbines are installed?
The Hepburn Community Wind Farm comprises two REpower MM82 wind turbines, each with a maximum capacity of 2.05 MW. The wind farm has been designed to output 4.1 MW when operating at full power. The wind farm has a predicted capacity factor of 34%.
The planning permit constrained the maximum height of the wind farm to 110 m from ground to blade tip. The REpower turbines sit on a 68 m tower and have a blade length of 41 m. At this height, no aircraft warning lights are required.

What is the wind like on Leonards Hill?
A wind monitoring mast was installed on the Leonards Hill site in August 2006. After 12 months of data had been collected, Garrad Hassan Pacific Pty Ltd, a recognised world leader in wind energy analysis, was engaged to perform an expert wind energy assessment for the site.
Garrad Hassan’s assessment predicts a hub-height average wind speed of 7.7 m/s with a standard error of 0.50 m/s. The wind energy analysis is available in the planning and compliance section of this website.
Garrad Hassan analysed the detailed wind data and the nominal performance of the chosen wind turbines and predicted that the average annual energy production of the wind farm will exceed 12.2 GWh in 50% of years, 10.8 GWh in 75% of years, and 9.4 GWh in 90% of years.
While the methodology applied is rigorous, the predictions are based on a number of estimates and assumptions which may lead to error (positive or negative) in the predictions. Furthermore, actual performance of any system harnessing natural forces will exhibit variability, and as such there is a significant risk that average estimates will not be met in a given year.

What is the working life of the wind farm?
The directors believe that 25 years is a reasonable estimate for the life of the turbines. Much like any machinery, maintenance costs will increase as the turbines age and at some point in the distant future the current turbines will reach the end of their economic life.
Many years from now our board of directors will consult with members and the landowner and determine the appropriate course of action, currently expected to be either:
decommissioning the turbines, returning residual funds to members
recommissioning of the wind farm (known as ‘repowering’).

What happens in extreme wind conditions?
On the rare occasions that the wind exceeds 25 m/s, the turbines automatically ‘feather’ their blades so that they catch minimal wind. A brake is applied and the turbine stops and waits for the high wind conditions to pass.
The blades, towers and foundations are designed to withstand wind speeds well in excess of anything that can reasonably be expected at Leonards Hill.

What fire risks do turbines present?
Turbine fires are very rare, but occur very occasionally, just as they do with other activities that involve electricity, heat and machinery such as cars, tractors, harvesters, trains, buildings, mines, schools and houses.
It is our understanding that over the past 15 years there have been only three turbine fires in Australia, all of which were contained. In context, there are an estimated 220 haystack fires each year in Victoria alone.
Each turbine has a lightning collection system providing a safe path for lightning from the blades, down the tower and into a copper earth grid underground. By providing an alternate and preferred route for lightning, it is likely that turbines reduce the incidence of lightning induced bush-fires in the local vicinity.
The CFA was consulted both during the planning process and for the development of our fire management plans.
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Re: Bob Brown Windy Farms too Noisy
Reply #115 - Jan 24th, 2012 at 7:25pm
 
So it looks like the 3 state govts are correct in keeping Bob Brown windy farms at least 2km away from residences.

Are wind farms a health risk? US scientist identifies 'wind turbine syndrome'

Noise and vibration coming from large turbines are behind an increase in heart disease, migraine, panic attacks and other health problems, according to research by an American doctor

BY MARGARETA PAGANO   SUNDAY 02 AUGUST 2009
 
Living too close to wind turbines can cause heart disease, tinnitus, vertigo, panic attacks, migraines and sleep deprivation, according to groundbreaking research to be published later this year by an American doctor.

Dr Nina Pierpont, a leading New York paediatrician, has been studying the symptoms displayed by people living near wind turbines in the US, the UK, Italy, Ireland and Canada for more than five years. Her findings have led her to confirm what she has identified as a new health risk, wind turbine syndrome (WTS). This is the disruption or abnormal stimulation of the inner ear's vestibular system by turbine infrasound and low-frequency noise, the most distinctive feature of which is a group of symptoms which she calls visceral vibratory vestibular disturbance, or VVVD. They cause problems ranging from internal pulsation, quivering, nervousness, fear, a compulsion to flee, chest tightness and tachycardia – increased heart rate. Turbine noise can also trigger nightmares and other disorders in children as well as harm cognitive development in the young, she claims. However, Dr Pierpont also makes it clear that not all people living close to turbines are susceptible.

