Generic wind turbine near farm. Photo: @gonz_ddl
Finally, a study looks at data on nine houses within ten kilometers of an old (probably small) wind turbine. What’s amazing about this research is not the result but that this study is so tiny, yet it’s still a “world first”.
There are already probably around 400,000 wind turbines installed around the world.* So you might think that there would have been scores of studies involving hundreds of people and followed up for a year or two. They would have looked at the effect of wind turbines upwind, downwind, side wind, in low wind, high wind, and at different times of day. They’d check for altered sleep patterns, lack of deep sleep, REM sleep, cognitive performance, blood pressure, cortisol levels, and school marks. Dream on. It’s like everything with climate change — who needs data?
Renewables are a $300 billion annual global industry. This work was done with a $1.4 million National Health and Medical Research Council grant. Where is the precautionary principle when we need it?
Can wind turbines disturb sleep? Research finds pulsing audible in homes up to 3.5km away
Nicole Hasham, Sydney Morning Herald
…the first results from ongoing Flinders University research into turbine noise and sleep found that low-frequency pulsing from a South Australian wind farm was audible about 16 per cent of the time inside homes up to 3.5 kilometres from a turbine, including 22 per cent of the time at night. The noise was audible 24 per cent of the time outside the homes. Recordings detected what complainants commonly describe as a pulsating, thumping or rumbling sound. The noise is technically known as amplitude modulation, and relates to a change in noise level that occurs approximately once per second as the turbine blade rotates. Field data was recorded at nine homes within 8.8 kilometres of the wind farm. Microphones were placed inside and outside homes and recorded almost 18,000 10-minute samples between 2012 and 2015. The data was recently analysed and the results published online last month in the Journal of Sound and Vibration.
In 2016 the research team was awarded a $1.4 million National Health and Medical Research Council grant for a separate wind farm noise study including lab tests and sleep measurement
If the world put just 0.5% of the annual “renewables investment” into researching the health effects that would be $15m a year.
There have been almost no studies into the health impact of wind farms. Remember the one in 2014 in Australia which was also a world first, and involved an eight week study on six people in three houses. It was a tiny study too — why we haven’t done this one hundred times bigger? Are we afraid of what the results might show?
2014: Turbines may well blow ill wind
Graham Lloyd, The Australian
PEOPLE living near wind farms face a greater risk of suffering health complaints caused by the low-frequency noise generated by turbines, a groundbreaking study has found.
The study by acoustics expert Steven Cooper is the first in the world in which a wind turbine operator had fully co-operated and turned wind turbines off completely during the testing.
As part of the study, residents living between 650m and 1.6km of the wind turbines were asked to diarise what they were experiencing, including headaches, pressure in the head, ears or chest, ringing in the ears, heart racing or a sensation of heaviness.
The effect that impacts the most on residents is not noise or vibration, but the sensation of infrasound. The threshold of sensations at four to five hertz was felt at 50 db and above.
Survey participant Sonja Crisp, 75, said the first time she experience discomfort from the wind turbines, “it was like a thump in the middle of the chest.
It’s not about hearing the windfarms, it’s about the biological effects
People report nausea, dizziness, headaches or insomnia and other problems. Sometimes these occur at localized spots in a house, it depends on the shape of the house, the “hills” and the wind direction.
The decibel scale is not designed for inaudible infrasound. In 2014 the study showed that very low levels (in dB) of infrasound were detectable and recorded in the diaries of people in the houses who did not know whether the wind turbines were operating. One person with a hearing impairment was 100% accurate at detecting whether the turbine was running. The key points then:
- There is a direct correlation with the external dB(A) level and the power output of the wind farm.
- Where the dB(A)LF exceeds 20 dB there is a corresponding identification of noise in the diary observations.
- At none of the houses has the dB(G) been above 85 and therefore if that level has taken as the hearing threshold of infrasound then there is no audible infrasound in any of the houses.
- The use of 1/3 octave band information to compare infrasound generated by turbines and the infrasound in the natural environment does not contain the required information to identify any difference. When supplemented by narrow band analysis of the infrasound region the results clearly show that the natural environment of infrasound has no such periodic patterns.
* That’s 2016 wind turbines tally, plus 10% growth in two years since. Can anyone find the latest number?
Other posts:
- Wind turbine manufacturer admits liability for noise damage. If word gets out…
- It’s “irresponsible” to research health effects of wind-farms says Prof Chapman, USyd
- New small study: Wind farms show health effects – why wasn’t this done before?
- OK to kill endangered birds? Yes if you are a windfarm. Greens seem to be fine with that.
This might be the first published study, but not the first. I did consulting for a company that developed a process for measuring audible noise from wind turbines. Lots of set up to get rid of ambient noise and get the actual turbine noise. They also gave residents a button to push whenever they felt they were hearing something or feeling something off so they could correlate the timing with the measurements from the turbines. It was a private contract and was completed about 5 years ago. They thought at the time that it was probably a first to quantify the audible noise and correlate to human affects. So far as I know, it wasn’t publicly published.
210
There was a German study reported on NoTricksZone a few weeks ago complete with a video.
The sound specialist who conducted the research analysed the different frequencies within the ultrasound generated by the turbine. That enabled him to identify those which interfered with heart rhythm as well as brain.
The standard analysis used to show wind turbines have “no effect” on human health, anc thus justify their “safety” take a very broad wavelength spectrum and thus do not ‘find’ the band’s within that which damage human health.
About 3 years ago a high court case in Ireland settled damages against a German wind turbine manufacturer in favour of a family whose lived were damaged by the infrasound from a nearby wind turbine. The amount paid was made secret.
230
2nd para – Infrasound, not ultrasound just noticed predictive text changed it.
140
And many more reports. One of the best I’ve seen is the Glasgow presentation by Prof Mariana Alves-Pereria on 22 September 2017, titled “Wind Turbine Noise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nu8z7dyQA9Y.
Also the very good Australian report by Peter Mitchell on 22 March 2016: https://waubrafoundation.org.au/resources/wind-turbine-noise-simple-statement-facts-australian-experience/. This report contains lots of links to other relevant articles.
The Finnish report was also very good: https://stopthesethings.com/2019/02/01/home-wreckers-finnish-study-finds-wind-turbine-infrasound-unsafe-for-residents-living-within-15-km/.
The German report, translated, is here: http://notrickszone.com/2018/10/24/heart-jamming-wind-turbines-new-medical-research-confirms-infrasound-negatively-impacts-heart-health/.
A scientific study in “Physics Today”: https://physicstoday.scitation.org/doi/pdf/10.1063/1.883019.
And a further report in “Stop These Things”: https://stopthesethings.com/2018/12/10/green-energy-guinea-pigs-wind-industrys-american-victims-monitored-for-infrasound-effects-on-heart-health/.
And yet another one from STT: http://notrickszone.com/2017/05/31/new-study-sees-new-health-risk-to-humans-from-wind-turbines-micro-seismicity/
130
The following is part of a letter I submitted to a Fairfax newspaper in June 2015. In their infinite wisdom, they declined to publish it. :-
“Infrasound easily penetrates buildings, walls, clothing, heads and even noise-protecting ear-muffs. Infrasound still stimulates your nervous system through you ears but your brain doesn’t identify it as sound. Low level noise even protects you from infrasound. It’s the very quiet nights or the ear protected by a pillow (pillows don’t filter out infrasound) that allow infrasound to mess with your brain. Washington University, St. Louis has done work on this. It’s main effect is to waken you or keep you awake or stop you going into deep sleep. Health effects? Ask someone who has chronic sleep disorder problems.
