Resource Documents: Impacts (129 items)
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Unless indicated otherwise, documents presented here are not the product of nor are they necessarily endorsed by National Wind Watch. These resource documents are shared here to assist anyone wishing to research the issue of industrial wind power and the impacts of its development. The information should be evaluated by each reader to come to their own conclusions about the many areas of debate. • The copyrights reside with the sources indicated. As part of its noncommercial effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations.
Wind farms dry surface soil in temporal and spatial variation
Author: Wang, Gang; Li, Quoqing; and Liu, Zhe
Abstract – Wind energy is renewable and clean; however, the long-term operation of wind turbines can affect local climates. Soil moisture affects ecosystem balance, so determining the impact of wind farms on soil moisture is important. However, there has been little research on this, and only the impacts of wind farms on climate and vegetation have been considered. This study focuses on wind farms located in the grasslands of China. We analyzed changes in soil moisture in different wind directions and . . .
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Seasonal patterns of bird and bat collision fatalities at wind turbines
Author: Lloyd, John; Butryn, Ryan; Pearman-Gillman, Schuyler; and Allison, Taber
Abstract – Information on when birds and bats die from collisions with wind turbines can help refine efforts to minimize fatalities via curtailment of energy productions and can offer insight into the risk factors associated with collision fatalities. Using data pooled from 114 post-construction monitoring studies conducted at wind facilities across the United States, we described seasonal patterns of fatalities among birds and bats. Bat fatalities peaked in the fall. Silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans), a long-distance migrant, and Mexican free-tailed bat . . .
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Taking the Wind Out of Climate Change
Author: Droz, John
The proponents of Climate Change insist that we are facing an imminent existential threat to our very existence. To prevent this catastrophe they assert that we must make immediate, impactful changes – particularly regarding our energy policies. The primary solution advocated by the major Climate Change advocates (e.g., the IPCC and the scientists comprising the so-called 97% consensus) is industrial wind energy. The fundamental question is: if we accept the Climate Change contention and then spend Trillions of dollars to assiduously . . .
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Infrasound and its impact on people
Author: Voskoboinick, Volodymyr
«Wind energy installations … generate acoustic waves and vibrations in the infrasound range. Research results have shown that this infrasound radiation has a significant impact on the environment, worsens ecology and has negative consequences for the health of living beings and, in particular, people who live and work near industrial wind turbines. Effects such as emotional/psychological disorders and sleep disturbances/failures, headaches, fatigue, decreased concentration and impact on quality of life are caused by local residence of wind energy facilities.» Volodymyr . . .
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