Until now, the Government and the wind companies have denied any health risks associated with the powerful noises and vibrations emitted by wind turbines. Acoustic engineers working for the wind energy companies and the Government say that aerodynamic noise produced by turbines pose no risk to health, a view endorsed recently by acousticians at Salford University. They have argued that earlier claims by Dr Pierpont are "imaginary" and are likely to argue that her latest findings are based on a sample too small to be authoritative.

At the heart of Dr Pierpont's findings is that humans are affected by low-frequency noise and vibrations from wind turbines through their ear bones, rather like fish and other amphibians. That humans have the same sensitivity as fish is based on new discoveries made by scientists at Manchester University and New South Wales last year. This, she claims, overturns the medical orthodoxy of the past 70 years on which acousticians working for wind farms are using to base their noise measurements. "It has been gospel among acousticians for years that if a person can't hear a sound, it's too weak for it to be detected or registered by any other part of the body," she said. "But this is no longer true. Humans can hear through the bones. This is amazing. It would be heretical if it hadn't been shown in a well-conducted experiment."

In the UK, Dr Christopher Hanning, founder of the British Sleep Society, who has also backed her research, said: "Dr Pierpont's detailed recording of the harm caused by wind turbine noise will lay firm foundations for future research. It should be required reading for all planners considering wind farms. Like so many earlier medical pioneers exposing the weaknesses of current orthodoxy, Dr Pierpont has been subject to much denigration and criticism and ... it is tribute to her strength of character and conviction that this important book is going to reach publication."

Dr Pierpont's thesis, which is to be published in October by K-Selected Books, has been peer reviewed and includes an endorsement from Professor Lord May, former chief scientific adviser to the UK government. Lord May describes her research as "impressive, interesting and important".

Her new material about the impact of turbine noise on health will be of concern to the Government given its plans for about 4,000 new wind turbines across the country. Ed Miliband, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, has made wind power a central part of his new green policy to encourage renewable energy sources. Another 3,000 are planned off-shore.

Drawing on the early work of Dr Amanda Harry, a British GP in Portsmouth who had been alerted by her patients to the potential health risk, Dr Pierpont gathered together 10 further families from around the world who were living near large wind turbines, giving her a cluster of 38 people, from infants to age 75, to explore the pathophysiology of WTS for the case series. Eight of the 10 families she analysed for the study have now moved away from their homes.

In a rare interview, Dr Pierpont, a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, told The Independent on Sunday: "There is no doubt that my clinical research shows that the infrasonic to ultrasonic noise and vibrations emitted by wind turbines cause the symptoms which I am calling wind turbine syndrome. There are about 12 different health problems associated with WTS and these range from tachycardia, sleep disturbance, headaches, tinnitus, nausea, visual blurring, panic attacks with sensations of internal quivering to more general irritability.

"The wind industry will try to discredit me and disparage me, but I can cope with that. This is not unlike the tobacco industry dismissing health issues from smoking. The wind industry, however, is not composed of clinicians, nor is it made up of people suffering from wind turbines." The IoS has a copy of the confidential manuscript which is exhaustive in its research protocol and detailed case series, drawing on the work of leading otolaryngologists and neurotologists – ear, nose and throat clinical specialists.

Some of the earliest research into the impact of low-frequency noise and vibrations was undertaken by Portuguese doctors studying the effects on military and civil personnel flying at high altitudes and at supersonic speed. They found that this exposure may also cause the rare illness, vibroacoustic disorder or VAD, which causes changes to the structure of certain organs such as the heart and lungs and may well be caused by vibrations from turbines. Another powerful side effect of turbines is the impact which the light thrown off the blades – known as flicker – has on people who suffer from migraines and epilepsy.

Campaigners have consistently argued that much research hitherto has been based on written complaints to environmental health officers and manufacturers, not on science-based research. But in Denmark, Germany and France, governments are moving towards building new wind farms off-shore because of concern over the potential health and environmental risks. In the UK there are no such controls, and a growing number of lobbyists, noise experts and government officials are also beginning to query the statutory noise levels being given to councils when deciding on planning applications from wind farm manufacturers. Lobbyists claim a new method of measuring is needed.

Dr Pierpont, who has funded all the research herself and is independent of any organisation, recommends at least a 2km set-back distance between potential wind turbines and people's homes, said: "It is irresponsible of the wind turbine companies – and governments – to continue building wind turbines so close to where people live until there has been a proper epidemiological investigation of the full impact on human health.

