Doctors blow the whistle on wind turbines 

An impressive number of health practitioners, researchers, and acousticians around the world are voicing their concern about the effects of wind turbines on people’s health (1). The list was just published by the Waubra Foundation, the European Platform Against Windfarms (EPAW), and the North American Platform Against Windpower (NA-PAW), the latter two representing more than 600 associations of windfarm victims from 27 countries. These health professionals should be honored, assert the three NGOs: It takes courage to uphold the rights of victims against the powerful coalition of vested interests that supports the wind industry.

In Australia, where the controversy is reaching new heights, a wind industry executive has been singling out Dr Sarah Laurie in a bid to make the public forget the many other health professionals who alert the public to the dangerous effects of wind turbines: “[T]he largest public relations issue for the industry at the moment is the theory of an ex-doctor that infrasound or low frequency noise from wind turbines is likely to make anyone within 10 km of a wind turbine sick” (2).

The blog Stop These Things, which rose to fame denouncing the wind industry, replied:

So, the largest public relations issue for the wind industry is Sarah Laurie?

One woman against the deep pockets of the pro-wind lobby.

One woman speaking with local communities.

One woman gathering data about the other side of your story, the one not covered in your press releases, presentations, websites, newsletters, advertisements, promoted by your highly paid PR consultants, and not covered by the Clean Energy Council with its army of lobbyists and government access.

One woman speaking out, working for two and a half years as a volunteer.

What a compliment! (2)

Sarah Laurie is a physician who had taken time off to fight her own cancer and look after her family. “She is by no means an ‘ex-doctor’,” says EPAW’s Mark Duchamp. “She replied to that libelous spin at a Senate hearing on wind turbines” (3).

Dr Nina Pierpoint, PhD, MD, who intensively studied the health problems of 10 windfarm neighbor families, and coined the phrase Wind Turbine Syndrome in the process, has also been attacked and vilified. “Yet her meticulous, scholarly and pioneering work has been used around the world by turbine victims and their physicians, to better understand the reported symptoms and illnesses. The study has been rigorously peer reviewed, translated into multiple languages, and even quoted by health officials”, adds Duchamp. Dr Sarah Laurie, CEO of the Waubra Foundation, fully agrees: “Dr Pierpont used her multidisciplinary skills and academic experience to evaluate the data she collected. Many of her colleagues do not understand why her study is so important, until they start seeing the sick people.”

Acousticians too are involved in the growing controversy (1). Some have published research demonstrating that wind turbines emit infrasound and low-frequency noise (ILFN) and that these emissions resonate inside homes to the point where residents sometimes resort to sleeping on the veranda rather than in their bedrooms. An important acoustic study, just published, concludes that “enough evidence and hypotheses have been given herein to classify LFN [low-frequency noise] and infrasound as a serious issue, possibly affecting the future of the [wind] industry” (4).

What makes that study special, among all others that collected similar evidence? Sherri Lange of NA-PAW replies: “It was conducted by four different firms of acousticians: two of them have done work for the wind industry, whereas the other two never did. The idea was to ensure objectivity.”

“We know now that this causes, at the least, chronic sleep deprivation, leading to a debilitated immune system and a variety of diseases. This list [below] reveals some of the true heroes of our times. They are starting to be vindicated,” concludes Lange.

Contacts:

Mark Duchamp (Spain), +34 693 643 736, Skype: mark.duchamp
Executive Director, EPAW
www.epaw.org
save.the.eagles@gmail.com

Sherri Lange (Canada), +1 416 567 5115
CEO, NA-PAW
www.na-paw.org
kodaisl@rogers.com

Dr Sarah Laurie (Australia), + 61 439 865 914
CEO, Waubra Foundation
sarah@waubrafoundation.com.au

NOTES:

(1) See below.

(2) http://stopthesethings.com/2013/01/10/wind-energy-and-the-reconstructed-smoking-milk-bottle/

(3) http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;db=COMMITTEES;id=committees/commsen/c400af4f-682e-4745-a5c7-a550b12826a2/0003;query=Id:"committees/commsen/c400af4f-682e-4745-a5c7-a550b12826a2/0000"

(4) “A Cooperative Measurement Survey and Analysis of Low Frequency and Infrasound at the Shirley Wind Farm in Brown County, Wisconsin” – https://wind-watch.org/doc/?p=3216

List of health practitioners, researchers, and acousticians

Who have investigated or voiced concerns for the health of wind turbine neighbors (in alphabetical order; revised March 10, 2013). Apologies to those not mentioned here; please advise us of errors and omissions at dmette@epaw.org.

