2 reasons against turbines in county
Kokomo Tribune | November 26, 2013 | www.kokomotribune.com
People say the reasons those who do not want industrial wind turbines around them base their reasons on emotions. The reasons for not wanting industrial turbines around us aren’t emotional. There’re long lists of hard facts and common sense arguments against placing these in populated areas. Two of those were brought out by the recent storm.
The paper reported last week of a recently approved countywide warning system to warn all residents of Howard County regarding severe weather. However, those living around turbines won’t easily be getting these warnings due to a natural phenomena called “multipath.”
A signal being transmitted to any given receiver, be it TV, radio, storm radio or cellphone comes to you in multiple paths from many directions, like light from a bulb. It isn’t a single signal. The blades of the huge rotating turbines cause reflection to the multiple paths of warning signals aimed towards you. If the blades are turning, which they will in a storm, they will disrupt many of the paths of the signal. This confuses the message to the receiver. Thus we won’t be able to receive clear warnings to take shelter, endangering our lives.
Also, the three 180-foot rotating blades weigh together 10 tons. Under normal conditions they can fly the length of a football field and cut a house or a truck in two. A tornado could cause many turbines to launch their 10 tons of blades even further with disastrous results.
LifeLine helicopters cannot land in areas of turbines. Any serious injury to either residents or those traveling near the turbines won’t have access to quick medical help.
Under normal conditions, TV, radio, Internet and cellphones are disrupted to those living in the midst of turbines, but under storm conditions, this disruption can mean our lives. There are more than 800 homes located in the area designated for turbines in eastern Howard County. Is this what we want for our county, especially when they don’t generate much income for the county?
We are not opposed to wind power. We feel industrial wind turbines don’t belong in populated areas. The above are just two reasons.
Leelia Cornell
Greentown
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/11/26/2-reasons-against-turbines-in-county/