"What I have shown in my research is that many people – not all – who have been living close to a wind turbine running near their homes display a range of health illnesses and that when they move away, many of these problems also go away."

A breakthrough into understanding more of the impact of vibrations came last year, she said, when scientists at Manchester University and Prince of Wales Clinical School and Medical Research Institute in Sydney showed that the normal human vestibular system has a fish or frog-like sensitivity to low-frequency vibration. This was a turning point in understanding the nature of the problem, Dr Pierpont added, because it overturns the orthodoxy of the current way of measuring noise. "It is clear from the new evidence that the methods being used by acousticians goes back to research first carried out in the 1930s and is now outdated."

Dr Pierpont added that the wind turbine companies constantly argue that the health problems are "imaginary, psychosomatic or malingering". But she said their claims are "rubbish" and that medical evidence supports that the reported symptoms are real.

Case study: 'My husband had pneumonia, my father-in-law had a heart attack. Nobody was ill before'

Jane Davis, 53, a retired NHS manager, and her husband, Julian, 44, a farmer, lived in Spalding, Lincolnshire, until the noise of a wind farm 930m away forced them to leave

"People describe the noise as like an aeroplane that never arrives. My husband developed pneumonia very quickly after the turbines went up, having never had chest problems before. We suffer constant headaches and ear nuisance. My mother-in-law developed pneumonia and my husband developed atrial fibrillation – a rapid heartbeat. He had no pre-existing heart disease. Our blood pressure has gone up. My father-in-law has suffered a heart attack, tinnitus and marked hearing loss.

" I understand this can be regarded as a coincidence, but nobody was ill before 2006."

Read more in ref:-
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/are-wind-farms-a-health-ri...
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juliar
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Re: Bob Brown Windy Farms too Noisy
Reply #116 - Jan 25th, 2012 at 11:18pm
 
Oh my goodness gracious me what a sacrilegious suggestion - the global wormers will be wriggling in indignant horror.

Why bother with wasteful wind ?

Let’s try to understand wind power.

Every wind farm needs backup generators to supply power when the wind fails.

If there is no wind, zero electricity is produced by the turbines and all power comes from the backup generators (mainly coal or gas in Australia).

If wind speed exceeds design capacity, the turbines are shut down to prevent damage, and all power comes from the backup generators.

In freezing still air, the wind turbines take electricity from the backup generators to prevent damage from cold. And they draw power to get reconnected.

When the wind blows strongly all over the wind farm, the grid may not be able to cope with the surge in supply so some turbines may be paid to close down, producing no electricity.

And on those rare occasions when a steady wind in the right place produces just the right amount of power to supply the demand at that time, the backup generators produce no useful power but waste fuel to maintain “spinning reserve” and to ramp up and down when the wind fluctuates.

Now we find that wind power probably increases the production of carbon dioxide (not that this matters).

One question.

Why not scrap the wind turbines and produce a steady supply of low cost power from the backup generators?

Viv Forbes is chairman of the Carbon Sense Coalition. He has a degree in Applied Science and has spent his career in the mining, farming, energy and investment industries, with many positions from rouseabout, to investment manager, to chairman of the board. He has lived in Canberra and has worked for state and federal public services. He is now semi-retired. He is a non-executive director of a small Australian coal explorer.
http://australianconservative.com/2012/01/why-bother-with-wasteful-wind/
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juliar
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Re: Bob Brown Windy Farms too Noisy
Reply #117 - Jan 25th, 2012 at 11:21pm
 
This will make the global wormers puff and blow.

Why wind won’t work


Why are governments still mollycoddling wind power?

There is no proof that wind farms reduce carbon dioxide emissions and it is ludicrous to believe that a few windmills in Australia are going to improve global climate.

Such wondrous expressions of green faith put our politicians on par with those who believe in the tooth fairy.

Tax payers funding this largess and consumers paying the escalating power bills are entitled to demand proof.

Not only is there no climate justification for wind farms, but they are also incapable of supplying reliable or economical power.

It is also surprising those who claim to be defenders of the environment can support this monstrous desecration of the environment.

Wind power is so dilute that to collect a significant quantity of wind energy will always require thousands of gigantic towers each with a massive concrete base and a network of interconnecting heavy duty roads and transmission lines. Then when they go into production, they slice up bats and eagles, disturb neighbours, reduce property values and start bushfires.

