Documents
Category:
Impact on People
Note: counts do not include items in sub-categories
Researched and written by Eleanor Tillinghast of Green Berkshires Inc. this is a comprehensive study of the probable impact of industrial wind plants on the rural character, quality-of-life and economy of the Berkshires in western Massachusetts. Specific issues addressed include visual aesthetics, tourism, property values, public roads and public safety.
The wind energy debate represents a new kind of environmental controversy which divides environmentalists of different persuasions who attach
contrasting priority to global and local concerns. Case
studies of public attitudes towards existing and proposed windfarm developments in Scotland and Ireland are used to test three counter-intuitive hypotheses
derived from previous attitudinal research.
Editor's Note: This study was conducted in collaboration with the Macaulay Institute, Aberdeen. The Institute's commercial arm, Macaulay Enterprises, acts as a consultant for the renewables industry, and is linked to the Scottish Renewables Forum and the British Wind Energy Association.
The pro-wind pre-disposition of the authors is evident and should not be ignored when evaluating survey results. Survey respondents generally expressed support of wind energy based on the belief that it was a solution for global warming. Given wind energy's limited effectiveness in reducing greenhouse gases based on today’s studies, we question how survey participants might respond if contacted again. The report also comments that communities selected had no organized opposition to the wind facilities. Today, throughout England, Wales and Scotland, organized opposition is the norm, not the exception.
So, before we proclaim victory against our profligate use of fossil fuels in the last 50 years, politicians and environmental groups might ponder the huge costs in dollars and environmental damage before 20-storey windmills festoon our coastlines, our sea lanes and our beautiful Quebec hills.
Jon Boone addresses wind power for the Mid-Atlantic region.
Eric Rosenbloom, a resident of Vermont's Northeast Kingdom, addresses why wind power does not live up to advocates' claims, why its impact on the environment and people's lives is far from benign and how money invested in wind energy could be better spent.
...I want people to be well aware of the negative side of these giant windmills before allowing them to be built in your neighborhoods.
Many of the complaints in the UK relating to wind farm noise appear to be due to the amplitude modulation (AM) of the aerodynamic noise from the blades, sometimes referred to as "swish" or "thump". Dick Bowdler explores the existing evidence and summarizes how the totality of what people experience when listening to wind turbine noise is really dependent on operating modes, weather, and even the location of the listener with respect to the turbines and the wind.
Also filed under [
Noise]
Thanks to the Chatham-Kent Wind Action Group in Ontario, Canada for sponsoring this audio interview with Dr. Nina Pierpont on the topic of Wind Turbine Syndrome.
Also filed under [
Noise]
In order to study the physiological and psychological effects of infrasound on person, we have measured the changes of blood pressure and heart rate and also investigated subjective feelings of subjects exposed to infrasound.
A7 Energy's appeal against the Easington District Council for refusing to grant planning permission with respect to a wind plant consisting of 2 x 2.3MW turbines was dismissed by D. L. Burrows, an inspector appointed by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. The principal reason for dismissal was adverse impact the turbines would have on the activities of Shotten airfield.
