Citizen writer owes us all an apology

17 Friday Aug 2012

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August 17, 2012

Yesterday, writer Kate Heartfield, who claims to live in the south Ottawa area near to the proposed wind power generation project, published an opinion piece in the Ottawa Citizen that she thought was a colossal joke. Doing absolutely no research herself on the whole issue of wind power generation, she took aim at Nepean-Carleton MP Pierre Poilievre for what she felt was inadequate references for the petition he circulated to constitutents last week.

(The petition states that there is evidence for health effects from wind turbine noise and vibration and that Health Canada is now doing a study; Premier McGuinty of Ontario ought to halt approvals on the North Gower-Richmond project until results of the study are in. For a copy of the petition, please see our documents tab.)

She also claimed that the group of international scientists working on this issue were “amusingly” named the Society for Wind Vigilance  ( a five-minute read would have revealed what an important group of scientists and health care professionals that is), she denigrated well-known and peer-reviewed independent health researcher and former health policy analyst and editor Carmen Krogh as “a retired pharmacist” and finally, claimed that for 20% of the population to have health effects from wind turbine noises was neither here nor there.

If you are a regular reader of these pages and our former blog the North Gower Wind Action Group blog, you’ll know what a puff piece Heartfield’s article was–there is plenty of evidence to show that there are health problems, and that research needs to be done to develop policy for health and safety because, clearly, Ontario’s 550-meter setback based on noise modelling (not reality) is not safe.

Our final comment is, Since when is a health issue the basis for humour? We note that it took just nine complaints about Jeeps in the U.S. to result in a recall of hundreds of thousands of vehicles. Now you have hundreds of noise complaints in Ontario, and yet the government still approves these projects? How many people have to become ill before it is too much? And before people like Kate Heartfield can take seriously the damage that is being done?

We are grateful for the continuing support of MPP Lisa MacLeod and MP Pierre Poilievre. Thanks too to all those who wrote in and congratulations to writers Mike Baggott, Judi Atkinson, Francesco Macri, and Henri Garand, for having been published in the Ottawa Citizen today.

Email us at ottawawindconcerns@yahoo.ca

MP Pierre Poilievre releases petition vs North Gower wind project

14 Tuesday Aug 2012

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Nepean-Carleton MP Pierre Poilivre has prepared a petition for everyone concerned about the health impacts from the proposed North Gower wind project. The signed petitions, which asks that Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty not approve the project until the results of a Health Canada study are released and evaluated, will be taken to the House of Commons.

Here is an excerpt from the news release from Mr Poilievre’s office.

Poilievre launches petition to stop local wind turbine project

Nepean, ON

—Pierre Poilievre, Member of Parliament for Nepean-Carleton, announced that he has started a petition calling on Premier Dalton McGuinty to put the safety of North Gower residents first. The petition asks for a halt to the construction of industrial wind turbines in the community until the Federal Health Canada study can determine whether or not they are safe. This follows his open letter to Premier McGuinty and his public call for a moratorium several weeks ago.

“Since my public call for a moratorium on the wind turbine project proposed for North Gower, many of my constituents have been contacting me to voice their support,” said Poilievre. “The Premier and his Ministers of Health and Environment have both agreed to consider my request and I think that a petition will show them just how much support that a moratorium would have from the general population.”

Last week, the petition was mailed to thousands of households in the village of North Gower and the surrounding areas. Poilievre is also inviting anyone wishing to sign the petition to drop by his constituency office at 250B Greenbank Road, located just north of West Hunt Club Rd.

The Marlborough Wind Farm, initiated in 2008 by Prowind Canada, proposes 10 IWTs in close proximity to the village of North Gower and Poilievre believes that the majority of the villagers will be supportive of this call for a moratorium. There is too much information that is unclear when it comes to the potential health effects caused by noise pollution from industrial wind turbines.

In several locations across Ontario, noise from turbines has caused residents who live close to them to report serious health problems, including sleeping disorders, anxiety drugs and vertigo. Even Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer has admitted that the government does not have enough data on turbine noise and its health consequences.

….

We support this 100 % and ask that everyone sign the petition, and have their friends, neighbours and other concerned individuals sign it. The petitions may be sent to the MP postage-free.

Email us at ottawawindconcerns@yahoo.ca

Get the petition HERE: Wind Farm – petition

Ottawa resident alleges fossil fuel industry ties

08 Wednesday Aug 2012

Posted by in Health, Ottawa, Wind power

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In the August 8th edition of The Manotick Messenger, Kars resident Andy Braid has a letter complaining about the paper’s coverage of the joint news conference held by Nepean-Carleton MPP Lisa MacLeod and MP Pierre Poilievre, calling for a moratorium on wind power project approvals until a proposed Health Canada study is done.

While complaining that citizens are “brainwashed” and practically calling CFRA listeners mouthbreathers, Braid actually claims that community groups opposed to industrial wind power projects are associated with the fossil fuel industry.