Finally, to cover the total loss of power when the wind drops or blows too hard, every wind farm needs a conventional back-up power station (commonly gas-fired) with capacity at least twice the design capacity of the wind farm to even out the sudden fluctuations in the electricity grid.

Why bother with the wind farm – just build the backup?

There is no justification for the continuation of mandates, subsidies or tax breaks favouring wind power over reliable and cheaper electricity generation options.

Wind power should compete on an equal basis with all other electricity options.

All of the above statements are supported and expanded in a recent submission to the Australian Senate is entitled: “Why Wind Won’t Work? – It’s as Weak as Water.”

For a summary of the submission see:
http://carbon-sense.com/2011/02/08/why-wind-wont-work/

For the full report with pictures and all the gory and depressing details see:
http://carbon-sense.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/why-wind-wont-work.pdf

Viv Forbes is Chairman of the Carbon Sense Coalition, an Australian organisation which opposes pollution and waste of energy, and promotes rational carbon energy policies.

http://australianconservative.com/2011/02/why-wind-wont-work/
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juliar
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Re: Bob Brown Windy Farms too Noisy
Reply #118 - Jan 25th, 2012 at 11:25pm
 
It is enough to make the global wormers go batty.

Wind turbines 'hit' bat populations

Wind turbines are killing many thousands of bats contributing to a population decline that may be costing farmers millions of pounds, say researchers.

By  Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent  8:00PM BST 31 Mar 2011

Scientists found the blades of wind turbines were a major threat to bats particularly when they are migrating.

Bats are useful to farmers because they eat large numbers of crop damaging insects, reducing the amount that has to be spent on pesticides.

Writing in the journal Science, the researchers estimated that bats could be worth billions to agriculture around the world.

Several migratory tree-living species of bats were being slaughtered "in unprecedented numbers" by wind turbines, said the researcher.

The work concentrated on North America but backs up research carried out in Britain that had similar findings.

Researchers urged policy-makers not to wait before addressing the issue of bat decline.

"Not acting is not an option because the life histories of these flying, nocturnal mammals – characterised by long generation times and low reproductive rates – mean that population recovery is unlikely for decades or even centuries, if at all," said lead researcher Dr Gary McCracken, from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

According to the researchers, a single colony of 150 big brown bats in Indiana ate almost 1.3 million potentially damaging insects a year.

"Without bats, crop yields are affected," said Dr McCracken.

"Pesticide applications go up. Even if our estimates were quartered, they clearly show how bats have enormous potential to influence the economics of agriculture and forestry."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/8419796/Wind-turbines-hit-bat-populat...
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juliar
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Re: Bob Brown Windy Farms too Noisy
Reply #119 - Jan 25th, 2012 at 11:28pm
 
The global wormers will see
red
over this.

Stop the stupidity –
green power
generates
red ink


It’s time to end the mollycoddling of wind and solar energy toys before this stupidity does irreversible damage to Australia’s electricity supply and costs.

The mindless green dream of producing serious base load power from whimsical breezes and intermittent sunbeams has caused a halt to new low-cost coal power, a boom in expensive gas power, a national debate about nuclear power and no effect at all on global climate.

The frivolous wind and solar generators already installed have caused a surge in electricity prices, a bonanza for Chinese manufacturers and well founded doubts about our future ability to keep the lights on.

Provision of cheap reliable energy is a basic requirement for modern civilisation and is the engine that lifts people from poverty. It is far too important to be left to green dreamers, anti-industrial zealots, vote seeking politicians, engineering illiterates and guilt-ridden millionaires.

It is already obvious from Denmark, Spain, California and Germany that subsidising green power creates very little power but much red ink in the accounts. It always causes massive burdens for tax payers, electricity consumers and industry. Tax payers and investors will rue the day they allowed politicians to waste their savings on chimeras.

Get rid of all the mandated markets, subsidies and tax breaks for all energy generators, and leave power engineers and business managers to work out how best to supply our future energy needs in a free competitive market.

Subsidised power must collapse under its own dead weight. But every day’s delay increases the eventual cost.

Viv Forbes is Chairman of the Carbon Sense Coalition, an Australian organisation which opposes pollution and waste of energy, and promotes rational carbon energy policies.
http://australianconservative.com/2010/12/green-power-generates-red-ink/
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