Reflections from Crumbly Acres: wind turbines

Wind turbine health worries in North Gower [Ontario]

Wolfe Isl.

Hundreds of people packed a meeting organized by opponents of a proposed wind farm in Ottawa's southern outskirts. more »

This is an interesting article.
You would think there would be adequate studies from Europe:

European Wind Energy Association - EWEA: Offshore Wind

There are currently 830 wind turbines now installed and grid connected, totalling 2063 MW in 39 wind farms in nine European countries

They make a good point.

Anecdotal evidence, by people unwilling to accept the wind turbines, do not make reliable witnesses. North Gower, a small bedroom town south of Ottawa (I used to live there!), is having meeting to protest the wind farm.

They did not allow Prowind to speak, which causes some doubt in my mind. "Bart Geleynse, who is in charge of land acquisition for Prowind Canada, said opponents of wind turbines can't back up their health claims with scientific studies."

How can one have a dialogue if all stakeholders are not allowed air time?

The Green Party has passed a motion calling for scientific studies, as highlighted by Sudbury Steve:

Green Party Voting: Greens Question Commitment to Wind Energy

And the Green Party remains committed to have scientific, not anecdotal studies, as clarified by Jean-Luc Cooke, the Nepean Carleton Green Party candidate..

Wind turbines near Shelburne | Green Party of Ontario
On the other hand, if residents do not like the turbines, or feel they are adversely affected, perhaps they should be compensated to move. As a person that moved several times for several reasons, to find a job, to assist failing parents, I wonder how attached we become to 'home'. Expecting society to stay the same, despite change around us, and not the reverse.

The article quotes one woman,

"Stephana Johnston has lived beside a wind farm near Lake Erie for a year and a half. She told North Gower residents that from inside her home, the neighbouring wind turbines sound like a Boeing 747 jumbo jet flying overhead."

Wolfe Isl.

Now, we live across a lake from a train track and you get used to the hourly trains. It all depends upon your attitude, does it not? I find comfort in the train. There are many towns where residents live steps from a train track.

It is the same in Bala, with opponents of the Bala Falls Hydro Dam, who protest using rhetoric and unfounded claims. In a democracy, we have elected leaders who have stated publicly their purpose in reducing our dependence upon coal-fired, polluting generators.

When we look at the earth, and the demands humans make of it, can we not adapts as flora and fauna have, also? Wolfe Island, for example, was impacted a great deal by their wind turbines. The jury seems out on this one. Until they prove an impact...and prove or disprove it they jolly well should.

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My Muskoka: Bala Falls Hydro Project -part 1