1. Professor Mariana Alves Pereira, Biomechanical Engineer (Portugal, 2007)
2. Dr Ian Arra, Public Health Physician (Canada, 2013)
3. Mr Stephen Ambrose, Noise Engineer (USA, 2011)
4. Associate Professor Jeffrey Aramini, Epidemiologist (Canada, 2010)
5. Dr Huub Bakker, Engineer, (New Zealand, 2010)
6. Dr Linda Benier, Ear Nose & Throat Specialist (Canada, 2011)
7. Dr Owen Black, Ear Nose & Throat Specialist (USA, 2009)
8. Mr Wade Bray, Noise Engineer (USA, 2011)
9. Professor Arline Bronzaft, Psychologist & Researcher (US, 2010)
10. Dr Christian Buhl, Institute of Biomedicine, Aarhus University (Denmark)
11. Dr Nuno Castelo Branco, Pathologist (Portugal, 2007)
12. Dr Micheal Cooke, General Practitioner (Ireland, 2012)
13. Mr Steven Cooper, Acoustician (Australia, 2011)
14. Dr Herb Coussos, Medical Practitioner (US, 2010)
15. Dr R Crunkhorne, Ear Nose & Throat Specialist (UK, 2013)
16. Mrs Jane Davis, Nurse (UK, 2010)
17. Professor Phillip Dickinson, Acoustician (New Zealand, 2009)
18. Associate Professor Con Doolan, Mechanical Engineer (Australia, 2012)
19. Mr Chuck Ebbing, Noise Engineer (USA. 2013)
20. Dr Alun Evans, Epidemiologist (Ireland, 2011)
21. Dr Amir Farboud, Ear Nose & Throat Specialist (UK, 2013)
22. Professor Jerome Haller, Neurology and Paediatrics (US, 2008)
23. Dr Chris Hanning, Sleep Physician (UK, 2010)
24. Professor Colin Hansen, Mechanical Engineer, Low-Frequency Noise & Vibration (Australia, 2010)
25. Professor John Harrison, Physicist (Canada, 2010)
26. Dr Amanda Harry, Rural Medical Practitioner (UK, 2003),
27. Professor Henry Horn, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (US, 2008)
28. Mr Richard Horonjeff, Acoustician (USA, 2010)
29. Mr Les Huson, Acoustician (Australia, 2011)
30. Dr David Iser, Rural Medical Practitioner (Australia, 2004),
31. Associate Professor Rick James, Noise Engineer (USA, 2009)
32. Dr Roy Jeffrey, Rural Medical Practitioner (Canada, 2010)
33. Dr Mauri Johansson, Occupational Physician (Denmark, 2012)
34. Mr George Kamperman, Noise Engineer (USA, 2009)
35. Professor Ralph Katz, Epidemiologist (US, 2008)
36. Dr Noel Kerin, Occupational Physician (Canada, 2010)
37. Professor Nicholas Kouwen, Environmental Engineer (Canada, 2013)
38. Ms Carmen Krogh, Pharmacist, Researcher (Canada, 2009)
39. Dr Eckhard Kuck, Oral Surgeon (Germany, 2012)
40. Dr Nicole Lachat, Biologist (Switzerland, 2011)
41. Dr Sarah Laurie, Former Rural Medical Practitioner (Australia, 2010)
42. Dr David Lawrence, Rural Medical Practitioner (USA, 2012)
43. Professor Joel Lehrer, Earn Noise & Throat Specialist (US, 2008)
44. Dr Lu Lombardi, Medical Practitioner, Ontario (Canada, 2010)
45. Dr Hazel Lynn, Medical Officer of Health, Grey/Bruce County, Ontario (Canada, 2012)
46. Dr Robert McMurtry, Former Dean of Medical & Dental School, University of Western Ontario (Canada, 2010)
47. Mr Peter Mitchell, Engineer, Founder and Chairman of Waubra Foundation (Australia, 2010)
48. Dr Andja Mitric Andjic, Rural Medical Practitioner (Australia, 2011)
49. Dr Sarah Myhill, Rural Medical Practitioner, Wales (UK, 2012)
50. Professor Henrik Møller, Acoustician, Aalborg University (Denmark, 2011)
51. Dr Michael Nissenbaum, Medical Practitioner (US, 2010)
52. Mr Bill Palmer, Engineer (Canada, 2010)
53. George Papadopoulos, Pharmacist (Australia, 2011)
54. Dr Helen Parker, Psychologist (US, 2011)
55. Dr Eja Pedersen, Medical Sociologist (Sweden, 2006)
56. Professor Carl Phillips, Epidemiologist (USA, 2010)
57. Dr Robyn Phipps, Researcher (NZ, 2007)
58. Dr Nina Pierpont, PhD, MD, Specialist Paediatrician, Fellow, American Academy of Paediatrics (US, 2009)
59. Dr Peter Prinds, Physician (Denmark)
60. Mr Jerry Punch, Audiologist (USA, 2013)
61. Mr Rob Rand, Noise Engineer (USA, 2011)
62. Mr Bruce Rapley, Scientist (NZ, 2013)
63. Dr Sandy Reider, Medical Practitioner (USA, 2013)
64. Linda J Rogers, Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner (Canada, 2013)
65. Professor Alec Salt, Neurophysiologist (USA, 2010)
66. Associate Professor Vivi Schlunssen, Occupational Physician (Denmark, 2012)
67. Mrs Norma Schmidt, Retired Nurse (Canada, 2010)
68. Dr Paul Schomer, Noise Engineer (USA, 2012)
69. Professor Christian Sejer Pedersen, Acoustician (Denmark, 2011)
70. Dr Daniel Shepherd, Psychologist, Psychoacoustician (New Zealand, 2010)
71. Dr Wayne Spring, Sleep Physician (Australia, 2011)
72. Mr Mike Stigwood, Acoustician (UK)
73. Dr Scott Taylor, Rural Medical Practitioner (Australia, 2011)
74. Dr Henning Theorell, Medical Practitioner (Sweden, 2012)
75. Dr Bob Thorne, Psychoacoustician (Australia, NZ)
76. Mr Peter Trask, Psychologist (Australia, 2012)
77. Dr A Trinidade, Ear Nose & Throat Specialist (UK, 2013)
78. Dr Alan Watts, Rural Medical Practitioner (Australia, 2011)
79. Dr Colleen Watts, Scientist, former Board Member of New South Wales EPA (Australia, 2011)
80. Associate Professor Libby Wheatley, Medical Sociologist (USA, 2012)