Much angst over wind turbines is just hot air
This year South Australia drew more than 20 per cent of its electricity from wind turbines, while in Victoria the Baillieu government all but gutted the industry by requiring two-kilometre set-backs from houses, ruling out new turbines in vast tracts of the state. As the O'Farrell government considers whether to follow Victoria or South Australia, it is timely to look at the culture of complaint that is hell-bent on demonising wind energy.
The British Acoustics Bulletin has just published what is now the 10th independent review of the evidence on wind farms causing annoyance and ill health in people. And for the 10th time it has emphasised that annoyance has far more to do with social and psychological factors in those complaining than any direct effect from sound or inaudible infrasound emanating from wind turbines.
A few extracts give the flavour: "the degree of annoyance is only slightly related to noise level"; "the fact that someone was complaining was mainly determined by the personality of the individual"; "fear of the noise source can increase annoyance"; and "adverse feelings … were influenced by feelings of lacking control, being subjected to injustice, lacking influence, and not being believed".
Advertisement: Story continues below
Two factors repeatedly stand out. The first is being able to see wind turbines, which increases annoyance particularly in those who dislike or fear them.
The second factor is whether people derive income from hosting turbines, which miraculously appears to be a highly effective antidote to feelings of annoyance and symptoms...
The British Acoustics Bulletin has just published what is now the 10th independent review of the evidence on wind farms causing annoyance and ill health in people. And for the 10th time it has emphasised that annoyance has far more to do with social and psychological factors in those complaining than any direct effect from sound or inaudible infrasound emanating from wind turbines.
A few extracts give the flavour: "the degree of annoyance is only slightly related to noise level"; "the fact that someone was complaining was mainly determined by the personality of the individual"; "fear of the noise source can increase annoyance"; and "adverse feelings … were influenced by feelings of lacking control, being subjected to injustice, lacking influence, and not being believed".
Advertisement: Story continues below
Two factors repeatedly stand out. The first is being able to see wind turbines, which increases annoyance particularly in those who dislike or fear them.
The second factor is whether people derive income from hosting turbines, which miraculously appears to be a highly effective antidote to feelings of annoyance and symptoms...
Complaining about wind farms appears confined largely to parts of Australia, Canada, the US, Britain and New Zealand. And these complaints have accelerated in the past five years, despite turbines having been operational in many locations for more than 20 years.
This contagious "wind turbine syndrome" - a condition not recognised by any international disease classification system and which appears not once in any title or abstract in the massive US National Library of Medicine's PubMed database - appears to be spread by the vector of anti-wind farm activist groups.
In Australia, the leading opponents are the Waubra Foundation and the Australian Landscape Guardians, which share a post office box with a mining investment company, Lowell Resources. Australian Landscape Guardians has been totally silent on any other intrusion on the landscape, apparently unperturbed by mining, highway construction or suburban encroachment.
Simon Chapman is professor of public health at the University of Sydney. He has no financial associations with any wind energy company. Judy Prisk is on leave.
This contagious "wind turbine syndrome" - a condition not recognised by any international disease classification system and which appears not once in any title or abstract in the massive US National Library of Medicine's PubMed database - appears to be spread by the vector of anti-wind farm activist groups.
In Australia, the leading opponents are the Waubra Foundation and the Australian Landscape Guardians, which share a post office box with a mining investment company, Lowell Resources. Australian Landscape Guardians has been totally silent on any other intrusion on the landscape, apparently unperturbed by mining, highway construction or suburban encroachment.
Simon Chapman is professor of public health at the University of Sydney. He has no financial associations with any wind energy company. Judy Prisk is on leave.
Mister 99% meet mister 1%
Threats to Landscape
Access to pleasant surroundings is a right of all peoples, fundamental to their physical and emotional well being. Aesthetically pleasing landscapes are a resource for all, which must not be compromised by inappropriate development.
Developments which threaten landscapes include:
- Excessive urban sprawl, whether for residential, holiday or retirement homes, when it obliterates rural vistas and access to open landscapes as enjoyed by others.
- Inappropriately sited and/or badly designed buildings, including both individual homes and agricultural or industrial structures such as silos or car yards.
- Poorly placed infrastructure, including roads, pipelines, powerlines, communication towers and wind turbines.
- Intrusive and ugly signage.
- Land clearing which removes aesthetically, culturally or biologically valuable vegetation remnants, including roadside vegetation.
- Recreational developments, where they result in loss of open land because of associated subdivisions, and sports fields with obtrusive lighting.
- Ill-conceived tree planting, including large-scale monoculture with afforestation unsympathetic to local landscape values.
- Poorly planned mining and quarrying, particularly where inadequate provision is made for site restoration when operations cease.
- Land and water degradations including waste dumps and derelict buildings, poorly managed septic systems, uncontrolled erosion and salination.
Welcome to Lowell Resources Funds Management
Lowell Resources Funds Management Ltd. is a responsible entity and specialised investment manager
Lowell Resources Funds Management Ltd operates through an investment committee which concentrates the experience and knowledge of a group of individuals who have direct working experience in the oil & gas and minerals industries, broking, banking, applied research and funds management.
Lowell Resources Funds Management Ltd. is a responsible entity and specialised investment manager
Lowell Resources Funds Management Ltd operates through an investment committee which concentrates the experience and knowledge of a group of individuals who have direct working experience in the oil & gas and minerals industries, broking, banking, applied research and funds management.
0 comments:
Post a Comment