Though I would have thought that at a distance of greater than 500 metres very few people would even suffer from infrasound. Then again on very quiet country nights (<= 30dB) infrasound could carry efficiently for several km. "
The latest research vindicates my comment. Should I resubmit the letter? No, that would only confirm that I am a "Climate Denier", a dinosaur, or in the pay of Big Coal, Big Oil, Big Gas, Big Tobacco or Big W.
110
Hi Greg,
What sort of instrument did you use to measure the infrasound?
The various EPAs typically mandate reading wind turbine ‘noise’ levels with a standard sound level meter, on A weighting. I am sure that you know that the A weighting has a massive roll-off below 1000 Hz, and stops registering below 20 Hz. Why on earth would an EPA choose to mandate an instrument that cannot measure infrasound, to measure wind turbine noise that is rich in infrasound? Hmm.
50
The wind turbine suppliers and local councils also use dBA measurements. Totally wrong. Graeme#4
70
Sound level laws, based on A-Weighting, are concerned about hearing damage.
A-weighting is awful for the infrasound of wind turbine blades, where C-weighting works okay … but the measurements for homes must be made INSIDE the home with any forced air furnace turned off.
External vibrations can be amplified indoors by excited room (or whole house) bass resonance = a higher sound pressure level than when measured outdoors.
The worst case condition would most likely be at nigh,t when you are trying to sleep, with the windows closed, and any forced air furnace temporarily turned off.
.
.
But the taxpayers in Germany are complaining and politicians are starting to listen.
The biggest problem seems to be in Germany as they were “upgrading” to much larger wind turbines where infrasound noise got much worse.
Today I happened to post an article on my climate science blog about the collapse of wind power growth in Germany in 2019:
https://elonionbloggle.blogspot.com/2019/06/summary-despite-all-alk-about-need-to.html
00
Here in Europe:
The EU: our strict health and safety rules need not include tests for low-frequency vibration from wind turbines because low-frequency vibrations do not cause harm to people.
Also the EU: the training syllabus for commercial pilots, set by EU regulation, means that all pilots must be taught about the multiple harmful physiological effects of low-frequency vibrations on people.
280
It will be a race between 5G RF and LF turbine pulse sound as to which one is the new tobacco ….
150
I know which one Id bet on.
40
Humans, like most members of the animal kingdom, innately ‘know’ that any powerful deep low frequency rumbling is usually a sign of danger. Thus where and when it occurs our bodies natural response is to produce stress hormones and chemical in readiness for a ‘fight or flight’ event.
Windfarms produce low frequencies, these are often not easily heard however they do produce effect on our bodies cavities. These resonances are well dampened and vary depending on individual physical dimensions — hight, weight, bone/muscle/fat density, etc.
From https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/human-body-resonant-frequencies.501607/
some frequencies at which the human body vibrates.
Head – 20-30 Hz,
Eye sockets – 20-90 Hz,
Shoulder girdle – 4-5 Hz,
Lower Arm (straight) 16-30 Hz,
Arm (bent)- 5-10 Hz,
Chest wall – 50-100 Hz,
Abdominal mass – 4-8 Hz,
Spinal column (axial mode) 10-12 Hz,
170
Tom Mason
I have no idea where those numbers came from.
Some of the ranges seem too large, and others too small, to be trusted.
I would love to see the study that came up with the numbers.
In engineering school we did an informal chest cavity resonance beer-fueled experiment with coeds, a sine wave generator, and huge home made speakers.
Every coed had a chest cavity resonant frequency in the 75 to 150 Hz. octave.
Maybe a larger males would have been in the 50Hz. to 100Hz. range you quoted.
In general, infrasound affects the core of the body, not the head, arms or legs.
I guess the numbers you provided generally say that.
.
.
I would argue about your phrase “These resonances are well damped”.
That may be true — when the infrasound stops, your body stops vibrating almost instantly.
So you could say the resonance was “well damped”.
But … when the infrasound is continuous, perhaps from a turbine blade that spins all night long, the infrasound input to your home and body is continuous, and the resulting body resonance just keeps on ringing and ringing .. so no one can sleep, and you get in a huge fight with the wife, who blames your snoring.
00
You’d think the incredibly caring, science based, oh so deeply holistic and concerned folks would care to study what their boutique energy sinks, uh, I mean sources, actually do to the humans who must live near them.
After all, precautionary principle is their basis for action on the global warming apocalypse. (Never mind that the principle does not even survive logical application to itself.)
180
The few must suffer so that the many may survive, is the creed of the Socialist.
They don’t care about the few who die because of their utopia. It’s the utopia what matters.
120
Years before the debates of turbines and their possible effects on the public were even dreamt of New Scientist published articles in 1972 and 1973,
Does infrasound make drivers drunk?
What levels of infrasound are safe?
The unbiased results are interesting.
160
Arrgggh links didn’t work, if you search the links the results come up, sorry.
As I said the experiment’s were telling that something occurs at certain frequencies.
50
I note the use of dB(A) measurements in your example. IMO this is not the best ‘standard’ to use as it is based on what we hear. When measuring sound the dbA, decibel A filter, is widely used. dB(A) roughly corresponds to the inverse of the 40 dB (at 1 kHz) equal-loudness curve for the human ear. It is the application of a filter to attempt to replicate the subjective impact of a sound has on us.
I would have thought minimal filtering (or dBC) would have been better.
Note: The dB, or deciBel, is based on the Bel it is a measure of ratio. It’s a useful way for representing a ratio (from a given standard) with a log10 scaling. See https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/decibel-d_59.html for the plots of what this and other ‘standards’ mean.
90
Oops …
“It’s a useful way for representing a ratio (from a given standard) with a log10 scaling.”
should be:
It’s a useful way for representing a ratio (from a given standard) with a logarithmic scaling.
50
Absolutely correct – the dBA measurement, intended for hearing measurement, is NOT the correct measurement technique, as wind turbines generate harmful infrasound below our hearing range. The dBA filters fo not measure infrasound. Wind farm operators like to reference dBA measurements to prove that their turbines don’t generate noise, but this is wrong.
80
Also a lot of meters were found to be insensitive to low frequencies, with a rapid roll off below 39Hz.
130
Not just wrong – this is more like wilful misrepresentation, except that they have a defence because the EPA mandates the use of instruments to measure infrasound that cannot measure infrasound.
60
I published two articles earlier this month on the subject of wind turbine infrasound, that has been measured up to 20km from the source.
Common sound limit laws do not consider that bass is a problem, using a sound pressure meter A-weighting scale that discriminates against bass frequencies.
Infrasound is omni-diirectional, travels a surprisingly long distance, and can be louder INSIDE a home than it measures outside a home — details in my articles.
Not everyone is affected negatively by infrasound — unfortunately I am.
I found the subject to be very interesting.
I also have a lot of experience with inside the home infrasound, as an audiophile since 1965, building large do it yourself design subwoofers since the 1980s.
I don’t like infrasound — it once drove me out of a home during an audio club meeting where an audio consultant was demonstrating his ” Subwoofer That Shook The World ( twelve 15″ bass drivers — see picture in second article ):
https://elonionbloggle.blogspot.com/2019/06/wind-power-is-loser-intermittent.html
https://elonionbloggle.blogspot.com/2019/06/the-wind-turbine-infrasound-noise.html
170
Richard Greene,
Off-topic but you may be interested.
I’ve noted that Youtube videos (especially music videos), and many other online video and sound services, appear to have quite a bit of subsonic hash within them. I believe that this is a product of the audio processing/compression that is done to these videos/audio services. Maybe there’s some form of subsonic fingerprinting going on with them for tracking copyright. I don’t know. Either way any sources I have will have the ‘noise’ removed by my HPF at 18Hz, 96db/octave digital filter before playing/recording.
