My Next Door Neighbour is a Wind Turbine

One more thing....January 26, 2012

2012-01-26T11:53:00.002-05:00

This is a comment and question for those following. My youngest has had his third nosebleed in a few weeks. He wakes up with them in the morning. It is not particularly dry in the house, and he has never had them before. I am hoping this is not another side effect. Has anyone else had similar issues?

January 25th, 2012 - I am worried

2012-01-25T13:32:00.002-05:00

Hello. I haven't blogged for quite sometime...I have been trying (unsuccessfully) to live life without constantly thinking about the turbines outside of our home and the consequences of them that we are forced to live with. I am blogging today for a few reasons, just things I think you should know if you are following, things that might help someone else out there to know they are not alone...
First, the turbines are louder than I have ever heard them this past few weeks. Or, maybe I had just forgotten how loud they can be on a winter, windy day. My headaches are unbelievable, no one in the house is sleeping, and there is no sign of this changing anytime in the near future. It doesn't help that another project went up to the front of our house so now we are surrounded. This means no rest from them, even when the wind changes direction...used to be that at least they were quieter when the winds switched, now we get it from all sides...
Which brings me to my second concern, my oldest is getting headaches. He came home from school early last Friday due to a headache (mine was also especially bad that day and my husband had one also - the turbines the night before were incredibly loud), and he complained of a headache again yesterday (coincidentally, the night before last, I was unable to sleep until 6am due to an uneasy feeling I find difficult to describe that comes from inside when the turbines are especially bad), he had not slept well and NO, I don't believe it is a coincidence, that was a little sarcasm. I hate to think it, but I think my oldest son is starting to get the same headaches I get. And lastly, with regards to my boys, both are not sleeping well at all. They wake up several times each night, when the turbines are loud. They become upset sometimes and often can not get back to sleep without comforting and usually me sleeping with them.
The message from this is - if you have children, especially if you have children, or if you know someone with children who is considering moving close to a turbine, or allowing one on their property - STOP THEM! We don't know what the outcome of these steel monsters being put so close to homes is going to be long term, all I can do is hope that there are no significant long term side affects and try to warn others....but you can stop people. I don't mean to sound dramatic, but I am afraid for my family - and yours too...
I get angry just typing about it, but I had to post these new developments. I know many have stopped following the blog, but if it helps just one person, it's worth it.
take care,
Nikki

Renovations - Was it worth it?

2010-11-21T01:50:00.002-05:00

Hi all, Sorry I haven't written lately. I know a lot of you are waiting to hear if the massive renovation we undertook has had any affect on the turbines. The easy answer is, I am not sure.
We are not quite finished the renovation, including the cocking of windows, a few areas for insulation, and a very small portion of the siding. We have been working many extra hours to help pay for the greatly overbudget renovation, so I have not had a lot of time to blog....

This is what I do know.... When renovating, we also did some work on the foundations of the building, I believe that this has greatly assisted with the vibration within our home. I have not had the "vibration" feeling for quite some time while in the house. While I have had some minor feelings of "dizziness", or a "sea legs" type feeling, I am so excited that the mysterious vibrations and heart palpitations seem to be lessened greatly. Unfortunately, I am not sure if that is attributed to the renovation, the fact that I am home far less(therefore less exposure), or because we have not really hit the winter yet and this is when I found it the worst last year. It is unfortunate that even on a nice day we are unable to open our windows because the turbines can not be silenced when the windows are open, or in the yard....

As for the noise, it does seem to be greatly lessened when the windows are closed, etc. in the house. We are sleeping better, however, we often wake with extremely dry tired eyes, and also we all still seem to feel unrested, even after a long night of sleep.

I guess it remains to be seen what happens from here, especially with the new turbines going in out front of the house - we will now be suffering from every angle....

November 16th - media release

2010-11-21T01:44:00.004-05:00

Dr. Sarah Laurie (from Australia) attended the health symposium in Picton. For those who are unaware, The Society for Wind Vigilance Health Symposium was held in Picton at the end of October 2010. For more information visit the society website....

November 16, 2010

Media Release

Doctor Advises Clean Energy Council to Admit Adverse Health Effects of Wind Turbines

Former Rural GP, Dr Sarah Laurie condemned a report released by the Clean Energy Council last week as lacking integrity for not admitting that some rural Australians are indeed becoming very ill, when they live or work adjacent to wind turbines.

“The major issue for families living in the vicinity of wind turbines is noise for extended periods of time leading to chronic sleep deprivation, which itself is associated with all sorts of health problems including heart disease, high blood pressure, suppressed immunity, difficulties concentrating and depression” said Dr Laurie.

The Clean Energy Council commissioned SONUS report acknowledged that complaints generally relate to concerns regarding noise and health related impacts.

Dr Laurie is now the Medical Director of the Waubra Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation committed to the independent study of health effects of wind turbines on rural communities.

The foundation is concerned at the absence of any published independent peer reviewed studies showing wind turbines are actually safe in close proximity to people over the longer term.

There is however, mounting evidence across the world that these turbines do cause major health problems, identical to those described by Dr Nina Pierpont and Dr Michael Nissenbaum at an international conference in Canada in October attended by Dr Laurie.

“I have now interviewed over 40 people in rural Australia who have been affected by wind turbines, with the same symptoms”.

“The reality for some neighbours of wind turbines in Australia is that they become extremely unwell. Some have been forced to leave their family homes, farms and livelihoods as they can no longer work their land. Others are unable to leave, as their main asset is their house and land, which becomes unsaleable” said Dr Laurie.

The SONUS report states that only a few field studies on noise annoyance among people living close to turbines have been conducted and further investigations have been recommended.

The Waubra Foundation believes there is an urgent need for independent academic acoustic and medical research into this important area before more turbines are constructed close to people's homes and workplaces.

“We call on the government and the wind industry to commit to funding these independent studies without delay” concluded Dr Laurie.

Contact Dr Sarah Laurie 08 8636 2051 or 0439 865 914

Here we go...

2010-09-22T19:48:00.001-04:00

Just a quick note to say that last night the turbines were LOUD! My poor husband had to sleep with the radio on, and overslept thanks to a lack of actual sleep during the night!!! We did have the windows open due to the nice weather, but hopefully at least in the winter we will be able to close everything up and get some sleep....

Friday, September 10th

2010-09-10T13:17:00.002-04:00

Last night the turbines were not noticeable at all, thankfully. I woke up feeling more rested and not stiff and sore. It would be nice if this continues...I understand that our premier was not too happy to be approached by those against wind turbines - this is a "Green" project and it looks to me like he refuses to discuss any possibility of problems. http://www.thestar.com/News/Ontario/article/858614

Here's something interesting, a women informed me last evening that she tried to find out exactly how many turbines were "needed", "wanted", "planned" for Ontario and can not get an answer. As I look at the more than 20 I can see just from my windows, I wonder also - When is enough, enough?

Nik

September 4th, I may have spoke too soon

2010-09-04T22:33:00.002-04:00

It is 10:30pm Saturday night. The kids are asleep and although I tried to sleep as well, I am up - Again... This past 4 days has brought back all of the memories of the difficulties that the windmills can cause. I was actually starting to hope that we had grown accustomed to them, or that they were fixed, or that by some miracle things had changed. Until now.
On the 31st of August, Tuesday, the turbines were as loud as I have ever heard them. Not even like a plane, more like an unimaginably huge fan in the field. More than the usual woosh, it was amplified, so loud, almost like something from a movie. Then on Wednesday, I noticed they were loud still, but quieter, back to "normal", not like the loudest I had heard them the day before. Still, even though they seemed to quiet slightly after 9pm, I found I could not sleep. My glands on my right side of the throat felt swollen, my eyes extremely dry feeling, and my ear hurt slightly.
By Thursday, after having hardly any sleep, and I am sure no REM sleep at all, I felt Tired, my body felt weighed down, my limbs heavy, the pain in my neck and ear worsened but there were no signs of illness or infection. These feeling continued to Friday and it's difficult to explain, but I felt Nothing. No motivation, no real feelings of any kind, just kind of going through the motions of the day with difficulty. No desire to "do" anything. With regards to work, I had big plans to finish some calls, paperwork and organizing in the office this week in preparation for what I hope will be a very successful September. These plans were so important to me the week before, and are again now, however, during these past days, nothing seemed important - I just wanted to sit, not think, just sleep - this is very strange for me as I am usually very motivated and always moving and busy. Even when the children asked me to play or do something for them, it was with great difficulty that I was able to fulfill their needs, and I left the entertaining up to the television and dad because I just couldn't get enough energy up to really "do" anything. And so I slept. I slept almost all day. Again, I had been unable to sleep the night before, but I just slept on Saturday. On and off, I continued to be needed for things, but as soon as I could, I just went back to bed and slept more. I felt a bit guilty for my behaviour, but honestly nothing really mattered but that much needed sleep. I tried a few times to clean up the house, or do the dishes, or work in the office but literally just couldn't. I couldn't concentrate, couldn't be physical, I just felt so tired. I really can not explain it with words.

Today, Saturday Sept 4th was much, much better. The worst symptom I felt today was that my eyes felt 'scratchy'. Dry, like they have little pieces of glass in them that rub when you blink, I guess that describes the feeling pretty good. Funny thing is that my husband left the house first thing this morning and called me a few hours later to say that he could still feel that uneasiness, that "spinning" feeling even long after he left the house. He too has had the "dry eyes" the past few days, and last night slept with a CD playing loudly beside him while he slept in order to drown out the turbines. I think this past few days is the worst either of us can remember - or maybe we have forgotten just how bad it was last year in our efforts to be optimistic. Because I slept most of the day yesterday and most of the night last night I was able to function today. Still, not very motivated, I forced myself to get things done. Laundry, housecleaning, back to school preparation, feeding the kids, playing with them, even some work in the office and some correspondence, and even, this blog now. It was windy today, very windy at times, perhaps too windy for the turbines. I could not sleep tonight, but honestly, I could not hear the turbines as on Saturday nights we can hear the Buxton raceway and that sound is what I heard through the bedroom window. It's funny, I actually find the distant sound of roaring motors less annoying than the turbines. Maybe it's because I know at 11pm it will end until next week. Maybe it's because the roaring engines are not accompanied by the spinning feeling, by the aches and pains, and, I can fall asleep when I hear them - most nights, except tonight and I think that is due to the turbines playing havoc on my body, and not the sound of the cars which I honestly barely notice.

We still have our windows open, at least some of them, so it remains to be seen whether the house closed up for winter will shield us from the turbines. After this past few days, I am skeptical and worried. I don't know how we can live with the turbines if they affect us this way. My business, I work from home, suffered greatly last year in comparison from the previous year in large part due to the many, many days that I felt drained, unmotivated, tired, sore eyes and limbs. I need to work. We need my income. I choose to work from home. Is it fair that this choice may be taken away from me?

As I sit now in the office, windows in this room closed, ceiling fan turning and the sound of my typing, I can not hear the turbines or any other noise from outside. If I listen closely, I think I can hear the raceway, but really no sounds from outside. I am not sure if the turbines are turning right now but I am guessing they are because I can feel a pressure in my head, like a headache coming on, and a tightness in my upper back and shoulders. This usually signals that they are turning. I will go to a window and check.......Yep. At the open window I can definately hear the turbines turning. They are not overly loud at this moment, but consistent. Turning at a pretty good rate. I guess I should be glad that it is chilly and I can shut some of the windows, but my mind keeps wondering what will happen this fall/winter? Will it get worse? Will we be forced from our home like so many before us? We will fight that all the way. We will do everything in our power to combat the symptoms and make our home liveable, but, what if?

If anyone with any say whatsoever is reading this blog, please find a way to place these turbines farther from homes, businesses, and schools. If they are to be a part of our future, then at least put them far enough away that they are not deteriorating quality of life for so many people.

Guess that's it for today. Be happy and healthy. Nik

Monday August 30th - Things that make you go "hmmm"

2010-08-30T12:00:00.002-04:00

It's almost the end of August...We are finished the outer renovation with a few minor details remaining...we are working now on the inside, and yes, we are broke! Ha,ha, okay, not really, but WOW! what an expensive endeavour this turned out to be - between the re-enforcements, the rounded siding, the steel roof and the extreme amount of insulation - I think we have a turbine proof fortress now! It makes me wonder - if we have to spend all this money to continue to be happy and healthy in our homes, why is it that none of the turbines were turning yesterday?? What I mean by that is that I was driving back from camping along Lake Erie from Wheatley to our home (towards Blenheim) and not a single wind turbine was operating. How can this possibly be? I thought these metal giants were supposed to be Green, Energy producing wonderful machines of the future? And yet, not one was turning yesterday, production of electricity - Zero......Hmmmmm.

Another funny thing, my parents visited for a week from the 18th to the 26th. While he was here, my dad said he slept great but he felt tired, not quite himself, worn out... the same things I describe feeling when I am in this house too much! In fact, since I was around the house a lot that week, I too felt exhausted even though I should have been well rested based on the hours of sleep I received. I haven't asked my father if he has felt better upon returning home yet, but I sure noticed that being gone for three days camping this weekend made all the difference for me! The first day, same feelings, second day, feeling better and by the third day when we came home, I'd had less sleep the night before and felt more alive and awake than I have in a long time - likely since the last time I travelled and slept away from home, It's a bit like finding the fountain of youth - leave home for a few days and get away from the turbines....HMMMMM....Things that make you go hmmmm.

A little update. The turbines have been about the same, turning slowly or not at all, not as noticeable with the protection of the leaves on the trees. I truly hope that this fall we find that our renovations were all worth it and that our home is livable. On a good note though, there are so many skeptics out there who think we are all "making up" these symptoms. I am sure someone will buy the house even after I share my blog with them. Why wouldn't they, after all, I am just "making it up" because I don't "handle change well"...Hmmmmm

Wishing you all a Wonderful Day!

Nik

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

2010-08-11T14:43:00.002-04:00

I have not blogged for quite some time...we are still in the midst of renovations to combat the noise and vibration from the turbines that are so close to our home. I must say that July and August have been much better. Unfortunately, we won't really know the affects of the renovation until the fall months. You see, like today, during these months the turbines tend to run slower, so, of course, less noise and vibration. Also, during these months, the trees that surround the rear of our home are filled with leaves and we believe this creates a bit of a sound barrier for us. We are very worried about the change in weather and the leaves coming off the trees later this year though. You see, not only do we have the previous turbines to contend with that sit to the rear and side of our home - we now have several others at the front of our home! We fear there will be no relief from the turbines this winter even when the wind is changing direction since we are now surrounded by them.
The landscape is horrible! I used to like the site of them, small lines of them in a few places lined up in the horizon. But, now in our area, you see them scattered throughout the horizon with no pattern, no thought to the scenery, just popped up here and there, wherever permission could be given to erect them.
I must say that this month I am finally beginning to feel like my old self again, with very little turbine activity and the fact that I have not been home very much, I feel more rested. No headaches. Less irritable, more at ease. I hope this continues and that our worries are over, actually, more than hope. I pray.
I still wonder about the affect the turbines have on my children's growing bodies and brains. Still hopeful that they have adjusted to it and will not again experience side affects this winter. My youngest still suffers from itchy skin and rashes, but to a far less degree than the pictures shown earlier in my blog (pictures of his unidentifiable rash, that doctor's could not explain).
Our renovation is nearly complete, and I truly believe that the size, solidness and outer materials and insulation will assist us with the vibration and noise - when we have everything closed up. I do not know how we will do when we are outside or when our windows are open.
Due to the renovations we have been forced to make so that we would not have to leave our home as so many others have, we have gone without proper heat in the winter (the roof was open for a while waiting on contractors) and without air conditioning this summer. I have enjoyed having the windows open, with the exception of when the turbines are spinning and then we still hear them.
Last week, or maybe it was the week before we were out on the deck in the evening and could hear a definite problem with one of the turbines. A whining sound, something wrong in the gears perhaps? Likely from lightening...with all of the storms we had here in July, we saw lightening being attracted to all of the surrounding turbines like bugs to light. It was scary to watch and a bit unnerving to see and hear lightening cracks so close to our bedroom window. We lost our Internet connection twice this season due to lightening striking so close to our airnet connection and we have to replace our router. We have had many phone issues, and television issues, as well as problems with other electronics such as the Wii game my kids love. The biggest burden of all is financial. This renovation has cost us so much more than we ever intended it to. The lumber, insulation, siding and roof added up so quickly. If it were not for the turbines, we would never have undertaken this big project at this time. Once started, we were committed, and now we both work constantly to try to pay the bills created - a debt that will be with us for quite some time. It doesn't seem fair that the wind companies and municipality are profiting while all we face is expense after expense and fear of ongoing health issues. I guess it is true that some people are expendable and you can not depend on your government, or anyone else to protect you from the politics of the world. Y'know it wouldn't be so bad if I believed this was the way of the future and that wind turbines would assist to "save the earth", but the more I read and learn, the more I can see that the "green" argument is not a good one for turbines and they do not contribute. They have not created jobs here. The only winners in this equation are the wind companies and the govt's. Even the people who are being paid now to have them on their land, even the ones who are not currently complaining of noise or health issues, will eventually be hurt as well when they are shut down and the landowner is faced with the huge cost of removing them - as stated in most contracts. These landowners have been used and I fear in the end will suffer just as we are now. It is truly a shame.

But, today is quiet. I feel good. My kids are at camp - safe. It is a good day.
I hope this peace continues. I hope this renovation was worth it and that we can stay in our home this winter and that we can share our success with others who are suffering.

A big thank you to all of you who continue to send me information and check in to see how we are doing. Your thoughtfulness is appreciated. Especially since at this point I can not even get a response from the wind company or the MOE. I will post some new pictures soon and try to keep you updated when, and if, we notice changes.
Nik

May 30th - Check out this blog ....I could have written the May 23rd entry!!!

2010-05-30T20:17:00.003-04:00

I must admit, I have not had a chance to read the entire blog...but this opening description intrigued me and I can certainly empathize with this family....

"we would like our blog readers to know that we are not angry people that go around all day bashing renewable resources. we love life, our neighbors, and people who don't necessarily agree with us. we count our blessings and life goes on. we are not going against the aesthetics of windmills, we are calling for increased setbacks because of constant noise and other issues. we are a small family going up against a very large company who have hired experts to support many of their misleading statements. we are the experts now, because we live with the turbines. 1400 feet is way too close! we would like wind companies, state representatives, county boards, landowners, planning and zoning committees, etc... to realize that they need to make larger setbacks so other residents can be
spared from the issues we (and so many others) are enduring.
thank you for reading."

Our Life with DeKalb Wind Turbines
http://lifewithdekalbturbines.blogspot.com/

I COULD HAVE WRITTEN THE FOLLOWING ENTRY...I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF THESE PEOPLE, AND THIS POST LOOKS AND FEELS LIKE SOMETHING I COULD HAVE ENTERED ON MY BLOG!!!! HOW CAN WIND DEVELOPERS AND POLITICIANS SAY THERE IS NO PROOF....THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING...HOW CAN SO MANY SO FAR APART HAVE THE EXACT SAME COMPLAINTS AND DESCRIPTIONS!!!???!!! TIME TO WAKE UP AND "FEEL THE VIBRATION", SO TO SPEAK....

Sunday, May 23, 2010
Sound is horrible today
it's Sunday afternoon, 89 degrees, winds SSW at 17mph. the sound is horrible today and turbine number 30 is whistling again. we were outside on the front porch and had to come in because of the noise. sitting at the computer now typing this out and can still hear the sound through the walls. it is so upsetting to our family that this is happening. we're going to have to move someday. we are being forced to move from our dream home that we designed and built (with our own hands), the home we brought all our babies home from the hospital, the home that is close to our family/friends/and neighbors, the home where we have created such great family memories, the home that is close to a wonderful school where we volunteer and our children attend....HOW COULD WE POSSIBLY PUT A PRICE ON OUR HOME? we wish the turbines could just be turned off. we could deal with what they look like, just turn them off. we reported this disturbance to the Next Era hotline and the planning and zoning office of dekalb county. this is a noise that NO ONE should have to live with. it's heartbreaking that the wind industry misleads voting members in saying that turbines don't affect people. we are proof that they do! wind companies who are reading this, please tell the truth in your presentations to county board members, landowners, residents, etc... we agree, yes they can sound like a light swishing, babbling brooke, a refrigerator as you claim. but, the reality is that they don't always sound like that. most of the time they sound like jet plane engines in your yard and in your home. the quality of sound and low frequency hum is a nuissance that no one should live with. as a side note....say they did sound like a refrigerator all the time (which they don't)....who would want to sleep next to their refrigerator, bike and walk next to one, have a refrigerator running next to you as you push your child on the swingset, listen to a refrigerator as you sit on the front porch...and so on. that would be a nuissance....to ANYONE! these turbines are way too close to homes. we are calling for the wind companies to be honest in their presentations to county board members, planning and zoning committees, residents, landowners, etc. we heard 2 presentations last week from 2 different wind companies claiming the same thing...very minimal sound. live with them for a month and you will know what we're talking about!

May 29th - two nights of the BEST sleep!!!

2010-05-29T20:59:00.002-04:00

Thursday night was an amazing night sleep for all of us! The wind was from the North which is unusual, and not extremely heavy but just enough to enjoy a great breeze through the house. We were actually able to open our windows and take advantage of the breeze and not hear the turbines. They were not turning much, and the wind was in a better direction for us as far as noise goes...I think we all had the best sleep we have had at home in probably over a year!!! Last night was almost as good....Too bad we couldn't keep these conditions, but soon, we will have to close up the house tight as can be in a feeble attempt to block the noise of our "monster neighbors"... In the mean time, the windows open upstairs is amazing and wonderful - imagine, a world where you could sleep with your windows open in the country and not have to hear the sounds of giant mechanical monsters in the distance....I wonder if our children's children will ever know what silence truly is? Or, will our world be so determined to "advance" technology at the cost of beauty, nature and even human well-being that peaceful country evenings on the porch watching the sun go down will be something only seen in old movies or read in historical books....???? That is a sad, sad, thought.....G'night....Nik

May 27 - Debate on effects of wind turbines still raging on

2010-05-27T12:18:00.002-04:00

May 27th - we did not sleep at home last night so I am not sure how the turbines were, but thankfully, the night before they were not running or if they were, very slowly and quietly so nothing new to report, however, please read the article from the Daily News below and also, Read the letter I have been given permission to share written by Barb A to Dr. King after her report came out. A great letter in my opinion with many, many valid points..

Debate on effects of wind turbines still raging on
Posted By DANIEL PEARCE, QMI AGENCY
Chatham Daily News Article May 26

The controversy over whether industrial wind turbines can make people who live near them sick just won't go away.

Last week, Ontario's chief medical officer of health declared them safe. Well, not so much safe as not proven dangerous.

"According to the scientific evidence, there isn't any direct casual link between wind turbine noise and adverse health effects," Dr. Arlene King announced in a media release.

There's a lot of wiggle room in that statement.

Somebody standing before a judge could be guilty of a crime they are charged with but is set free because it can't be proved.

The fact that the turbines could be harmful hasn't been ruled out. Their harmfulness just can't be proven.

Rather than toning down the debate going on in Norfolk County about the wind farm in the far southwest corner of the municipality, King's report is only going to rev it up.

A group of people living in the former Houghton Township area continues to insist the windmills that have gone up in their area over the past few years are making them sick.

It's easy to dismiss their charges. People become ill, especially as they get older. Headaches? Dizziness? Sleeplessness? These things happen to people all the time.

But if you listen to their stories, something disturbing starts to emerge. Outspoken critic Stephana Johnston insists her problems disappear once she leaves her Lakeshore Road home to sleep in a room she rents in Delhi. Another woman offers a sober, detailed account of the problems she faces: the low level noise from the propeller blades of surrounding turbines, she says, creates vibrations in her house and in her body.

On the surface, it may sound far-fetched, but a Portugese study concluded the phenomenon does happen and is harmful. Vibrations can be set off inside body cavities and soft organs damaged. Their study is referred to in King's report and dismissed.

"This finding has not been recognized by the international medical and scientific
community," her report notes. "This research group also hypothesized that a family living near wind turbines will develop vibro-acoustic disease from exposure to low frequency sound, but has not provided evidence to support this."

Whether or not turbines are a health hazard is an important question for Norfolk County. The province announced recently that another group of turbines are set to go up in the other end of the county east of Port Dover as part of a vast collection of wind and solar farms extending into Haldimand County.

You can say the science doesn't support that turbines are sickening people. But the anecdotal evidence continues to pile up that they are.

What's needed is a scientific report stating clearly and unequivocally that wind turbines are not harmful -- end of story.

Until then, we should all remain skeptical. And our elected officials should join the other municipalities in Ontario that are calling for a moratorium on the building of any new turbines.

More studies need to be done before we can say for sure they are safe.

LETTER TO DR. ARLENE KING FROM ORANGEVILLE RESIDENT BARB A

May 24, 2010

Dr. King,

I have corresponded with your office since January of this year. I asked for your help. I asked you to please respond to the many victims in this province who are suffering and being forced to leave their homes since the start up of wind turbines and substations that are situated too close to their homes.

You claim there is no causal link. How can you call a developer shutting down turbines to alleviate the noise not a causal link? How can you call a house that is audibly humming and vibrating not a causal link? How can you justify an MOE representative admitting there is a 160 hertz tonal noise being emitted from an entire wind farm, which I have been told is very disturbing to the human body, not a causal link? How can you call a developer sending families to live in a motel not causal link? How can you call families that were happy and healthy, some in their homes for decades but now broken up, in distress and unable to sleep in their own homes not a causal link? How can you call hundreds of people across this province and around this entire world that are experiencing identical symptoms since the start up of the wind farms around their homes not a causal link?

To my knowledge, you have not talked to any of the victims. You have not started at the most obvious place to start. Dr. Hazel Lynn of the Grey-Bruce Public health office held two open houses to discuss this topic. One was held in Owen Sound and the other in Walkerton. She invited Dr. Ray Copes. At these two open houses, victims who were able to attend and speak out, lined up at the microphones to tell the public health office what was happening to them and they were asking for help. We all thought that we were finally going to have someone who cares about our health listen to us and help us. We had lost faith in every other ministry involved in this policy but we thought you would listen. You listened alright, and then you ignored.

Is it your mandate to protect and prevent harm to our health? If so, you have not done the job you are supposed to do, just as the rest of the ministries, who for some reason have been silent or have deliberately fed people misleading information, have not done their jobs. If not, then you should not have put this report out under your office's name.

You have just thrown well over 100 victims in rural Ontario under the bus in your allegiance to your Premier. You have also put more people clearly in the path of harm in future wind farms by issuing this report. Is this the legacy that you wanted attached to your career? Is this what you want people to remember when they hear your name? This should be an embarrassment for those who participated in drafting this report. No one in this province will ever trust any of you again.

We heard many times at the beginning of your department’s involvement that renewable energy project health consequences were not included in the mandate of the public health office. Your staff literally did not know what to do with complaints.

I quote:

“I empathize with your concern about the neighboring wind turbines and the ineffectiveness of various agencies to legitimize your grievance. Unfortunately your request that our public health unit be able to take some action on this matter does not align with the current reality. I apologize for any false impressions I may have relayed to you about any type of regulatory capacity we may have but to do so would only give you false hope and perhaps undermine any legitimate avenue of appeal you are trying to seek through the appropriate provincial agency or court action.

Our public health unit does not have the recourse, resources or expertise to monitor the health effects of turbines and seek the type of remedy you are looking for. To circumvent or intervene with the processes already in place, however, would be foolhardy and wasteful on our part given our mandate.

I am sorry that you feel you have been undermined by these very processes but we are unequivocal in our principles to fully practice protecting the public’s health in an effective manner with the tools and guidelines we have. To stray from this course, by pursuing such avenues, would be highly problematic for effectively serving the public in accordance with our public health protocols and directives.” April, 2009

I know that this general message has also been expressed to others. If this is not in your departments mandate then you should have stepped down from any involvement in this and passed it to someone who could do a proper investigation.

This report implies that industrial wind turbine installations are not causing residents adverse health effects. This is shameful and misleading.You cleverly conclude that wind turbines do not cause hearing impairment. It appears you are trying to confuse the public, by adding an irrelevant issue to the issues that they are trying to understand. How could you dismiss so many people and render them invisible? Why would your department completely ignore the precautionary principle and the voices that have been pleading for help from this government? Shame on you as a doctor and shame on you as a person.

I have included in this letter the conclusions of your literature review. As follows:

The following are the main conclusions of the review and consultation on the health impacts of wind turbines:

• While some people living near wind turbines report symptoms such as dizziness, headaches, and sleep disturbance, the scientific evidence available to date does not demonstrate a direct causal link between wind turbine noise and adverse health effects.

• The sound level from wind turbines at common residential setbacks is not sufficient to cause hearing impairment or other direct adverse health effects. However, some people might find it annoying. It has been suggested that annoyance may be a reaction to the characteristic “swishing” or fluctuating nature of wind turbine sound rather than to the intensity of sound.

• Low frequency sound and infrasound from current generation upwind model turbines are well below the pressure sound levels at which known health effects occur. Further, there is no scientific evidence to date that vibration from low frequency wind turbine noise causes adverse health effects.

• Community engagement at the outset of planning for wind turbines is important and may alleviate health concerns about wind farms.

• Concerns about fairness and equity may also influence attitudes towards wind farms and allegations about effects on health. These factors deserve greater attention in future developments.

Can you really dismiss the low frequency issues when your fellow ministries have admitted they don’t even know how to measure it? Again, you are confusing the public. Unfortunately it is the victims of these vibrations that are the most knowledgeable and experienced at this, but sadly, you failed to ask them about it.

You suggest that community engagement may alleviate health concerns? How? How does that stop noise, low frequency vibration and dirty electricity from bombarding ones home and body?