Alleging that a community group is “friends of the fossil fuel industry” Braid says:”It’s nothing short of surreal to watch the remarkably well-funded Wind Concerns Ontario whipping up paranoia amongst rural residents about the possible health implications of living too close to a propeller on a stick, all the while completely ignoring the proliferation of cellphone towers that are microwaving their children on a daily basis.”

We will not entertain Mr Braid’s fantasies further but simply use this letter as an example of how successful the huge wind power generation lobby group — worldwide –has been in marketing its utterly useless product.

Facts:

  • There is no evidence anywhere that wind power projects reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Wind power actually requires back-up from traditional power sources, which is why Ontario is trying to build new natural gas plants. (Except the voters in key ridings don’t want them.)
  • The environmental noise and infrasound does cause health effects–that has been proven.
  • The fact that health problems may result from other sorts of power generation and–perhaps–cellphone towers is NO EXCUSE to inflict giant power generating machines on communities.

Mr Braid might be interested to know, however, that the reality of the proposed project for the North Gower and Richmond areas of Ottawa is that the proponents originally intended the project to go all the way over to Osgoode. In other words, through Kars. So, Mr Braid may have to read a little more widely and open his mind more, when he himself is faced with a giant, noise and vibration-producing, property value destroying “propeller” next door.

Email us at ottawawindconcerns@yahoo.ca and follow us on Twitter at northgowerwind

We are a corporate member of Wind Concerns Ontario; for more news daily, visit http://www.windconcernsontario.ca

The simple truth about wind power: it doesn’t achieve the goal

06 Monday Aug 2012

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Guest Helen McDade of Scotland’s John Muir Trust hit the nail on the head on the August 5th Wind Wise Radio show (always a great show, check in Sundays at 7 p.m. to the Internet show at http://www.windwiseradio.org). She said, wind power generation is being sold around the world as the way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The problem is, she said, it doesn’t work: there is no evidence to show that wind power makes any appreciable difference in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

What is does make is plenty of money for the people developing wind energy as a resource, and what it also does is cost taxpayers and ratepayers plenty of money in subsidies. Electricity rates in Britain are skyrocketing, McDade and subsequent guests said.

Wind power developers claim that the experience in the U.K. and Europe is unblemished and positive. You could think that if you never read anything, or if you never heard of EPAW, the European Platform Against Wind, which has more than 400 member community groups protesting wind power developments.

Wind power: expensive, unreliable, and it doesn’t achieve the goal set for it.

Share that message with your friends, coworkers, neighbours and family!

Email us at ottawawindconcerns@yahoo.ca

Professor studying infrasound: “absolutely” can cause health effects

28 Saturday Jul 2012

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Interview on the CBC with the University of Windsor’s professor Colin Novak, who is studying the infrasound or sound pressure produced by industrial wind turbines.

Can infrasound cause health effects? “Absolutely,” he says.

Listen here: http://www.cbc.ca/player/Shows/ID/2260705164/

This information needs to get to the people who are thinking of leasing land for turbines: the infrasound will affect your and your family, too.

email us at ottawawindconcerns@yahoo.ca

Announcing: Ottawa Wind Concerns

26 Thursday Jul 2012

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COMMUNITY GROUP EXPANDS FOCUS TO REPRESENT ALL OF OTTAWA

OTTAWA, JULY 26, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The group representing citizens of the North Gower and Richmond areas of Ottawa facing a huge industrial wind power project has changed its name and its focus to represent all of Ottawa. The North Gower Wind Action Group has changed its name to Ottawa Wind Concerns.

“The number of gigantic wind power generation projects proposed for Eastern Ontario is multiplying,” says Ottawa Wind Concerns chair Jane Wilson. “Everyone in our community needs to be aware of what these industrial projects really do: electricity rates will rise, property values will drop, and a proportion of people forced to live next to these power generation facilities may become ill from the environmental noise and infrasound.”

On July 10, Health Canada announced it is launching a two-year study into the health effects caused by the noise and vibration from industrial wind turbines, due to increasing reports of ill health. Last week, Nepean-Carleton MP Pierre Poilievre and MPP Lisa MacLeod demanded the province halt the proposed project in Ottawa and wait for results of the health study.

“We already know there are health problems,” said Wilson about the study. “Let’s get the science in place to determine how far away from people these huge noisy machines should be—this should have been done before Ontario started paying subsidies for wind power plants, not after.”

Email us at: ottawawindconcerns@yahoo.ca

Ottawa Wind Concerns

19 Tuesday Jun 2012

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We’ll be making an announcement very soon.

It’s been an exciting couple of weeks with the Health Canada announcement of its study into the relationship between the environmental noise and infrasound produced by large-scale or industrial wind turbines and health problems (the study is not to find WHETHER there are health problems–we already know there are–but to inform decision-making and policy), and now Ontario MPs are calling for a moratorium on wind power project approvals until the study is done.

Makes sense.

Ethical.

The right thing to do.

Email us at ottawawindconcerns@yahoo.ca and follow us on Twitter at northgowerwind