50
Tom
You have to go out of your way to find music with any intended content under 25Hz. — although under 25Hz. sound effects are common for action movies.
You’re obviously listening through extended frequency speakers — not like most people who listen to YouTube videos.
Are you sure there is no problem with your speakers or room resonances?
I have a 20Hz. room bass resonance in my living room that required me to move a subwoofer about three feet away from the wall that was vibrating (after a few nails popped out of the wall board while playing a 20Hz. test tone.
I rarely listen to YouTube videos, or any compressed music, so I don’t know what your problem is.
00
When I drive at highway speed (say 60+ mph; about 100 k/hr) and open a rear door window, a “thumbing” pulse begins. If I then open the front passenger side window, the air rush continues but the thumping stops.
Just driving is nearly impossible in the first case.
In the second case, the experience is tolerable but not pleasant.
I’ve visited wind towers and been in the base of one. I find the situation like case 2, above.
People are different, so I suspect some are more prone to adverse effects.
151
Of course, that’s when the wind blows …
The world’s first wind farm
Towards 2000 captured the birth of modern renewable wind power in 1981.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2015/07/30/4282474.htm
30
How curious to watch again some thing from the ABC’s glory days
Before it was captured by Greenists…
40
I seem to recall seeing large wind turbines in Hawaii in 1980 and I saw a derelict wind farm in California in 1984, just after the LA Olympics.
Very many Australian homesteads have been generating power with wind turbines since the 1930s. Remember the Dunlite:
http://www.pearen.ca/dunlite/Dunlite.htm
90
Even in those days station owners were happy to pay thousands to be connected to the grid if at all possible because of their limited capacity.
A back-up generator was always necessary for anything more than lighting.
Things haven’t changed much.
100
Yes, its ironic that they did not pay attention to that key lesson right there on opening day…
…wind power doesnt always work when you want it to ..
30
To be frank using wind farms as a source of power for the grid must be one of the dumbest things ever thought up by mankind for at least a couple of very obvious reasons.
270
Do they stop producing energy when they stop? He asks.
80
They absorb it instead.
90
Correct. What’s worse is the brainless warmists want to use battery farms to provide a backup to the wind farms. That’s adding even more stupidity to the issue. What they don’t understand is the cost would be prohibitive not to mention the damage they would cause to the environment when making, replacing and disposing of said batteries. We’d be far better off all round using nuclear power.
150
Trouble is the many companies cashing in on the ‘climate’ bandwagon providing ‘un-renewable’ energy sources LOVE this stuff, more profits! They dont care if it is a ‘good idea’ or not as long as big gov gives them plenty of doh ray me.
80
There should be enough information now, as proven facts, from this and other studies for people to take action for damages and use the information to lobby politicians against WTs.
Politicians clearly couldn’t care less about the tens of thousands of birds and bats being killed – but maybe their voters health might make it through green-washed skulls.
120
Unfortunately most of the people living near wind turbines are leasing their land to the power company, hence getting paid for silence. It would be interesting to know what those contracts say about damages. Getting a decent class action going might be very difficult. The power people are not stupid.
170
Noise Emissions
x.x The lessor acknowledges and accepts that noise from the operation of the Wind Turbine Generators associated with the Project may be audible at any dwelling existing on the Land as at the Commencing Date (Existing Dwelling), provided that the noise from the Wind Turbine Generators (including any adjustment for tonality) does not exceed the requirements set out in the planning approval to be issued by NSW Planning for the Project.
y.y The lessor releases the lessee from any claim associated with noise emissions.
Shadow Flicker
z.z The lessor acknowledges and accepts that shadow flicker from the operation of the Wind Turbine Generators associated with the Project may occur at any Existing Dwelling, and the lessor releases the lessee from any claim associated with such shadow flicker provided that such shadow flicker complies with the requirements of any relevant Approval under normal operating conditions of the Project.
That is what a wind farm lease says.
20
The lessor can’t answer for his/her neighbour however.
30
What makes it a world first?
I’ve already watched Youbute vids of sound engineers doing testing around the turbines, inside and outside of houses.
People have called in specialists in order to make formal complaints to the authorities.
So what makes this a “study”, when it’s already been done many times by sound engineers?
90
G’day Greg,
I suspect the ideas were new to the author and her editors, so they hyped its message. There’s certainly been no mention of such results in SMH previously. And I won’t be awarding them any prizes for their innovative research, or investigative journalism, under the general heading of “climate change”.
Cheers
Dave B
90
LFN (low frequency noise) has been a known hazard by the WHO (and a weapon/torture method) for years and years, decades before windfarms.
I had a problem with a neighbour’s swimming pool pump in a shed outside my backdoor (in the UK!!! talk about unlucky) and of course no one would deal with it – nausea, headaches, complete sleep loss, a constant feeling of stress. I could tell them exactly what time it was set to come on/off even though you could barely hear it.
Eventually I did some digital recordings, ran it through some free frequency analysis software I downloaded, there were indeed massive sub-audible and almost inaudible peaks especially one at a resonant frequency for the width of my property.
I have listened to some windfarm recordings on the internet, at first you don’t notice anything, then gradually a throbbing pulse emerges from the background noise.
Sensitivity to LFN is highly individual. It is true some people are immune and some people very sensitive.
It is also possible for LFN to travel massive distances (it is very poorly attenuated), and it can be directional, self-cancelling or reinforcing such that it may be inaudible close to a windfarm but a real problem in a specific spot a mile away etc.
180
Don’t whales communicate great distances with LFN? Possibly useful information. And we recently discovered that elephants use LFN.
110
I wonder just how much damage is being done to marine species by infrasound from off-shore wind turbines. !
It must be highly confusing for those larger ocean creatures that use infrasound for communication.
But its not in the Inner city Greenie ghettos, so what the heck, just ignore it.
130
Andy I guess if the whales don’t like the LFN
They just stay away from those areas.
But is that a long term solution ?
80
Are vibrations from offshore wind turbine farms killing whales?
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2016/03/03/are-vibrations-from-offshore-wind-turbine-farms-killing-whales/
10
I’m about 10km from an offshore windfarm, the piling work caused months of what felt like being whacked around the head with a rubber mallet, like the bass drum beat at a heavy metal concert all night long!
EON (the electricity company involved) admitted that there were noise problems but played them down, went through all the usual PR nonsense, but carried on regardless.
Anyway, I suspect any marine life would have been permanently deafened for miles around.
I think EON claimed that they did a soft start to each pile to give them a chance to flee – how considerate/environmentally friendly!
10
Is there any reliable data on the number of birds and bats killed over the period of one month, say? I suppose that might depend on geographical location.
100
Also consider the amount of insects that get picked off by these avian destruction machines.
Reports of decreased insect populations for pollinating crops in some areas near wind turbines.
120
There is a side effect when bsts are lost. Apparently bats eat large numbers of mosquitos, so impacting a bat population also significantly impacts the mosquito population.
80
Also of note is that it is the rapid change in air pressure caused by the operating windmill — the fast changing pressure gradient — that kills the bats by exploding their lungs.
That pressure gradient gives you an idea of the level that the subsonic sound is, at it’s origin.
70
This is a very good site that’s been around for years http://savetheeaglesinternational.org
A Warning though if you don’t like looking at the aftermath of a turbine blade vs bird.
20
Ugly and ominous.Some people say they have aesthetic appeal-art in movement type thing.To me, it tells me how depraved these rent-seeking parasites are.To the fray Rocinante! Together we’ll slay the beasts!