My husband had just finished building his dream shop. We were building it as the turbines were being erected. I was gleefully taking photos of each. We did not anticipate any problems and we had certainly not heard about all of the problems in previous installations because many of those people had been silenced. How dare you imply to the public reading your conclusions that my husband and I would not have had problems had we been more involved in the process. How dare you imply that a small child who is howling with earaches when she lives in her home and that are relieved when she is taken out of her home, is angry because she has been left out of the process. Your insults are not taken lightly by the residents of this province.

In the Toronto Star newspaper, May 21st, 2010 you said:

“There are no direct links between wind turbines and adverse health impacts,” King said in an interview. “This variety of symptoms can be caused by a variety of different factors. It is important if individuals have symptoms or concerns (that they) be assessed by their physicians.”

How can patients be properly assessed by their physicians when you have broadly and publicly told doctors that their symptoms are not being caused by industrial wind turbine facilities? By this statement you have jeopardized every victim in getting help. If you have not talked to any victims or completed any ground studies then this statement to the press is inappropriate.

you should immediately resign from your position. You have done nothing to protect our health and you have done nothing to investigate valid health concerns.

Barbara Ashbee

ANOTHER Letter to the Editor - when will someone take notice!!!

2010-05-17T15:01:00.000-04:00

Dear editor

As a member of CFFO I felt it important to comment on the recent opinion letter by Nathan Stevens "Sharing the Green energy wealth". I believe CFFO has embarked upon a very slippery slope, to suggest that money can mend the strife between neighbours over wind lease agreements. This clearly is trying to put a Band-Aid on a severed leg. What CFFO is not realizing, is that the damage is done. Like a Stealth bomber, the wind industry for the past 5 to 8 years have wooed almost every Ontario farmer into options and questionable land lease agreements, binding them for the next 40 to 50 years. Now landowners who have signed contracts are realizing that proceeding with these projects is contrary to the wishes of the community. The consequences will be borne for years to come in community relationships, health, viability of neighbouring agricultural operations and legal proceedings. In other areas of Ontario, several landowners who had signed lease agreements are already pursuing options to rescind their contracts for these reasons.

Despite efforts to send information to all three main ag. organizations, nothing can be found which pushes for a proper resolution addressing problems over invasive turbine noise , reduced homeowner property values, wind lease agreements which included the ability to apply construction liens, gag orders or impose provisions for first-rights of refusal and postponement of mortgages. The fact that Industrial Wind lacks economic benefit, all organizations remain silent and instead of doing due diligence, CFFO decides that money is the solution to problems such as envy, disappointment and frustration for neighbours who are the "losers". As a farmer who had the opportunity to host a turbine, this could not be further off the mark and I am deeply disturbed to think that a Christian organization could suggest that money is the solution to the growing opposition to Industrial Wind.

It never ceases to amaze me how so many continue to overlook the other side of Industrial wind development which has caused residents to abandon their homes, cannot prove that it can lower harmful emissions, reduce the mining and burning of coal, lower or stabilize electricity rates, wean us from foreign oil, nor provide a timely and reliable product needed in a modern society. Instead we let ourselves to be mislead by the Wind industry into thinking that the noise is no louder than a refrigerator, or that erecting IWT's will provide a new green economy and jobs. These turbines will do nothing other than provide a superficial feel good gesture, political move for the McGuinty gov't to appear environmentally conscious and an opportunity for developers to make a lot of money off the taxpayer's back. Renewables, especially Industrial Wind, are not proven, effective nor efficient. I don't have the new technology answers, but wholly believe that things like wind energy is not only over subsidized, but subsidized to the point of putting our province at risk of a debt load our children will not be able to support for decades to come. ( estimates of $25 Billion to $80 Billion).

Parallel to the corn ethanol bubble, I believe our governments has created a gold rush INSTEAD of a meaningful impetus to an overall solution regarding our future energy needs. The subsidies the wind industry receives, do not reflect the quality of the energy product, it's proximity to load, transmission congestion constraints, it's ripple effects on the load balancing resources in our grids, it's sprawl factor , nor the value received for the energy tax dollar compared with other technologies. The industry's statements, which have induced these subsidies, constitute fraud in my opinion, and until proof of benefit can be quantified and verified (measured), and people can live safely within project areas, CFFO needs to encourage this McGuinty gov't to cease paying hard earned tax dollars to things like Industrial Wind energy.

Colette McLean

R.R. #5, 1245 Gore Rd

Harrow. Ontario

N0R 1G0

519 738-3356

Sharing of Information - We are not alone!

2010-05-17T14:55:00.001-04:00

Sent: Saturday, March 20, 2010 12:43 PM
Subject: [windconcerns] Letter to Editor

"It may be that the health concerns are overblown. The verdict is still out. But in some respects health issues have become a red herring.
Proponents say it's really about NIMBY: Not in my backyard. The real issue, they say, is "just" esthetics. No landowner wants to stare at a giant turbine as it sits on another landowner's property, smack in the middle of what used to be the view."

Michael Den Tandt, Sun Times Newspaper

Your comments tell me that you don't live near any wind turbines Michael. They also tell me you are uninformed and unconcerned as are many who don't have the prospect of another sleepless night, another unexplained headache that no pill can touch or any other adverse effect that has assaulted families living near turbines. The people in this province who are experiencing debilitating health issues, the same ones who were fine before turbine installations started up nearby, have been publicly revictimized by your flippant remark.

The verdict is absolutely NOT out for these people Michael. They know what is happening to them. They know it's real. They know their body is being assaulted by noise and vibration. So does this government. So does the wind industry proponent.

It's stunning that you call the health issue a "red herring". I see families having to abandon their homes, families being billeted in motels by wind companies, people who've quietly and reluctantly sold a home they've lived in for decades because they can't stand it anymore (and heaven help the poor soul who moved in next), people bringing lawsuit after lawsuit against proponents, people trapped and getting sicker with every day that passes, as an enormous red flag to the people of this province.

Of course proponents say it's NIMBY. Of course you don't expect them to discredit their own product, any more than the tobacco industry would discredit theirs. The wind industry seems to have studied techniques used by the tobacco company. They work very hard to deny problems exist. They use lobbyist language to describe people who are pro health and pro viability; NIMBY, anti wind, detractors and opponents. I see that much of the media simply latches onto these terms,even when they are trying to express concerns with the issue.

Talk to the people who have or are living in a mess of turbines. They'll tell you what's going on. Many of them will tell you they are too damn sick to worry about their view.

As McGuinty plans for several thousand more wind turbines to sit next to several tens of thousands more people, some very close to towns, perhaps the serious health issues will become clearer to those who choose to call it "overblown". I want Ontario families to be healthy and safe. Perhaps a better alternative would be a moratorium on turbines until independent (as opposed to reports and 'studies' paid for and submitted to govt. by the wind industry) studies by health professionals support claims made by this industry that people are not getting hurt. Is that too much to ask for?

Lorrie Gillis

Grey Highlands

Does Anyone know who this resident in Merlin is? I would love to meet him...

2010-05-17T14:43:00.000-04:00

Turbines’ ‘woof’ sound annoying

Credit: The Windsor Star, www.windsorstar.com 14 May 2010

Though I live in Windsor, I have a friend who lives in Merlin. He has three wind turbines directly behind his residence in a field.

While raking his backyard last week, he brought to my attention the noise of these turbines. I listened and heard the low “woof” sound. This was from a mere three turbines.

There are currently 50 built and another 50 are proposed in this area. While speaking of the annoyance, I told him I would never buy a house near a turbine after hearing this.

It’s not like living near a train rail where it occurs once in awhile. This noise occurs all the time.

Though technology wants to move forward, the man’s chances of now selling his home and the value of his home will now be reduced. These issues are not considered when approving these turbines.

I would only believe that if this were done near my investment, I would be looking to be compensated for “my loss.”

Is anyone looking out for these people?

I would hope that the news would be more forthcoming to those who will suffer.

Cynthia Flemming,

Windsor

Wind Turbines; Offensive industrialization of human space

2010-05-17T14:14:00.000-04:00

The list of environmental costs imposed on wildlife and people are now being recognized
Wind Turbines; Offensive industrialization of human space
By Online Monday, July 28, 2008
By: Dr. Brian L. Horejsi, Dr. Barrie K. Gilbert, George Wuerthner

People are barking up the wrong tree by promoting, or succumbing to, wind turbine construction regardless of where it is proposed and how many there might be. Many North Americans are infected with tunnel vision and erroneously appear to believe that turbine generated energy is somehow linked to reversing the growth in and impact of Green House Gas (GHG) emissions.

There exists NO evidence anywhere that Turbine energy is substituting for or displacing fossil fuel dependence, nor is there any evidence that it is in any material way slowing the rate of GHG emission growth. Turbine energy is a non factor in the never ending growth agenda of the fossil fuel industry, and it is not a factor in the agenda of governments promoting growth in and dependence on oil and gas consumption. There can be no better example than North America of the failure of turbine energy to slow growth in anything.

People have been hoodwinked into promoting wind turbine energy as some sort of Nirvana all while human population growth and per capita energy consumption continue to spiral upward. Turbine energy generation is fueling growth in human population and energy consumption and growth in a false “economy”. It is NOT doing the opposite.

Matching the folly of the energy replacement misunderstanding is denial by governments and promoters of the ecological impacts and health effects of turbines; the ugly reality is that they are a serious addition to the industrialization of quiet rural landscapes that people have long valued for quality of life, retirement, and recreation.

The list of environmental costs imposed on wildlife and people are now being recognized; they are far from meaningless, but they have been trivialized by turbine promoters and politicians that have systematically tilted the deck sharply in the developers favor. Environmental costs have been systematically ignored by a political and regulatory system that has corrupted individual and societal freedom and environmental integrity by relegating these values to some distant offshoot of economic growth. These costs, and those who stand by them, are treated with contempt; how dare they influence the decision to grant some landowner a chance to make a buck by carving your backyard and your space into fragments with giant chopping machines?

Wind turbines are an assault on human well being and act to degrade the human “gestalt”. Promotion of wind turbine energy is a case of serious misjudgment by those who fraudulently use green wash to promote their commercial aspirations.

Buried deep within the human genome is an innate recognition and suspicion of monsters – large objects – looming on the horizon. Wind turbines are todays versions of a threatening monster, jammed down the throats of neighbors and localities. 30% of the human cortex occupies itself with processing visual information, far more than any other sense, and nothing delivers a more intrusive and intense visual picture than the tower and blades of wind turbines. Turbines erode freedom of the human mind hour after hour, night after day, virtually forever, like a cell phone ringing incessantly and yet no one is able to turn it off. To many people this intrusion into their physical and physiological space is an insidious form of torment. The mental effect is analogous to the physical effects of a heavy smoker sitting next to you essentially for life!

We do not subscribe to the managerial / market approach to democracy or conservation with its deeply entrenched bias against human values such as an unadulterated horizon. This largely corporate view denigrates the value of freedom of the human spirit – the very pedestal upon which human dignity, character and strength are built.

In an honest and fair regulatory and political environment, local citizens and communities would bury turbine projects long before they get to the serious implementation stage. Once again, however, citizens are being forced to try and employ the very tools that degrade our quality of life and humiliate us as mere pawns of some corporate created market economy. That being the case, it occurs to us that wind turbines wearing eternally on the human psyche, constituting a “taking” by corporate promoters and biased government collaborators; a taking that damages the well being of all residents. We asked ourselves if $1000 payment per person would compensate for the damages imposed on the ever day life of hundreds and thousands of affected citizens? Not even close. Perhaps then, $3000, or $8000? Would that kind of money make up for the forced collapse of part of your quality of life, your loss of right to space, loss of privacy, loss of political power, curbs on your freedom, and the mental and physical costs imposed on you by stress associated with constant angst, irritation and distraction? For some, we suspect yes would be the answer. For others, like those who have lost a child to negligent corporate behavior, been strangled slowly by nicotine, or been poisoned by toxic emissions or effluent, no amount of money can compensate for the deprivation and harm they have and will suffer. Regardless of the compensatory damages you might place on that part of your life lost because of turbine industrialization, should you not be compensated for this taking?

The commercial private sector is forcing itself into your life, and that constitutes a taking of your rights, benefits and well being. We propose that each person impacted by a turbine receive, as a starting point for negotiations, $3000 annually, to be paid by the developer for the loss of private and citizen rights, a very large portion of which includes peace and satisfaction, a critical part of your state of mind. We all know that is a significant part of personal, social and democratic well being. The concept is simple; if the developer and some uncaring land owners want to destroy your rights and those of other citizens, inflicting on you suffering and mental distress, the good old “free” enterprise system developers and local governments love to hide behind, comes into play; they pay to destroy part of your life. There has to be pain and resistance in the system for those who knowingly exploit the public and individual vulnerability, a now institutionalized vulnerability which commercial and private sector interests worked hard to establish.

The recent proliferation of wind turbine farms is just one more case of the serious aggression and destruction that reflects the continuing expansion of an extremist private property and commercialism agenda. This socially, legally and politically defective agenda and process is being exploited by corporations, some local residents, and local governments. Ladies and gentlemen, this is not freedom and it is not democracy; it is vandalism and oppression in the name of commercialism. As citizens we have the right, and we say the obligation, and we must marshal the courage, to reject wind turbine invasions as a corruption of our well being that is cached “in our spirit rather than in our wallet”.

Dr. Brian L. Horejsi

Behavioral scientist and citizen advocate for democratic process
Box 84006, PO Market Mall
Calgary, Alberta, T3A 5C4
403-246-9328

And

Dr. Barrie K. Gilbert
Wildlife Ecologist and conservation activist
Box 252
Wolfe Island, Ontario KOH 2HO
613-385-2289

And

George Wuerthner,
Ecologist and writer.
POB 719, Richmond,
Vermont 05477
802-434-3948
28 July 2008

May 14, 2010 - Quick Update

2010-05-14T12:26:00.003-04:00

Sorry I haven't blogged, our internet went down in Friday's storm. Here is a quick update.
The weekend was actually pretty good, although windy, the rain seems to help with our symptoms, and the wind was so high that I think the turbines may not have been running for part of the weekend.

On Tuesday the 11th, I met with a gentlemen named Ron who was responding to my call to Kruger office from the previous Friday (april 30th) when it was so bad here. We had a good discussion. He was going to share some of my further concerns and questions with Kruger management and get back to me. ( I should mention that he is actually contracted with the company and not representing the company directly, but I had called his number last Friday and he was good enough to respond. I have met him in the past and I do appreciate his efforts in coming out to hear the updates).

So, we are currently waiting to hear back from Kruger and hopefully we will be able to find some type of middle ground. I did suggest that if they were unwilling to shut down the two turbines closest to us, perhaps we could try shutting them down when wind levels are in the direction and at the RPM's that seem to be affecting us the most. Perhaps we can find a level and direction where this would happen automatically and thus eliminate some of our concerns.

At this time, we are really dealing with only the symptoms and health concerns issues while inside our home. However, as summer comes we will be spending more time in our yard and on our property and we will likely need to deal with the issues of being outside, as well as the "annoyance" factor at a later date.

Through all of this, I remain optimistic that the completed renovation, together with cooperation from Kruger may assist us to relieve our symptoms. Having said that, I am still concerned about the unknown affects to our children and ourselves. There seem to be a lot of well-educated and informed "professionals" out there who believe that long term exposure to the turbines and the low frequency noise they emit can be harmful.

Further to that, I hope that others out there who are having extreme symptoms and are being forced to leave their homes are going to be heard and helped. Our government needs to take notice and do something NOW, not years from now when the suffering and illness has spread accross Ontario and Canada.

I heard our local Mayor, Randy Hope, on the radio the other day and I am very disappointed that he does not seem to have any concerns at all with the numbers of wind turbines being erected in ChathamKent and in fact, is focusing on only the dollars being brought into the municipality from them. He had stated that he wanted to see that money spent on certain things and not just put into the general funds.
I have to wonder if this is not an attempt to "buy" the general population of ChathamKent with the attitude of sacrifice the few for the good of many. I don't think my family is worthless and I certainly believe that if the general population new about the ongoing suffering of the few (which are slowly becoming the many) that the majority would agree that no life is worthless.

I still compare this issue to smoking. It took far too long for the government to admit that smoking is harmful and addictive and that deaths were a result of not only the choice to smoke, but also second hand smoke. Finally people can make an educated choice whether to expose themselves to the affects of smoking and second hand smoke. Where is our choice? Why are we forced to be exposed to wind turbines so close to our home that we can feel the vibration....

That's it for today...

Nik

May 5th - 1:59am

2010-05-05T01:59:00.002-04:00

Can hear the turbines outside, they are very loud. Kids are getting a good night sleep at Grandma's but my husband and I are here....listening....trying not to listen, but once you hear them it's hard not to hear them....there is no way this is a legal sound level for the middle of the night....if this was the city and someone made that kind of noise, a neighbor, a factory, a machine, the police would be visiting the owner......hmmmmm, that's a thought, maybe I'll call the police and report that "my neighbor" is being too loud and keeping me awake....MOE doesn't seem to do anything, maybe the police can do something.....hmmmm, I am going to give that idea some serious thought........Nik

May 4, 2010

2010-05-04T12:55:00.002-04:00

As I am writing this post in my office, I can hear the turbines outside (woosh, woosh)...it must be that time of year again because the past week has been unbelievable loud - I had forgotten how loud the turbines can be!!! In fact, this past week, they seem louder than ever...
WE called the spills action centre at 1-800-268-6060 (something everyone affected should be doing) on April 30th during the day. This was the first time I had ever called during the day, I usually only call when we are up at night. I was directed to the Windsor office and when I let them know that I was calling to report the noise and health issues from the turbines they were indifferent. The fellow I spoke to asked what was wrong and I told him that the turbines were extremely loud through the night and had continued to be loud today. My husband and I got little sleep, we both woke up in the morning with extremely puffy, dry eyes. My oldest son complained of his legs hurting very bad in the morning, and my headache had been ongoing for about 24 hrs. The fellow asked if I had called the wind company to which I replied "not today, but many times". He said they should be informed so they could fix the problem - ha! I laughed out loud. I told him that we had been registering the problem for over a year and had noise testing done and were still waiting. He said "okay", and then he seemed like he was finished with the conversation. I asked him if they would be sending someone out to investigate the noise and his answer was "I am not sure". I just said okay, thanks and we ended the phone call. ...
I called the Kruger head office here in Raleigh township and got voice mail, that was Friday - Today is Tuesday - to date, I have had no response to my voice mail.

Then on May 1st, I called the spills action centre again at midnight to report the loudness of the turbines - this was probably as loud as I had ever heard them, and there was a "thunk" in the mix that was very loud as well. They again said, thank you for the call, we MAY send someone to investigate.

On Sunday night, when I didn't think they could get any louder, they did! My youngest son vomitted in his bed around midnight and there seemed to be no cause. He has not shown signs of flu or anthing like that since, and we all ate the same dinner and no one else was ill. I HOPE that this is not the start of the nauseau and vomitting that he suffered from last fall - symptoms which I am positive are in direct relation to the wind turbines!!! When I woke Monday morning, I too felt a bit nauseaus and exhausted! My eyes were so dry and puffy that I had a tough time opening them in the morning - Turbines!

KRUGER EXECUTIVE - if you are reading my posts, as I know you have in the past, would you PLEASE respond to my phone calls, letters, and emails...we need a solution for our family health and well-being!

Renovation Update - For those of you who have been asking, we are putting up the siding now and once it is in place, we will see if we are able to stop the noise. We seem to have lessened the feeling of the actual vibration within the house but the actual results remain to be seen upon completion.

Side note: I was speaking to my neighbors yesterday and as we listened to the turbines I asked if they had noticed them lately and they said "oh ya!" They related to me how the other night (Friday I think)they could see the pond water vibrating in their back yard, not rippling from wind, but vibrating...they thought something large was swimming around in it until they realized it was the vibration from the turbines!!!

Will this ever end!?! I am so proud of all of the people who took the time to travel to Queen's Park last week and stand together for the victims of wind past, present and future. I wish I could have been there and hopefully I will be there next time. Thank-you, Thank-you, Thank-you for making time to have voices heard!

Nik

April 30th, 2010 - loudest in a long time

2010-04-30T16:51:00.002-04:00

This morning we could hear the turbines. They are as loud as they have ever been. The first thing my husband said to me was "too bad they are not monitoring the noise levels today"...We both woke up with extremely dry eyes - like our eyes were being sucked out of the sockets. My oldest son immediately upon waking complained of the aches in his legs and asked me "chop them off" so he could feel better. I have "the headache" for about 24hours now. It started last evening sometime and nothing seems to be taking it away.....
Today was very disheartening because my husband was kept awake by the turbines last night and I am feeling exhausted like i did not sleep at all either...we were so hopeful that our renovation expense was paying off, but even though it's not finished and we haven't given up hope, we are no longer so sure it's going to work.
I called the MOE spills line this morning and they transferred me to the Windsor office because when the office is open, apparently that is what they do. I have only ever called at night and on weekends in the past I guess...I reported the noise and health problems and the fellow seemed a bit disinterested. He asked if I had called Kruger and I told him they were next on my list. He said that they probably have a problem with one of the turbines. That's when I told him that "no, there is a problem with all of the turbines - they are too close to residents and someone needs to do something." I told him that I have been calling and calling and that nothing is getting done, I asked him if they were going to send someone out to check it out and he said something like "I am not sure."
My next call was to Kruger where I got voice mail and left a message. I don't think anyone has returned my call yet. I have been out all day, but I don't see any messages on my machine.
Tonight I will try to write more letters, contact more people and bring more attention to our problems - if I can stay awake long enough...at this moment, my eyelids are heavy, I feel exhausted and my headache is as bad as ever....hopefully this will pass and I can proceed with my letter writing plans.
Disappointing day.
Nik

April 28th, 2010 WCO Media Release, March in Queen's Park

2010-04-28T11:20:00.001-04:00

Media Release

MAD AS HELL!

APRIL 28, 2010

11 AM QUEEN’S PARK

From Tiverton to Toronto to Tiny Township, Ontario citizens will converge on Queen’s Park to protest the irresponsible location of industrial wind turbines too close to human habitation.

This April 28 ‘Ontario Day of Action’ is one of several International protests taking place including Japan, April 30 and Berlin, May 15.

Around the world, government policies concerning industrial wind development have been heavily influenced by the Wind Energy lobby and other interest groups. As a consequence, policy decisions have been made that put peoples’ health and quality of life at risk.

Under the new provincial Green Energy Act, the Ontario Liberal government is fast-tracking renewable energy projects in a bid to meet an election promise to eliminate coal-fired generating plants. In so doing, it has bypassed planning powers of municipalities and infringed on the democratic rights of their citizens.

By imposing huge turbines on rural communities through flawed processes and industrialized environmentalism, families and hundreds of thousands of hectares of beautiful Ontario countryside are being systematically ravaged. At the same time, the objections of local municipalities and citizens have been silenced by the Green Energy Act.

The government of Ontario must protect all its citizens and ensure that independent scientific research on health impacts is conducted before more industrial wind installations are built.

Speakers include:

· Mr. Ian Hanna who has made the Application for Judicial Review of the Green Energy Act as it applies to industrial wind turbines.

· Dr. Robert McMurtry, Chair, The Society for Wind Vigilance

· Mr. Eric Gillespie, Environmental Lawyer

· Mr. John Laforet, President Wind Concerns Ontario

· Michael Trebilcock, Professor, Law and Economics, University of Toronto

· David Grey Eagle Sanford, Toronto-based Eco Warrior

There will be speakers from Queen’s Park as well as elected Municipal officials from across Ontario. Live music will be provided by Toronto artists such as Karen Wild Child, Bruce Palait, Seb Agnello, and Benny Sanders.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Contact:

Wind Concerns Ontario

windconcerns@gmail.com

647 588-8647

--

April 10 - 2010 Update

2010-04-10T10:30:00.002-04:00

Did not notice the turbines too much last night and this morning is a beautiful one. Yesterday, I still felt sluggish and had that annoying headache!! Today though seems to have started out great...Now that the nice weather is here, I am excited to spend more time away from the house and the turbines and see if that helps the ongoing, fatigue, headaches, moodiness and general feeling of "blah"...There are many workers here today which is exciting because we are finally at the final stages of the renovation and even though the vibration has not been a problem like it was, we are excited to see if the finishing touches (siding, etc.) will solve the noise problems and allow us to get some decent sleep at night. Of course, with the nice weather we now experience the noise and annoyance outside! Here we have this great yard and we can hardly enjoy it as the constant sound of the turbines is hard to ignore...even at the front of the house, the other day it sounded like a train behind the house going by.
Chatham Kent continues to approve turbines and our newest worry is the 55? going up in the Merlin project not far from here. I believe we may be surrounded by turbines this time next year....talk about compounding the problem!!! I have to wonder, When is enough enough? What will it take for the powers that be to realize that the setbacks from homes are not far enough? With whole towns of people all over the world becoming ill after turbines - and all with the same symptoms (headaches, joint aches, sleepless nights and all that goes with that), you would think that the issue would at least be tested, investigated and dealt with to protect the public. I mean really, the opposition is not asking for zero turbines, simply setbacks that are a reasonable distance to take care of the problems....That's my two cents for today...I am only grateful that the kids seem to be okay, and other than the complaints at night - "my legs are hurting" "my back is hurting"...they seem to be, as kids are, quite resiliant to the problem....
Have a Beautiful Day !
Nik

April 8th - Yes we will share

2010-04-08T14:27:00.002-04:00

Someone sent a comment which I can not seem to get to display for some reason asking if we would share our renovation details if they provide us with relief and the answer is YES!!! As soon as we are finished with the entire project, we will be sure to post the details of our renovation (insulation, siding type, roof, etc) so that people can read and see what we found worked for us...assuming it works, we have had some success are not totally free of the noise YET... In fact, as I type this from my office I can hear the turbines loudly outside even over the noise of the contractor on the other side of my wall...BUT we are not finished yet and have high hopes for the final stages.
I also plan to advise different victims and wind groups so that the information can be shared. The unfortunate part to all of this is that the cost is extremely high and it is certainly not fair that homeowners would need to take on this kind of costly renovation for no other reason but to try to find peace from the turbines installed so close to our homes.
Nik

MUST WATCH THIS

2010-04-06T18:33:00.002-04:00

A must to watch...This is incredible....

http://www.abc.net.au/news/video/2010/02/19/2825235.htm

And, here is a point of interest...it is 8:10pm and our power has flickered for the third time today. We have also lost 4 light bulbs today. The turbines are turning like crazy and are loud, loud, loud...I am about to call the 1-800 reporting number to report this problem....Nik

April 6th, 2010 - Just When We Thought We Were Okay...

2010-04-06T17:31:00.002-04:00

Hello Readers,
You have not heard from me in a long while. This is due to a few factors: 1. Ongoing renovations have kept us extremely busy 2. We have had some health issues
3. We found some relief to the vibrations and did not realize that we have likely still been affected by the noise and other affects of the turbines.

1. The renovations are into their final stages. Good news, we have noticed a great difference in the vibration to our home! We no longer see items vibrating off of shelves and it has been a long time since any of us has experienced the vibration feeling within our bodies. We do not seem to feel the vibration since certain renovations took place. We are very excited by this and hope we will never have to feel that discomfort again.

2. I have had ongoing headaches (off and on), and extreme fatigue along with the inability to concentrate. I had thought I was dealing with a cyclical problem related to PMS, however, after tracking the symptoms over the past few months I find that it is in fact not only cyclical, but ongoing. I have begun to notice that the fatigue seems to be going hand in hand with the turbines. Although I do not notice them as much since the vibration is not strong like it was, and we already hear them less even though renovations are not finished, I have started watching them again when I feel extremely fatigued and they are in fact turning. I have tried to omit all other possibilities and this seems to be the last remaining possiblity. Over the past few weeks, we have been able to hear the turbines quite a few nights and some days. I believe that they are still disrupting our sleep as my boys have been experiencing sleep disturbances as well. The fatigue seems minor compared to the problems of before, however, for me, it has affected my job, my relationships and other aspects of my life and I fear for all of our health if we are unable to get proper rest in the months and years to come.

3. As stated, we did find relief to the vibration after some of the renovations started and we fully expect that once the outer renovations are complete that we will have found an answer to the noise issue (at least when the house is sealed up with windows shut, etc). It remains to be seen how we will be affected when we are outdoors this summer in our yard, pool, etc.

Oddly, over the past few weeks, not only has my fatigue become almost debilitating, but also, we have had almost every light bulb in our home burn out. I find it odd that the light bulbs seem to burn out at the same times we are experiencing the most problems and wonder if it is related to the turbine issue.

As we finish up renovations and continue to try to find our own solutions to all of the problems that only began after the turbines were erected, we are horrified to know that more turbines are proposed for this area. As time goes by, we learn of more and more affected families affected by turbines near their homes. To date, WE HAVE NOT HAD A REPLY FROM THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT OR KRUGER WIND ENERGY WITH REGARDS TO OUR COMPLAINTS, OUR REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE, OUR REQUESTS FOR SPECIFICS ON THE REPORTS AND MEASUREMENTS THAT WERE TAKEN LAST YEAR AT OUR HOME, OR ANY ANSWERS TO THE MANY QUESTIONS WE HAVE ASKED BOTH WRITTEN AND VERBAL. I plan to contact them again this week and see if there is any news, but I am sure I will be told the same thing again...waiting for the Ministry of Environment to analyze the report....

Hope all is well with you, wish I could be better at keeping you up to date...will try harder...Be well, Nik

Here We Go Again - January 13th, 2010

2010-01-13T13:59:00.002-05:00

A few things have happened this week that I thought might be of interest to my readers.
1. Our Power, as well as neighbors in the area, including Dealtown, has been "flickering". It goes out every couple of hours for just a few seconds and then kicks back in. This has been going on since Saturday night I think it was. My husband was up in the night (due to the turbine noise), and said the power was out overnight about 3 hours.

