The fight to keep wind farms out of southern Lambton County gathered ammunition this week with the release of a survey that found some people who live near the big turbines suffer serious health problems. ...The survey should grab the attention of government lawmakers, says Ann Towell, a resident in Dawn-Euphemia opposing a 35-turbine wind farm proposed for her township.

The fight to keep wind farms out of southern Lambton County gathered ammunition this week with the release of a survey that found some people who live near the big turbines suffer serious health problems. Fifty-three of 76 residents surveyed, primarily in the Kincardine area, said they suffer from headaches, sleep disturbance and depression. They said the wind turbines are having a significant negative impact on their lives.

Tom Lewis, planning and environment manager with IPC Energy, said his company takes the results of a Wind Concerns Ontario survey seriously, but pointed to an earlier survey that found an overwhelming number of Ontarians are in favour of wind energy. "I think there is a small number of people susceptible to health problems and I certainly empathize with them," Lewis said.

More people are coming forward saying they're experiencing sleep problems, headaches, and heart palpitations caused by living near windmills. ...The turbines don't appear to affect everyone equally and it is not clear what causes the health problems in some people.

A group of concerned citizens in the Merigomish area have launched an investigation into the information Shear Wind has provided to the province as part of its environmental assessment.

Town administration is expected to provide more information to council in coming weeks about the proposed South Side Wind Farm and members of council are joining members of the Advisory Committee on the Environment (ACE) with questions of their own. Councillor Bob Pillon brought up the issue of potential health impacts ..."We need answers," said Pillon.

Noise and vibrations caused by wind turbines are causing sleep disruptions and other health problems among people who live nearby, some Ontario residents say. "I'm very concerned about the victims that we've got in Ontario because they're really suffering some pretty significant, adverse health effects," said Carmen Krogh, a retired Alberta pharmacist who is conducting a survey of people living near wind turbines.

The noise and vibration from heavy equipment has been known to frighten emus to death, Debi VanTassel said in a recent interview. She wonders what living near a wind turbine will be like. Ms. VanTassel has another worry, though. Her husband is an epileptic who may have grand mal seizures. They can't have wallpaper in their home because the patterns could seem to come alive and bother Mr. VanTassel.

About 50 protesters greeted officials, with signs and placards reading "Windfarms Make People Sick," "Welcome to Hell," "Save Our Skyline" and "Health before Politics." "I consider myself a green person, but there's controversy on how green (wind turbines) actually are," said Norma Schmidt of the former Bruce Township, adding that she and her husband Ron have had problems sleeping since the project was commissioned.

Muriel Ritchie says at one time she thought she and her husband, Malcolm, would have to move from their Mount Pleasant home because of the noise from the nearby windmill. "There's a vibration, a humming, and at first it bothered me terribly.

In light of the green energy bill that is was just introduced in Queen's Park, Councillor Rick Fryer wants further information on what that means for potential wind farm developments in Amherstburg. Fryer is seeking a report from town administration on safety and environmental concerns and noted he wanted more information on distances permitted from watercourses and wetlands.

The wind farm issue was front and centre at last week's Township of Madawaska Valley council and tempers flared over claims that the township had prevented a woman from giving a presentation on the effects that wind turbines have on human health. Carmen Krogh, who in past weeks has spoken at several venues, is a pharmacist who says she has experienced the detrimental impact on her health that being close to wind turbines has had.

Ontario's noise regulations for wind turbines are among the weakest in the world and current distance setbacks from homes should be tripled or more, a public meeting was told Monday. About 200 people crowded the Essex Civic Centre to hear experts from across the province debate the health effects of wind turbines. Using teleconferencing, some spoke from as far away as the United Kingdom. The meeting got a little rowdy at times with some Town of Essex councillors trading barbs with taunting spectators.

It's green and mean. At least some say so. The Ontario government is introducing green legislation next week expected to strip the right of local councils to oppose wind farms and other green industry projects. Wind farms are a prime example of the type of green industry the province is trying to encourage to generate clean electricity and foster growth in new industries.

On Tuesday afternoon, McGuinty told the London Chamber of Commerce new legislation will stop special-interest groups or municipal governments from blocking wind turbines, solar panels or biofuel plants on any grounds other than safety or environmental concerns. On Wednesday morning, Tiny Township Deputy Mayor George Lawrence appealed to the county's Corporate Services Committee for aid in stopping a six-turbine farm on Conc. 19 of Tiny, including possibly two turbines within the Cedar Point Tract of county forests, north of Lafontaine, not far from the peninsular coastline.

Oxford intends to put a freeze on all wind farm developments until the province provides more information on the health impacts of the developments on neighbouring residents and livestock. In a unanimous vote Wednesday, council directed community and strategic planning staff to bring an interim control bylaw before council on Feb. 25 that would place a freeze on any applications for wind energy developments within the county until it passes the related official plan amendments.

Havas, who studies environmental toxicology at the university in Peterborough, has added her voice to the call by Dawn-Euphemia Township council and others who want Ontario to study the impact of the growing number of wind generation projects sprouting up across the province. "Why would you want to put a lot of these wind turbines near people, have some percentage of them get sick, and then have to deal with that afterwards?" Havas asked.

Bill Fish wants the Municipality of Chatham-Kent to investigate homemade windmills after his neighbour's device came crashing through his roof during yesterday's high winds. He was shocked awake around 3 a.m. when an eight-foot-long wooden blade penetrated the roof, before piercing through the ceiling and wall in a sewing room of his Dufferin Avenue home, located outside of Wallaceburg in Chatham Township.

Opponents of wind turbines off the Scarborough Bluffs have worked themselves into an "artificial lather" as the government prepares to force "green" energy projects on neighbourhoods, says Energy Minister George Smitherman. ...Depending on the nature of the projects and their proximity to homes and neighbourhoods, the effort to boost Ontario's supply of clean electricity could end up eroding the value of the biggest asset many Ontarians own - their homes, said Progressive Conservative MPP and justice critic Christine Elliott

When Carmen Krogh talks about the health effects of wind turbines, she speaks from experience. She shared that experience with the councillors of Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards Township at last week's regular meeting. Extra chairs had to be pulled out of storage to handle the large crowd that came to hear her presentation to council. ...Her symptoms came on quickly, she said. She experienced bad headaches, dizziness, queasiness, a heart rhythm sensation and a vibration inside her body. Her health improved when she and her husband, who was not affected, left the area. She decided to research the issue.