150
Modern nuclear power stations look so much nicer than wind farms. I would not mind living next to one or even working at one. They also take up far less space causing much less damage to the environment.
100
Down the track, Morrison would do well to appoint Cory as assistant to Angus Taylor, a spokesman on nuclear power.
90
Yes that would be nice. Failing that I would hope Cory would be a spokesman on HELE plants.
50
The tobacco industry spent years in denial obfuscating data to slip past the public.
Is this the same and could it lead to the shuttering of these monsters.
The impact will be far more acute on animals such as Whales who we know communicate via acoustic at both high and low frequency.
Well that is the claim they have made about seismic surveys which operate in the low frequency range, the one difference being that a seismic survey is a day in a decade and these are a daily impact.
81
Whale strandings are natural.
https://theconversation.com/what-causes-whale-mass-strandings-72985
00
We need words too.
White elephants
Windmill pollution
Blots on the landscape
Medieval monsters
Visual pollution
Environmental disasters
Alien invaders
Our money blowing in the wind
Sleep killers
Cash pumps for Canberra
and of course
Bird chompers
Bird mills
150
The War of the Worlds
The Daze [sic] of the Triffids
Intriguing how artwork & book covers of the time depicted these other-world carnivorous monstrosities as all-too-similar to today’s toxic e-windmills (apologies for wiki pics but they’re great examples of the dark side of ruinables)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Alvim-correa12.jpg (
turbinesMartians death-raying a house)https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/62/JohnWyndham_TheDayOfTheTriffids.jpg (death-frequency waves)
60
I live in South Australia. And South Australia leads the country in the number of wind turbines installed. They were installed to save the planet by reducing CO2. Fortunately there are none close to where live. But that is by chance rather than any planning on my part.
They were promoted by a Labor government which was captured by Greenists 2002-2018. And has also infected the state’s ‘mindset’ with this ideology to such an extent that even the Liberal party now in government, promotes them with our taxes. And wants another interconnector to NSW so SA can force feed NSW with this expensive & unreliable Wind Turbine power.
Folk in NSW would be wise to tell SA to bugger off and rely instead on the ir own cheap & reliable coal, fired power.
My sympathies to any and all folk directly affected by these noise generating machines.
130
There is a good reason mankind (or “personkind” as the Left would say) got rid of the windmill as soon as Newcomen invented the first practical steam engine in 1712.
130
Dutch buddy of mine takes his kids swimming/sailing/fishing underneath the things, he’s proud of them, sends me photos to say he hasn’t found a bird or bat carcass yet. But hey, when you’re living 6 metres below sea level…
90
Based on the posting from Flinders Uni, the wind turbines at the farms (Waterloo and Canunda) are 3MW units which are pretty large. Encouragingly, Flinders Uni seems to be neutral in the wind turbine noise debate as Professor Peter Catcheside is studying the effect of the sonic impulses on sleep while the second link below is a paper that shows how low the amplitude of the impulse is vs ambient.
This is science as it should be – careful measurements and observations with cautious conclusions. The long term findings should be pretty well irrefutable, especially if they recreate the impulses in a controlled environment to assess the effects independently – I would suggest an infrasound generator under Sarah Hanson-Young’s bed for a 6 month assessment to see how she and her family are affected.
https://news.flinders.edu.au/blog/2019/06/19/wind-farm-noise-recorded-almost-9km-away/
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1461348419837115
100
Silicon Chip magazine published a project for an infrasound monitor in the March 2013 issue.
http://www.siliconchip.com.au/Issue/2013/March/Infrasound+Detector+For+Low+Frequency+Measurements?res=nonflash
There was a further project in the June 2015 issue to allow you to listen to the infrasound at normal audio frequencies.
http://www.siliconchip.com.au/Issue/2015/June/Bad+Vibes+Infrasound+Snooper?res=nonflash
Note that I write article for that magazine, but I had no involvement in those particular ones so cannot answer questions about them.
70
Here are some videos I made of wind turbine noises:
https://youtu.be/eujRIOjVge0
The following small one is a shocker! Tell me if you’d like to live next door to that. It is at a pub in Hastings (Victoriastan).
https://youtu.be/a4md5YS-51M
60
David, that pub one needed a decent oil & grease – with Activist Soylent Green Slime Goop. From your link there was this 1′ 57″ timelapse of a crane-assisted turbine construction via the University of Minnesota. You can literally see the greenhouse gases changing the weather (water vapour going this way, going thataway) and as for all those diesel trucks delivering the parts and the diesel crane itself… How Green Was My Valley?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AvIhZAqYcE
30
Don’t forget the Mobil 1.
Another blog reported that a wind farm in south east Colorado (no size given) got a semi load of Mobil 1 a fortnight.
30
Here are some other recordings from Australia that someone else made, the “StopTheseThings” people.
https://youtu.be/rOU39ws1gHo
50
Video:
Can Low Frequency Sound Waves Make You Sick?
https://youtu.be/z9yHKhwc2xc
Also, horror movie makers apparently play infrasound when they want to make the audience feel sick at the scary parts.
90
Mythbusters did an experiment on VLF effects on people called The Haunted Hum https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wqvE_QYTk0
Searching will find many examples of similar results with VLF and uneasy feelings with people.
I actually experienced an alarm the was being tested years ago with a security company, they had the loud high pitch alarms that put you off balance if you stayed for a couple of minutes but this one was very different, initially I thought it was a silent alarm and became very anxious after a short time for no apparent reason as we knew it was a test, my fellow workers felt similar effects with one even feeling nausea.
We found out later it was a VLF with the idea criminals would get uneasy about the job and take off without getting anything, unfortunately most burglaries happen under 30 seconds but I guess it could work if they had to pick locks or crack a safe.
30
The things are:
1 useless
2 inefficient, cant pay for themselves
3 kill birds, bats, insects
4 a blot on the landscape.
5 health hazard due to excess noise
6 Aircraft hazard
Exterminate!
120
everything but whether or not infrasound from wind turbines disturbs whales (or other marine life):
14 Jun: MarineLog: BMT designs U.S. CTVs with whales in mind
by Nick Blenkey
The two BMT-designed Crew Transfer Vessels (CTVs) being built to service Ørsted U.S. offshore wind projects will have some significant differences from similar vessels built for the European market…
The endangered North Atlantic right whales have been a key driver in the design of this vessel, culminating in the smallest quad jet wind farm vessel that BMT has ever designed…
https://www.marinelog.com/news/bmt-designs-u-s-ctvs-with-whales-in-mind/
read all of the following 2 pieces:
20 Jun: McKinsey & Co: Building an offshore wind industry along the US East Coast: The role of state collaboration
By Nicolas Lefevre-Marton, Richard Sellschop, Humayun Tai, and Amy Tsui
States along the US East Coast have made bold commitments to deploy close to 20 GW of offshore wind (OSW) energy by 2035 (exhibit)…
Facilitate stakeholder management and buy-in
The case for state collaboration: Strong
Several issues raised by stakeholders along the US East Coast have little precedent in Europe: whale migration patterns, the coexistence of fishing and navigation in active OSW lease areas, among others…
For example, Equinor is collaborating with the Wildlife Conservation Society to deploy buoys with sensors to provide near-real-time information of when migrating whales are in the area…
https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/electric-power-and-natural-gas/our-insights/building-an-offshore-wind-industry-along-the-us-east-coast-the-role-of-state-collaboration
18 Jun: HydroInternational: Underwater Noise Monitoring in the North Sea
Jomopans Project to Monitor Continuous Sound
by Niels Kinneging
Increased Human Activities
Over the last decades, the levels of sound have increased due to increased human activities in the sea. Most human activities in the sea produce noise either as a result of the activity (e.g.noisefrom ships, or from the pile driving of the foundations for offshore wind farms) or of the purpose (e.g.seismic surveying using air guns, or military sonar devices). In illustration, a wind farm will produce high levels of noise for a short period during construction, but it will also cause contribute to a higher total noise level over its entire life cycle ***due to increased shipping.