Here is the interesting part. I spoke to my nieghbor who called and reported the problem to Hydro One and was told by them that the problem is related to the turbines and to contact Kruger. I also reported the issue to Hydro One, but I have not heard back yet.

2. I woke up today with one of the "turbine" headaches as I refer to them. I know it is a headache related to the turbines because of the way it sits in the front of my forehead, and runs down my neck and is not eased by medication, sleep, food or drink. When I mentioned it to my husband, he told me that the turbines were turning especially loud and fast last evening and he also reminded me that I have not been out of the house for quite a few days except for an hour or two yesterday.

I truly hope the winter problems are not starting again. To date I have not rec'd any replies to my requests for information from Kruger other than to say they would get back to me. I have also not heard back from the Ministry of Environment since the last call where I was told that the reports were forwarded and our local rep's were waiting for their counterparts.

As I look out the window today, I see that the turbines are once again facing the direction which gives us the most problem. I noticed over the holidays, they seemed to face other directions for quite a bit of the time. Looks like the prevailing winds are back in action and we may be getting the brunt of the wind farm again. On a positive note, I have not noticed or felt excessive vibration so perhaps our renovations are working (still in progress, but hopefully moving forward soon).

Nik

4 AM - December 31, 2009

2009-12-31T04:48:00.003-05:00

Tonight will ring in the new year, and here I sit at my computer - the last full night of 2009 at 4:45am.... Both my oldest son and I have been awake since about 3:30 when 'something' woke us up. We gave up trying to fall back to sleep as we listened to the woosh, woosh of the turbines and went downstairs to watch a little tv. The power went out for a few seconds - I have noticed that our power seems to be going out, or flickering a lot this year - and I came up to check the computer.
I can still here the turbines but feel them only slightly in my chest. I have a headache at the front of my forehead and I am sure that is from the turbines as well....our renovation is coming along, and hopefully when the insulation and siding/roofing are finished, we won't hear them anymore....
Looking forward to a peaceful 2010!

Nik

Ground Breaking News regarding cover-up

2009-12-14T09:46:00.001-05:00

To see the article below on-line, you may also go to http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article6954565.ece

December 13, 2009

Officials cover up wind farm noise reportJonathan Leake and Harry Byford 36 Comments
Recommend? (15) Civil servants have suppressed warnings that wind turbines can generate noise damaging people’s health for several square miles around.

The guidance from consultants indicated that the sound level permitted from spinning blades and gearboxes had been set so high — 43 decibels — that local people could be disturbed whenever the wind blew hard. The noise was also thought likely to disrupt sleep.

The report said the best way to protect locals was to cut the maximum permitted noise to 38 decibels, or 33 decibels if the machines created discernible “beating” noises as they spun.

It has now emerged that officials removed the warnings from the draft report in 2006 by Hayes McKenzie Partnership (HMP), the consultants. The final version made no mention of them.

It means that hundreds of turbines at wind farms in Britain have been allowed to generate much higher levels of noise, sparking protests from people living near them.

Among those affected is Jane Davis, 53, a retired National Health Service manager, who has had to abandon her home because of the noise.

It lies half a mile from the Deeping St Nicholas wind farm in south Lincolnshire whose eight turbines began operating in 2006.

“Our problems started three days after the turbines went up and they’ve carried on ever since. It’s like having helicopters going over the top of you at times — on a bad night it’s like three or four helicopters circling around,” she said.

“We abandoned our home. We rent a house about five miles away — this is our fourth Christmas out of our own home. We couldn’t sleep. It is torture — my GP describes it as torture. Three hours of sleep a night is torture.”

The HMP report was commissioned by the business department whose responsibilities for wind power have since been taken over by Ed Miliband’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

The decision to stick with existing noise limits became official guidance for local authorities ruling on planning applications from wind farm developers.

It has also been used by ministers and officials to support the view that there was no need to revise official wind farm noise guidelines and that erecting turbines near homes posed no threat to people’s health and wellbeing.

In 2007 Mike Hulme of the Den Brook Judicial Review Group, a band of residents opposing a wind turbine development close to their houses in Devon, submitted a Freedom of Information request asking to see all draft versions of the study.

Officials refused the request, claiming it was not in the public interest for them to be released. Hulme appealed to the information commissioner’s office, which has ordered Miliband’s department to release the documents. The drafts show the HMP originally recommended that the night-time wind turbine noise limit should be reduced from 43 decibels to 38, or 33 if they made any kind of swishing or beating noise — known as “aerodynamic modulation”.

The HMP researchers had based their recommendations on evidence. They took noise measurements at houses close to three wind farms: Askam in Cumbria, Bears Down in Cornwall and Blaen Bowi in Carmarthenshire.

They found that the swish-swish signature noise of turbines was significantly greater around most wind farms than had been foreseen by the authors of the existing government guidelines, which date from 1996. They also found that the beating sound is particularly disruptive at night, when other background noise levels are lower, as it can penetrate walls.

In their draft report the HMP researchers recommended that “Consideration be given to a revision of the night-time absolute noise criterion”, noting that this would fit with World Health Organisation recommendations on sleep disturbance.

However, an anonymous government official then inserted remarks attacking this idea because it would impede wind farm development. He, or she, wrote: “What will the impact of this be? Are we saying that this is the situation for all wind farms ... I think we need a sense of the scale of this and the impact.”

The final report removed any suggestion of cutting the noise limits or adding any further penalty if turbines generated a beating noise — and recommended local authorities to stick to the 1996 guidelines.

Hulme said: “This demonstrates the conflict of interests in DECC, because it has the responsibility for promoting wind farm development while also having responsibility for the wind farm noise guidance policy ... meant to protect local residents.”

Ron Williams, 74, a retired lecturer, lives half a mile from the Wharrels Hill wind farm in Cumbria. He has been forced to use sleeping pills since its eight turbines began operating in 2007.

“The noise we get is the gentle swish swish swish, non-stop, incessant, all night,” he said. “It’s like a Chinese torture. In winter, when the sun is low in the sky, it goes down behind the turbines and causes flickering shadows coming into the room.

“It’s like somebody shining car headlights at your window ... on and off, on and off. It affects us all. It’s terrible. Absolutely horrible.”

Lynn Hancock, 45, runs a garden maintenance business. She has suffered disruption since 2007 when the 12-turbine Red Tile wind farm began operating several hundred yards from her Cambridgeshire home.

“Imagine a seven-ton lorry left running on the drive all night and that’s what it’s like,” she said. “People describe it as like an aeroplane or a helicopter or a train that never arrives. It’s like it’s coming but it never gets here.”

Such problems are likely to increase. Britain has 253 land-based wind farms generating 3.5 gigawatts, but this is expected to double or even triple by 2020 to help to meet targets for cutting CO2 emissions

December 12, 2009 - Not a lot to add......

2009-12-12T13:15:00.002-05:00

Hello,
I am blogging because someone mentioned to me that I had not written in a while....the reason is really quite simple - there is nothing new to report...the last few days the wind has been high and the turbines have been extremely loud, especially at night. Two nights ago, I was awake in the night, listening to them howling and wondering if that is how it sounds to be in a hurricane. I thought about getting up to call in the noise to the spill action centre, but it seems like a mute point. I know we should all keep calling, keep speaking, keep sharing the problems, but as I watch the turbines being trucked down the highways in our area and I see the stacks and stacks of them over at the Buxton raceway down the road my heart sinks. It seems that regardless of the suffering, regardless of the facts, regardless of the endless amount of information that shows that these are not the solution to our power problems, our governments have made the decision that this is the way to go and I feel powerless to stop it....I guess that is why I have not been blogging, I have been feeling a bit like what is the point....we continue our renovation which has, as renovations often do, run into a few problems, and we hope with all hope that what we are doing will help us to live here next to the turbines.

As I sit here typing at my desk, I can see two of them spinning just outside my window. At the present moment, I can not hear them and I do not have a headache (which is amazing because I have had "the headache" for the past three days) and I must admit, I still find them beautiful to look at. They are really quite amazing to watch. It's too bad that the people who build them did not go one step further and consider the noise aspect and the vibration and build them just a bit farther from homes and people.

I have gone back to sleeping with the kids because they wake so many times in the night from the turbines, it's the only way to quickly get them back to sleep so that we all get some type of rest. My headaches are currently being combatted with Tylenol and advil and ibuprofen. My husband still doesn't sleep, and that is evident daily, but again, we wait for the final end result of our expensive renovation....

I heard that Victims of Wind is offering some support for those that have no where to go and need to get out of their homes. I have also heard that wind projects continue to be approved all over Ontario.

I will likely not blog again until after Christmas unless I have something different to report....if we see a change for the better, or the worse, I will be sure to let you know....otherwise, you can assume that the noise continues, along with the sleepless nights and the headaches for me.....

All in all, I still consider us to be extremely lucky. We are happy, we are basically healthy, we are loved and we are together - really, in this crazy world we live in, that is about all that matters. My thoughts are with those who are not as lucky as we are this Christmas season and I hope that the families suffering from the turbines to an extent much greater than we are find a place for relief over the holidays.

I wish you all the best, and a happy Christmas,

Happy Holidays everyone!

Nik

November 25th - LOUD, LOUD, LOUD

2009-11-25T14:34:00.004-05:00

Today one of the contractors of our renovation commented to me about how loud and disturbing the turbines are. They are moving fairly quickly, and there are clouds in the air, we have had some rain today. It seems to me that they are louder when it is overcast, but I can not be sure. The boys and I moved to the room farther from the turbines at about 3am to try to get away from the noise. At about that time, three things happened. My oldest wet the bed (very uncharacteristic for him, he has not had accidents before), My youngest fell out of bed, and I woke up. This all happened pretty much at the same time and so we all moved into the bunk beds. When I asked my youngest what happened he said "the bed moved", of course, he was still basically asleep as I carried him into the other bed. When I asked the oldest what happened, he did not know and did not remember wetting the bed. I got him up and changed him and put him in the other bed and he asked me "why is the house spinning?" or said "I am dizzy", or something like that, I can't remember exactly the phrase. This morning, he did not know how or why he woke up in a different bed. All three of us were terribly fatigued this morning and it took us quite a while to crawl out of bed. So, when the contractor commented on the noise, it only re-enforced to me that likely the past two nights sleep have been affected by the turbines..... I had to make a delivery today and as we drove down the Drake, I noticed that there are several new 'holes" being dug for more turbines. And then, on the drive back, we saw the many large poles and blades near Buxton waiting to be erected all over this area. As winter gets ready to roll in, I am anxious about getting these renovations finished so we can be warm and toasty, but also, to protect us from the effects of the turbines. Last winter was when our symptoms were the worst. Take care, Nik I have attached a view from the bedroom window (Look closely you can see the turbine between the trees...the picture does not do it justice as from the bed, it appears to be just outside the window. I have also attached a short video of what we saw when we woke up this morning...again, it's hard to imagine the size of it from the video but it really is a huge monster outside of our home.

Nov. 23 - Everytime I see people on video, it amazes me

2009-11-23T23:10:00.002-05:00

I am still consistently surprised by the seemingly endless videos and testimonials from residents all over the world who are living near wind turbines! We are all saying the same things, attending the same 'waste of time' meetings, sending the same letters, making the same phone calls and yet everything seems to fall on deaf ears. What will it take for someone to sit up and take notice?

This video is well worth watching:

This video produced out of California, shows what can happen when a turbine catches fire and what are the results of a lack of an Emergency Plan.

http://www.wind-watch.org:80/documents/theyre-not-green-episode-3/

November 23rd - A great letter worth sharing

2009-11-23T23:07:00.002-05:00

Sent: Monday, November 02, 2009 8:27 AM
Subject: Bill Murdoch's resolution

Mr Tabuns

I met you briefly in London last spring at the standing committee proceedings for Bill 150. I have read the Hansard notes of Thurs. Oct. 29/09 regarding Mr. Bill Murdoch's resolution requesting an investigation in to the health issues relating to Industrial Wind Turbines.

Despite many people's attempts to inform you regarding the health issue, it is quite apparent that you, like many of the green conscious, have decided that the regular rural taxpayer do not form a part of the environment and therefore must be excluded in your thought process as having any kind of priority.

You talk about the people in Mississauga having to fight the gas-fired power plant in their area, but yet you fail to connect that this is the result of this gov't tactics to replace coal generation. If you had checked the OPA website you will see that wind from 2005 to 2013 represents only 15% of the total planned new MW while NG is 55%. I ask you Mr. Tabuns with these kind of numbers, has wind really replaced coal especially when one considers that 15% of wind will never translate into said amount of real capacity needed by a modern society.

You pay lip service to a recounting of your work on the standing committee which allowed you to listen to these wind turbine victims you admit as clearly caring about the issue of their health. In turn, you like so many with your elitist thinking, do NOTHING to investigate their situation; an action that is not reflective of a public servant taking on the responsibility of his job.

Instead you continue this past Thursday with the wind industry mantra from the Dutch study of no “peered review data showing adverse health effects” which in fact reads as the following “no adverse health effects could be directly connected to wind turbine noise other than annoyance”. If one understood this carefully, it simply indicates that there is a lack of evidence and the authors of the Dutch study in their conclusion recommended further investigation. Note annoyance is associated with a host of symptoms such as lack of sleep, restlessness and depression. I guess with your of disconnect, unless it bleeds it doesn't lead.

Your disconnect again indicates that people such as farmers who clearly want turbines have a greater need then people who are suffering from the turbine's inappropriate placement. You seem to lack the understanding that this desperate plea is the result of poor Ag. Policy in this country where farmers are never in control of the price they receive for their commodities and must continually battle a world wide market heavily subsidized by other countries. Your disconnect continues the proliferation of a cheap, corporate food policy in this province, which makes it more important than the preservation of Ag. Lands, an adequate on farm income, and the keeping of a skill set that only farmers maintain for the production of food for our own residents. You continue with a feel good message of wind as the second harvest for farmers while ignoring that things like first-rights-of refusal and postponement of mortgages enclosed in these Industrial developer contracts, puts into question the long term ownership of Ag. Lands in this province.

Another level of disconnect is added by you relating the number of deaths attributed to air pollution , yet you conveniently forget to relay that 80% of South west Ontario's air pollution is due to US sources drifting in on prevailing southwest winds. You also forget to relate that not one coal generating plant in Ontario has all of it's proper scrubbers; a simple solution it seems to address these deaths you continue to flaunt in front of these victims as more substantive than their own situation.

During standing committee you discounted Barbara Ashbee's pleas for relief by questioning if anyone knew that deaths could be attributed to wind developments. As if her suffering is less of an issue than the injuries that occurred with nuclear fall out in Chernobyl over 30 years ago. I related to you in an aside that indeed several workers (35 world wide since the introduction of wind that have been reported) did in fact die (excludes injuries to passerby's and workers) from working on IWT's. You simply smiled at me and walked away.

You further state that 9000 deaths due to AIR POLLUTION is substantial, which in your clever wordage, concludes that a few hundred people suffering from ILFN from IWT's is irrelevant in your estimation. The suffering of Barbara Ashbee, Sandy MacLeod, Glen Wylds, Nikki Horton etc. etc, etc, is only the start and is further undermined because of your huge assumption that things like intermittent, inefficient wind replaces coal generation. In addition you somehow don't relate how many of these 9000 deaths can be attributed to pollution created by emissions from vehicles, another significant contributor to air pollution.

You continue by overlooking the reams of information sent your way which related to you, that wind can in fact put more emphasis on fossil-fuel generation because only this form of electrical generation can adequately backup fluttering, unpredictable wind. In your own personal fight against NG, surely you would have investigated the reason for this electrical plant in order to muster up a substantive argument against it's construction.

You further relate that we must move now on climate change. I ask you, must this be at the expense of a set of residents living within the rural areas of the province? Are we in a time of war, were a general must make the heart wrenching decision to sacrifice the few to save the many? Is this your role as an MPP within the province of Ontario whose provincial policy statement clearly identifies that people have the right to live in clean and safe environments. Perhaps I didn't read clearly that a certain percentage of people must be sacrificed for the so called "greater good of Ontario". Can you advise me if such a policy exists and at what percentages of harm must exit before our gov't steps in to take action.

In closing Mr. Tabuns and all those who support your ideas, I am appalled at your flagrant support of Industrial wind energy and can assure you and Ms. Horwath, that if the NDP continue to harbour your kind of environmentalism, the NDP will never get my vote. Every person on my e-mail list will receive this letter to make them aware of your green snobbery and lack of real concern for the regular Ontario taxpayer.

This type of green elitism is essentially a representation of the disconnect you and many in the environmental movement engender today. Personally, as a farmer and a resident of this beautiful province, I am tired of taking a second, third and fourth seat to corporate and lobbying groups such as CanWEA thinly disguised as the environmentally conscious of Ontario.

C McLean

Ontario

(note: I have deleted pertinent information but this letter was signed with information including address, phone and email contact information) Nik

Health fears blown off | Canada | News | Toronto Sun

2009-11-22T16:30:00.001-05:00

http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2009/10/30/11575886-sun.html

Below are the details of what happened that day......

WIND TURBINES

Mr. Bill Murdoch: I move that, in the opinion of this House, the province of Ontario must impose a moratorium on all new wind turbine projects in Ontario until such time as Ontario's chief medical officer of health, the Ministry of Health ... and the Ministry of the Environment have stated that wind turbines do not have any adverse health effects on people who live near them.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Jim Wilson): Mr. Murdoch moves private members' notice of motion number 116. Pursuant to standing order number 98, Mr. Murdoch, you have up to 12 minutes for your presentation.

Mr. Bill Murdoch: First I'd just like to tell the assembly how this happened. I have a good friend and mate here, John O'Toole, who phoned me a couple of weeks ago. John wanted to change private members' bills with me. At that point I really hadn't thought of mine-mine was going to be in November-and I actually told John no. But as most people here will know, John O'Toole is pretty persistent, so he decided to phone me himself. When I got that, I thought, "Well, he must really want to change, and he must have some ideas." I was at home and I had to think. It didn't take me too long, though, to think about what I would do. I phoned John back and said, "Hey, I've got an idea."

You see, for some time now, my offices at Queen's Park and Owen Sound have been getting letters and calls from people living near industrial wind turbines, about the noise levels making them sick. The people who live close to these massive structures are complaining about experiencing a number of health problems, most commonly sleep-how do you say that word?

Interjection: Deprivation.

Mr. Bill Murdoch: -deprivation-I'd better say that word right, because we want to know what it is-cardiac problems, nausea, severe headaches. All of the negative health effects experienced by these people have been compiled and reported on in several published reports, which I'm sure most of you have either read or heard about. One of the published reports is on the way to your offices. It'll come in a green folder. I've taken the liberty of mailing it to everyone in this assembly so that you will get a copy of it. Hopefully you will read it.

I initially told the constituents there was nothing within my legislative power that I could do to help change the situation: I could not scrap the Green Energy Act. After explaining this fact to them, I'd always refer them to the man in charge of the energy file, Mr. George Smitherman, the Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, who has been handed sweeping powers and absolute control over industrial wind projects in Ontario. As you know, when we passed Bill 150 you gave George all the power he needs and overruled any municipalities which may have different ideas. They may want to look at some of these things, but this assembly, when it voted in favour of Bill 150, gave the power to the minister. I told the people, my constituents, that he was the only one who could mitigate their suffering by undoing the regulations, changing the setbacks and ordering these massive wind structures to be erected further away from peoples' homes. But his office dithered and nothing was done.

When I called back my friend the member for Durham, I told him I was going to introduce a resolution to call for a moratorium on wind farm development in Ontario until such time as our chief medical officer of health of Ontario stated publicly that wind turbines are not making people sick. Now, I feel that she should be in control of this, because if we're going to make people sick by doing something, then she's going to get this on her lap to sort out. As you know, when SARS comes along or any of the other problems we have, it always goes to our chief medical officer, so I believe that she should be in the loop on this. If she doesn't have problems maybe there are no problems, but we'll get to her just a little later on here.

Since announcing my intention to do this, many members of this House have approached me to say, "You know, this is a good idea." I wish they'd thought of it first, especially John. John O'Toole is always telling me things like that, because John just had one of his bills pass: the cellphone bill. That was John O'Toole's idea, but the government of the day took it; it took a good idea from a Conservative and made it law. I don't know whether it's such a good idea or not, but I didn't get a chance-I wasn't here the day they voted on it; I may not have. But John was the one who thought about that, so you've got to give John credit.

The first member to say that to me was the member from Durham. You will hear from some of them in a short while. Some you have already heard from, such as member Lisa MacLeod from Nepean-Carleton. She spoke about the effects of wind turbines in this House the other day and she supports my resolution, along with my friend in the chair today, Jim Wilson, who doesn't get a chance to debate it today because he is in the chair doing his job, but he has indicated to me that he would support this resolution if he had a chance.

Also, my resolution has been supported by Grey Bruce medical officer of health Dr. Hazel Lynn. She's been at many of the meetings that have happened in my constituency and said there seem to be people who have problems with this, but it's not her mandate to do anything at this time. But if the chief medical officer of Ontario takes it as her mandate, then she will get involved, and I understand from the chief medical officer that she, in the very near future, is going to have a meeting with the other medical officers across Ontario to discuss this very project.

As you know, a lot of your constituents have come to different members, all members-maybe not so much the members in the big cities, but all the rural members and northern members here must have been contacted by some of these people, because we have them in the House today from all over Ontario. It's not just Grey and Bruce; this is an Ontario problem, and it's all to do with the Green Energy Act and what the regulations say. They ignored the people who said they had problems with this and went ahead and gave all the powers to one minister to go ahead and put them wherever he feels like.

We talked about the chief medical officer of health. A member from the Ministry of Health's so-called-what do they call him? He was not an adviser; he had come out with whatever he felt that the minister should say. But this gentleman two days ago told the media-

Mr. Garfield Dunlop: It's called a spin doctor.

1530

Mr. Bill Murdoch: Spin doctor: Is that what they're called? Yes, I guess so. I was trying to be nice so far, but the spin doctors in the government.

Mrs. Joyce Savoline: You're trying to be nice?

Mr. Bill Murdoch: So far, anyway. I'm hoping the government will vote for this resolution today, because it's not a hard resolution to vote for. If you're going to make people sick, maybe we should look at that before we continue on. It's not a hard thing to do.

But anyway, the spin doctors from the Ministry of Health informed the media that our chief medical officer was onside. He said absolutely, she was. If you don't believe me, look at some reports. Lorrie Goldstein in the Toronto Sun wrote that. He said he asked this gentleman and he said, "Absolutely, she's onside." Isn't this funny? Yesterday, the chief medical officer was in estimates and she was asked if she was onside. She said, "No, we're still studying it." That's right from her. So somebody at the ministry is leading us astray.

You wouldn't want to say they lied; it would be bad to say something like that, and I never want to say that in the House, but something happened. They got a different opinion. Something must have happened. Mr. Speaker, I wouldn't want to get you upset by anything like that and I would never say that anybody in this House would do that, but somebody who maybe works for people in this House may have done that. At least they misled the media and said that she's onside. But yesterday, in a committee hearing-it was estimates, and Christine Elliott asked a question. Let's see; we'll just find it here.

This is what the member for Whitby-Oshawa, Ms. Elliott, asked the chief medical officer of health during estimates on Tuesday, October 27: "So at the moment you don't have a formal position?" Response: "No, we're still reviewing."

That fits right in with my resolution. All I'm saying is that we put a moratorium on any new wind turbines until the medical officer of health for Ontario gets a chance to come up with her opinion of whether there are problems with it or there aren't problems with it. I'm not a doctor, so I don't know. But you see a lot of people here who claim that they have problems, so they can't all be dreaming. There must be something to this.

I don't know whether we need a new report and somebody to run around Ontario to look at a report, because there must be tons of them out of Europe. There are all kinds of windmills in Europe. Do we need to do that? I'm not sure, but let the medical officer tell us what she wants. Until she does that, I'm claiming that we shouldn't build any new ones, because in the McGuinty era, as I understand it, he wants, what is it, 7,000 of them so he can get rid of the coal-fired generators? Which he promised to do, which he hasn't done-another broken promise. Maybe he doesn't want 7,000 turbines; I don't know. You can't believe him. He tells you one thing and does something different. But if they even want 1,000 more by next year, does that mean there are going to be 2,000 or 3,000 people sick? I don't know, but that's why we have a chief medical officer here: to tell us. I think we had better stop.

I've been told, "If we put a moratorium on, there are all these jobs that are going to be lost," and things like this. If we lose a job but we keep somebody from getting sick, I think that's a heck of a lot better. I don't think jobs should override people getting sick. The other one I heard was, "If we close down the coal-fired generating plants, we'll make people better." Maybe that's true, but do we make other people sick just because we're going to close them down and put in all these wind farms? I'm not one to say that they're going to make them sick, but I think that's why we have a chief medical officer: to do that.

I think that's what should be done, and I would hope that in this House, like-minded people-we're all here to look after people in Ontario. It's not just Grey, Bruce and Owen Sound; we're looking after everybody in rural and northern Ontario. I understand there's one to go down here in the city in the Scarborough Bluffs, if I'm not mistaken. There's someone in Ms. Best's riding, so I'm sure she'll be here to vote for this and tell us what she wants done. That's why I think we need a moratorium.

The other thing is, if you don't put a moratorium on, then we'll drag it out forever. Should we produce more wind farms just because we want to drag it out and because they need more? I don't think we should be doing that. I think we should put a moratorium on and find out the facts before we do any more. So I thank you, Mr. Speaker, for being able to talk.

Interruption.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Jim Wilson): I know Bill's popular, but I'll just remind you that you can't clap or participate in the debate, please.

The honourable member for Oak Ridges-Markham.

Ms. Helena Jaczek: It's my pleasure to enter into what I think is a very important debate which is occurring this afternoon. I would like to thank the member for Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound in bringing this concern forward. I want to acknowledge the concern, which is entirely valid. Many constituents obviously across Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound feel very strongly on this issue, and many Ontarians are also extremely concerned about the health effects of wind turbines, whether there are any. They want some debate on the matter.

I think I can understand this fully. I am the former medical officer of health for York region. In that capacity, I often had to look at situations where there might be some scientific ambiguity and respond in a responsible way to those concerns. I think we know that when people see 18-metre wind turbines dotting the landscape, they are naturally anxious about any potential health effects. I'm very familiar with the precautionary principle that, at all possible times, we do not want to inflict any harm on the population. I used that as the former medical officer of health as it related to electromagnetic fields from high-voltage transmission lines.

When I was appointed parliamentary assistant to the Minister of the Environment, this was actually one of the first areas that I wanted to look at and be briefed on. What I found was that there was a very excellent review of the evidence by Dr. Ray Copes and Karen Rideout from the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health, which is an arm's-length agency funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada. They conducted this review on behalf of the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion. They looked specifically at the areas of concern, in particular, sound, noise levels, intensity, low-frequency noise, infrasound, electromagnetic field exposure, shadow, flicker, icing of the turbine blades, structural failure and so on, and they came to a conclusion. They came to several, but the one that I want to address at this point, because I know many of my colleagues want to enter into this debate, was their conclusion that, based on best available evidence, any identified risk can be addressed through siting or setbacks and operating practices.

I was pleased to learn-and I'm sure this will be very reassuring for the member from Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound-that, in fact, the chief medical officer of health, Dr. Arlene King, on October 21 this year, wrote to medical officers of health and environmental health directors. I'll quote directly from her letter:

"The public health division, in collaboration of the Ministry of the Environment and Energy and Infrastructure and with the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion, has reviewed the concerns expressed by some regarding health impacts of wind turbines, specifically wind turbine farms. A status update is being provided at this time so as to support common levels of information and public communication."

She goes on to say, "The literature review revealed that while there are anecdotal reports of symptoms such as sleep disturbance, headaches, dizziness, anxiety, concentration and learning problems, and tinnitus"-that's ringing in your ears-"there is no scientific evidence, to date, to demonstrate a causal association between wind turbine noise and adverse health effects. A few Swedish studies reported that noise from wind turbines is annoying to some people."

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I know that the member from Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound referred to some comments made by Dr. King at the estimates committee, and I do have, from that transcript from October 27, a clarification that she gave to some of her previous comments. In response to Mr. Jim Brownell's question related to a causal association between turbine noise and adverse health effects, Dr. King said the following:

"Yes, in terms of the existing literature right now, we have not found an association between adverse health effects and wind turbines. We're continuing, again, to review that information, as I said earlier, and determine where there may be gaps in the literature that exist in order to be able to develop a common view among myself and all of my medical officer of health colleagues across our province."

Our government has made very stringent setbacks to address the concern raised by Dr. Copes-550 metres-with noise at the periphery of the property of 40 decibels.

We are also absolutely committed to establishing a research chair in conjunction with the Ontario council of universities. This is not the time for us to succumb to analysis paralysis; it is the time for us to move forward based on what we know, and I can assure this House that in my capacity as parliamentary assistant to the Ministry of the Environment, I will be urging the establishment of that research chair at the earliest opportunity.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Jim Wilson): Further debate?

Mr. Toby Barrett: I welcome the opportunity to talk to this one, and I want to say at the outset that I support this resolution in its intention. As you know, it's a resolution to provide some answers to questions with respect to health and the impact of these wind turbines, given the deluge of disturbing reports of the effects from those and many people in my area in Haldimand-Norfolk. I know people are here today from my area who live in close proximity to these provincially approved wind turbines, and given the reported plans locally for another 200 or more turbines on or adjacent to Lake Erie-there are plans for 200 to be built offshore. We already have-and I haven't counted them all; I'm not sure-80 or 90 that stretch from Lowbanks, Dunnville, right through to the Port Burwell area in Elgin county.

