KINGSTON — The hopes of neighbors of four industrial wind turbines off Route 3 were dashed Monday when the Board of Health ignored their demands to shut down the machines and voted instead to take no action until a pending noise study is done.
The collective frustration of the residents, after months of complaining about health issues related to the turbines, was voiced by one audience member who shouted at the board after the vote: “Shame on you.”
Comments
Shame on you Kingston Board of Health. Shame on you. You seem to thrive on bad advice, conflict of interest and threats of law suits. You have a crises on your hands and this is the way you react......shame on you. You have a crises on your hands and you are allowing the Commonweath with the: "industrial-wind-turbine-at-any-cost-including-human-health" agenda to still be in the "planning stages" of a noise study, to still be in control of when and how the testing is performed and to, also interpret the results.......shame on you. The scientific evidence rolls in on a daily basis about the health issues related to industrial wind turbines and you continue to turn your back on it. Granted, and I give you this, you now have more information than was available when the decision in favor of industrial wind turbines in the town of Kingston was made. You made a mistake; now is the time to right your error in judgement. There are no excuses, you know now about the scientic evidence and now is the time to defer to the residents of your community. Their protection is why you are present there. They are the living proof of the health issues inherent in industrial wind turbines and they are supported by moutains of scientific evidence. You want to maintain local control; well, take control and do the right thing NOW. And, let the lawsuits begin! XXX
The top news story for 2013 will be wind turbine noise and second the operation and maintenance costs of those turbines. SE Massachusetts and Cape Cod are today the most sophisticated wind turbine noise experiment in the world. Falmouth had a commercial wind turbine installed several years ago. The result is hundreds of noise complaints that the noise causes “clear and significant” damage to people's sleep and mental health. Next comes Fairhaven, Scituate and Kingston residents complaints which now number in the thousands. Massachusetts has a well financed semi quasi state agency whose goal is to reach a mandated renewable energy goal to reach by 2020. The state agency provides resources to supply studies for the placement of commercial wind turbines. Large megawatt land based wind turbines is the quickest way to reach that goal. The residents or abutters to the megawatt wind turbines have had to use their own resources to prove the low frequency / infra sound is causing physical pressure, fear, disorientation, negative physical and mental symptoms. As each commercial wind turbine is installed more attorneys, acoustic engineers,sleep specialist, epidemiologist and physiologists are being hired to show megawatt turbines represents a major public health threat. The pro wind turbine camp says the residential illness is based on selfish hysteria. The residents who live around the turbines have sold homes,moved to their basements and become ill.In most cases the residents that live within 3000 feet of turbines are making complaints . Where does that leave us today ? A semi quasi state agency created by Beacon Hill that made a mistake siting commercial megawatt wind turbines too close to residential homes ? Falmouth, Fairhaven, Scituate and Kingston have thousands of homes near or abutting the turbines how can the state admit a mistake ? In addition to the noise issues the megawatt turbines installed in the past four years are experiencing catastrophic gear box failures . The mandated 2020 renewable energy goal looks a long way off !
Another study? By a "quasi-public agency focused on renewable energy development"?! That sounds like a really good idea. Wake up, people. Do some of your own research from unbiased sources, and you'll quickly find real scientific, peer-reviewed studies that support what these citizens are saying. A simple search of the Internet will open your eyes. Large-scale wind turbines cause significant harm to wildlife, people, and the environment. In return, because of the wind’s low density, intermittency, and high variability, they do next to nothing for reducing carbon and other emissions or dependence on other fuels. The only people making out on this failed science experiment are the lobbyists, the lawyers, and the windmill owners who reap subsidies, grants, and tax credits from the Feds and the state. Your health, property values, and cost of energy are all secondary to them and the government.
I encourage you to read the following and after that do find the Eric Bibler piece and then tell me how the Kingston Board of Health or the Kingston Selectmen can have an excuse for their ignorance!
Again, Kingston do the right thing. Shut them down because there are a million plus reasons to do so. And, embrace the lawsuits! They will be coming one way or several ways or another. Perhaps, then, Falmouth, Scituate, Fairhaven, etc., etc. will follow suit.
Wind Power's Negative Externalities: Here Come the Lawsuits ...
www.masterresource.org/2013/01/wind-powers-negative-externalities-here-come...
Wind Power's Negative Externalities: Here Come the Lawsuits (Part II). by Sherri Lange January 3, 2013. “Eric Bibler of Save Our Seashore writes that there are ...
In Falmouth Massachusetts Jan 23, 2013 Here is the news: The WTOP lasted 26 meetings over eight months at a cost of $400,000.00
We recommend that the Town of Falmouth Board of Selectmen, with assistance from a neutral facilitator, convene a Falmouth Wind Turbine Option
Analysis Committee (the Committee), made up of themselves and representatives of those concerned about adverse affects on neighbors, supporters of
Falmouth-based renewable energy, supporters and beneficiaries of fiscal impacts, and relevant town government departments, to meet as needed to
clarify the range of potential long-term options, identify the questions for investigation, determine legitimate methods for answering those questions, jointly
review the information, and re-evaluate the options given the new information.