These anthropogenic underwater sounds can affect marine animals. Loud impulsive sounds can cause hearing loss (either temporarily or permanently) and displace animals from important habitats, while continuous sounds can mask communication and echolocation of marine animals. In recognition of the vital role of sound to marine life, anthropogenic noise is now regarded as a pollutant and should be considered in environmental quality assessments. Despite the growing interest in marine sound in the last decade, the overall impact of noise on the marine ecosystem is still largely unknown…
To gather this quantitative information, 11 institutes from the countries bordering the North Sea joined forces in the Joint Monitoring Programme for Ambient Noise in the North Sea (Jomopans) project. The project receives 50% of its funding from Interreg North Sea Region…
Acknowledgements
Jomopans is an Interreg project supported by the North Sea Programme of the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union and several national funding bodies…
https://www.hydro-international.com/content/article/underwater-noise-monitoring-in-the-north-sea
30
any study funded by the EU is not going to look into negative effects on marine life from wind turbine noise:
19 Jun: Reuters: Norway wants to open two new North Sea areas to offshore wind
by Gwladys Fouche and Lefteris Karagiannopoulos
Norway will seek to open two areas for the construction of floating offshore wind parks, which combined could hold a turbine capacity of up to 3.5 gigawatts(GW), the Norwegian oil and energy ministry said in a statement on Tuesday…
The first offshore area, which the ministry will propose before July, is called Utsira North and is situated in the North Sea.
The ministry will also seek views about opening a second area, called Southern North Sea II, which is close to the offshore border with Denmark…READ ON
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-norway-wind/norway-wants-to-open-two-new-north-sea-areas-to-offshore-wind-idUSKCN1TJ25J
18 Jun: Yahoo: Scotland faces ‘hard and costly’ energy choices
By Katrine Bussey, Political Editor, Press Association Scotland
A new independent advisory commission should be set up to look at how to meet Scotland’s energy needs, with a report warning “difficult decisions” will need to be taken on how to cope with a looming energy shortfall.
The closure of the country’s two nuclear power stations, Hunterston B and Torness, by 2030 will result in “a shortfall of electricity generation in Scotland” unless alternative sources of power are established.
But a new report from the Royal Society of Edinburgh argued a “no pain, no gain” situation exists in energy policy…
The RSE said there is “no technological or regulatory solution that will meet all the objectives … without hard and generally costly choices being made”…
“The reality of where we find ourselves, however, is that the planned closures of both of Scotland’s remaining nuclear power stations by 2030 will see Scotland lose the source of generation for almost 43% of its electricity, going into a period where it is widely expected that demand for electricity will increase.”…READ ON
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/scotland-faces-hard-costly-energy-125249796.html
20 Jun: Scotsman: RSE: No easy answers to the question of meeting Scotland’s future energy needs
AUTHORS:
Sir Muir Russell KCB FRSE is Chair of the RSE Inquiry. Sir Muir served as Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Office and Permanent Secretary to the then Scottish Executive.
Prof Rebecca Lunn MBE FRSE is Deputy Chair of the RSE Inquiry. She is Professor of Civil and Environment Engineering at the University of Strathclyde
On 17 June 2019 the RSE published its final report into Scotland’s Energy Future…
Whether the option is a generation technology, a new kind of storage, a change in public behaviour, or a regulatory reform, none of the choices we assessed provide a silver bullet to solve the ‘energy quadrilemma’ of reducing carbon emissions, ensuring affordability, providing energy security, and doing all this in a way that is socially acceptable and economically sustainable…
Hard choices need to be made and significant investment will unquestionably be required to pursue whatever route is chosen. It is imperative, however, that the process in reaching a decision is grounded in robust scientific evidence and honest debate over the consequences…
Some of the options available for meeting future energy needs may prove more financially costly than ‘business as usual’, but this investment is also a real contribution towards the country’s prosperity and wellbeing, and could position Scotland as a global innovator.
https://www.scotsman.com/business/rse-no-easy-answers-to-the-question-of-meeting-scotland-s-future-energy-needs-1-4950491
20
Landowners want the ground rent from the wind farms. It’s all free cashflow.
30
Yes they (and everyone else) are free to make that choice to gain financially but they are not free of the consequences of the ill effects (and the rest of us due to higher power prices and lower reliability of supply). At some point the nation’s interest must be rated higher than that of the individual if we are to function properly as a society. With that in mind the government should step in and put a complete stop on any new wind farms and instead encourage the building of new coal and nuclear power stations, all in the nation’s interest if not for its own survival. It’s that simple but of course it’s not easy.
70
Yes, if only such considerations as the national interest had been in play when Senator Hill was introducing the RET nigh on twenty years ago in the Kyoto led moral stampede that led us to where we are today…
30
Some more reading that may leave you feeling uneasy —
A broad study on sound and it’s many (mis) uses…
https://api.ning.com/files/xeV7E6EsoyMges0cfhXFaGWk9zQ89*BDtn0miNlOtzkj70FFehgKYsRrkQlS5jRi9InfpbiGW2MCch8X*aBpU4qzdnCaJy-D/Fernandez.pdf
Sound as a weapon …
https://littlefield.co/the-psychoacoustic-effect-of-infrasonic-sonic-and-ultrasonic-frequencies-within-non-lethal-cf05e1fd8673
and
Cinema uses and ‘special’ sound effects …
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/how-the-hidden-sounds-of-horror-movie-soundtracks-freak-you-out
This will probably get put into moderation but ho-hum lets try.
30
Off Topic, but I’m sure that folks here will be interested : An update from Professor Peter Ridd here in Australia. Interesting interview of Peter by the IPA.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2019/06/20/dr-peter-ridd-on-the-free-speech-crisis-at-universities/
20
o/t but a new climate child is born:
20 Jun: HeraldScotland: Erin from Glasgow does a Greta Thunberg on Tory hopefuls
By Niall Christie
The Glasgow schoolgirl who became an overnight sensation as she blasted the Tory leadership candidates on live television was inspired by 16-year-old campaigner Greta Thunberg and other climate strikers around the world.
Southsider Erin Goodheir Curtis – whose live contribution lit up the live BBC debate on Tuesday night – was unimpressed by a string of chuckles and “non-committal” statements on the environment from the hopefuls for Number 10 – Boris Johnson, Jeremy Hunt, Sajid Javid, Michael Gove and Rory Stewart…
Erin said: “Greta is very inspirational to all of us, she is a bit of an icon really. I can’t quite live up to that, but it is great to see countless people supporting me.
“I was never expecting these men to be able to answer in a way that would have been satisfactory for me.”…
Over here in the western world, because we are rich, we don’t see the effects, therefore it’s not seen as important…
“They are not people who are fit to be governing, and they proved that last night when they couldn’t answer questions in a suitable way.
“They wouldn’t even be able to tackle any of these issues – they are not competent enough.
“The Conservative leadership is so out of touch with the public, not just the youth,but with the concerns of everyday people.
“If they have an understanding of what everyday life is like for real people, they have not demonstrated it. It proves the point that we need someone more capable.”…
Furthering the political cause is nothing new to the 15-year-old. A member of the Scottish Youth Climate Strike group and UK Student Network, Erin is also a volunteer with Scottish Action for Refugees and helps with Amnesty International at school…
“I’ve always enjoyed shouting at people and being able to stand up for what I believe is right,” said Erin…
“From a young age that is how I was raised, and I was able to find my voice to do that. What I believe in has always been at the centre of everything I do and I can definitely see myself ending up in something political or activism-based.