Given that, I do feel it's incumbent on this government, as the resolution states, to impose a moratorium on all new wind turbine projects in Ontario until such time as the chief medical officer of health, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of the Environment have stated that wind turbines do not have any adverse health effects on the people who live near them.

If the minister is confident that there is no health impact, then we very simply ask: Say so, tell us. Let us know definitively. If not, it bears investigation, and there's nothing wrong with neutral, objective, research evidence. We're not scientists. Bodies of work are out there, and for us to make decisions, we need those kinds of facts. The member from Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound indicated that the government has a responsibility as well as a mandate to investigate such claims. We've heard the claims of sleep deprivation, heart palpitations, things like that.

Mr. McGuinty did promise a number of months ago to set up an academic research chair. I think that's a good idea. I spent 20 years with a research organization, and it's incumbent on us to have access to the best scientific information available. Regrettably, we know this government's track record as far as keeping promises; there is no research chair. I don't know whether the Premier has any real intention of keeping that one, and providing us with the resultant scientific information that has been promised to us.

Many of us in rural Ontario call these turbines neighbours-they're 300 feet tall. You don't really have to be a scientist to question the possible impact of not only the massive arms of these turbines, but the generator itself. You can hear the dull roar, the grinding of the gears, the mechanical mechanism within these structures. I don't have the answers to a lot of this. I think it's important that we be provided with this kind of information.

We've heard of Dr. Robert McMurtry, former dean of medicine, University of Western Ontario. He has called on the province to undertake an independent epidemiological study on whether noise and low-frequency vibrations do have a negative impact on health.

I'll just cut to the chase. I know other people are speaking. One person here today, Stephana Johnston from Clear Creek, is in the visitors' gallery. I think everybody knows where Clear Creek is, down on Lake Erie. She has a proposal. A turbine town needs to be purchased as an experimental facility: "Is it ideal? With 18 [turbines] within a three-kilometre radius of a few varied types of residences, some of the present residents might volunteer to stay on as guinea pigs for the experimental phase.

"The design of the experiment would have to be done with extreme care by an arm's-length neutral research body so that all sides of the debate will be convinced with the results.

"Let's stop the nickel-and-dime waste, the Mickey Mouse measurements and get down to the really hard work of a conclusive experiment here."

I agree.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Jim Wilson): Further debate?

Mr. Peter Tabuns: I appreciate the opportunity to speak today.

I have to say first off that I have tremendous respect for Mr. Murdoch, and I'm not being coy or playing games. You may be one of the shrewdest political people in this House. I've watched your career. You've survived purges, you've survived faith-based funding for schools, so obviously you're a man who tests the political currents on a regular basis.

Mr. Gilles Bisson: He had his own independent party.

Mr. Peter Tabuns: Yes. He may be one of the only fourth-party members in this House who has gone through election cycles and come back triumphant. I disagree with you but I respect you.

There are people who have come here today who travelled a good distance. They didn't come here because they like travelling; they came here because they have serious concerns, and I say to them, with great respect, that I disagree with you, but I also recognize that you're not here on a frivolous basis; you're here because you have a point of view that you want to have expressed, and I think Mr. Murdoch has done you well in doing that.

I'm in a situation where I have actually had an opportunity to listen to a number of these arguments and debates. I had the opportunity-the honour-to sit on the committee that travelled around Ontario and listened to the presentations on the Green Energy Act, listened to people who were dealing with a variety of problems, both with wind turbines and other forms of generation. I can see a member from south Mississauga who is here, who is dealing with a proposed gas-fired power plant in his riding. I have had to have that battle myself, and I know that when people are dealing with technologies, questions come up-substantial questions, sometimes; not substantial otherwise, but questions that people clearly care about.

There were people who came to the Green Energy Act hearings from rural areas-farmers-who wanted wind turbines built on their properties because they wanted the revenue to help ensure they could stay on the land. I have had farmers call me who are upset by the setbacks put in place by this provincial government because they wanted more wind turbines on their land so that they could stay on that land.

In the state of Iowa in the United States, the wind industry is a substantial part of that agricultural state's economy. Farmers refer to the wind turbines as their second harvest. I had an opportunity a few years ago to work in Ottawa as a climate adviser to Jack Layton. I had an opportunity then to meet with farmers from Pincher Creek, Alberta. They were there on the Hill lobbying for more wind investment because they said, as cattle farmers, those farmers-

Interruption.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Jim Wilson): Order. I'd just remind the members in the gallery: Please do not participate in the debate. Thank you.

Mr. Peter Tabuns: Those farmers from Pincher Creek said that if they had not had wind turbines on their property, they would have lost their farms; they would have lost cattle operations that had been in their families for generations. They wanted that investment so that they could maintain the rural life that they valued so profoundly.

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I have to say to you that there is no point in telling people that they don't feel something they feel, and if people here feel irritated by, sick from or annoyed with wind turbines, they simply feel that.

I'm going to set out my arguments and do it in the best way I can to ensure that people who listen to this understand where I'm coming from and where my party is coming from.

We face substantial public health problems in Ontario. The Ontario Medical Association has projected that something like 9,000 people a year die in Ontario from air pollution-9,000. That's a lot of deaths. And there are many who are sickened. If you have 9,000 die, you probably have tens of thousands who have asthma, who have heart problems, who have respiratory problems, who have to go to the hospital. The OMA calculates the cost of that smog in the billions of dollars in this province. So we face a very substantial public health issue right now. This is not something that we need to debate. Everyone in the House can read the medical literature; they can see the simple reality. We have to move very quickly to move away from fossil fuels in this province because people are being killed by the fossil fuel effluent that we dump into the atmosphere.

There is a desperate need to move on climate change. For those who were here for the earlier debate, I won't go through all of the issues that were put on the table. I can say in passing that in this province and in this country, inaction on climate change will mean a substantial drop in our standard of living. It will mean a further impoverishment of rural Ontario. It will mean substantial reductions in forest cover in this province and all the implications it has for the remaining forest industry. Those two necessities, those two issues, drive the need to rapidly transition to an economy that's based on renewable power, and wind power is one of the most advanced, most developed technologies that we have at hand to move rapidly.

On that basis alone-the need to deal with thousands of deaths and to head off the loss of stability in our society-I support rapid deployment of wind power. In fact, I have publicly said in my riding, in this city, that I support wind power in my riding. And quite frankly, as many in this House will know, I fought aggressively against the gas-fired power plant in my riding and know without any doubt whatsoever that my constituents would have supported wind turbines in the riding, and that they understand, from their experience with the one wind turbine we have in this city-and we need many more-the implications and the advantages to them of having more wind power in urban environments.

I've had an opportunity over the last decade and a half to speak with environmentalists in Europe, to talk with those who have, since the early 1980s, lived in a situation where more and more wind turbines have been deployed-in some areas of Denmark, at a level far denser than anything we see here in Ontario. I've talked to people whose primary focus in their environmental activity is population health, who research toxic chemicals, who work on new developments, new problems with toxic chemicals.

Wind turbines are not an issue as a health issue in European jurisdictions. There are disputes. I won't argue that. There are very different views on how the landscape should look. There are very different feelings about how the wind turbines should be owned, but in my personal conversations with people-and frankly, in asking the legislative library to do the research and bring me the reports from the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Lancet and others, I don't see in the literature any epidemiological evidence that, in fact, we have a health problem that one could classify at the same level as what we're getting from air pollution now.

If there is a problem and if people are here, they must be experiencing something. I have to say that the symptoms that have been described are similar to those I experience as a city resident living on a very busy street. There is noise, and it is unpredictable; sometimes loud, sometimes quiet. I found it very annoying to live on busy streets. It just is; that's the reality.

I've disagreed with Mr. Murdoch, and I've disagreed with the argument that has been made. I want to talk about potential common ground; we can spend all our time arguing, but I always find it a lot more productive to set out, "Okay, so where can we go?" To those who are concerned about far greater investment in wind turbines, who want to limit the amount of investment we have in generation in this society, I say there is common ground to push this Liberal government and any government that happens to be elected in the future to dramatically accelerate efforts at energy efficiency. A number of reports have come forward in the last few years credibly saying that you could cut electricity consumption in this province by 40%. That would have a substantial impact on future investment in any form of generation technology. That is of consequence for us.

Those of you, like Mr. Murdoch, who are concerned about the issue of power generation should be aware that this government doesn't have that as a goal. It should have that as a goal. I support the investment in wind, but even more, I support the investment in energy efficiency. You should know-Mr. Murdoch may know-that when we had the Green Energy Act hearings, we had credible testimony that the energy efficiency codes for buildings in this province are not enforced. When new buildings are built that are electrically heated or cooled, the building code for efficiency is not enforced, which drives up the amount of power needed, which drives up the amount of generation that's invested in. There needs to be credible enforcement of the energy efficiency code.

We need to be looking at cogeneration. Right now there are hospitals across this province that run boilers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Those hospitals could be making power at the same time they are making heat. They'd provide themselves with emergency power and feed power into the grid. It would not increase the burden on our environment, and it would reduce the demand for new electricity generation. The strategy of energy efficiency, of maximizing the use of any fuel we do burn, is a way one could find common ground to reduce the amount of new generation capacity that is invested in, in this province.

This is going to be an ongoing question, because people will disagree about land use zoning and disagree about this technology. But we in this province have to take action to make sure we clean up the air in this province. One of the best avenues we have right now, one of the fastest to deploy and least expensive, aside from energy efficiency, is wind, and we need to take that option.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Jim Wilson): Further debate?

Mr. Phil McNeely: I want to thank the member from Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound for his motives in bringing forward this resolution. Protecting public health and safety is, of course, one of the most important duties we have as legislators. I want to thank the people who made the long trek down to Queen's Park, who are here because they believe in the issues they are fighting for.

The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care listened to individuals and groups with concerns about wind turbines. I don't want to get into that, because my learned colleague Dr. Helena Jaczek has gone into the health issues in the debate today. I want to speak more as an engineer and as someone who has been working with the Green Energy Act, and more on the setbacks-the setbacks have been established across this province. I want to talk more about the reasons that Ontario strongly supports wind power in the first place.

We just heard from the member for Toronto-Danforth about the reasons we have to get more clean energy available for Ontario and get rid of dirty coal. His records show that there are 9,000 deaths on an annual basis from coal-fired plants. We've talked about that since 2003 and we're getting very close. I believe that we're at about 40% or 50% reduction in coal-fired plants in this province already, and we'll have no more coal in 2014.

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These turbines are helping to replace electricity currently produced by burning coal. "The impact of Ontario's coal closure plan will reduce Ontario's carbon dioxide emissions by up to 30 megatonnes" and all those other emissions that affect health that also go with it.

We know that there are serious and direct impacts on human health from burning coal. That's why wind energy is being promoted so much by our province.

I have to leave sufficient time for the other member to speak to it, but I would just like to again thank the member for bringing this forward. It's an important motion and it's important that this has the opportunity to be before us today.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Jim Wilson): Further debate?

Mrs. Joyce Savoline: I am pleased to speak and support the resolution today. Although I don't have any wind farms proposed in my riding, I am supporting Ontarians who have had democracy pulled out from under them and also from under their local municipalities.

Much like myself, I'm certain that Premier McGuinty, his Minister of Energy and Infrastructure and his caucus colleagues are hearing from thousands of Ontarians with respect to their very serious concerns about the unstudied adverse health effects of wind turbines. They're hearing from you, but they're not listening and they're certainly not acting. They are in their thinking place.

Regardless of these concerns, this government is continuing to go down the road of approval for construction of future wind farm projects without taking into consideration the concerns you've raised.

I cannot argue the importance of renewable energy, but without proper, conclusive scientific studies, I cannot speak to the placement of these wind turbines.

I am sure that the Premier and his Minister of Energy and Infrastructure are aware of the many reports that have looked at the potential adverse effects of wind turbines. Experts like Dr. Robert McMurtry, the former dean of medicine at the University of Western Ontario, say that more than 100 people informally surveyed and others around the world living close to turbines have complained about similar symptoms: sleep deprivation, cardiac arrhythmia, nausea, heart palpitations and severe headaches, to name a few. Dr. Harrison, professor emeritus in physics at Queen's University, says, "Wind turbine noise causes annoyance and health problems. These problems include sleeplessness; anxiety; headaches and migraines; depression; and an accentuation of learning disabilities."

If the Premier and his minister are not going to listen to the recommendations and warnings in the various reports that have been completed, then my question is, what studies have they done that look into the potential health effects of industrial wind turbines? What is the government doing to address the concerns of Ontarians? What studies have they done and where are these studies?

I think we all know the answer is that the McGuinty Liberals have not done any studies, despite the fact that they said they would. Back in May of this year, this government said that they would establish an academic research chair to examine potential public health effects of renewable energy projects. But to this date, we've heard that Minister Gerretsen says that his government is still "looking for the right university" for this position. That was in September. Now it's almost November, and the wind projects continue to be approved and constructed.

Ontario has a long list of great universities that excel in academic excellence. The Premier and his minister should just choose one and move on with this immediately.

Perhaps the delay is caused by the fact that the Premier and his minister are more familiar with having their work done by Liberal friends, as we saw in the eHealth scandal, friends who will give them the conclusion they want. Nonetheless, they need to take action and they need to take it today. Ontarians are looking for answers now, and this government has an obligation to provide them these answers before continuing to approve more wind turbine projects without understanding the adverse health effects.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Jim Wilson): Further debate?

Mr. Ernie Hardeman: I'm pleased to rise today to support this important resolution brought forward by my colleague the member from Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound.

I want to make it clear that I support green energy. Being involved in agriculture, I know how important is the relationship that we have with our land and how we depend on it. But as we move forward, we need to make smart decisions about our environment and our hydro system. We cannot just blindly support everything that's labelled green.

This resolution is not against, or for, wind turbines; it's simply saying that we can't proceed without doing the proper scientific research to ensure that the health of Ontarians is protected.

Last week, I had the opportunity to meet with a number of citizens from Oxford who are concerned about wind turbines and their impact on the health of nearby residents. I want to thank this group for the work they have done to ensure that my colleagues and I are fully briefed on the issue-and a great number of them are in the gallery today.

I don't have the time to go into all the research that they've provided, but it is clear that there are a number of serious issues about turbines that need to be answered fully and scientifically before we move forward with any more projects.

There are three different proposals of wind turbine developments in Oxford. With three different developers, the one thing that is consistent is that residents are worried about the impact of turbines on their health, and they are not getting satisfactory answers from the provincial government. In fact, hundreds of my constituents signed petitions supporting the idea of a moratorium on building turbines until their concerns are addressed. And I hope in the coming weeks to present those petitions to the Legislature.

All those people and the people in the gallery today have valid concerns. I know that all the members of this Legislature have received e-mails from families who live near wind turbines, and they have told us about the health problems that are driving them from their homes.

Through regulation, the minister has established a setback of 550 metres. Ontarians don't know if this is correct, nor do I. We are not scientists, and we haven't done the in-depth research to know what distance is safe. Perhaps the people can live closer to turbines. Maybe people shouldn't be living within a kilometre or two of the turbines. We just don't know.

Unless the government has done a full study to this issue that they aren't sharing with us, I don't think they know either. Doesn't it make sense to answer those questions before you build more turbines and before we allow companies to invest money in planning and developing these projects?

If we don't determine the health impacts and establish proper scientific setbacks, what do we do when we find out that 550 metres is too close? Does the government pay to move families that are suffering? Do we compensate the companies for building turbines they can't operate? Do we force the company to take the loss and go back and send the message that Ontario is not a good place to invest? We owe it to Ontarians, especially the people who live near turbines, to ensure that they have done the proper research-

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Jim Wilson): Thank you.

We're almost done, people in the gallery, so you'll want to stick around for the vote.

Mrs. Maria Van Bommel: Before I make my own comments, I was asked by my colleague from Huron-Bruce to read a statement into the record for her:

"I will not be supporting this resolution by the member for Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound.

"During the public hearings for the Green Energy Act, no science-based evidence was brought forward to suggest that wind turbine developments were causing adverse health effects. It has been further confirmed by the chief medical officer of health that, based on all scientific evidence gathered to date, there exists nothing that would demonstrate a casual association between wind turbine noise and adverse health effects.

"Several of my constituents have concerns regarding their specific properties. To that end, I have made a written request to the Minister of the Environment to make certain that their outstanding concerns are addressed as a top priority of the academic research chair."

I myself have, over time, as a member, but also just as a farmer, watched and read and listened to a variety of research documents and many discussion papers, and I've even had the opportunity to get papers from the Netherlands to see what they are doing there because, of course, they have had wind turbines far longer than we have here.

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The one thing I've noticed over and over again is that there's not only a large volume of research, documentation and anecdotal information, but a lot of it conflicts and a lot of it doesn't always agree. I'm reminded of the fact that when I first brought forward the stray voltage bill, having good scientific data and research was really important and really critical in terms of a statement of opinion. We needed to be able to prove that something existed before we could approach the remediation of that issue.

So I find that it was very important to have that kind of research done, and I was really pleased when the Minister of the Environment said that he was going to establish a research chair. As some have pointed out-they're saying, "Well, what happened to the research chair?" Actually, I have here a press release from the Council of Ontario Universities, in which they say, "The Council of Ontario Universities today announced that it will launch a competitive process on behalf of the Ontario government for one chair in renewable energy technologies and health and two chairs in green chemistry and engineering." We are moving forward with this, and when someone said, "Well, is it going to be picked by the minister or by the Premier?"-I think having this work done by the Council of Ontario Universities and having it tendered is much more appropriate. So we are moving forward in that direction.

I have had in my riding a number of proposals for wind turbines. I also have existing wind turbine farms. There have been public meetings in my communities. There was one very recently in Adelaide Metcalfe. I was unable to attend because it was a Tuesday night and we were here in Toronto, but my staff was there and they came back and they heard from people and heard their concerns.

I want to say thank you to the member from Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound because I do think we need to debate this. I think that we-

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Jim Wilson): Thank you.

Mr. Murdoch, you have up to two minutes for your response.

Mr. Bill Murdoch: I want to thank the three Liberal members from Lambton-Kent-Middlesex, Ottawa-Orléans and Oak Ridges-Markham, and just say that all I can do is go by what was quoted by the chief medical officer. I know they keep saying that she wrote a letter that she didn't think there were any concerns, but yesterday when she was asked-and I'm just quoting from this: "So at the moment you don't have a formal position?" And her response was, "No"-well, no means no. You guys got that now? That's what I understood: no means no-"we're still reviewing...." So it means that she doesn't have a position; at least that's what I would take from "no." I think that our medical officer doesn't have a position at this time. That's why I'm saying that we need to put a moratorium on this because, do we have the right here to make people sick because of something we do?

The Toronto-Danforth member, Peter-I appreciate the kind words and that; he's a great politician and he works hard, but in Toronto you've got one windmill-one of them. One. So what do you give a damn about it? You don't. You've got one bloody windmill. We've got them all in rural Ontario. That's what we're upset about. They're all in rural Ontario. They're not down here in Toronto, so it's easy for him to say-and I agree with all he said about how we need to have better sources of electricity and things like that. All of that was nice, nice and green and nice to say, but he's from Toronto-one bloody windmill down here. It's all he's got. I mean, what are we doing here, folks?

I want to thank the three members who spoke on my behalf from the party. I've got to mention John Yakabuski-you're just lucky he wasn't here; John wanted me to mention that he worked really hard on this thing too.

So folks, one-remember that; there's only one of those things down here.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Jim Wilson): We'll vote on Mr. Murdoch's item after we vote on the two previous items that are before us this afternoon.

The time provided for private members' public business has expired.

WIND TURBINES

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Jim Wilson): We'll now deal with ballot item 42, standing in the name of Mr. Murdoch.

Mr. Murdoch has moved private member's notice of motion 116. Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry?

All those in favour of the motion will please say "aye."

All those opposed will please say "nay."

In my opinion, the nays have it.

WIND TURBINES

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Jim Wilson): We'll now deal with-

Interjection.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Jim Wilson): Order. Could you be a little bit quiet so the Clerk can count? It's pretty hard, I'm sure, and distracting for them.

We'll now deal with ballot item number 42, standing in the name of Mr. Murdoch.

Mr. Murdoch has moved private member's notice of motion 116. All those in favour of the motion will please rise and remain standing until recognized by the Clerk.

Ayes

Barrett, Toby

Dunlop, Garfield
Hardeman, Ernie

Murdoch, Bill
Savoline, Joyce

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Jim Wilson): All those opposed to the motion will please rise and remain standing until recognized by the Clerk.

Nays

Aggelonitis, Sophia

Albanese, Laura

Arthurs, Wayne

Balkissoon, Bas

Berardinetti, Lorenzo

Bisson, Gilles

Brown, Michael A.

Colle, Mike

Dhillon, Vic
Dickson, Joe

Hoskins, Eric

Jaczek, Helena

Kwinter, Monte

Mangat, Amrit

McNeely, Phil

Moridi, Reza

Pendergast, Leeanna

Phillips, Gerry
Rinaldi, Lou

Ruprecht, Tony

Sandals, Liz

Sergio, Mario

Smith, Monique

Sousa, Charles

Van Bommel, Maria

Wilkinson, John

Zimmer, David

The Clerk of the Assembly (Ms. Deborah Deller): The ayes are 5; the nays are 27.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Jim Wilson): I declare the motion lost.

Motion negatived.

Nov. 22/09-I am so sorry I have been away so long!

2009-11-22T12:19:00.003-05:00

It's a great Sunday mid morning and I am happy to report that the kids and I had a great sleep last night - WE SLEPT AT MY MOTHER-IN-LAWS house!!!

I am so sorry it has taken me a while since our return from out west to blog an update. Between catching up with work and the renovations, it just seems the days fly by!!

We returned from our amazing vacation on November 8th. Here are a few interesting things about our vacation:
- we arrived in Edmonton Alberta on Sunday October 25th and within just a few days I felt energetic, enthusiastic, and not fatigued at all. It was great to not feel that "draggy" feeling. I felt my memory was sharper, my energy was at a high, and my aches, pains and headaches were non existent. THE very interesting thing was that I was actually battling a cold and cough with a bit of a loss of voice and I still felt better than I had in a long time. When the cold/cough passed, I felt like a whole new woman.
- the kids slept extremely well while in Edmonton. My oldest did not complain even once about a sore back or any other aches and pains! My youngest did not wake up even once and say that his hands, feet, or legs hurt! THIS TO ME WAS a huge verification that their complaints are REAL. If they had become a force of habit, or came from them overhearing their father and I speak of our aches and pains, they would have continued while we were on vacation!
- Within the first week, I noticed that the kids seemed less emotional. They were playing well together. There were less outbursts and arguments between them. I believe they got the best two weeks of sleep they have had in a long time.
- My youngest rash was virtually gone, and remains that way. His only issue while out west was that he had some dry itchy skin from the change in humidity. It is much drier in Edmonton. The rash, the tummy aches, the other aches - all gone!

WHEN WE RETURNED....

It was Sunday November 8th when we returned to our home. The renovations we are in the midst of had come a long way since we left. Unfortunately, they are still not complete. Since we have been back, I have noticed that we hear the turbines every night and I have spent many nights lying awake and listening to them. I hear them, and feel them in my ears, but I have not noticed the vibration to the extent that I was prior to the vacation. I am hopeful that the work we have done to the house has somehow minimized the affect we feel from the vibration.

My headaches have returned, but seem lessened. I have been away from the house much more than I was prior to the vacation, so perhaps that is helpful. Also, it seems that during the day the turbines (like now for instance) are barely turning. At night, however, they are spinning and loud!

The kids, especially my youngest, have not slept properly since our return. My youngest is the reason I am up listening to the turbines in the night. He wakes up and then he says "it's too loud" "let's get up", by the time I convince him it is night time and get him back to sleep, I am stuck listening to the woosh/woosh of the turbines.

My oldest started complaining of back pain again about 5 nights ago. I believe he feels the effects of the turbines in his lower back.

My youngest started waking and complains of pain in his arms, hands, legs and feet again.

Other than those two things, I have not noticed any particularly alarming change in their behaviours.

I wish I had blogged daily because there were some nights that I could not believe how loud the turbines were and some days/nights where my headaches were quite bad.

MY HUSBAND and I are still optimistic that once the new roof and new insulation and siding are completed that the changes will give some relief to the noise. We have also replaced and insulated windows and when the blinds are back on, that will also give some sound protection. As I said, it seems to us that the vibrations are already being felt a bit less. If this works, I will be so excited to share with other victims what we have done and hopefully others will be able to have relief as well.

Of course, I still believe very strongly that wind turbines should not be placed near peoples homes. Even if we manage to minimize the effects, who can say what long term affects there will be on our health, and the health of our children. It is a scary thought.

I appreciate all of the emails, visitors and calls checking on us. Again, I apologize for not blogging sooner and I am sorry to have worried you.

We are doing well and 'living' with the turbines. I still have not heard back from Kruger in regards to my long list of questions regarding their "noise report" other than the letter they send acknowledging my questions and stating that they were waiting to hear from the MOE. I find this a display of complete disregard since they knew that my questions were in part to ensure that the renovations we are doing take into account all things that could possibly combat the effects we are feeling from the turbines. The bottom line is that they do not care about us, or any other family. They are a money driven company - to compare them to the tobacco industry is not an unfair comparison. This is exactly how I see them. They are going to convince themselves that wind energy is "good" for the environment and choose to disregard the hundreds of complainants. They will convince themselves that since there is no "proven evidence" that problems must not exist. I only hope that it does not take our government so many years and so many health issues to do something about the wind turbines as it did for them to do something about tobacco!!!

Well, that's my LONG two cents for today. We'll Chat tomorrow!

Nik

Sat. Oct 24th

2009-10-24T23:10:00.002-04:00

I did not hear the turbines as much last night as the two previous nights, but my youngest tossed and turned so much that he fell out of bed. Later, he cried in his sleep that his hands hurt, his legs hurt...he says that a lot about his legs, especially when he wakes up in the morning... So I did not sleep well, because he did not sleep well....The good news is that the kids and I are getting a break from the turbines! We are off for a vacation so I will blog when we return!
Take care, be well,

Nik

Oct. 22/09 - Another "wintery" windy night

2009-10-23T01:44:00.003-04:00

It is currently 1:44 am according to the clock at my computer. Why am I at my computer at 1:44 am when I have a 9am meeting you ask????....Let me tell you, After arriving home from a late meeting, I tried to get to bed and get some sleep. Unfortunately, the turbines have other plans this evening. As I tried to sleep all I could hear was the woosh, woosh - a large object pushing through the air, causing a repeptitive, loud and annoying noise. Have you ever been so tired and the neighbors dog just keeps barking and you think "just be quiet and let me sleep" - well this dog will not be quiet until the wind stops blowing!!! The annoyance coupled with the pressure in my sinus and head and the sore throat does not make sleep come easily.

I just hung up with "Matt" at the MOE spills action centre (thank you to Wind Concerns of Ontario and Victims of Wind for suggesting that action). I reported to him that for the second night in a row the turbines are very loud - he actually said that "if he has an officer in the area he will have them investigate" - Wow! That would be great...usually they come when the wind is stopped and the turbines are not moving at all....I also emailed the Kruger representative I deal with - Joseph Boland, and Michael Cookson, Manager - Wind Power Sector, Kruger Energy
Tel.: (514) 343-3226, Fax: (514) 343-3124, michael.cookson@kruger.com and
Jean Majeau,Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Communications, Kruger
Tél. : (514) 343-3213 jean.majeau@kruger.com

I let them know that they are not being very good neighbors and I would appreciate if they would turn the turbines nearest us off between 11pm and 7am so we can get some sleep. I did leave a voice mail last night, but so far, no reply....I may take the advice of the person who wrote in from last nights post and try calling the police on "my neighbors" to report the noise complaint. I actually thought of that before but wasn't sure of the rules around complaining about noise, guess I'll have to research that one a bit.

Sleep well, I am off to try again....Nik

October 21st - Very loud today, winter is coming!

2009-10-21T23:18:00.003-04:00

After feeling under the weather all day and being unable to rest, I was excited to get to bed early and catch up on my sleep and feel healthy. It is now 11:19, and I am back in my office - awake! The turbines are turning so loudly that I could hear them while I sat in my living room over the television show!! In the bedroom, I could hear the woosh, woosh, woosh and the wind moving after each woosh. I could 'feel' them turning. The pressure in my ears is unbelievable! I am in the office because I am about to call (again) and file a noise complaint with the MOE - not sure it does any good, but I'll keep calling (actually, I don't call near as often as I should because getting out of bed to call just gets me more awake and more frustrated but I know it's the right thing to do).

Hope your home is quieter than mine!

Nik

11:30 - Update... I did call the spills action centre and "Matt" actually seemed like he was expecting my call. This time (and this is a first), he asked me details of the problem, asked if I had called before, and also took a minute to see if there were a large number of complaints in this area because they now have specific questions they are supposed to ask. When he asked if there was anything else he coudl do for me, I said "yes, could you please contact the Kruger wind project and have them shut down the two turbines nearest to my home". He actually said, I will check to see if we have contact information for that company and if so, I will be sure they are notified.....

That made me think - hey! I should call them so I did. I left my "neighbor" a message on the answering machine that went something like this..."Hello, this is Nikki Horton, your nieghbor calling. I am calling you because it is 11:33pm on Wednesday evening and your wind turbines are keeping me awake. I would ask that you please turn them off after 11pm so as not to disturb us. Thank you".

I am not going to hold my breath, but that is what I would do if my neighbors dog was barking, or if they were having a loud bash or whatever so why not give it a try! It is excessively disturbing tonight, and affecting my eyes as well...I actually feel like my left eye is drooping a bit and when I looked in the mirror it seemed puffy or droopy on the upper lid...very strange.