“I don’t have a definitive plan because I am 15, but I will find something that will be about standing up for what I believe in. That is what I do best, along with telling people when they are wrong, as everyone saw.”
COMMENTS ABOUT 50/50 FOR AND AGAINST
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/17717414.erin-from-glasgow-does-a-greta-thunberg-on-tory-hopefuls/
from Press reader – can’t find direct link; already writing for The Guardian:
20 Jun: Scottish Daily Mail: Teenager backed Corbyn eco group
THE teenage eco-activist who took the Tory leadership candidates to task over the environment is a supporter of a Jeremy Corbyn-backed climate change campaign group.
Erin Curtis, 15, also supports Scottish independence and is a fan of SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, according to ‘likes’ on her publicly-visible Facebook page. Her parents have endorsed pro-SNP and pro-Scottish independence pages on Facebook.
Her father Chris posted an image of an ‘anti-Tory spray’, a joke product designed to ‘keep toxic Tories away’. Her mother, Claire Goodheir Curtis has also ‘liked’ a ‘Scotland United Against Trump’ page.
Erin, of Glasgow, is a keen supporter of the UK Student Climate Network. In February, Mr Corbyn said the group’s actions were ‘inspiring’. After listening to MPs’ answers, she said: ‘None of you have really impressed me in the way that I am looking for.’
***Yesterday, she wrote an attack on all the candidates for the Guardian’s website, arguing none of the group were ‘real leaders’.
10
So this highly educated (?), knowledgable young girl enjoys ‘shouting’ at people? It sounds more like ignorant bullying to me.
60
***Elsevier forum and the Big Climate Conversation:
20 Jun: HeraldScotland: Nicola Sturgeon tells Scots to speak up on climate change
By Stephen Naysmith, Social affairs correspondent
The First Minister said tackling the problem must be a “truly national endeavour” as she announced plans for a Big Climate Conversation.
She made the move at the World Forum on Climate Justice in Glasgow, saying the Scottish Government’s ambitious goal was to eliminate the country’s contribution to global warming by 2045.
But she said decarbonisation would mean changes to virtually ever aspect of Scots’ everyday lives.
“We will need to change how we travel, how we keep homes and workplaces warm, and how we design cities and towns,” she said…
However, her announcement came as it emerged Scotland failed to meet legally binding climate change targets for 2017, with adjusted emissions rising by 3.7% over the year…
Other speakers at the opening day of the Climate Justice event included former president of Ireland Mary Robinson, founder of the Mary Robinson Foundation for Climate Justice. She criticised those who refuse to acknowledge climate change, especially corporations, comparing them to cigarette companies.
“Malign and evil people making profits deliberately by climate denial are acting like the tobacco industry,” she said…
(Dr Kerry Kennedy, president of the advocacy organisation Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights), daughter of former US Attorney General Robert Kennedy, said: “Today frontline climate justice defenders are women and men who stand up to government oppression, risk imprisonment and torture for basic rights. These are today’s heroes.”…
The forum is being organised by ***Elsevier in partnership with the Centre for Climate Justice at Glasgow Caledonian University and runs until Friday.
More than 130 delegates representing 35 countries, including the US, China, India and many African countries are attending.
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/17717408.nicola-sturgeon-tells-scots-to-speak-up-on-climate-change/
10
When a wind farm or solar farm is proposed do they have to do an Environmental Impact Statement like other projects do?
70
20 Jun: BBC Wales: UK climate emergency: What does it mean for how we live?
By Sarah Dickins, BBC Wales economics correspondent
PIC: House/solar panels: Caption: Making homes more energy efficient is on the climate emergency “to do” list
Wales, like most industrialised economies, has been highly dependent on fossil fuels and reaching zero carbon emissions by 2050 will require radical change.
There has been much focus on sustainable transport, but it will also affect what we buy, and how we work and live…
Some also see the declaration of a climate emergency as an opportunity for Wales to generate more of its own energy, develop new technology and create jobs as others are lost.
The level of public investment needed could be politically controversial. UK Chancellor Phillip Hammond has said the zero carbon target will cost the country £1tn; others disagree…
We can expect an expansion of programmes to make our homes more energy efficient, which in turn could create new markets for innovative manufacturers, and work for the building trade retrofitting existing homes.
That could include fitting solar panels and moving away from gas and oil to new heating systems.
Alternatives include lower carbon technologies such as ***wood pellet boilers, and air source heat pumps, which use some electricity to extract heat from the outside air, a bit like a fridge in reverse…
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-48669908
10
lots of detail, read all:
20 Jun: Guardian: HMRC cracks down on gangs over renewable energy VAT fr**d
Emergency action came into effect without notice to avoid tipping off fr**dsters
by Jillian Ambrose
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jun/19/hmrc-targets-fraudsters-taking-billions-in-renewable-energy-vat-certificates
9 Jun: BureauOfInvestigativeJournalism: From the UK to Dubai: On the trail of the “fr**d of the century
By Madlen Davies, Ben Stockton, Ferdinand Moeck
https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2019-06-09/from-preston-to-dubai-the-vat-fraud-trail
30
just imagine:
Updated 19 Jun: Bloomberg: The World Will Get Half Its Power From Wind, Solar by 2050
By Millicent Dent and Chris Martin
Shift comes as electricity demand increases 62%, BNEF says
The transition has sweeping implications for markets, climate
Nearly half the world’s electricity will come from renewable energy by 2050 as costs of wind, solar and battery storage continue to plummet.
That titanic shift over the next three decades will come as electricity demand increases 62% and investors pump $13.3 trillion into new projects, according to a report released Tuesday by BloombergNEF…READ ON
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-18/the-world-will-get-half-its-power-from-wind-and-solar-by-2050
18 Jun: Vox: The global transition to clean energy, explained in 12 charts
Despite all the progress, we’re still struggling to hit the climate emergency brake.
By David Roberts
A report released Monday goes into that question in considerable detail. The Renewables Global Status Report (LINK) (GSR), released annually by the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21, a think tank), digs into the growth rates of various energy sources, the flows of clean energy investment, and the world’s progress on its sustainability goals.
It is a treasure trove of information. It is also … really long. 250 pages long. So many words!
In an effort to save you, the modern information consumer, precious time, I have gone through the report and extracted the 12 charts and graphs that best tell the story of clean energy as of 2018…READ ON
https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2019/6/18/18681591/renewable-energy-china-solar-pv-jobs
10
Unfortunately all the States have comprehensively drunk the green koolaid and are in favour of these awful monstrosities so they can virtue signal to their constituents and get the inner city greenie vote. Local shires are also full of greeniacs. As we saw in Tasmania, the tradies and contractors are gleefully pouring concrete and installing the things so they can make the payments on their $69k fully loaded super dooper dual cab Thai-built pickup trucks and take a holiday with the missus to Nusa Dua on Bali. Anything that involves jobs and construction is sacrosanct in regional Ozstraya, whether it makes economic sense or not.
30
The ***California Valley Solar Ranch (CVSR) is a 250 megawatt (MWAC) photovoltaic power plant in the Carrizo Plain, northeast of California Valley – Wikipedia:
20 Jun: Bloomberg: ‘Avian Incident’ Knocks Out 84% of Massive California Solar Farm
By Millicent Dent; With assistance by Brian Eckhouse
An “avian incident” sparked a fire at one of California’s biggest solar farms, affecting 1,200 acres and knocking out 84% of the ***California Valley Solar Ranch’s generating capacity.
The June 5 incident didn’t damage solar panels at the 250-megawatt power plant, but distribution poles and cables need to be replaced, according a regulatory filing Wednesday from owner Clearway Energy Inc. The company didn’t say exactly how the blaze was ignited…
About 40 megawatts of the San Luis Obispo County facility are in operation, and it’s expected to return to full service by July 1. Clearway expects the incident to cost $8 million to $9 million this year, after estimated insurance recovery.
The California Valley project was built by SunPower Corp. and was funded in part with a $1.24 billion loan guarantee from the U.S. Energy Department. It was completed in 2013 and sells power to PG&E Corp.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-19/-avian-incident-knocks-out-84-of-massive-california-solar-farm
20
Updated 20 Jun: CBC: Edmonton council puts river valley solar farm proposal on hold
Proposal would require rezoning of 22 hectares of river valley
by Stephen David Cook
After three full days of public hearings, Edmonton city council voted Wednesday to send a river valley solar farm back to administration for review.
The solar farm project proposed by Epcor required the rezoning of approximately 22 hectares of river valley land in southwest Edmonton, near the E.L. Smith water treatment plant.
But council instead passed a motion Wednesday evening directing administration to work with Epcor and the Enoch Cree Nation to continue engagement and return to public hearing activities.
Although the Enoch Cree Nation initially supported the development, it has since withdrawn its support…
Environmentalists oppose the project and were among those who spoke during public hearings.
Charles Richmond, urban issues coordinator of the environmental group Sierra Club Canada Foundation, said the decision was “moving in a good direction” but was critical of the continued focus on that location.
“All of this could have been settled if council did remove the locale, then there could’ve been some negotiation and a new proposal and everyone would come out looking good,” Richmond said…
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/solar-farm-referred-1.5182494
20
19 Jun: SolarPowerPortalUK: Campbell & Kennedy calls closing time on solar install business
by Alice Grundy
Campbell & Kennedy (C&K) has shuttered its energy division, weeks after completing a milestone solar installation, Solar Power Portal can reveal.
C&K today confirmed to SPP that the company has closed its energy division after hitting its 100th school solar install earlier this month.
Financial disclosures for the year ended 31 March 2018, filed last month, reported the division had undergone a difficult year, in part due to delays to commercial solar projects caused by securing planning permission and tenant approvals…READ ON
https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/campbell_kennedy_calls_closing_time_on_solar_install_business
10
I posted the information below in a number of places. A couple of times there was a derogatory comment or two about my posting but the content of those replys made it quite plain that the respondent had not looked at any of the evidence; their detractions were completely off point.
No one has ever bothered to respond to this information, a problem that could outweigh every other consideration because of the long term disability, health, and possibly miscarriage consequences. Perhaps people simply think those things not really important, even if completely certain. Perhaps they, like the Greens, simply discount anything so contrary to their core beliefs as fabrications, regardless of evidence. Or???
If anyone is willing to look at this and point out why it isn’t worth paying attention to, I would be quite grateful.
>>>>>> Infrasound is the frequencies of sound at or below the range of human hearing. The cutoff is normally considered to be 20 Hz but the problems may extend somewhat above 20 Hz. That infrasound can cause damage to internal organs has been know to some degree since early research in the 1960s.
That frequent infrasound exposure causes unusual tissue growth in certain common protein structures, observable, verifiable, and repeatable, has been know for perhaps more than two decades. First discovered in autopsies, then biopsies, diagnosis eventually became possible by several less intrusive means in living humans and animals.
These tissue changes occur in many parts of the body, including heart, lungs, trachea, inner ears, and brain. They modify how the organs work. Most are debilitating and often eventually fatal. The cause is not widely recognized because there are no unique symptoms; the tissue changes are not obvious without particular attention to fine structure. As with hearing loss from overly high sound levels, deterioration is gradual and often permanent if exposure goes on long enough.
The tissue changes are consistently reproducible under laboratory conditions (animal experiments, obviously). They occur under 8 hour days, five days per week, (i.e. intermittent) exposure corresponding to normal factory work schedules. They progress faster under more frequent exposure. Infrasound can not be protected against with earplugs or stone walls. Infrasound from an outside source is often considerably more intense inside buildings than immediately outside because of structural resonances (which is sometimes also true of audible low frequency sounds).
Birth defects and still births are common in some animals, uncertain but indicated in humans. Overall, this seems to be hard, repeatable science. I have come across no information, or even hints that any scientist has found conflicting results, yet most investigations of possible problems seem to be done in complete ignorance of published studies, concentrating on more touchy-feely aspects (how do you FEEL about living near wind turbines?) rather than the induced physical changes. Essentially all legal standards for determining sound pollution or noise disturbances are based on the Fletcher-Munson hearing curves developed a century ago and do not even detect the presence of the low frequencies that do the damage.
Wind turbines came under investigation from this aspect only recently. Previous work on the medical results of infrasound exposure was from studies of other industrial infrasound sources. The wind turbine results are alarming considering how common wind farms are becoming in some areas and how near to dwellings they are often being built. Some of the relevant parameters have been roughed out but there is much that needs to be determined about the extent of the wind turbine problem. The particular infrasound signature of wind turbines has been measured as much as 20 Km from the source but at just what intensity level the problem may become insignificant has not been determined, as far as I know.
earlier work on infrasound
https://www.intechopen.com/books/acoustics-of-materials/acoustics-and-biological-structures
wind turbines infrasound
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXCZ3OyklrE
70
On holidays in FNQ recently I saw wind turbines close up for the first time, on the Atherton Tableland between Mt Garnet and Malanda. They were a couple of hundred metres from the road; the wind was fairly strong. I got out to take some photos from the side of the road. The sound level from the nearest one was like cars going past me on the road at 100kph, whoomp whoomp, whoomp, but once a second, with a steady loud background roar, probably from the others. Not unbearable but decidedly unpleasant for the couple of minutes I was there. I pity anyone living anywhere near them.
100
19 Jun: BBC: MSPs back plans for tax on workplace car parking spaces
The measure could see councils charge businesses an annual fee for every parking space they provide for workers.
Opposition parties said the move was a “regressive tax on workers”, but the rural economy committee ultimately backed it by a vote of six to five…
Councils south of the border currently have similar powers, although only Nottingham City Council has actually enacted such a scheme…
Amendments to add the powers to the transport bill were put forward by Green MSP John Finnie, who stressed that they were “a power not a duty” and a move to “empower local councils”.
He added that “we need as many tools available to us as possible” to tackle the “climate emergency”…
SNP backbencher John Mason said that “we have to discourage people from unnecessarily taking their cars to work”, arguing that the move was a “tax on the elite”.
However, the comments sparked controversy from opposition MSPs, with Labour’s Colin Smyth saying it was an “utter disgrace” to suggest only the elite park at work, and Tory Jamie Greene saying “this could theoretically impact on any worker in Scotland”…
The move was welcomed by environmental groups, but criticised by retailers…
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-48689103
19 Jun: HeraldScotland: SNP MSP Richard Lyle accused of ‘ spineless’ U-turn on parking tax
By Tom Gordon
Holyrood’s connectivity committee passed a series of votes paving the way for a Workplace Parking Levy (WPL) thanks to Richard Lyle’s conversion.
The Uddingston & Bellshill MSP, the swing vote on the 11-member committee, last month called the WPL an “unfair tax” on motorists, comparing it to a 10p hike in their income tax. “I do not agree with charging somebody who is on a low wage £400 a year,” he had said. However Mr Lyle performed a volte-face when it came to the Stage 2 vote on the idea, declaring he now wanted councils to have the power to impose the anti-congestion levy.