I heard on the radio that they are releasing the H1N1 flu shot. Canada Health made a statement that they continued to review the vaccine even after many other countries allowed it to be distributed to be diligent and ensure all of their questions were answered...Wonder why they don't use that same common sense with the turbines instead of inflicting them on people and then waiting to see/hear the consequences!

I am going to try to get some sleep, Good night - I hope!

Nik

October 19 - Law suit, press release

2009-10-19T22:01:00.002-04:00

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20091019/windmills_lawsuit_091019/20091019/?hub=TorontoNewHome

This link will take you to the CTV website article on a law suit filed by an Ontario man that asks the Ontario government to protect people by performing proper studies and initiating proper setbacks. Good for Him!!! He certainly has our support...

Up early this morning, I walked out to our mailbox around 7:30 am and the turbines were turning so loudly that it was almost startling. We are currently in the midst of renovations to attempt to soundproof our home (at least the inside) from the noise and vibration of the turbines. I find it interesting - the comments we get from the workers who are here during the day, sometimes day after day. Many, if not all of them have commented on how loud the turbines are and how they did not realize the sound that comes from them. One of the workers who is hear every day and has been for a few weeks now was commenting on the exhaustion she is feeling at night. She said that she has felt extremely and unusually tired ever since she started working here - I believe that to be the effect of the turbines on the human body.

Our next door neighbor, who has moved in only in the last months mentioned that he felt the vibration the other day and was shocked at it. We are coming to the time where the leaves are falling off the trees. This will be the neighbors first fall/winter here. It will be interesting to see if they notice the turbines more in the upcoming months...they are a bit farther from the turbines than we are.

Today, my throat feels like I swallowed nails. We were up late into the night last evening and did not get much sleep due to a fire nearby, however, I have noticed that with the ongoing sleep problems and fatigue we feel that it only takes one night like that for us to experience symptoms of being very ill. I believe that living within proximity to these turbines is wearing on us; making our "bounce back ability" unlike healthy individuals, and more like people with an illness.

My sons rash is back and he is also waking in the morning with an opposite eye problem to ours. My husband and I wake often with such dry eyes that it is almost painful. My youngest has been waking with "water" in his eyes. He wakes up screaming because he can not open his eyes and they have "water" in them. When I go to him, I can see that the lids above his eyes are in fact puffy and appear to be filled with fluid. I wipe his eyes with a warm cloth and usually within a few minutes he is able to open them is ok. A few times, it almost seemed like the fluid actually rushed out, almost like tears. He is seeing another specialist tomorrow.

Below is a message from Wind Concerns of Ontario Group: (It doesn't matter how much! Every ten or 20 dollars donated can add up to assist. Help keep others from suffering. We are spending tens of thousands of dollars to try to fix our problem and we have no guarantees it will work! A lawsuit like this could ensure that no one else has to leave their home or spend thousands to stay in it! Nik)

This lawsuit is the biggest thing that has been undertaken by the wind opposition to date. To be clear, this affects ALL of Ontario. EVERYONE in Ontario who cares about this issue should donate to help this legal action through.

If you care at all about how this government has forced these wind turbines into our neighbourhoods, I challenge YOU to make a donation. Unfortunately, this is our last yet most powerful recourse. Together, we can make this become a reality! It doesn't matter how much! Every ten or 20 dollars donated can add up to assist. Help keep others from suffering.

To donate by credit card or paypal go to http://windconcernsontario.org and click on the donate button. Instructions for cheque payment are also listed there.

I haven't reported for a while....

2009-10-16T20:18:00.002-04:00

Today is October 16th and I realized I have not written anything for a while....we are deep in our renovation. We are hopeful that the work we are doing will help to minimize the affects of the turbines. Due to the noise of the construction during the day, I have found the turbine noise less noticeable so I can not really say how much or how little they have been turning although it seems they have been pretty slow turning other than a couple of days here and there. I have noticed that I have been feeling extremely fatigued, and at times a bit nauseous, but other than that, pretty good all things considered. I think the fatigue is the hardest to deal with, especially with small children who do not want to have a "nap" with mom in the afternoon! My youngest has the rash again. It went almost completely away when we went camping, and then it came back with a vengeance within a few days of our return home. Luckily, I scheduled a follow up appointment just in case so he sees the pediatrician again on Tuesday. I have noticed that my teeth are extremely sore and have caught myself clenching my jaw in my sleep. I believe this is something that started with the turbines also. My oldest has also started grinding and clenching his teeth at night. I know that this can be considered as normal, but here's something interesting...we went camping again this past weekend and stayed over one night - I watched a movie in bed with my oldest next to me and noticed that he was not clenching or grinding. I also felt as though I had not clenched when I woke that morning.....
I am frustrated and upset today, and maybe that is why I thought to blog. I sent a long letter to Kruger Energy in September asking them to clarify many things about the noise report they did here. When they came to share it with me, I had asked many questions verbally but they said they did not know and would ask and get back to me. When they did not, I put those questions, and more, in writing. Yesterday, I rec'd a response from them (almost 3 weeks later). As I opened the email, I fully expected to see answers, instead, I found a response that read :

Dear Ms. Horton,
Thank you for your letter dated September 16, 2009, which we received by email on
September 24, 2009. We are currently reviewing the letter.
Also, we are currently waiting for any comments that the MOE might have on our July
30, 2009 letter and noise measurements report, as prepared by Aerocoustics, the
independent engineering firm retained for this purpose.
Please contact the undersigned if you have any questions.

I love that last line! Please contact if you have questions! I do have questions, many of them - that was the purpose of the letter! I am not sure why the MOE comments would matter, except that I suspect that if the MOE states that they are OK with the report then Kruger can simply say to me "not our problem".....the questions I asked were about the report, about information not shown, how it reads, how vague it is, what it means, what kind of assistance can we get...and a bit about the renovations we are doing and asking for any feedback they can provide on it and what types of things might help.....when we speak in person, they say that they would like to help, that they are available to work with us, but when it comes down to it, we get Nothing! I did send that letter to our city council, mayor, MPP's, MOE and others, and no one has contacted me about it....

I truly hope this extra insulation, windows, siding, roof, etc. works....I am tired of feeling tired...

I hope the rest of you are sleeping well...

Nik

MPP Calls for halt to wind Farms until province clears health concerns

2009-10-08T13:02:00.001-04:00

For Immediate Release

October 7, 2009

Murdoch calls for halt to wind farms

until province clears health concerns

QUEEN’S PARK – Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MPP Bill Murdoch will call for a province-wide moratorium on wind turbine projects when he introduces a resolution at Queen’s Park later this month.

Through his resolution, which he expects to be debated on Oct. 29, Murdoch will call on the province and its chief medical doctor to state whether or not wind turbines cause health problems for people who live near them.

Murdoch said the government has a responsibility as well as a mandate to investigate such claims – which range from sleep deprivation to heart palpitations – before moving on with wind energy projects.

The green light for future wind development should come from the province’s medical and environmental experts, including Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, as well as the ministries of health and environment, Murdoch added.

“As with any project of this magnitude, it’s expected to get some opposition,” Murdoch said in reference to the Liberal government’s green energy agenda that calls for 1,000 turbines to be erected in Ontario by 2012. “My objective here is to bring these people’s health concerns to an end. If there is no link between wind turbines and adverse health effects among people who live near them, then let the experts state that publicly for all of us to hear.”

The Liberal government moved very quickly with the Green Energy agenda. Bill 150 was passed into law within a short time, and as a result very many things got overlooked, explained Murdoch.

“In light of all these concerns, I think it would be very beneficial if the current administration at Queen’s Park cleared the air before moving on with its clean air agenda,” Murdoch said.

- 30 -

RESOLUTION

That in the Opinion of this House, the Province of Ontario must impose a moratorium on all new wind turbine projects in Ontario until such time as the Chief Medical Officer of Health, Ministry of Health and Ministry of the Environment have stated that wind turbines do not have any adverse health effects on people who live near them.

Contact:

Ana Sajfert, EA
Office of Hon. Bill Murdoch, MPP
Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound
Critic for Municipal Affairs - Rural and Northern Ontario
Rm. 451, Main Legislative Bldg, Queen's Park
Toronto, ON M7A 1A8
Tel: 416.325.6242
Fax: 416.325.6248

Sept. 29th-Thank you for the comment, and for sharing this article

2009-09-29T09:29:00.002-04:00

Thank you for the comments on the last blog, and for sharing the article below....
(Update on our Son's Rash - It was cleared up and we got home Sunday mid day, Yesterday we noticed some "dots" on his belly and today we had to keep him home and I am trying to get him back into the Pediatricaion because he now has rash on his belly and wrists and is still on Penicillan!!!! My husband slept on and off due to noise of turbines last night, and I went to bed at 9:30, slept until 8:00 am and woke up feeling extremely tired and groggy with very dry eyes!!! I am more and more convinced every day of the negative affects the installation of wind turbines is having on the health of our communities!!!)

Article from Northumberlandtoday:

Letters to the EditorHome News Letters to the Editor Environmental considerations for wind energy Environmental considerations for wind energy
Posted By
Posted 3 hours ago

In response to the editorial "One step at a time", Sept. 24, 2009, the comments are concluded with the sentence, "Time we started dovetailing our own attitudes."

While there are many concerns about the feasibility of wind energy, and the production of it, such as health concerns, impact of bird and animal life, along with the ugliness of the towers themselves, there are three points the proponents of such a system neglect to mention

1. The European/U. S. A. experience where such systems have been in place for some time demonstrate this system of generating electricity has an efficiency factor of 10 to 20% That means that to generate 1.5 mw of power (the capacity of one turbine), there has to be at least five towers in place.

2. The wind energy companies, in those areas, have only been profitable if they are heavily subsidized. Because of these costs, Denmark, which is often cited as being a good example of using wind, has now ceased to erect new onshore facilities and withdrawn subsidies for existing sites. The companies, needless to say, have stopped developing onshore wind plants, with the resulting impact on manufacturers in the industry.

3. The impact of a tower base, with digging and blasting, can incur a hole up to 30 feet deep and 40 feet in diameter. This then has to be filled it with up to 1,250 tons of reinforced concrete. This has an impact on ground water tables and aquifers. When an aquifer is damaged, experiences here, in England and the U. S. A. have demonstrated, it does not recover. Wells in the water basin area of such a system run, and remain, dry.

In Ontario, the effect of damage to a water table was shown, in my experience, when a water pipe line was extended recently across York Region to service King City area. The line was only dug down about six feet for construction purposes, but farm wells up to 100 feet deep in the area of Vandorf, which had been in use for several generations, went dry and they have never come back into service.

Recognizing the importance of the farming industry to Northumberland, if the farm does not have access to water, what is the impact on the farm and its livestock?

For a farm, or a rural property owner, to bear the cost of digging a new well, due to the imposition of a proven faulty technology, by a government or a company, for political-or taxpayer-subsidized gain, is unacceptable.

So, yes, we must, as noted, "dovetail our own attitudes". But let us dovetail those attitudes on a fully informed basis, not only on theoretical economic benefits, and on half truths currently in the public domain by the wind energy companies, and the provincial government, but also on the full economic costs and a complete understanding of the system impact.

It is that impact that will affect us all.

Anthony White Grafton

September 28th - back from a great weekend.....but

2009-09-28T10:06:00.002-04:00

Hello All!
I am so happy to report that my son's rash was almost completely healed by Saturday! We left for camping on Thursday afternoon after his pediatrician appointment. The appointment went extremely well as we filled the doctor in on the various symptoms he (and the rest of us) have been experiencing since the winter. We discussed how our symptoms started after the erection of the wind turbines, we discussed options and in the end we agreed on several actions for our son. I sent the doctor our blog information, and we discussed being able to get rechecked when symptoms become more severe again in the winter months. Of course, without proper information and studies, it is difficult for a doctor to diagnose the cause, however, he did state that some of what I was describing could be generated by things like low frequency noise, noise, and vibration. He further said that the slapping of the head and some of the other symptoms could be indication of headaches and now that our son is more verbal try asking him "what hurts" and see if he indicates his head, he could be getting severe headaches.....I felt very good about the appointment and the doctor's willingness to listen and consider various possibilities.....

We left for camping after that and the inflamed "rash" on my son's arms was a bit better but still quite sore and open, by Saturday morning it was almost completely gone. He had a great weekend and even had some success with potty training, something we had almost accomplished last fall and then he stopped (around the same time his general attitude changed, after the turbines). He was a happy kid this weekend, slept very well except for one night when he woke up a few times wanting to "get up and play" in the night, I could tell his energy level was way up....

My eldest son also was great on the camping trip. It was great to see them acting like themselves, smiling and having fun. My eldest slept great and did not complain of any aches or pains.

My husband and I stayed up later than we do at home, and got up about the same time and felt rested and relaxed! It was wonderful. By Friday, I felt like my old self again, and by Sunday, I felt energetic, excited, thinking about the future, motivated to do things, happy, driven to do projects at home and at work! It's a great feeling to be so optimistic and peaceful!!!

BUT,

WE arrived home on Sunday and the turbines were quite loud when I was playing outside in the yard with the kids just after dinner. They seemed to become a little quieter later in the evening, but about 1:30 in the morning, my youngest woke up complaining of the "whoosh whoosh" sound. After getting him settled, I could not fall back to sleep and it was well after 3am when I was able to sleep again. I could "feel" the turbines and could not relax to fall asleep. In the morning, I could not get up with the alarm and overslept due to the grogginess and hitting the "snooze" button. When I did get up, I was surprised by the "dry eyes" again as I did not experience that the whole time we were gone away.

My husband did not sleep at all. He said he laid awake and between the noise, the "ringing" in his ears and the "itchy rash" that had all returned in the night, he looked exhausted again. At 3am when he told me of the rash and that he was awake also, I thought about calling the Spill Action Centre to report our complaint, but I just couldn't bring myself to get out of bed and do it....I will call today, just in case it actually does any good to report it.

My youngest son complained when he woke up that his "legs" hurt, and I noticed him scratching at his inner arm where the rash had been - something I had not seen him do since we left home. My other son woke up and complained of feeling "very tired", and showed me the inner sides of his arms and said "mom, see those lines (the "wrinkles" in your inner elbow", they are hurting", he also complained of back pain again......

After this experience, I am more sure than ever that our problems are somehow related to the wind turbines. I sent a letter last week with a number of questions, and I guessed at what we thought might be the cause, but someone gave me some good advice over the weekend. He said, it is not up to you to find the solution, it is up to you to report the problems and the company should be responsible and investigate to find the cause. It is very obvious that your problems started with the erection of the wind project...whatever the cause, it needs to be found and fixed. I agree with this statement and I am confident that we are making every effort to assist with finding a cause, but I wish I felt more confident that our complaints and our health issues were being taken seriously.

As for our renovation, we are moving forward with it and are extremely hopeful that we will find some relief, at least possibly lessen the effects of the winter months. I heard from a women who can barely function in her home, she is suffering far worse than us, and has been dealing with these issues far longer than we have, to her and all of the other sufferers, We send our thoughts and truly hope that you are all able to find relief soon....

Nik

Update to Rash / New Article

2009-09-23T09:23:00.004-04:00

We took our son to a clinic two nights ago for his rash and the doctor said it "looks like an impentago type of rash". He is treating our son, and myself with penicillan because I also have a bit of a rash on my fingers and he did not want to take any chances. Unfortunately, the clinic was very busy and this doctor did not wish to speak of other possibilities, causes, or my concerns about the turbine issue. Since he is not our family doctor, I did not push the issue...I am relieved that we have an appointment with the Pediatrician (finally) tomorrow and that he will be able to look at this rash, and hear the other affects we have noticed with our son(s) and ourselves. I have heard from other WT sufferers and they say the rash in the picture on the blog looks very much like the rash they have been suffering. They strongly believe their rash to be caused from low frequency vibration and dirty electricity from the wind turbines, and I believe they are correct. Some of them have learned that when exposed to certain items, cell phones, etc., their rash becomes worse. I imagine that to be the thing that takes them over the threshold and "activates" the condition that is there due to the exposure to wind turbines. I only wish our government would provide the tests and equipment necessary to properly monitor the cause in order to prevent the effects.

NEWS ARTICLE - Chatham Daily News

Wind turbines still a problem for some - Sept. 22nd

A Blenheim woman claims her family is still suffering effects from a nearby wind farm.

Kruger Energy’s 44-turbine Port Alma project became operational last year.

Nikki Horton, who filed a complaint with the Montreal-based company, said the wind farm is impacting her family’s quality of life, with symptoms such as headaches and fatigue.

“We’re still ill. We’re still sleep deprived,” she said. “Our children are still experiencing problems.”

Horton said Kruger conducted a noise report earlier this year.

She received the results recently.

“It left me with a lot of unanswered questions,” she said. “They seem to be trying to blame our problems on other things, but we’re pretty sure it’s the wind turbines.”

Horton said she is planning to soundproof her home since she doesn’t want to move.

Some of these measures include triple-paned windows and new insulation.

“We’re hoping that will help,” she said.

Horton believes wind energy supporters are pushing forward without seeing the impact on residents.

“Turning a blind eye to all these people who are having problems is not going to make it go away,” she said.

Blenheim’s Pam Mazerolle also sent a letter to Kruger on the issues she and her husband are having.

She said they’ve been having headaches that even their doctor can’t explain.

“We also have a big concern regarding our property value, now that these turbines are in our backyard the value has gone down. Ask yourself, 'Would you want to live this close to them?'” she wrote. “Please don't get us wrong, we are all for green energy, anything to help the planet, it has been damaged enough.

“But when do we say, 'Wait a minute our health and way of life comes first?'”

Mazerolle said she’s also seen a change of behaviour in her horse, which “seemed more jumpy,” and would pace around in circles at night.

Jean Majeau, Kruger’s senior vice-president of communications, said the matter was investigated.

He said it was also reported to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment.

“We had one turbine that was not properly working,” he said. “The corrections have been made and we had also done an independent study that everything had come back to normal.

“As far as we are concerned, the file is closed.”
tterfloth@chathamdailynews.ca
_________________________________________

I find it odd that Kruger states the file is closed when I am still working with Kruger to find solutions. As far as it being closed, I definately do not feel that we have seen an answer to our problems, and my family and I consider this issue very much open.

Nikki

Sept.21 - 2009 Strange rash

2009-09-21T12:23:00.003-04:00

I am not sure if this is WT related, but it could be as I have heard from others about strange rashes, etc. so I will blog it and we can see what happens...About Thursday or Friday of last week, I had a breakout of what I thought was excema on my ring and baby fingers. I treated it as I usually would but instead of getting better, it seemed to get worse....unlike excema, it is three circles and they are quite deep wounds.....that is not my biggest concern though...my youngest son developed over the weekend a small rash on his inner elbow area, as the days have progressed, it has gotten far worse...deep red circles that are very sensitive, and surounding red blotches and dots...I am trying to get him a doctor's appointment today, but so far tomorrow is the soonest I could get...if he continues to complain, I will take him to the emergency department...he has also woke up with his eyes "glued" shut for two night now, but he shows no sign of a cold or allergies...his eyes were very red last night and appeared puffy, however, today his eyes appear better....I suffered from a major headache yesterday afternoon, and last night some extreme pains in my hips, legs and wrist joints...I was in a minor car accident on Saturday, so I suppose it could be from that, but I really don't think so as my neck and back are only slightly sore and I feel fine....who knows if WT's are the cause, but I will write this note and hopefully all will turn out to be nothing.....Nikki

Send A Letter to your MPP!

2009-09-18T08:41:00.001-04:00

PROTECT US FROM HUGE TURBINES

The provincial government, led by Premier Dalton McGuinty, is about to change the landscape of Ontario forever, by setting and announcing new regulations for wind tubine installations. History shows that Premier Dalton McGuinty and his Ministers of Energy, Mr. Smitherman and the Environment, Mr. Gerretsen have completely ignored and entirely abandoned constituents from far and wide in this province who have been, and continue to be, harmed by these industrial machines being placed too close to their homes.

So far, what they have been allowing, has failed to protect people. Rural residents have been used as guinea pigs. There are problems all over the world and this government knows about them. In Europe there are 363 organizations from 19 European countries demanding their governments change what is happening to them. (epaw.org) This continues throughout the world in our neighbouring USA, Australia, Japan, ... In Ontario alone there are 35 citizens groups from 24 counties and districts that have joined together as members of Wind Concerns Ontario, windconcernsontario.org.

The wind industry, who are well supported by this government, have hired doctors to present their case that there are no health problems associated with wind turbines. Not one of them has done an epidemiological study and not one of their professionals has called any of the victims to speak with them. Not one. This government has been asked repeatedly to conduct a formal health study before any more turbines are erected.

Earlier this year, the government called for public input from people of this province regarding siting and other issues involved with the planning of wind energy.

There will have been hundreds (nobody knows for sure) of submissions on the very controversial issues surrounding wind turbines situated so close to homes. Many high calibre people from varied professional fields and current residents living in wind farms have made submissions that Ontarians have the right to see before the new regulations are set. Ontarians need to have a say in what is about to happen. These new regulations can affect the health of 100's if not 1,000's of people, farmers livestock, wildlife, all property values in Ontario and will bring misery and pain to too many people. What kind of government, knowing what they know now, would continue down this path of denial? There was a setback number of 550 metres bandied about in the media earlier this year. This setback will not make a dent. In fact existing turbines situated farther back than 550 meters have been measured operating over allowable noise levels.

It now appears they are going to be setting the new regulations without the public having full access to the submissions made on this subject.

There is also reason to believe the wind developers know a lot more than the citizens of this province about what is about to happen to this province, and that in itself is cause for great concern.

As a citizen and taxpayer, you have a right to see what the public submissions hold before new regulations take hold of this province. These are extremely sensitive issues and must not be allowed to be processed without due diligence.

Premier McGuinty, we demand you allow full access to all, not just part, of the submissions made to the Ministry this year regarding the Green Energy Act EBR# 101-6516. We demand that you grant sufficient viewing time, easy access for all residents in the entire province, and that you accept comments in response from people that have had a chance to become informed. Only then should you be able to continue setting the new regulations.

Sincerely,

XXXXXXXXXXX your name and address here XXXXXXXX

September 16th - Bad Day for Me

2009-09-16T17:33:00.002-04:00

Last night the turbines were very very loud and I was kept awake until about 1pm with them. I had a disrupted sleep and so did my children who kept waking as well and wanting to come into my bed to sleep. The youngest asked if someone was playing video games outside - he said he could hear helicoptors....In the night, I had terrible aches and pains in my legs and hips...this happened about a week ago and I thought maybe it was just an "achy" day....now I am wondering if it has to do with the turbines...my youngest cried a lot this morning when he woke up and acted as if he was extremely overtired, which makes sense as he was up a lot last night....my oldest complained of a back ache again....We are going ahead with some renovations to try to create a barrier for the sound and vibration in our home - if it works, it will be good news for everyone! I know that most people are not looking to leave their homes and would be very happy with a solution to the problem....We are giving it a try...wish us luck!!
Today was a bad day for me, I felt tired and weak all day. I had "the headache" again very badly today and I even slept for a bit with my children this afternoon....it makes it difficult to get work and household chores completed, but I am grateful that I have the flexibility to work around the bad days....

Wind Farm Battle to Go To High Court

2009-09-16T17:31:00.001-04:00

This is an interesting story someone sent me about the problems in other areas and people trying to find a resolution through the court system.....

Things that make you go hmmmmm?

2009-09-15T00:07:00.005-04:00

I blogged back on the 7th that I was feeling extremely tired and under the weather...I said I could not be sure if it was the turbines, but I didn't think so...hmmmm, well now I am wondering if that was the beginning of some new symptoms....a few nights ago, I felt so achy, right into my bones...my hips felt like they were being pushed so hard that they would break at any minute...my legs and lower body were painful and heavy, like nothing I have ever felt before...actually, that is not true - last winter, I saw a doctor because I was having strange hip pain, it was similar to this I think...perhaps it started last winter because the turbines did? hmmmmm?
Today is much better in terms of pain, but I did wake up this morning and hit the snooze button so many times even my three year old was getting frustrated with me... I HATE that feeling in the morning where you can't open your eyes and your whole body says "stay in bed and get some rest", especially when there is no good reason for it. The dry eyes in the morning continue, but someone told me to try teargel as it apparently provides relief so I will buy some tomorrow. My husband had a dizzy spell yesterday. He said it came and went throughout the day - he was working at home mostly during the day...
Today was strange, I woke up groggy - felt better once I was up - by noon I felt like I could literally fall asleep standing - I left the house and went to Chatham, by the time I got into town, I felt better. After being gone a few hours, I headed home...home about 15 minutes and I felt extremely tired again. I had a short nap but when my alarm rang at 5 oclock to pick up my kids I felt like I could keep sleeping, sleep for a week even...I got up and got the kids, and I have been fine ever since - too tired to go to my weekly golf girls night, but better and not so tired feeling....I have missed many of my golf leaugue nights due to fatigue....hmmmmm...I wonder how many games the wind turbines exec's miss due to the effects of living near them....wait a minute - do any of them live near them?? HMMMMMMMM?

Nik

Sept. 11, 2009 - A bit of Relief

2009-09-11T17:37:00.002-04:00

I am not sure if I am still feeling the wondeful effects of being away for the night two nights ago, or if we are getting some relief because of the wind conditions...either way, it's a blessing...other than when I woke up this morning, I have been pretty good today...I woke up with the dry eyes and had a very difficult time getting out of bed - my youngest son woke up and his first words this morning were also "my eyes hurt mom", but as I got them off to school and headed out to start the day, we all seemed fine today. My husband is at work today so I am not sure what kind of night he had last night, but I am pretty sure he took a sleeping pill (something he has had to start to do in order to get any sleep at all) so he likely had a pretty good night also.
I was out most of the day and as I drove home, I noticed that today the opposite turbine is stopped. Yesterday is was the one at the rear, today it is the one at the front. I am not sure why they are not turning, I am just relieved that they are not turning. Even one not turning seems to provide some relief......
I'll be in touch shortly to keep you advised, but in the meantime, let's hope the winds stay slow and the turbines stay stopped. Nik

Sept 10, 2009 - Middlesex Wind Action Group

2009-09-11T00:38:00.002-04:00

Wow! I can not believe what an AMAZING day I have had today..... It all started last night when I was honoured to speak to a group of about 250 people near Strathroy at an Industrial Wind Turbines Public Information Session sponsored by the Middlesex Wind Action Group. Unfortunately, I was unable to stay for the entire session, but I have been informed that organizers were happy with the turnout and the questions raised. The information given by the speakers was excellent, and besides myself, attendees also heard from other people currently suffering from the effects of wind turbines. When I completed my other commitments for the evening, I stayed at a friends on the lake at Kettle Point. It was peaceful, quiet and her place is so homey and inviting you can't help but feel good. The best part - I HAD THE BEST SLEEP I HAVE HAD IN AGES!!! Someone went to the washroom in the early morning and it woke me up and to my amazement, I felt Great!!! It was about 5:30 am and I woke feeling rested, energetic, excited to start the day! I felt like my old self! I have been in and out of my home today, but still feel pretty good even at 12:44 am. I have accomplished more today than I have in weeks and I am reluctant to go to bed because I don't want to wake up tomorrow and feel terrible again. Can it really be that bad? Well, in a word, YES. ( I did notice that one turbines near our home was not turning today so that might have helped us also today)

Even on the two hour drive to Strathroy last evening, my ears were popping as if I had been on a plane. And again, even now, I feel the pressure building in them, and my glands feel as though they are beginning to swell in my neck again. I read another victim had said "it feels like there are cotton balls in my ears" and although I could not think of how to describe it, that is exactly it - like there are cotton balls in my ears!!! I find it so surreal when I hear another victim far away and when I hear them speak, it could be me speaking. The descriptions are always so similar to what me and my family are feeling....
So, today was a good day. I am also excited to see that communities around Ontario are waking up and asking the tough questions before the turbines are erected. I wish we had asked more questions, done more homework, instead of blindly trusting our government.
I have received a lot of emails and calls today, and I appreciate all of the concern, the feedback, and the questions. I wish I could do more to help. I am so proud of the organizers of the event last night. If everyone would just do a little to spread the word and speak up against harmful emissions like turbine noise and vibration, we could make a difference. Some people asked me what message they should send, what should they say?
Although each person has a different experience and opinion, to me the message is simple. Do not build wind turbines where they affect people. Build them far away from homes. Be sure, listen to the people who have studied them and set them far enough back that people will not have to leave their homes, or suffer in them...
It's late, I should go now. Good luck to everyone - here's hopin' the winds not blowing where you are. G'Night. Nik

Sept 7 - I haven't blogged in a while....

2009-09-07T22:42:00.002-04:00

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. It's been very busy, and I have been feeling extremely tired and not myself. I do not suspect it is the turbines this time though because to my knowledge they were not turning much on the days I was especially tired....of course, I can't be sure, but somehow I think this is something different, or perhaps a combination of the turbines and something else adding to it. I have been working on a letter of questions, and researching the information supplied from the noise test. I will soon have that posted, in the meantime, please be patient.

I do see that the controversy continues in many forums. I received the Costco magazine today and page 14 and 15 are devoted to the question "Should we rely more on wind energy?" As I understand it, this is an invitation for a debate. There are several websites listed as references, including the Wind Concerns Ontario group. To vote online, you can cot to Costco.ca, click "in the Warehouse" and then Costco Connection magazine and select Debate, under contents.

I believe this link may work also: http://delivery.texterity.com/costco/index000384893.cfm

These were the results tonight so far:

Informed Debate
Should we rely more on wind energy?
Yes 82 Votes 8.0%
No 943 Votes 92.0%
Total Votes 1025 Votes

Thank you for participating in our survey.

You may also send your comments to: debate@costco.com

UPDATE: I have received information that there are now 11 people suffering from the Kruger wind farm and those are just the ones who have recognized the link between the turbines and their symptoms and who are willing to speak about it!