He admitted he would be criticised…
behind paywall:
20 Jun: UK Times: MSPs back tax on workplace parking spaces
Kieran Andrews, Scottish Political Editor
Teachers, emergency workers and social services staff will not be exempt from a workplace car park tax after MSPs narrowly voted to go ahead with the levy…
Proposals to exclude public sector workers including the police, fire, coastguard and lifeboat services, as well as teachers and carers, were voted against by the Greens and SNP…
Members of Holyrood’s rural economy committee voted by six to five to push ahead with the plans despite opposition from other parties and the business community. The vote would have swung the other way if Richard Lyle, an SNP MSP, had continued his opposition…
10
this lot are looking for business, but worth checking the long list:
SolarGain: Solar companies gone into liquidation
Solargain has listed all Australian solar companies that have gone into liquidation or administration below. If the company you purchased your solar from is on this list and you need help with your system, or if you would just like to know what your options are, click here. (LINK)
LIST OF COMPANIES
https://www.solargain.com.au/solar-companies-gone-liquidation
30
Off topic but Leighton Smith, one of NZ’s best radio broadcasters, who recently retired from daily radio but has now started weekly podcasts did a special this week on Climate Change. Leighton has for many years been a very strong skeptic, had Dr Tim Ball on for a 1hr interview/chat. Very good, well worth your time. Not alot of nitty, gritty detail but very good “big picture” and historical context to the issues. You will need to sign up.
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/podcasts/the-leighton-smith-podcast/
Note: Leighton was originally from OZ, one of our best imports !
30
Tim Ball is good! Glad someone over there has a few clues to talk to real people.
Depends if anybody (media) there will take much note.
30
The media will definitely not take any notice over here. They are full on into the panic mode that is occurring around the world this year (I’m not sure what we should read into this increase in panic).
But Leighton has a big following and I think his podcast will be passed by word of mouth to a wide audience.
He did say he would do a follow up chat with Tim Ball in a few months.
20
behind paywall:
Wind farm noise health effects tested
The Australian – 14 hours ago
Potentially harmful noise from wind farms can be detected up to 3.5km … Earlier studies of scientific literature by the council found little quality… Since the council study was announced, the World Health Organisation has added wind turbine noise as a source of potential health impacts above certain levels…
—
ABC isn’t interested in the above, it seems. this is more their style. lengthy piece by a “specialist”!
21 Jun: ABC: Emissions Reduction Fund review considers opening the scheme to coal-fired power stations
By the Specialist Reporting Team’s Penny Timms
Updated about 2 hours ago
The independent committee overseeing the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) is considering the idea as part of a review into the Federal Government program…
Specifically, the review is looking at power generation projects, including, but not limited to, coal…
ERF funding coal would be ‘global embarrassment’…
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-21/erf-could-hand-money-to-coal-fired-power-stations-idea-in-review/11230752?pfmredir=sm
10
apology…of sorts…finally found this after varying search terms.
ABC Ballarat covered the study!
Martin asks if amplitude modulation is the same as infrasound. Hansen says it shouldn’t be confused with infrasound. Martin ends with: who funded the research?
AUDIO: 8min 32sec: 18 Jun: ABC Ballarat: Noise from wind farms can be heard in houses 3km away
On Breakfast with Steve Martin
The question of how much noise a wind farm can emit, and how far it can travel has been a controversial one.
A world first study from Flinders University has now measured audible wind farm noise inside houses 3.5km from a wind farm in South Australia.
The researcher Dr Kristy Hansen spoke with Steve Martin.
https://www.abc.net.au/radio/ballarat/programs/breakfast/wind-farm-noise-travels-more-than-3km/11219502
10
There is a rather detailed German study covered on Youtube, the title of which unfortunately I don’t recall, that identified the special characteristics of wind turbine infrasound, explaining why the German government’s investigation came to a null conclusion (they did not know about this aspect, did not detect or measure it). The wind turbine infrasound signature was detected 20km from the source but no intensity information was provided in the video.
30
Aren’t we prepared to put up with a bit of low-frequency noise, nausea, dizziness, headaches, and insomnia to save the world?
50
NO !
60
What about the destructive tissue changes in some many parts of the body?
40
What about the destructive tissue changes in so many parts of the body?
10
I do wish that people would stop calling this stuff: Noise.
Describing it as noise is a method of misdirecting any investigation.
That for so long, “investigators” deceitfully reported values of noise scales is disgusting and they successfully managed to demonstrate no “noise” problem on behalf of their green masters.
The article above:
” relates to a change in noise level that occurs approximates once per second as the turbine blade rotates”.
Isn’t it a remarkable coincidence that this is not much lower than the human heart rate, especially when sleeping.
The Human heart rate is controlled by our neural system: Unless, of course, it is overridden by the Turbine Pulsing.
Nauseating.
That one group of human beings could deliberately inflict this on other human purely for the sake of Money.
KK
20
Just want to thank those who have been recognised in the credits as having contributed to the production of this post.
Photo by Gonz DDL on Unsplash
h/t Dave B, Peter Fitzroy.
Thanks Dave and Peter and just curious about what was “contributed” in this case.
KK
00
Despise the damn useless things and what they stand for but spare me the headaches, nausea, dizziness, etc from those not getting paid to have them on their land when people living in cities put up with traffic hum and aircraft noise and actually pay more money to live by noisy surf. Cry me a river snowflake cow pat hoppers.
13
Are you sure?
10
observa, in spite of your name, you either haven’t been paying attention, or are deliberately misleading.
Big Wind commissioned its pet acoustic consultants who compared traffic hum, noise and surf to wind turbine ‘noise’, and, surprise surprise, ignored the distinguishing and unique characteristics of wind turbine acoustics and issues of Amplitude Modulation. Their ‘study’ is a red herring, proper gander. It compared apples and oranges and you I suspect are a lemon!
30
Like using a light meter to quantify penetration of the atmosphere by long or short wave radiation.
20
Supposed go in reply to Graeme#4 at #1.2.1
20
Found it FD, and you’re right.
00
” but spare me the headaches, nausea, dizziness, etc from those not getting paid to have them on their land when people living in cities put up with traffic hum and aircraft noise and actually pay more money to live by noisy surf. Cry me a river snowflake cow pat hoppers.”
If you would bother to look at the evidence of decades of research you would see that general City noise, and more or less random natural infrasound such as ocean surf, is very different from the very regular industrial infrasound, as are its effects on biological tissues. It is NOT about what people hear.
earlier work on infrasound
https://www.intechopen.com/books/acoustics-of-materials/acoustics-and-biological-structures
wind turbines infrasound
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXCZ3OyklrE
40
Exactly.
You don’t “hear” infrasound.
10
“If the world put just 0.5% of the annual “renewables investment” into researching the health effects that would be $15m a year”.
Correct me if I am wrong Jo, but isn’t 0.5% of Australia’s “renewables Investment” alone (ie 0.5% of RECs worth 3 billion or so per annum) about $15m?
The NHMRC’s funding for 2 acoustic studies in Australia is the equivalent of 4 or so turbine’s RECs per annum!
It is a paltry figure, but the NHMRC is also part of the problem, not the solution. They have responded with token funding for limited research to protect their bottoms.
30
You would have to wonder how much fun it would be to fill out a planning application for a turbine in the middle of Warringah….
00
As I pointed out the other day, that there are several areas of Tony Abbott’s old seat which are eminently suitable for LARGE wind turbines.
North Head being one of them. Windy, open unused bush, close to users.
What better could they ask for.
00