EVENT NOTIFICATION:
Please be advised of the following information session. I think this is so important because if these particular wind turbines go forward, they will be very close to a school of small children who could be adversely affected.

Date: Wednesday, September 9th, 7:00PM
Location: Adelaide W.G. MacDonald Public School Gymnasium 29059 School Road, Strathroy
Follow the link below for the flyer for this event:
http://windaction.wordpress.com/2009/08/24/come-to-our-public-information-session/

August 28th - The more I learn, the less I believe!

2009-08-28T22:15:00.002-04:00

After getting the report back from the wind energy company (Kruger), I asked some friends and professionals about it. I had guesses and questions (you saw posted), but since I know very little about wind, noise, energy, etc., they were of course only my "common sense would dictate" reactions to what was happening. As I began getting feedback from people, it was AMAZING to me how accurate my guesses actually were. Of course, not explained expertly, but the theory basically correct. I have been investigating further "standing waves", and a bit about how sound travels, how it bounces, "acoustics", resonance, vibrations and waves..One web page I looked at refers to musical instruments, reflections and what happens when sound waves are "disturbed" or "blocked" (http://www.lightandmatter.com/html_books/3vw/ch04/ch04.html) I found it very interesting, especially since I thought about sound and instruments immediately when relating the location of our home and the sound waves and vibration coming from the turbines....

So what is so unbelievable??? I can not believe that wind companies, specifically the people responsible for the designing, engineering, building and erecting of these giant wind machines can actually claim that "there is no evidence" of sound or vibration emitted that will affect the population. And, how can our government and so many others sit by and disregard the complaints and facts presented by so many victims! It makes perfect sense that the wind, sound and vibration generated by such a massive machine would send these factors in the direction it is blowing - it further makes sense that if an object (such as a home) is in the direct path, it could act as an amplifier, and that the residence of that home would feel, hear and sense the disturbance!

My youngest has started grabbing at his left ear often and screaming. If his brother plays with certain toys that make noise, or yells, he cringes and cries and screams - this is a new thing, certainly not the ordinary. He has been checked by the family doctor a few times, but diagnosed as being " a little red in the ear" possibly an infection and treated with drugs. It keeps going on, more screaming - more drugs....His appointment with the pediatrician is finally coming up next month and hopefully they will be able to run some real tests to determine his problem and whether it is related to the turbines.

I understand that in the Strathroy area there are plans for several turbines to go up around a school! This I can not believe....exposing children to something that has been so readily complained about all day, every day for months!!! There is a girl on the news today who is 13 and wants to sail around the world unaccompanied and the government may not let her due to the possible danger, but they will allow an entire school full of children under 14 to be exposed to a potential hazard that may affect their learning ability, hearing, and who knows what else as they develop??? Sometimes this feels like a movie to me because I can not believe that there are human beings out there who are really willing to risk families and children for money.

So as I research and get feedback, I am writing a list of questions to send to Kruger for their "official" response. I asked several questions the day of and they promised to get back to me, but I have heard nothing....When the letter is finished, I will post it for you. I hope it helps someone, I hope it helps us!
Thanks, Nik

Yet Another Family Home taken by Wind Turbines....

2009-08-23T09:36:00.003-04:00

This report is from Australia, and this could be Gerred and I speaking. I agree with this woman about being energetic and now that the wind turbines are spinning being ready for a nap by mid-afternoon...it's true, it affects your body, your mind and your spirit!!!!

When will the wind energy people be able to stop using the fact that there is "no conclusive evidence" as an arguement. If a store brand product or food item was causing this many complaints, it would be pulled from the shelves and investigated!

Please write to your local, provincial and federal government representatives and stop this before it affects someone you love!

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25964195-5006785,00.html

August 22 - windows open for the first time!

2009-08-22T19:03:00.001-04:00

Today was a great day! It is cooler than it has been, AND, we were actually able to open the windows and turn off our a/c for the first time in months since the turbines are quiet today!!! Hopefully they stay that way so we can leave the windows open for the evening and enjoy the fresh, cool breeze. If they start up again, we'll have to shut everything up and turn our a/c on....very expensive, and not near as nice to sleep in.....nik

August 20th - Kruger representative visit

2009-08-20T10:10:00.002-04:00

It is currently 10:00 am, the representative from Kruger Energy just left...I called the two men who were here the other day to come out and have a listen since the turbines were rather loud this morning...One arrived about 9:30 and came into one of the upstairs bedrooms to have a listen. We could definitely hear the "woosh, woosh" of the turbines even with the kids watching tv downstairs. I tried to explain that when we are asleep at night that it is even louder, and that a few nights ago I could even hear it over a movie I was watching in that room. I even had him lie down on the bed because it seems to be louder when you are in a restful state. At that moment it even occured to me that the wall behind the bed could be acting as a conductor as well. He called to find out the amount being produced at present and although I can not remember the two numbers he said, he stated that they were giving max output at present. He asked "does this really keep you awake?"...I told him YES, it does. and that a few minutes of listening is nothing compared to months of the endless drone and the humm and the noise while trying to sleep...We went out back of the house to listen next and found that the turbines noise was loudest between the house and turbines, and not quite as loud when we stood over to the far side of the house. We discussed placement and my theory of the sound bouncing off the house. As we stood there, my right ear started to "throb" for lack of a better word (like being on a plane, or that thump, thump you get when a window is open in a car and you are travelling at a high speed). I asked if he could feel it, and his response was "sorry, no, I'm fine". I said maybe it was different sensitivity, or perhaps the result of exposure over a long period of time to which his response was that he works near the turbines all the time. He mentioned that when he was up on their operations building the other day with 6 turbines pointing at him he could not hear them, but he admitted that with only two (three actually) near us he could hear them. he also mentioned that this is "as loud as they would get", but I had to strongly disagree as this is not the loudest they have been...to which he indicated that when MOE has them test the noise they are measuring at lower levels and perhaps this is why. I do think they are actually louder when they are turning a bit slower, or perhaps when different environmental affects are in place (humidity, air pressure, etc.)

I still don't believe he is convinced that this noise is a problem, nor do I believe that he thinks any of our health problems or complaints of vibration and ear problems are legitimate concerns, or perhaps he does realize it at some level but certainly as an employee of the energy company I can not see that being openly admitted to us. I told him of my youngest holding his left ear this morning and screaming that it hurt. I told him of my headaches being a bit better but that my throat has been sore and I have had some problems. (My doctor is sending me to an ear, nose and throat specialist to rule out any inner problems as she can find nothing wrong and does not rule out the turbines as a possible cause of the problems I am experiencing). He said he would make a few calls and then he left. I thanked him for coming out, but I am not sure it did any good. My objective is to create an understanding of these Kruger representatives that this is not just something that is "in our heads", this is in fact a REAL problem. I regret to say that I feel it will take many more visits before we receive any type of sympathy or real problem solving effort. I hope I am wrong and that we are being taken seriously, but there always seems to be "another" point made about the weather changes causing headaches, dry eyes, etc....He mentioned that he had had some issues with dry eyes the past couple of days, and it's funny, I did not have the serious dry eyes this morning. I don't think that these people want to admit it - although, I don't know how much longer they can turn a blind eye as more and more victims come forward.
I also told the representative of our plans to try to shield ourselves from the noise by installing spray foam insulation and three pain windows as well as new siding, etc. He was either unable or unwilling to express whether that might help. It occurred to me that I should try to find out whether this type of thing has been done and been helpful in the past so I am going to ask the Energy company about that formally. Surely, there must have been others before us who have tried to block the sounds out of their home - Anyone out there who knows of anyone who has made these attempts, it would be greatly appreciated to hear from you....this is a very costly endeavour and if it doesn't work, it will be very, very disappointing...

Nik

August 19th, 2009 - Thanks for the support

2009-08-19T10:41:00.003-04:00

Thank you everyone for your support. It's been great to get some feedback and ideas on the report Kruger supplied to us. I have rec'd some great ideas and insights as to what could be the cause of the 120Hz noise inside our home. I am going to try all of your suggestions as a fix.

My youngest was back at the doctor's office again last night with ear problems that were again diagnosed as infection. This is the third time in as many months that they have dosed him with penicillan. I realize this could be common childhood issues as ear nose and throat problems can be quite common, but I worry that the turbines noise and vibration is affecting him - no way to know for sure. Our family doctor has admitted that she really doesn't know much about the effects of turbines, and really, should she be expected to? Shouldn't the wind companies and our government be providing information on the harms? - hmmm, a funny picture just popped into my head - Imagine if the turbines were labelled like cigarettes with graphic warnings - Picture a turbine with a big picture on the side of it of a women holding her hands to her ears plastered on the side of it and the caption - Turbine noise may cause disturbance to locals: And another, with someone lying awake - turbines may cause sleepless nights: And another with a Green person - turbines may cause nauseousness!!!
I know it's not funny, but I just have to laugh when I see more and more victims from all over the world coming forward and it seems not a thing being done about it...otherwise I will cry....
Here is a link to a video that someone sent me. It is a news report and this poor woman is completely surrounded - I picture this being me in a few years if they continue to erect turbines near and around our home as is planned.....

http://video.ninemsn.com.au/video.aspx?mkt=en-au&brand=ninemsn&tab=m164&mediaid=224784&from=39&vid=06F65387-45FD-47C5-B17E-A99C5BDF3C4A&playlist=videoByTag:mk:en-AU:vs:0:tag:aunews_auaca:ns:MSNVideo_Top_Cat:ps:10:sd:-1:ind:1:ff:8A#::187803a0-6356-467d-ab0c-0d0dbd5cdf57

August 17th - met with Kruger representatives

2009-08-17T20:23:00.002-04:00

On Friday afternoon, we were visited by two representatives from Kruger wind energy regarding the noise testing they had done months ago. Unfortunately, my husband was at work, however, I sat at my kitchen table with the two representatives Jo Boland and Ron Anderson (Ron used to work for the municipality of CK and is now the Rural Development Manager for Kruger Energy). The report consisted of a cover letter referencing the Aercoustics (independent engineering firm) study as well as technical notes from Siemens (the company that builds and services the turbines I believe). The last paragraph of the cover letter reads "The report concludes that "the wind-farm is now operating within the sound-level limits set by the MOE". In an effort to better understand and confirm the noise levels being experienced presently at this location, KEPA will proceed with noise measurements at the site".

A second letter attached was to Kruger Energy from Jakob Skjoeth, Seimens Engineer and David Janigan, Kruger Energy. It states that .."on june 2nd, 09, Seimens engineer Jakob Skjoeth, on request from Kruger Energy performed a test at the Port Alma wind site in order to investigate a perceived irregularity in the noise level coming from the turbines in low wind conditions.Based on this test, Seimens made an adjustment to the Seimens turbine converter parameters. This effectively eliminated the irregularity in the noise from the turbines. Mr. Skjoeth notes that the control loop settings were possibly too aggressive and created torque variations in the power-train, causing the unwanted noise. The adjustment that was implemented is being analyzed by Siemens engineers in Denmark to determine the final solution to this issue."

Then of course was the attached report. Joe read through the report, which was quite technical and I am not sure I understand all of the sound readings. To sum up, what was indicated was that a. Kruger found an odd noise and fixed it, and b. the turbines were running within allowable limits. The report contained several graphs and charts, but the actual readings were not attached, merely a summary of data charted. It seemed to me like the main focus was "averages" and "trends". My experience leaves me a bit skepical as I know that graphs, charts and trend lines can be laid out in various ways to show what the author would like them to show and omitting or camaflouging other details. I am sorry to sound distrustful, but I really feel like "the little fish in the big pond - expendable".

One odd thing in the report was that one paragraph indicated that the sound inside of our home did not correlate with the sound outside of our home.

On the bottom of page 2 "Review of the resident initiated recording.." this is where we heard the turbines very loudly and manually pressed the record button showed a similar distribution, some levels exceeding MOE limits, more falling below MOE limits. It should be noted that the noise may, in part, be due to sound emanating from inside the residence..." this is not likely due to sounds in our home as nearly every time we pressed the button it was the middle of the night and the house was silent except for the turbines ...When one compares the sound pressure levels inside the residence with the correspoding ones outside(figure 8), one sees that there is no linear correlation. Also, not all the sound recorded by the outdoor microphones are wind turbines noise. Sounds from road and farm vehicles are included as well..."
Then on page 3...."A 120 Hz tone can be idenitified on all spectra of the indoor sound (figure 11). Is is especially noticeable during periods when the turbines were generating little or no power. This tone does not appear on the coherence data, indicating that the sound is generated inside the dwelling and not associated with the sound from the wind turbines. It is well known that superposition of different tones of comparable amplitude will render the low frequency tones more audible, and annoying. There is little published data that would permit one to quantify the effect of this psycho-acoustic phenomenon on subjective response such as loudness and annoyance."
In the final minutes of the discussion, my questions were pretty basic. It seemed to me that they are working on averages and that would mean that they are in fact at times over the allowable limits of noise. I believe much more often than the report seems to indicate. I asked quite directly what we were supposed to do now since we still suffer symptoms, although they seem to have lessened with the milder weather, of sleeplessness, dizziness, and extremely dry morning eyes.

Joe asked me if I believed that all of that could be attributed to the wind turbines. He went so far as to provide examples of how he himself does not sleep well for example if he is stressed out from work, and that sometimes when the pressure changes his eyes can feel dry as well. I explained that we had none of these symptoms prior to the erection of the wind turbines and also that a sleepless night or two is nothing compared to weeks and months on end with little relief.

Of course, my next question was about the "extra" noise they say we have in our house. I asked what could cause a 120 Hz tone that seemed to be rather consistent. Niether could answer that question but suggested that if we could find out what it is, we could eliminate it and that might eliminate the enhanced effects we feel we are getting from the turbines. They promised to ask about it and see if there were any suggestions as to what could be causing it. My immediate thought was that since the microphone was placed directly behind the computer, perhaps the computer (which is one of the few things that is usually always on at our home) could be the cause. However, when the microphone was being installed by the technicians in our home, I remember asking them if I needed to shut down the computer at night and they said that this type of noise would not be picked up....

I could not really say much. What could I say? They were here to tell me that the turbines are not too loud, nor causing us any discomfort. I said to both of them that I would really like it if they could come here when the turbines are bad and spend time in the house and then tell me that there is no noise. Joe offered to come anytime during the day if I called, but as I told him, the problems are most noticeable at night... I thought it was ironic that Joe mentioned that he had told me to call him with problems and questions on our last visit and that he had not heard anything from me.... I found this funny. Did he want me to call him every day with the same complaint? Was he actually asking that I pester him with the same questions, which of course his only answer would likely have been that they were still waiting for the results. I could not help but feel like I was being "blamed" for not doing my part in calling and reporting each incident, day after day.

Ron did give me his card and said I could call him when they were noisy. I had planned to do this at first opportunity - which would have been late this afternoon and early this evening as I noticed they were very loud, but to be honest, I just couldn't bring myself to give up my Sunday with my kids to spend time with a man I don't know visiting my home to hear the turbines. I am not at all worried that there will be plenty more opportunities to share these noises, but today was not that day.

As I sit here typing this blog information, I am thinking more and more about this 120 Hz sound that is in our home that is apparently amplifying the way we "feel" the turbines and it makes me wonder this: If they are saying the combination of various tones can "render low frequency tones more audible and annoying", what is the expectation? Does this mean that people who live in homes near wind turbines are to live without new technologies? Does it mean computers? cell phones? refridgerators? air conditioning? freezers? flourescent lights? I imagine that all of these things give off some sort of low frequency tone.

Further, I find it odd that the inside noise is greater than the outside noise. But as I think about it, it seems sort of true to me. When I stand outside on the porch at night, I can hear the turbines, but I can also hear other sounds in the night - the wind in the trees, the frogs, the birds sometimes, etc. When I lie in bed at night in the silence, I hear only the woosh, woosh, woosh of the turbines, and they almost seem louder, closer, more enhanced somehow - Could it be that the house itself amplifies the noise somehow? Could a home be a conductor? Could our house be positioned in such a way that we are hearing several turbines...they are after all lined up, so perhaps one amplifies another and so on until it reaches our windows....Why are all of these things not considered? Could this be a reason why some people in some locations feel the effects more than others...it is interesting that from what I have noticed, other than those who are suseptible to the turbines for health or other reasons, the affected seem to sit in 'clumps'. Could it be the topography? underground conductors, the building construction? So many unanswered questions and the only thing I know for sure is that our symptoms correlate with the turbines.

The few days before my meeting with Kruger the windmills were not running at all (apparently they were on shutdown). These past two days, especially today, I noticed I am again very, very tired. I laid beside my young son today and fell asleep for 2 hours in the middle of the day! This is not the norm for me. I account it to the fact that my rest is not proper even though I am "asleep" at night.

I don't really know what else to say at this point except that we will be waiting for answers from Kruger regarding this "tone" in our home, and we will continue to report our discomforts and the noise of the turbines. Kruger did note, as mentioned above, that KEPA will condintue with noise measurements at the site. I am going to request that these next noise measurements be done when the leaves are off the trees, and the wind is actually blowing...this may give a better representation of the actual noise we hear.

By the way, if anyone knows of a great piece of property with 15 or more acres of trees on it, not too far from Chatham and without turbines nearby - please let me know...it took us several years of looking to find this home we live in, but if another became available that was turbine free, I would move today!

Goodnight all, Nik (sorry about the spelling, fonts,bold and italic -it's far too late to sweat the small stuff)

Scarborough Residents Protest Proposed Wind Turbines

2009-08-12T11:16:00.000-04:00

Tuesday August 11, 2009
CityNews.ca Staff

A group of angry Scarborough residents gathered Tuesday night to protest proposed wind turbines off the Scarborough Bluffs. Find out why they're fighting the plan, and what Premier Dalton McGuinty had to say about it all in the video below.

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_36426.aspx

August 11 - Turbines Not Running!!!!!

2009-08-11T16:48:00.004-04:00

Two nights ago during the terrible storm, the turbines combined with the thunder and lightening to make for a very long and sleepless night, but yesterday and today they have not moved at all! This is great news for us, but with the heat and humidity so high, I have to wonder what good they are if they don't spin during these times of required electricity...it was this time last year when we had the big blackout - how can the turbines assist with shortages if they do not spin when we need them most?

All I can say is that it sure was a good feeling driving home from town this afternoon and seeing that NONE of them were turning at all! I hope that they stay this way a few more days so we can get some rest....

It's funny though, even though they were not turning yesterday, I still felt dizzy through most of the day and exhausted, I know it was from lack of sleep that I felt tired, but I wonder about the dizziness and whether the strong affects of the turbines takes some time to wear off...sort of like getting off a boat you have been on for a long duration and it takes a while to feel like you are walking on land again......
Not observed
Temperature: 22.3°C
Pressure: 101.4 kPa
Tendency: falling
Dewpoint: 22.3°C
Humidity: 100 %
Wind: N 6 km/h
Humidex: 32

Nik

August 8th - Very Interesting News from Australia

2009-08-08T20:16:00.003-04:00

This morning was a "dry eye" morning again, but other than that not too bad as symptoms go until about 3:30 pm when we all felt extremely tired and fell asleep for nearly 3 hours, waking groggy and feeling the vibrations on the bed!!!

However, I did receive an interesting email informing me of the following article. (Thank you for sharing this news story with me.) I am at a lost at how our own government can continue to ignore not only the local complaints, but also the amazing amount of information coming in from the United States and all over the world about the Fact that Wind Energy is not the way of the future, but instead, an expensive project that does not fulfill it's requirement....

Please read the attached article and know that many of us here in Ontario share this dream of stopping the wind turbine projects....

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25877969-5000117,00.html

August 7, Disturbing Information

2009-08-07T08:34:00.004-04:00

I rec'd an email that tells me that a comment was sent to one of the wind sites that was very insensitive - not completely out of the norm, however, it seems that the message came from a computer at the ministry of natural resources. I find that very disturbing, do you?

You can click the title of this post to go to the website and see the report - Natural Resources Canada Gets NASTY!

Also See email below:

Sent: Thursday, August 06, 2009 8:32 AM

Please send this link to every MP. This is outrageous! Another Ontario family is driven from their home and THIS is the government we have to deal with!

Natural Resources Canada Gets NASTY!
The following comment was sent anonymously to the WCO website regarding Barbara Ashbee having to vacate her her home:

Please let me know when the property comes up for sale. Since everyone claims that property values will decrese, I will expect a bargain basement price!

Not only does this person not know how to spell but I checked the IP address of the originator of this comment and lo and behold:

OrgName: Natural Resources Canada
OrgID: NRC-41
Address: 580 Booth Street
City: Ottawa
StateProv: ON
PostalCode: K1A-0E4
Country: CA

Author : (IP: 132.156.196.29 , 132.156.196.29) E-mail :
URL :
Whois :
http://ws.arin.net/cgi-bin/whois.pl?queryinput=132.156.196.29

August 5th - 10:44 pm

2009-08-05T22:34:00.003-04:00

Last Night(Tuesday) was almost as bad as the night before. I got home about 10:30 and when I went to bed at 11pm it had been a great day (especially considering I had no sleep the night before), however, as soon as my head hit the pillow, the bed began "spinning". I had nothing to drink, I was not ill, but I could hear the windmills and it literally felt as though the bed was "spinning"...every time I shut my eyes, I felt dizzy and queazy...it lasted a few minutes, and I just tried to relax and fall asleep...I think that since I was so tired from the night before I just fell asleep (a blessing in disguise I think)...In the morning, when I woke up, my eyes felt dry and irritated, scratchy and I felt unrested. My youngest woke up terribly cranky and insisted his legs and arms hurt. My oldest complained also of aches and pains and said - " I didn't sleep at all mommy" When I asked him why not he just said he didn't know. I don't think he was up in the night, but he definately did not feel rested judging by his comments and behaviour. My husband when he came down stairs said to me "what can we do about this dry eye thing in the morning? My eyes are killing me" I knew exactly what he was talking about as mine felt the same way...
While I was up at three am blogging the other night, I sent emails to the mayor and all of the CK councillors inviting them to take a look at my blog. I have emailed and left voice mails for several of them previously. I have never heard back from any of them, except one. Art Stirling was the only councillor who bothered to reply to our concerns. Although I don't feel he is able to help us much, I do appreciate that at least he had the courtesy to respond and acknowledge our concerns. Perhaps I am impatient and others will as well, but since this is not my first attempt, I am doubtful. We have not rec'd any information from the wind company yet and it's been months since they did the noise testing. I will give them another call tomorrow, but I won't hold my breath for any new information or assistance. A comment was left on my last post that during the time we were so bothered by the turbines that the Port Alma project had been running at 80-90% for over 12 hours...that would certainly explain the noise and intense symptoms, but I wonder how you find out that information. Blogger, if you can let me know where I can find that, it would be much appreciated. Seems quiet enough right now, but a couple of hours ago, the turbines were beginning to turn towards us again - too bad, we were hoping they would stay facing the other way and give us a bit of a break again........Nik
Temperature: 17.7°C
Pressure: 101.8 kPa
Tendency: falling
Dewpoint: 14.3°C
Humidity: 81 %
Wind: SSW 4 km/h

August 4th 3 am - No sleeping with this noise

2009-08-04T02:57:00.004-04:00

It is 3am and there is no sleeping going on at this house! As I type, I am waiting on the line for the spill action centre to entre by complaint so that i can get a confirmation number and my little one is crying for me to come and "snuggle him" because he is also awake from the turbine noise and complains to "turn off the fan"...when I went to bed tonight at 11:30, I could not believe how loud the "woosh, woosh" sound was even over the ceiling fan turning in the bedroom. Tonight is one of the loudest we have heard in a while. I was able to fall asleep but have been awake for about an hour now listening to the sound.....
I was away in Toronto last week(3 nights) and although I had full relief from the turbines (all of my symptoms disappeared completedly), I was awakened by the planes flying overhead my airport hotel - The difference: when the plane flew over, it went away and I quickly fell back to sleep! This noise does not stop and keeps us all from sleeping...my oldest has been talking in his sleep "be quiet!" he shouts from his bed, and, he shouts to his brother to stop making so much noise, but I know it is not his brother - who is lying quietly, it is the wind turbines he hears...
1738-7ULA8Q is the number I have been given to know that my report to the MOE spills action centre has been received. It's a number. We are a number. My family is one of many who are a number in the sacrificial game that Ontario is playing called "let's build as many as we can, as quick as we can, and hope for the least amount of resistance"....
It's after 3am, I have to get up early for work, and I can not help but wonder while I get out of bed to blog and recored the event, make a required reporting phone call, calm my little one, and lie awake unable to sleep - Are the turbine management and representatives who told us there would be no noise, no disturbance, and that "we would hardly know they were there" able to sleep? Or do they lie awake nights thinking about the people who are suffering from the turbines and deal with their conscience and struggle with right and wrong? Do they know even more about the issues than they let on and wrestle with their feelings about the effects of the vibrations on my children's growing bodies and minds? Or, are they at home peacefully sleeping while counting their money in their dreams....

August 4th - 3:14am:
Chatham Kent
Temperature: 21.4°C
Pressure: 101.2 kPa
Tendency: falling
Dewpoint: 19.7°C
Humidity: 90 %
Wind: SSW 18 km/h
Humidex: 29

July 30th - a break from the Turbines

2009-07-30T10:56:00.002-04:00

I arrived home yesterday from a four day seminar in Toronto with Mary Kay Canada and to my delight the turbines were not turning (none of them)! I enjoyed my time in Toronto; earning awards for my business, seeing the hundreds of women who are making more out of their life, hearing inspiring stories, and learning more about my business in training sessions with Canada's best!!! I was number 18 in Canada for my category and that was a boost I really needed! Working a home business with the turbines outside my office window has been tough - the fatigue and the other health issues we have had have made working and living here a challenge to say the least....not to mention the noise!!!
While I was away, I suffered none of the affects I have hear at home - no headaches, no nausea, no ear ringing or sore glands...it was truly fantastic! I arrived home yesterday and as I said, the turbines were not spinning and as far as I can tell, they are silent today as well. I feel great and I am loving it! I hope it continues - I suppose it's too much too hope that they have shut them off!!!
The reason I mention my business is that I have some big goals for this calendar year and they involve excellent time management being a part of the weeks and months to come. I plan to be in the Top 10 for Canada this year and that is a huge goal. For this reason, you may see less posts on my blog. I will continue to post new issues, links, information when I recieve it. I will also post updates on our health, however, with the summer months and the wind turbines turning slowly and sometimes not at all, we have had less issues so you may see less posts for this reason....But don't worry, I am still here and still very focused on assisting those with issues and with increasing awareness of the problems with Wind Energy. I am sure that come the fall, if the issues return, you will see me blogging more. In the meantime, set yourself as a tracker so that you are notified when I do blog in and that way you will not miss any posts.
Thank you for all of your comments, support and ongoing information! Together, we can help save others from the effects of Wind!!!

Nik

Response from Agatha Garcia-Wright, Director EAAB

2009-07-23T23:21:00.002-04:00

we rec'd a response to our request for elevation of the Raleigh Wind Energy Centre (project) from Agatha Garcia-Wright, Director Environmental Assessment and Approvals Branch today. I have to wonder why the projects information is taken at face value, and our complaints and concerns about our health are disregarded. "a decision has been made that an endividual EA is not required"..."I am satisfied...that the purpose of the EAA, 'the betterment of the people of the whole or any part of Ontario by providing for the proteciton, conservation and wise management in Ontario of the environment,' has been met for the Project."....."You contend that current wind farm projects are the cause of many negative health effects to yourself and your family, and that this project will increase and compound the existing symptoms which you have understood to be the result of wind turbine operation. Invenergy Canada has documented the locations of the turbines in its Environmental REview REport/Environmental Impact Statement (ERR/EIS), and has indicated that the nearest turbine, T52, is 1.3 km away from your residence. The minimum municipal zoning by-law setback is 600 metres from the closest residence. I am satisfied that Invenergy Canada has met applicable turbine setack requirements when locating hte turbine structures near any residential receptors.".....

"you also believe negative health effects...." "in its ERR/EIS, Invenergy Canada has demonstrated that is has assessed potential environmental, social, cultural, and economic effects, as well as public safety and health issues,..." "...a study was undertaken by Dr. David Colby from Public Health Services at the request of the municipal council to examine the health impacts of wind turbines, and presented....June 2009 document "The Health Impact of Wind Turbines:..."although oppotision to wind farms on aesthetic grounds is a legitimate point of view, opposition to wind farms on the basis of potntial adverse health consequences is not justified by the evidence"..."...there is no scientifically valid evidence that wind turbines are causing direct health effects..."

Hmmmm, what about all of the other documentation citing issues and suggestions for further setbacks....If there is no scientific evidence that the problems are caused, please show me the scientific evidence that proves the problems are not caused!!!

Draining a Drained Medical System

2009-07-22T20:11:00.003-04:00

So Today, we visited our family doctor to discuss our symptoms. Since there are many symptoms, there was not a lot she could do. She documented our problems and discussed possible causes of some of the symptoms. She did agree that lack of sleep can cause some of the other problems. We shared information, she shared information and we are taking a few steps to rule out possibilities other than wind turbines, but really, it was what I expected. An appointment to show that we reported our problems to our doctor and really nothing more. The health care system is already so strained, it makes no sense to me that we needed for our doctor to document what I am already documenting.... however, we are glad we went and got "checked out"...always better safe than sorry.... Today when we came home, the wind turbine by our home was still, but the others were turning...from where I sit now, it appears that the one directly beside us is turning slowly and the one directly behind us just a bit slower than that, it's tougher to tell from here... I have noticed that I have had a few good nights sleep since the milder weather, and since it seems that the turbines closest to us are not always running....still I have headaches more days than not and my husband is not sleeping...Our youngest has started vomiting again...once about 5 days ago, again 2 days ago and then again yesterday he seemed like he was near but didn't. He felt warm the first incident but was not running a fever so I hope it is teeth or some other growth spurt, but I fear it was motion sickness, for lack of a better term, and I worry that he may suffer growing up here. We discuss moving often, but are hopeful that the wind company will follow through with their promise to help us find the problem and a solution.

dryness, headaches and vibration

2009-07-15T21:29:00.003-04:00

This morning, both my husband and I again woke up with dry eyes, and the kids were rubbing theirs too but were not complaining at all (we try not to ask them too much because we don't want them to believe they are sick, we want them to believe everything is okay and that way there will be no "make-believe" symptoms)....I was out most of the day with the children, but my husband was here and was very upset by the turbine noise and vibration. He said it was one of the worst days he remembers. When I arrived home around 7pm, he was on the deck waiting for us and when I got out of the car, I could understand immediately what he was referring to. The Woosh, Woosh of the windmills was extremly loud and very much felt like it was right there - I have had a headache all day and it has worsened over the course of the day, even though I was not at home, it seemed to start this morning with the dry eyes and get steadily worse. My eyes also did not recover as they have before, they have felt odd all day long. My husband said the house was Vibrating today and that sitting in the office and even the living room was almost as loud as being outside. After dinner, our neighbor from accross the field also called over to comment that his shed was vibrating today and they were also very aware of how noisy the turbines were today. We still have not heard back from the Kruger company on the noise studies they did, we have not heard back from the MOE on how they are progressing, and we have not had any feedback or response from the many councillors and the mayor of Chatham Kent whom I called and left messages for....Nik

July 14th - Very, Very dry eyes

2009-07-14T08:49:00.002-04:00

I describe the feeling as dryness in the top of my eye socket, my husband describes it as sore and itchy... whatever it is, we both woke up with it this morning. Very uncomfortable eyes. I noticed my youngest was also rubbing his eyes this morning and said there was "hair in it" so I assume he is experiencing the same thing. My oldest did not seem to have any complaints....we are not sure how to relieve this eye problem and if anyone has any suggestions, they would be much appreciated. Thank you. Nik

Mid Day vibrations

2009-07-13T18:24:00.002-04:00

Today was a very sluggish day....lots to do, but no energy to do it. I don't feel ill, just physically exhausted. It's very strange. My youngest was very, very whiny and did not seem himself today either...The turbines seem to be steady, but not overly fast today. I did not really notice them at all today UNTIL, I went to lie down with my youngest at about 3:30pm. Thinking we both could use a quick cat nap to help us feel a bit better. My son was on one side and I was in the middle of the bed when I felt the entire bed vibrating. Seriously, it was like all of the coils in the mattress were moving...kind of like those beds they used to have in old motels where you put the coin in and the "magic fingers" were supposed to give you a massage. It was laughable! I could not believe it! For a minute, I thought maybe the washer was on and the bed was picking up the spin cycle because it was so strong...you know how sometimes if your washer gets uneven in the spin cycle it can really rock and roll...but nothing was on, nothing was running. There was no explanation for the vibrations. The only thing that makes sense is the turbines vibration. I wish there was a way to capture this when it happens because of course if I was to invite someone out to feel it, it would not happen at that exact moment...the odd thing was that the vibration was centred more to the middle of the bed. It is a king size mattress on that sits on the two bed boxes. It is not on a frame because with the frame attached it sits very high and the kids sometimes still fall out of bed so we left the boxes on the floor. I wonder if the seem in the middle of the box springs is somehow responsible for the extra vibration in the middle of the bed. I was talking to someone just the other day, and she said "of course those big massive machines spinning out there in the field would cause vibration, how could they not?" It really does make sense to me, so how can the wind companies say that it's not happening?? I mean really, how could it not be happening?
I did end up getting to sleep for an hour, who knows, maybe I am actually getting used to the vibrations. I do know that both my youngest and I felt a bit better after getting some rest. I hope this doesn't continue, it is very draining and not a great feeling to feel so exhausted for no reason.....

Nik

July 12th - 10:07pm - ears popping

2009-07-12T22:07:00.001-04:00

As I sit at the computer, my ears are popping. I have been fine all day, and now my ears are popping. It is dark, I can not see the turbines. The reading on the home page of my blog says:
Temp: 19.0°C
Pressure: 101.5 kPa
Tendency: falling
Dewpoint: 16.6°C
Humidity: 86 %
Wind: calm

for Chatham Kent. I wish we had a tool here to measure and see what the turbines are actually doing...perhaps we could figure out where this painful ear pressure comes from! I hope someone does a study soon.

July 12th - I am Worried about our youngest

2009-07-12T13:01:00.003-04:00

My youngest, as I mentioned previously had felt warm and was vomiting, but the thermometer did not read a fever a few days ago...Last night, he tossed and turned and kept saying "it hurts" and "all over" but I could not get more information than that since he is three...he did not seem to be in pain, but more uncomfortable and just not happy. I am concerned that he is feeling the vibrations, but have no way to know for sure. I have been told I can not book an appointment with the pediatrician for him until end of July for September. I did book a family appointment with our family doctor, however, we can not get in until near the end of this month. If it continues, I will take him to the emergency room, but I have a feeling they will look at me like I am crazy because by the time we get there, he will likely be fine....it's a tough thing as a mother, not knowing what to do. Part of me wonders if it is just normal, three year old growth and development, and part of me wonders if he is being affected more than we realize by what is happening in the environment around our home....So, last night was long and since I was awake with him, I did hear the turbines. We had some storms and power outages yesterday morning, but last night was calmer and the wind was blowing so the turbines were audible. My oldest also woke in the night a couple of times, which is not like him, he usually sleeps through the night. My husband was at work. Today I am working in the office and the rest of the family is out, away from the house so hopefully that helps them. I am feeling okay, tired, but okay today - no headache and only a bit of ear pressure, hardly noticable. The turbine I can see through the trees is barely turning. I am looking forward to getting all of my work done so that tomorrow we can enjoy a family day of fun!!!!

July 10th - Vibration Confirmation!!!

2009-07-10T09:52:00.002-04:00

In response to Kari's question on July 8th comments section, the answer is "Nobody Knows"....each individual person reacts differently to the noise, vibration and flicker of the wind turbines. Those who have a predisposition seem to be affected more (eg. prone to motion sickness, inner ear issues, pacemakers, etc), however, there have been no official studies done to determine why some people are affected and others are not, or why, or what can be done. My greater concern is this FOR PEOPLE WHO SAY THEY ARE NOT NOTICING THE AFFECTS; HOW DO WE KNOW THAT THEY ARE NOT BEING AFFECTED AS WELL AND DO NOT REALIZE IT AS IT IS INTERNAL, OR ORGAN RELATED OR WORSE - WHAT WILL HAPPEN YEARS DOWN THE ROAD WHEN THESE PEOPLE(ESPECIALLY CHILDREN) WHO HAVE BEEN LIVING NEXT TO WIND TURBINES DEVELOP ISSUES/PROBLEMS/DISEASES AND IT IS THEN DETERMINED THAT WIND TURBINES ARE/WERE THE CAUSE????

Vibration confirmation!!! What happened last night even took me by surprise...A few months ago, I visited my dentist to rule out problems I was having related to ear pressure and headaches being related to something other than the wind turbines. As a teenager, I used to grind and clench my teeth which would sometimes cause discomfort. When I visited my dentist, he said that there was no visible damage to my teeth to indicate that I was grinding. It did not appear that I had TMJ, but that clenching was a possibility and why not try a mouth guard to see if that would help with the problem. I was fitted and picked up the mouth guard about a week ago. I was instructed to wear it at night and if I noticed I was clenching while working at the computer or watching tv I could use it then also. I have not noticed myself clenching, but last night I decided to try it out for the first time. It is basically a fitted piece of plastic that rests over my top teeth so that there is a barrier between the top and bottom teeth. It was pretty calm last night so the wind turbines were not turning very fast, at least the ones nearest me. I woke in the night, around 1:30am and it was the weirdest thing - I was not grinding or clenching, but in fact, the mouthpiece was vibrating!!!! As I kept my body/head loose and at rest, it was undeniable that my jaw was vibrating!! As the plastic lightly hit my teeth, I could feel and hear the click,click,click as it vibrated! I was shocked! At this point, I could not hear the wind turbines. I could not feel the vibration or any other disruption from the turbines! If I had not had my mouth piece in, I would have never known that I was feeling anything at all!! MY POINT here is this: Because of the mouthpeice, I was able to say for certain that I could feel a vibration happening in our home. Without it, I would have likely said that it was a quiet night with no side effects for me. So, does this mean that there are others out there who are not concsiously feeling the vibrations, but are being affected by it and don't even realize it??
I have been speaking to many people around Chatham Kent, and just this morning, was talking to a friend in Blenheim who has been trying to determine the cause of her vertigo and tiredness. She has tried many things. I asked her if there were wind turbines near her and she said "not that I know of"....my question is this How far away can these affects travel? What if she really is being affected by the turbines and does not even know it? This is not the first person who has described the same or simliar feelings of exhaustion, headache, vertigo or dizziness to me. I think it is important to note, that these people are not at all thinking about wind turbines when they are discussing how they are feeling...it is I who is thinking there may be a link...what if there is? I awoke this morning about 7:00 to the same vibration in my mouth. There is no mistaking that at rest my body was vibrating and the looseness of my jaw vibrating my teeth against the mouthpiece is evidence to me that this is a very, very serious problem.
LET'S TRY AN EXPERIMENT - If you live near a wind turbine, and you do not feel you are being affected, why not try an experiment...if you can get a moutpiece or sports mouth guard, try sleeping with it to see if you notice the same vibrations that I have noticed. Let me know what happens...Thanks. Nik

July 9th - hope it's the flu

2009-07-09T19:30:00.002-04:00

My youngest seemd to be hot yesterday and today although when we took his temperature he did not have one. He vomited a couple of times but says he feels fine. He mentioned the "spinning" so I hope this is a flu and not related to the wind turbines in any way. He does not seem ill other than feeling warm to the touch and vomiting. He is in good spirits and says he is not sick...it is a strange one....it's pretty calm today and I feel pretty good - no headache and we all slept great the night before last - actually, it was kind of funny, even the kids slept in and for the first time in 5 years we were sleeping in and someone came to our door at 9am!!! I could not believe it!! Too funny!!! We have had a lot of visitors lately, and that is okay. I understand that people wish to see and hear the turbines. It would be great though, if people could call first so we could be prepared and better able to actually speak with them rather than running out the door, or trying to feed the kids, or whatever. My cell is 519-358-8000 and I usually have it on so it is a good number to call. Thanks.

I know the VOW group, Victims of Wind is planning a meeting soon so if you are suffering from the effects of wind turbines and would like to speak to others with similar issues, visit their website and contact them to find out about dates and locations....

Also, I have been informed that it is very important to lodge complaints with your local MOE office, as well as reporting issues and problems (noise, etc) to the Spills Action Centre (open 24/7) at 1-800-268-6060. More victims are coming forward, but without complaints and records, it is difficult for govt agencies to respond in a timely and urgent matter.

An interesting story: A friend of our recently purchased a home on number 3 highway and had commented that out of his kitchen window in the distance he could see the lake and enjoyed that view....as of a few days ago, he now sees a wind turbine.... I have noticed that several new ones have gone up in the area, or are being prepared for erection. I can only assume that these were approved earlier as I understand that our council has tabled decisions on new projects until August.

Nik

July 8th - Update and doctor's appt.'s

2009-07-08T11:52:00.004-04:00

Hi,
Sorry I haven't written in a few days. We were very excited to go camping this past Friday with our children. We drove to "Our Ponderosa" campground, near Ipperwash Beach to do some family camping. As we took our spot in the campground, we looked up and looming overhead - WIND TURBINES!!!! I had forgotten that they were there. It was ironically funny that last year we were admiring them as we camped, thought they were beautiful in a way. Watched them spin over the berm and discussed with our family how "cool" they were. This year, we were disappointed to be near them when we were trying to "get away"....All turned out okay as these were a much, much smaller version than the ones near our home, and a large hill seperates the campground from the wind turbines, so we did not hear them much, and we did not feel them either. While I did not experience the ear popping that I have felt in the past when we left our home, I did not experience any symptoms either. I was quite excited that we all slept well and seemed to experience no side effects while camping in our trailer until Monday. Some people have expressed to me that since trailers are on top of the ground the vibration effect is lessened and I have heard that many victims find comfort and ease their symptoms by sleeping in trailers, tents or sheds outside their homes.

On our return from camping, within an hour of returning home, my headache and ear ache did return. Once again, it came without warning, and to my knowledge, I was not thinking about the wind turbines at all at the time....I was actually in Dealtown picking up a box from a neighbour when the pain struck me, a sharp pain in my ear and head.....
On Tuesday morning, I woke to an extremely sore lower back and pain in my eyes. They feel dry and like they are almost sitting out of the sockets...My husband experienced the same eye problems and described it as feeling like it was scratchy and itchy as well. Our five year old also complained of a very sore back, which I thought was odd because I had not yet mentioned my back issue.

This morning, both my husband and myself again experienced the issue with our eyes, and my son continued to complain of back pain. Mine was quite bad at bed time last night (around 11'ish), but seemed better this morning......

I was finally able to reach the pediatrictians office and get a person (I called at least 50 times and the answering machine would not allow me to leave a message to schedule my three year olds' appt.) The person told me they are booking appt.'s into September but that I could not book until the end of July as their calendar was not ready yet. I could not leave my name on a list, or on a cancellation list for my youngest to be seen even though I explained the circumstances. So, the earlies my younest will be seen regarding his strange behaviours, vomitting (which has stopped), nosebleeds (which have also stopped) is SEPTEMBER. We have been trying since January to get him seen.

I made appointments for all of us with our family doctors and were not able to be seen until the end of July. I realize that medical records are important, but quite frankly, it seems as though it is a waste of time when the doctor's have no knowledge of wind turbine issues and are at a loss to determine causes...... I have not had another instance of the internal vibration and I hope to never experience it again.

The MOE is apparently investigating in the area, and my neighbor did go to see her doctor regarding her headaches and her husbands....it will be interesting to hear how that appointment goes.

I was told by a neighbor that more adjustments were made to the turbine closest to us and that it has not been running and appears to be off a lot of the time. This could be contributing to some of the relief we are experiencing. Now that the leaves are on the trees, I can not easily see the turbines out the windows, I can see the one to the rear of us right now and it is turning very, very slowly as it is a calm day. My eyes are feeling better as the day goes on, and my headache is very slight today, barely noticable...

Take care all,

Happy Canada Day

2009-07-01T22:16:00.002-04:00

After the "vibrating pelvis' incident, it really began to worry me that this is actually happening...I think until then, I still had that little tiny bit of possibility that our problems could be explained by other causes, besides the wind turbines...I wanted to believe that it was possible that the timing was conicidental...I had feeling previously in my chest, heart palpatations, headaches, tingling in my hands and feet, sore throat, and other issues - all of which I could think of other possible causes for - unlikely, but possible. But this vibration was like nothing I had ever felt before and I KNOW WITHOUT ANY DOUBT that it was caused by the turbines or a byproduct of them. On Sunday June 28th, I woke up with terribly sore eyes. The tops inside were again sore, almost I guess like a dry feeling, except they did not appear dry or sore...this has been a new symptom for me, which I assumed was from my contacts and so I stopeed wearing them. I was not wearing them anytime recently so how do I explain Sunday morning? And, when I mentioned to my husband on Sunday morning how my eyes felt and asked if he thought it could be related to the turbines, he sais "is that why my eyes feel like they are infected or something?" He had the same soreness in his eyes. My youngest has made comments in the early morning on several occasions that his eyes hurt, we just thought he meant he was tired, but perhaps he too is feeling this issue. As I thought about it, and as I think about it, I am pretty sure that the only time my eyes got really red and sore, and I mean RED and SORE, was when I was wearing my contacts...so I stopped wearing them (makes sense), but here is the kicker...I am pretty sure it only happened when I was at HOME, not when I wore them away from home or was out all day! I am going to experiment and see if I can rule them out as the cause, and I have a feeling that when I wear them here at home it enhances whatever is going on and makes it worse...just a theory, but I am very interested....
Thank you to everyone who sent me information and links on the vibrations. I am very interested to read about body parts, etc that can sense vibration. As most of you know I was finishing my fiscal year in June, so I am hoping to have some time this next week to read the information you sent me and to do a bit more contacting to see if I can reach the appropriate people. I think "they" count on the fact that we all have jobs, kids, lives, etc. and never quite find the time to compile our information correctly, do our homework, keep our diaries and records and make the case we need to make to stop them, whoever they may be.
Here we are, on Canada Day - fighting for a basic right to live safely in our home without fear of technology harming our children and ourselves. I thought Canada was supposed to be the country where people came before the mighty dollar. At present, it sure feels like money is the key and a few people are expendable - Sad but True?
I hope not. I would like to think that it's only a few bad apples who spoil it for the rest. I remain optomistic and hopeful that our voices will be heard and that people will be protected. Happy Canada Day! Thanks again, Nik

10:42 pm Jun 28th

2009-06-28T22:42:00.002-04:00

Okay, I have been thinking about this for about 10 minutes...should I post it or not...in the interest of information I am going to post it and I hope it doesn't sound too out there....We were at a birthday party this evening and got home around 8:30pm, after giving the kids their bath, etc., they were not ready for bed as they had a nap this afternoon....I gave in and let them watch a movie. I have been lying with them watching a movie. I began to feel a periodic vibration. It was strange. I even looked through the bed to see if a toy was vibrating or a cell phone was left there. Okay here is the part that may sound very strange and quite frankly has me very worried. Today the windmills were very loud and turning quickly. It is dark now so I can't see them, but they are loud this evening. Gerred is still awake from the sound (he had a bad day today becuase he took the boys outside to play and swim and he said it felt like living next to an airport! Talk about Loss of Enjoyment of your property)...Anyway, I am feeling a vibration like feeling just above my pelvic bone. It literally feels like when your cell phone vibrates but it is within my body....I can not describe it well, and even as I type I am having a hard time believing it myself. I wasn't even thinking about the turbines, I was just watching the movie with the kids when it started but now it's not stopping....It feels very invasive...I don't like it at all....I remember one of the doctor's saying that vibration can be conducted in gaps between bones, like at the jaw below the ear or something like that....I wonder if this could be happening at the top of the pelvic bone? If anyone can provide me with any information, it would be greatly appreciated....This is the most unnerving thing that has happened so far...If anyone can let me know any possible cause it would be greatly appreciated.....I hope you don't all think I am crazy, I know it's sounds strange, but it is definately happening..........I just timed it out with the turbines and it seems to be following the same pattern....I will definately being seeking medical advise on this one.....Nikki

The Wind is Back - dry eyes??

2009-06-28T08:40:00.003-04:00

Well, the wind is back today and so are some of the issues....I stayed up late last night working on the computer. At 1:30am when I went to go to sleep, I could really hear the turbines. Luckily, I was so tired I fell asleep. When I woke this morning about 7:30, they were very loud and I had something new. My eyes felt dry and strained and sore. A pressure on the top of my eyeball at the back.... Now, I am actually thinking it could be from being on the computer until late last night, or possibly from being out in the pool in the sun yesterday , but I feel like I have to document everything, especially things we have not experienced before - just in case. I do remember part of a dream last night (which is great, to be dreaming I mean). The strange thing is the part of the dream I remember. The wallpaper in the room I was in seemed to be moving...it was out of focus, unclear kind of...as I blinked and strained to see it still I realized that on the pattern of the paper were movements. When I looked closer, each design was a wind turbine spinning. When the walls were finally still and I was able to look around at them, the wallpaper was a sea of tiny turbines (tops only), each of them spinning...So, was that by subconcious concern about the turbines, or did it come from the fact that I could hear and feel them while I was sleeping?? To be honest, I don't think much about them. I am far too busy to spend my time worrying about it. The only time I really think about it is when I am blogging, or speaking to someone about it, or someone in our family is being affected. I try to let it go, to not think about it. I am hoping that by not focusing on them and by believing that they are not a problem, that they will stop bothering us (The Secret)......so far though, it's not working. I probably don't have to tell you this, but my headache and the pressure in my head this morning are back at a dull ache. I also have a sharp pain in the rear of my skull, just below my left ear, and at the right centre of my head on the lower portion.
A friend of mine and his wife stopped by just after dinner last night to see the turbines. As they sat in the driveway, they were amazed at how close they were and he commented "you are right on top of them". This friend knows a lot about wind, energy and vibration and he is very concerned about us. He also mentioned that they thought it looked like the two closest to us appeared to be spinning slower than the others and asked if the turbine company had made changes to accomodate us. I have asked Kruger and they say they have not adjusted the turbines.
Nikki

June 26/27 - MOE

2009-06-27T10:09:00.002-04:00

The MOE came by our home yesterday to hear our issues. They are at present trying to determine why the complaints filed previuosly did not end up in the hands of the proper people. It seems as though both the municipality of CK and Kruger Energy did in fact forward the complaints, however, they were not rec'd by the appropriate people at the MOE. At any rate, as of now, the MOE does have our official request for their involvement in our issues and they seem quite interested in investigating the issues to find the facts.

Yesterday was a pretty good day health wise, I was out of the house all morning, and actually found my headache subsided...it did return after being home a few hours, but not as strong as usual. However, this morning, I woke with a terrible, terrible headache, one of the worst so far. I can think of nothing I did, ate or drank that would have brought it on. I did not stay up late, nothing unusual. I did not take anything for it, and it has lessend over the day and is just a very dull ache on my forehead. As I work at the computer in the office, I can feel pressure in my ears today. It is a pressure like flying on a plane but not being able to pop your ears. My throat and glands feel sore as well. The turbines outside are turning, but not very quickly... I can see the reflection of the one closest to us in the water on the ground ( I can no longer see it through the trees from the office) The blades are blade, 1,2,missippi, next blade...so not very fast today.

Over the past few weeks, we all seem to have had relief...especially the past few days as we have closed the windows and turned on the air, which helps to drown out the noise, so we are sleeping better I think...Even my husband has noted that he is hearing them less at night. I also attribute this to the trees being filled with leaves and creating a buffer. Someone who I consider to be very knowledgable about wind and sound told me that a wall of straw will bounce sound, he said the trees would have a similar effect then the leaves and branches are full. Makes sense to me.

The most obvious cause of our relief would be the change in weather as the wind is blowing less often and with less force for the most part. We recently has a huge storm and a funnel cloud touched down in Alma, but of course during those storms it is raining heavily and often the rain combined with the thunder and lightening causes us not to notice the wind turbines.

I am glad for the relief, but worried about what will happen in the fall.

The kids seemed to have stopped banging their heads as I have not seen them do it lately. Wyatt vomited this morning for no apparent reason while sitting in the rocking chair near the window watching tv. Wyatt also continues to wake every day and say "mom, my legs are hurtin"...he can not explain how or where so I am not sure if this is the tingling that I had been experiencing in my extremities, or if it is a child's 'growing pains'. I will mention it when we finally get him in to see the doctor in July.

I think that's it for updates at present. Have a great weekend everyone!

Nikki

If you think you are unaffected by Wind, please Read this

2009-06-27T10:01:00.003-04:00

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package.
"What food might this contain?" The mouse wondered.He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.
Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed this warning : "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it."

The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The pig sympathized, but said, "I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers."

The mouse turned to the cow and said, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The cow said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you,
but it's no skin off my nose."

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap
. . . Alone. . .

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house -- the sound Of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did no see it.
It was a venomous snake whose tail was caught in the trap. The snake bit the farmer's wife.
The farmer rushed her to the hospital.

When she returned home she still had a fever. Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup. So the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient:
But his wife's sickness continued. Friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock.

To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.

But, alas, the farmer's wife did not get well... She died.

So many people came for her funeral that the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them for the funeral luncheon.

And the mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.

So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and you think it doesn't concern you,
remember --- When one of us is threatened, we are all at risk.
We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.

- REMEMBER -

EACH OF US IS A VITAL THREAD IN ANOTHER PERSON'S TAPESTRY. OUR LIVES ARE WOVEN TOGETHER
FOR A REASON.

A Special Thank you to those who are not yet affected at their own homes by the Wind Turbines but continue to research and speak out for those of us who are....Thank you from the Horton Family....

June 25th - Ministry of Environment Information

2009-06-25T10:50:00.002-04:00

After a few days of telephone tag, I was finally able to reach someone at the Ministry of Environment. They will be following up with me and will decide if an investigation is warranted. I will keep you posted on that as much as I can.

TO FILE YOUR ISSUE WITH THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT:

It is important to call your local MOE office and let them know directly that you wish to file a complaint (eg. noise, adverse health effects, other) regarding the wind turbines near your home. In my case, the Windsor office is the one to call and their number is 1-519-948-1464. When you call the MOE directly, they will take your information and have someone call you back to collect more information on your complaint. DO NOT RELY ON OTHER'S to forward your concerns. The MOE does not wish to receive third party complaints (understandably). If you have a complaint, please contact the MOE directly.

I hope this is helpful. I am optimistic regarding the beginning of MOE involvement, however, I expect this to be a long process.

HEALTH - As for our issues, two days ago was very bad for me, and yesterday was tough as well but keeping busy seems to help. Today I woke extremely exhausted but have been on the phone regarding this wind issue, computer issues and work all morning. While I feel tired, my headache seems to be relieved today. I do have an upper back ache, not sure what that is from? And, as I sit here and type, my right ear has an "itchy" feeling, with an occasional sharp pain. I am still feeling the ongoing feeling of a sore throat, swollen glands type feeling, but I do not appear to be ill and I see no visible signs of swelling or redness in my throat area. I hate to return to the doctor as I know our health system is stressed enough, however, I also know that medical monitoring of our symptoms is likely an important peice of information as we move forward with this wind issue. I have not noticed any unusual symptoms from the children except that our youngest again woke up this morning and immediately said "my legs hurt". I am not sure exactly what he is referring to, he can not explain it to me, but it seems like an odd statement.
Nik

June 23rd - I know you are waiting to hear about the MOE

2009-06-23T22:42:00.002-04:00

Hi, I know you are waiting to hear about my discussion with the MOE person today. Unfortunately, I was on the phone whenever he called - that is what happens when you have so many government offices and people to deal with....we are going to try to connect tomorrow. I will keep you posted....Felt much better today, but certainly not 100% I was up til 4am last night and then had a very busy day....one good thing about keeping busy, no time to lie around and feel sick....

June 22nd - Under the Weather

2009-06-23T11:49:00.003-04:00

Wow! Yesterday was very frustrating. After finding out the other evening that the complaints filed have not reached the MOE, I decided to make some calls. I started with the Windsor office of the MOE which is where I was told to call, they redirected me, and then I was redirected again...I finally reached a very helpful gentleman who did the leg work for me and hooked me up with the proper fellow. (he and I will speak today and then I will be sure to post accurate reporting information for everyone asap)...I also called the Municipality of CK and left a voice mail and currently we are playing phone tag but Marsha in the planning section sounded like she had called to check with the MOE as well (it was interesting that she has a completely different contact number than I do so obviously this being fairly new, the MOE has not really worked out the system as of yet) I also spoke to Joe at Kruger and he assured me that the complaint was in fact forwarded by Kruger to the MOE by purolator in March. I also asked Joe about the turbine by our house not moving while others are. He mentioned that although it did have a problem and needed an adjustment of some kind, other than that repair it has been running with the rest of them. They have submitted further information to the company who did the sound testing here and are do not have results as of yet....All in all, I spent a lot of time that I didn't have on the phone and leaving messages and missing calls and calling back....I was very ill last night. I suspect it may have been aggrevated by stress, but who knows, perhaps a 24 hour flu, or perhaps a side effect from the windmills as I worked from home late last week and was basically home for the entire weekend - I hope it's not a tolerance thing because I really don't want to HAVE to leave my home to feel better....I know I have said this before, but even though things are a bit better now, I am very worried about the fall and winter months when the wind picks up and we are home even more....
Victims of Wind and Wind Concerns of Ontario I noticed are working very hard to ensure that information is being sent to the correct people - at the MOE, in our municipal and provincial governments, and to the public. Be sure to check their websites for information. I really appreciate these people. Some of them are not even affected by the turbines and I am truly touched by the way they care about others and are speaking out for those who may not be able to speak for themselves.

June 19th - A bit of Relief

2009-06-19T19:57:00.002-04:00

I wanted to update everyone on my headache issue. I have actually been feeling a fair bit of relief over the past little bit. It seems the headache is lessened. I had thought maybe it was because the weather has been milder (less wind), and there has been rain as well (I seem to not notice it as much when we have storms)....but, I am now concerned that this is a false sense of security. For the third time this week, I have noticed that the turbine nearest our home is not running. At about 3:45pm today I was driving down the Four Rod Road and could clearly see that all the turbines in our area were moving except the one closest to our home. I watched it for at least 5 minutes and it did not move more than slightly to one side or the other. There have been various tests run at our house over the past month and I hate to think that the wind energy project is in any way tampering with the readings, but I must admit, it does seem odd that ALL of the other turbines are running and that one is not. If anyone can offer information on this, I would certainly appreciate it as the last time I contacted the city, who in turn contacted Kruger, I was told the wind turbine was functioning fine. I could see that it was not moving but was told that it was likely just turning itself into the wind and would start shortly. According to their instruments, "everything was running fine".
Nikki

Letter from my Neighbor to CK Council

2009-06-19T19:53:00.003-04:00

I have been given permission to post a copy of this letter one of my nieghbors wrote to council and sent in just before the June 15th meeting. I have not met her in person, and we have never spoken prior to the conversation mentioned in her letter.

Copy of letter to Council:
I decided one day to give my neighbour a call, I wanted to see what she thought of the wind turbines and if she was having any problems and if she knew who we could contact regarding our problems since the turbines have been running. WOW was I surprised she described my headaches to a T, she was getting the same headaches that I have been experiencing EVERYday for months now.
I made a doctors appointment because I couldn't take the headaches anymore, some days were to the point that I almost vomited. At first we thought it was due to my job, the work I do, my doctor told me to try advil, motrin and gave me tylenol 3 when they get bad. People at work thought I was crazy taking at least 3-4 pills everyday for the pain. But, come March of 2009 I was laid off and thought great now my headaches will stop, but was I wrong they continue today. I have seen my doctor acouple more times regarding this matter, he can't seem to be able to explain them, my next appointment is July.7/09
Iam not the only one in our house effected by these wind turbines, my husband has been showing signs of memory loss, he has been experiencing headaches also and I don't recall him ever getting headaches and we both have been feeling more depressed then day to day living and can't understand why.
Oh and lets talk about our horse, he seemed more jumpy, his stall was a real mess in the mornings not like the norm, it seemed that he would do circles at night, he would pace, we couldn't explain it nor understand it.
We also have a big concern regarding our property value, now that these turbines are in our back yard the value has gone down, ask yourself would you want to live this close to them?
Please don't get us wrong we are all for green energy anything to help the planet it has been damaged enough, but when do we say wait a minute our health and way of life comes first.

Thank you for your time

End of Letter.

June 19th - Why I don't watch the news....

2009-06-19T19:14:00.003-04:00

I often avoid watching the news because it is so depressing. I have concluded that if I really need to know, someone will tell me. But today I was watching a news report on chemicals in childrens toys. It was regarding the phthalates that are in many toys and can cause health issues under certain conditions (click the title of this blog for the link to the news story).....the people on the news were stating how far Canada is behind when it comes to safety issues and it of course made me think of the turbine issue. For those of you who are of the belief that our government would not allow wind turbine projects to be put up if they were not safe, please look at the facts. Time and time again, we see how our government ignores scientific findings, health complaints and more in the interest of progress. (Progress = Money). For those asking for turbines to be built any less than a few km's from people, and this includes your own home, please think again. There is a saying - we don't know, what we don't know, until we know. I understand that some of the people for wind energy would like the power to make their own decisions, but I have to wonder what those same people would do if they became ill. Would they look for compensation? Would they blame the government for not telling them what could happen? Would they look back and realize that the money did not dramatically change their lives, but that the illness did? If you still believe that wind power is 100% safe, I encourage you to realize that wind power is industrial and the hazards associated with it are industrial. Investigate the possible side effects and make informed decisions people. And to our CK Council, many of whom seem to be mentioning job creation from wind energy. If continued in this fashion, you will create even more jobs than you think. When the population around the turbines is unable to work due to health issues, and the health care system is even more overstressed than it is at present, we will need people to do our jobs, and to take care of us as well.......OK, that's my two cents after watching the news.
Some of you have been emailing and calling me, which is great, but I wish you would post your comments so that everyone could have the value of input from both sides.....Nikki

June 18th - I almost forgot

2009-06-19T00:12:00.002-04:00

During my conversation with the farmer as mentioned in my last post, he said something else that made me think. In discussing the vibration and the feelings we are experiencing in our home, he said "your soil must not be as good as ours"...I think he was kind of kidding, but it made me think of something else. We used to get rights to a well under our property, oil or natural gas or somemthing. You can see in the picture on the blog where the drill site was because when the picture was taken they were actually removing that drill site. They took it out because they said it wsa dry and then they put one up a few concessions over and are pumping from it. Anyway, that conversation made me think about the layers of the earth and the way vibration and low frequency noise might be conducted differently in different situations. I wonder if becuase we have that cavity of gas/oil/emptiness, whatever it is under us, if it affects the amount of vibration we feel. Does anyone out there have more inforamtion on this? Do any of the other victims of wind know if they have a similar situation in their area? I would love if we could identify a commonality that would help to prevent further people from suffering.....I am really just thinking out loud now...it's late, I should try to sleep but I can't help going over all of the information I heard tonight in my head......Goodnight Nikki

June 18th - What I learned

2009-06-18T23:31:00.002-04:00

Tonight's meeting was very informative. Although I have my doubts about whether any of the information discussed will find it's way to the appropriate decision makers, I am glad I attended as I learned several things. I learned that my complaints did not make it to the MOE, even though both the municipality and Kruger has stated to me that my complaints were forwarded, and even though I sent a request for elevation, and even though I am quite sure I also sent my complaint to the MOE (apparantly I sent it to the wrong branch). I learned that tonight's meeting was not meant to be a formal record...after speaking to the organizers afterwards, I was told that they did not take notes meant for formal submission, it was only an information session and that all comments and suggestions, ideas need to be submitted as indicated on the last slide. I learned that the setbacks from property lines do in fact make no sense from a farmer's point of view as it means they have to split up their property instead of having the turbines at the edges - that makes no sense even to me...where is the common sense in this thing? Probably the most important moment for me tonight was when I was speaking to a local farmer who lives near me (I won't name him because I did not get his permission to), he has no problems with the turbines on his property and was surprised that we are having any difficulties...the moment that got me though was when he was explaining all that he had witnessed over his decades of farming, and all that they put up with and Never, never in his life was he compensated like this. I believe his words were: this is the least obtrusive thing and it pays the highest dividends, there is more money being made from those turbines than one could hope to make per acre on the farm. My first thought and question to him was "doesn't that make you wonder why?" It sure made me wonder, why would the wind energy companies pay so much money to bring in their turbines? Could it be that they expect problems with health and hope that the money will keep people from complaining? I do not know, but what I do know is that no amount of money would have been enough to keep us from noticing the noise, and health affects we are feeling from the turbines. To those who are having them put up around their homes, I caution you, and I truly hope that you and your families are the lucky ones who are unaffected by them. Thank you so much to all of you who came to tonight's meeting with open minds and hearts. It was good to hear both sides being well presented by most in attendance. Nikki

June 18th - MEETING TONIGHT IN CHATHAM

2009-06-18T10:46:00.002-04:00

There is a meeting tonight at Club Lentina's in Chatham from 7-9. As I understand it this is a public meeting for input regarding the regulations of the new Green Energy Act. I urge all of you with concerns/questions about wind projects to attend and ask your questions. The province (especially the MOE) need to hear the message loud and clear (stop turbines/transformers until they are proven safe -- turn off the ones currently causing harm to people -- compensate those that have already been affected)

I hope that this meeting tonight is productive. As you read in my blog from the meeting on Monday evening, I encountered some close minded people when I tried to hear the other side of the arguement. Not only did they not wish to hear my side, they did not wish to speak to me at all! It is a very sad state of affairs when people are so filled with an idea that they refuse to listen openly and weigh both sides of any arguement. I must say that in the little bit of exposure I have had, I do see that those who are against wind energy, in most cases, are not entirely against it, they are merely stating Keep it far enough away from people and animals so that it does not cause harm until you can figure out a way to ensure it does not disrupt and harm the innocent. Kudos to you for being willing to find a comprimise. Shame on those who refuse to keep an open mind and work together.

Below is an account of something that happened before the meeting on Monday evening. It was before I arrived and I did not witness it, but I will post the information I received from a blog reader for your information. It is in the form of a letter and reply sent to the mayor regarding the incident.
The letter:

Mayor Hope,

I was present at the meeting on Monday when a person who did not identify
himself approached several of the residents and demanded that a banner be
removed. He was asked "Why?" He response was "Remove it" The banner was
not taken down. Shortly after that another person who also did not
identify himself came and removed the banner and also another banner. I
found their actions to be very rude and disrespectful. I have been to
other meetings and have not seen this happen.
Section 7.10 Page # 12 of "A PROCEDURE BY-LAWS GOVERNING THE COUNCIL OF
MUNICIPALITY OF CHATHAM-KENT AND THE CONDUCT OF ITS MEMBERS." states:
" Members of the public attending a committee and/or council meeting shall
respect the decorum of council and refrain from outburst, shouting, or
behaviour intended to disrupt the debate, discussion and / or general
proceedings of the council"
The seated residents were not disrupting in any way.
The two men were later identified as Mr. Browning CAO and Mr. K. Cooper.
I can only assume the these two men held a prejudiced issue with the
message on the banner."MORE TURBINES = MORE VICTIMS"
Freedom of expression and freedom of speech are the not to be taken away.
You may not of been aware when this happened but it did happen and I will
be waiting for your response.

The response:
I have received your email and wish to advise that at no time, are banners,
placards or other materials allowed to be displayed in Council Chambers as
disrespect of council decorum is not acceptable. The persons who removed
the banners were acting under the Mayor's direction to comply with that
decorum and members of the public attending a council meeting must respect
the decorum of Council Chambers as well. Members of the public are,
however, encouraged to attend public meetings to demonstrate their interest
in municipal issues.

Randy R. Hope, Mayor/CEO
Municipality of Chatham-Kent

Personally, if this is indeed what happened, my only question is why Mr. Browning and Mr. Cooper could not have simply approached the people with the banner in a respectful way and explained that banners were not to be displayed in council chambers.....just because someone has an opinion that is contradictory, does not make them a trouble-maker, or less of citizen, and does not take away their right to be treated with the respect that they deserve. The unfortunate part of all politics is that one side usually has "the power". As witnessed in council chambers on Monday evening, the public was not given the opportunity to speak and therefore only the banners on the walls, and the T-shirts worn by green energy supporters were the conveyor of the fact that two opposing messages were even present. Only our councillors were allowed to speak/question the issue, and a couple of them made sure to get their feelings heard. For example, Ms. Karen Herman who stated something like "let's get on with this,my constituents want turbines and the revenue".
The more demonstration of behaviour I am seeing on this issue, the less I understand how mature, professional individuals can act like children. I guess if you watch the politics on tv and the way they carry on, it's become part of our government to shout and holler and those who take the "best shots" seem to get the loudest applause...kind of reminds me of Ultimate fighting but with suits and no cage.....Something to think about.....Nik

June 16th - Can you hear the Thunder Daddy

2009-06-16T22:51:00.002-04:00

Today my husband took the boys swimming in the pool in our backyard after dinner. My three year old kept asking, do you hear the thunder daddy? I hear the the thunder. It was the wind turbines. As i sit here in the office typing, I can hear them outside woosh,1,2,woosh,1,2,woosh and then right behing that woosh, the second and I think I even hear a third windmill woosh,woosh,woosh. They are very loud tonight. The wind is blowing from our direction towards the windmills, and the blades are pointed towards us tonight. My 3 year old just came in as I am typing. He wants to know when the noise is stopping. It's 10:48 and he is still awake. My husband is also awake and about a half an hour ago he said to me " I wish I had the phone numbers of all the people who said the turbines are quiet, I would like to call them up and ask them if they could chat with me since I can't sleep anyway". I know he will have a long night and I feel badly for him. It's very difficult to have sleepless night after sleepless night and not get any relief. At least I know I'll sleep, not very well, but I will sleep. I can't imagine just laying there unable to sleep night after night, it must be so frustrating for him. Well, I am going to go try to reasuure my little guy that the noise is not scary or bad and try to help him fall asleep - it can't be good for his little growing body to be up at 11pm and have to get up at 7am......At least my headache was eased a bit for most of the day...it's back now, but I spent most of the day and evening in Chatham and was actually feeling pretty good until about 45 minutes ago when the headache returned... Nikki

W5 Report

2009-06-15T23:30:00.002-04:00

This takes a while to watch (probably about 20 minutes at least) but it is worth it if you want some good information on what is going on....It was really interesting to me as this was the first time I saw this coverage. In fact, I have not seen much coverage and only recently began to get second hand information and check the odd website. The woman interviewed on this W5 interview who was forced to leave her home could be me. As I listed to her descriptions, her symptoms, her initial thoughts on wind energy and even her final thoughts, it was like deja-vu. I have said those exact things. I have those exact sypmtoms. I have never met this woman or heard her story. How can this be disregarded?

June 15th, Council Meeting Defers Decision

2009-06-15T21:52:00.002-04:00

I am so disappointed by the people I witnessed this evening. I can not even begin to describe how I am feeling. My husband and I attended the council meeting and basically, what has happened is that council voted to defer the issue until the August planning meeting. The way I understand it, the changes to the Green Energy Act, and the different setbacks in place from the Ministry of Environment are not 100% finalized. If Chatham Kent was to go ahead and approve the wind projects tonight, they may have to move turbines later if they were in contradiction to the new rules....It appears that the new rulings may be more focused on provincial decisions and take some of the control out of the municipalities hands. Our Mayor Randy Hope stated that it was up to "them" (himself and councillors I believe) to do their homework and be sure to find ways to hear both sides of this issue so that they will be able to properly represent the community if the public is taken out of the equation so to speak. In my opinion, they had so many people in the room tonight, it may have been prudent to allow both sides to speak. I am optimistic but doubtful that we will get our chance. It sounded to me like when the August meeting comes we will be told that it is a provincial decision and there is nothing that can be done. So I guess we just wait. In the mean time, I am going to have to contact Mr. Hope to see if he would like to do his part in the due diligence by meeting with me to hear what is happening in our home, and our neighbors homes.....But, that is not what disappointed me. It was what happened afterwards in the hall. There were a number of people wearing shirts in support of wind energy. I approached a group of them in what I felt was a friendly manner. I introduced myself and said something like " I see your shirts, I was wondering, do any of you live near the turbines?" The response from one women was "yes, we do". My reply, "and you have not noticed any side effects or issues from them?" She said "no, we haven't". I said that they were lucky because I also live near the turbines and my husband, and my children age 5 and 3 and myself are all suffering from what I believe to be Wind Turbine Syndrome. I went on to say that I have had a headache for months, but then I realized that the body language and expressions I was getting were not friendly. I said "you don't want to talk to me do you?" To which the reply was NO. The group turned away from me and I was shocked. I thought that by being open-minded to both sides of the issue perhaps we could work together to find solutions, but for some reason, this group had absolutely no interest in hearing about my issue. This surprised me because even if I was for something, if I found out that people, and especially children were being hurt by it, I would want to hear first hand what was going on before I continued supporting it. It makes me wonder, What have they been told? Do they think we are making it up? Do think we have been paid by someone to say bad things about wind energy? I suppose it might make it easier to believe that if you are benefiting financially from something. I guess as long as you can tell yourself that you aren't hurting anyone, that makes it okay. It is really a sad state of affairs though. I sincerely hope those people continue to be unaffected by the turbines because I would not wish this on anyone. A few minutes later, I saw a man trying to say something to someone, I'll call him Mr. G, Mr. G was polite to the fellow and said something like "yes, I know, I know, I have read your letters, I have heard your issues"; when the man walked away, another person asked Mr. G, What that was all about. Mr G replied that "there is a group of people trying to stop the wind turbines, they will do and say anything just to stop progress, they are ridiculous"....Then he caught my eye and realized I was listening so he cleared his throat and changed the subject....Very sad behaviour indeed. I am far from perfect, but one thing I have always been proud of is that I can have an open mind to just about anything. We should all be open to change, and to learning about new things. If there are problems, we should work together to fix them. I did not see that attitude from any of the people I witnessed after the meeting who were wearing the t-shirts with Isupportwindenergy.com on them. To those people, if you are reading my blog, I invite you to contact me as I would welcome the opportunity to explain to you our issues. I wish you would have allowed me the chance to tell you that we are not against the turbines, just against putting them where they affect nearby residence. Surely there is enough vacant land in Ontario that we do not need to have one 600m from our door that is causing us health issues. Or, possibly there is a potential solution if someone would actually acknoweldge the issues, then we could work on solutions instead of wasting time arguing what will I am positive eventually be too big of an issue to ignore.
Everyone, please contact your councillors and the mayor and let them know that there are issues to be heard. Remind them that they need to do their due diligence and their homework as Mayor Hope said and hear both sides of the issue so that they can properly represent us to provincial government when the time comes.
I want to apologize to several people who introduced themselves to me tonight and are in support of better guidelines and setbacks for wind turbines. My headache was already so bad from working at home all day, and then my frustration from the meeting and the encounter afterwards made it worse. On top of that, the hallway outside the council chambers was very loud and crowded. I was finding it very difficult to concentrate on what people were saying and I am positive that to at least one gentleman I may have seemed rude. I apologize. I am very interested in meeting people on both sides of the debate and hope you will forgive me if I did not seem interested in what you had to say. All of the people who spoke to me, I believe were not for wind energy and I certainly feel for you if you are also living near a wind turbines and suffering the side affects. Sorry.
Goodnight. Nikki

June 14 - So Tired

2009-06-14T09:01:00.002-04:00

I woke up this morning after sleeping all night, or at least I thought I was sleeping, and I am so tired that I can hardly believe it. It is reminiscent of the winter months when we would wake up in the morning and wonder if there was a CO leak because we felt so groggy....This is a real roller coaster......Here is an interesting thought: We opened the pool and the boys and my husband are swimming. It is an above ground that has been sunk into the ground almost all the way to the top. I feel a bit silly, but should I be worried about electrical currents? I feel like I need to question everything these days since we thought we were protected but now find out we are not.....If anyone can give me information that will make me feel better about underground voltage, I would really appreciate it. Thanks ;-)
Nikki

June 13th - LETTER SENT BY EMAIL

2009-06-13T21:01:00.001-04:00

i SENT THIS EMAIL TO EVERYONE I KNOW, FEEL FREE TO COPY AND PASTE AND DO THE SAME! WE NEED TO GET COUNCIL TO HEAR US BEFORE MORE FAMILIES ARE FORCED TO MOVE!

*************IMPORTANT MESSAGE REGARDING IMMEDIATE HEALTH ISSUES - DO NOT DELETE***************
Hello,
I am writing to you because I believe that EVERYONE in Chatham Kent has the right to know what is happening to innocent families all around Chatham Kent, and Ontario.

At first when we found out that we were getting Wind Turbines installed next to our home, we were excited. We liked the thought of Green Energy, and potential job creation. I personally enjoy the way they look on the horizon, and, we thought perhaps we would benefit from them in some drop in our electicity prices as well. When we found out that some of our neighbors were able to recieve some money for having the wind turbines put on their property, we were happy for them. We called in only twice to ask questions about the turbines. We were assured that they were quiet and unobtrusive and that we would "barely even know they were there". It never occurred to us that there would be severe health effects to worry about. How could there be? Our government would never allow that...

Once the Wind turbines were up and running, we were shocked at how loud they are. My husband can not sleep at all when they are turning (it sounds like living at an airport where the plane never takes off), and I am unable to reach deep sleep. At first, we thought of it as just an annoyance, but then we put together several health problems we had been experiencing in our household - all of us, the children too - with the timing of the installation of the wind turbines. Now that I have found some sources of information, I can clearly see that the symptoms we have been having are the same or similar to other families all around the world.

I am shocked to find out about the number of people who have been forced to leave their homes, right here in Ontario! All of them with similar symptoms that developed only after the wind turbines were erected. Since no official, proper studies have been conducted, the wind energy owners state that there is "no proof" that this is the cause. I am reminded of other "safe" introductions to our society in history - nicotine, hormones for women, chemicals in baby bottles, pesticides......This is a case where it is very clear that many, many people are suffering from headaches, vomiting, dizziness, ear ringing, sleep deprivation, aches and tingling in extremities, lack of memory, rashes, irratibility, and more.... in a private survey, a large percentage of respondants indicated that they were suffering from one or more of the symptoms.

ALL THAT WE ASK IS THAT CHATHAM KENT COUNCIL REFUSE ANY FURTHER WIND ENERGY DEVELOPMENT UNTIL SUCH TIME AS THE EFFECTS OF THE CURRENT TURBINES CAN BE STUDIED AND SOLUTIONS FOUND FOR THE CURRENT ISSUES. PLEASE DO NOT PUT MORE FAMILIES AT RISK. COUNCIL WAS MADE AWARE OF THESE ISSUES AT LEAST 2 YEARS AGO...YEARS BEFORE THE WIND TURBINES WERE ERECTED 600 M FROM MY HOME. NOW, WE ARE DEALING EVERYDAY WITH HEALTH ISSUES AND FEAR FOR THE HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF OUR YOUNG CHILDREN.

PLEASE VISIT THE WEBSITE WWW.CKWAG.ORG FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO SEND A LETTER TO COUNCIL ASKING THEM FOR DUE DILIGENCE IN TRACKING THE EFFECTS OF THE CURRENT WIND TURBINES BEFORE APPROVING MORE.

IF YOU OR ANYONE YOU KNOW LIVES WITHIN 5 KM OF A CURRENT OR POSSIBLE WIND TURBINE LOCATION (WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY ANY OPEN AREA IN CHATHAM KENT), I HOPE THAT YOU WILL BE AT THE COUNCIL MEETING DOWNTOWN AT 6PM ON MONDAY JUNE 15TH TO EXPRESS YOUR CONCERNS TO COUNCIL.

THANK YOU. FEEL FREE TO CHECK OUT MY BLOG AT WWW.MYWINDDIARY.BLOGSPOT.COM TO READ MORE ABOUT MY FAMILIES ISSUES AND FIND LINKS TO MORE INFORMATION..

Nikki Horton and Family
Near Dealtown, Ontario

June 13 - Better Day

2009-06-13T19:55:00.002-04:00

I had a great sleep last night, and virtually no headache today! My only issue was that when I woke up I had a strange "hive" like rash on my left shoulder. This is very similar to what my husband has had so I hope it's not going to start affecting me also.
As I look out the window now, the windmill is turning, but not very quickly. I was disappointed yesterday as Hydro One was supposed to be here but postponed until Monday. The kids seemed to sleep well and seem to be doing quite well. I am thankful for the milder weather which seems to have eased some of the issues with the windmills.
I am concerned about the meeting on Monday evening. If council accepts more windmills, I feel so badly for those who will not even realize what is happening to them until the winter months come. We did not make the connection until well into the winter. I am worried also that since we are now sensitive to the side effects that when they return full force in the higher winds that they will be even worse for us. I just try to keep the thought in my head that hopefully it is not worse than we know. I think sometimes about cancers, brain damage, body and tissue damage, hearing and eyesight... especially when I hear the kids playing and laughing...I wonder, should we try to sell our home? Just in case....what if the kids growing minds and bodies suffer because of that which is unknown to us. As I hear from experts in the field who are certain that wind turbines cause health issues, I wonder what we should do. Is it too much to ask that our government(s) properly investigate the issues and keep us safe? I always thought that was part of living in Canada, protection from big business who would endanger our lives for the sake of the mighty dollar.....I guess that was very naive of me.
Trying to think positive, be positive and hold out hope for responsible government, Nikki.

June 11th - Update to date and Council Meeting

2009-06-11T22:13:00.002-04:00

Two nights ago, my husband woke up around 2 or 3 am and was having a "dizzy feeling". He could not get back to sleep, and felt nauseous. We had thought the milder weather was helping our symptoms, but I am deeply concerned what will happen when the fall returns. We still have all of our symptoms although some of them seem a bit lessened at present (which makes sense as the turbines have been much slower and on some days not turning at all). One symptom that continues to worsen for me is the headache. When I am away from here, it seems to disappear, but on my return home it comes back and seems to be getting worse. It is not a migraine, but a dull aching in my front forehead, sinus area and around my jaw and ears. I often feel as if my glands are swollen, like today for example, but when checked the doctor says she sees no evidence of an infection. Our biggest worry at present is with our oldest son. He enjoys watching movies in the evening, and some television with his father. Lately, when watching anything, he constantly complains that he can not hear and wants to turn the television up to it's highest volume. We will definitely be having his hearing and eyesight tested, however, he was tested not that long ago and so I am very worried that his inability to hear is related to the "sound" he mentions often. I believe he is suffering from a ringing in his ears but does not know how to describe it.
This is why the Council Meeting on the 15th is so important to all of us. There are new regulations for the Green Energy act, and I am not sure how they will affect the Chatham Kent proposals. I know that a Certificate of Approval from the Ministry of Environment is required and I am not sure if all of the projects have theirs as of yet so perhaps they will be subject to the new rulings. I believe that under the new rules turbines within 3 km of a residence need to be regulated and not send out over a certain decibel of noise. I believe it was less than 3km when the turbine near our home was put up, so perhaps there is some hope for others moving forward. I still don't understand why the wind turbine companies can not just agree to be a suitable distance from homes. Surely there is enough unpopulated area in Ontario to run wind energy without being so close to our homes.

More Information on Symptoms - HYDRO ONE

2009-06-11T21:12:00.002-04:00

Thank you to everyone who has been sending us the information they find on the internet and in the media!!! This is very, very helpful.....
Here is one to share for anyone with similar sympotoms!!!

Found another reference for you...
in a Minnesota Board of Health report (can be found on WCO website) p 15
"case studies ...show health can be impacted by relatively low levels of low frequency noise...
Feldman J. and FA Pitten (2004).Effects of low frequency noise on man-a case study.Noise and Health 7(25):23-28.
-describes a family exposed to low freq noise (fr a heating plant) ... impacts were: indisposition, decreased performance, sleep disturbance, headache, ear pressure, crawl parasthesy (crawling, tingling or numbness sensation on the skin), shortness of breath

By the way eveyone....Hydro One called and will be coming to visit our home to test for stray voltage (dirty electrcity) very soon...I will keep you posted on that.....Here is an interesting question for you to ponder... In calling Hydro One, they were quick to agree to investigate the problem based on symptoms....hmmmm, that must mean that there is some confirmation that stray voltage and dirty electricity exists and can cause health problems....Okay, so why is it that the wind companies are sure, so positively sure that their form of energy (which generates electricity) could not be causing a problem....Hmmmmmm.....I wonder....."me thinks they may protest too much"

COUNCIL MEETING JUNE 15TH - SPEAK OUT NOW

2009-06-11T13:08:00.003-04:00

Please act now and assist the Chatham Kent Wind Concerns organization and my family, and our neighbors, and your friends, family, and neighbors, and your community!!!

We need EVERYONE we know to send a message to Chatham-Kent council before they consider approving another 100 turbines this Monday June 15. Please go to the following website home page: www.ckwag.org scroll down to ACT Now... email Municipality (on the left side of the page) and follow the directions to send the message (people's health needs to take priority over wind development)to council. Thanks!

I expect all the people with money at stake (leaseholders) will be there in full force, so we need lots of people who have concerns to be there too. Now is not the time to sit silently by and watch the wind turbines being erected. If you have ANY concerns about the health and welfare of people in our community who are being affected, even if you are not personally affected at this time, I encourage you to attend and ask council to perform further studies before going ahead with progress for the sake of progress. We can always erect wind turbines at a later date, with proper setbacks, but once they are up and people are suffering, it becomes a much harder problem to fix.

Thank you for your consideration! You can make a difference, every voice counts - hope to see you Monday at Council Chambers.

Nikki Horton

June 7 - Victims Of Wind - VOW organization formed

2009-06-11T12:35:00.001-04:00

People from across Ontario who welcomed wind turbines into their community are now coming forward with questions and concerns about disturbed living conditions and health concerns and don't know where to turn.

Some have been driven from their homes. Some can’t afford to leave and just try to cope. Many of these people are re-victimized by the denial of any adverse health effects from wind companies and from disbelief expressed by far too many government and by some medical officials. Some members of the general public stand under or near a turbine for a few minutes and decide it isn't so bad - that they aren't noisy, then dismiss the victims by saying that the turbines emit no disturbing amount of noise and vibration as far as they could tell.

What they fail to experience is the turbine noise and vibration every day and night for weeks on end along with the changes in sound and vibration that accompany nightfall, changing weather and wind conditions.

“The following are symptoms of some people living in proximity to wind turbine installations as reported by Dr. N. Pierpont:

1) Sleep problems: noise or physical sensations of pulsation or pressure make it hard to go to sleep and cause frequent awakening.
2) Headaches which are increased in frequency or severity.
3) Dizziness, unsteadiness, and nausea.
4) Exhaustion, anxiety, anger, irritability, and depression.
5) Problems with concentration and learning.
6) Tinnitus (ringing in the ears).”

Chronic sleep disturbance is the most common symptom. Exhaustion, mood problems, and problems with concentration and learning are outcomes of poor sleep.

VOW, Victims of Wind, is a support group recently formed for those people. In less than one month over 40 people have joined.

This province needs epidemiologic studies to determine the extent of harm being imposed on rural communities by industrial wind turbines. This majority McGuinty liberal government must stop the rush of sprawling construction of new projects until they begin to understand the adverse effects from existing operating turbines on Ontario's residents. The health of our neighbours needs to take precedence over the profits of the wind industry.

If you, or anyone you know is having difficulty, please call toll free 1-888-700-5655 or email vow2help@gmail.com .

Sorry for my Absence

2009-06-10T20:49:00.002-04:00

Sorry Everyone for my absence, my computer was in the shop....Now that I have it back, you can watch for updates today or tomorrow.....also, plesee note the link to ckwag.org....our city council is set to approve 100 more turbines for Chatham Kent this Monday the 15th...please follow the link to find out more information on how you can come forward to prevent this. I hope that as many people as possible will speak up and let council know that it is not okay to proceed with further turbines while so many are suffering from the noise, vibration and other factors caused by them. Thanks again for your support......

June 3 - 4:57 pm

2009-06-03T17:04:00.002-04:00

I have been working at home today and my sinuses are popping and my head is throbbing like crazy...I see out my window that the turbines are turning quite quickly, there is quite a bit of wind. I can not hear them over the ceiling fan, the radio and the clicking of my typing, but I have to wonder what is causing this pressure in my head. It's funny, but I actually consider myself lucky - i was told about one woman who could barely get out of bed. She suffered from terrible, terrible migraines she says are the result of the turbines. Today is overcast and windy. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the family sleeps tonight when they get home. I am feeling pretty good about the possibility that the trees block the effects a bit, maybe we'll have a good summer...and, if that's true, that would mean that something can be done to shelter us from the turbines next door. Have a Great Day. Nik