The out-going head of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Warwick Anderson confirmed in Senate Estimates recently that calls for research proposals for up to a total of A$2.5 million…
Blowhards? The debate over wind turbines is heated, so it’s best to rely on solid science.
Fir0002/Flagstaffotos/Wikimedia Commons
Yesterday, The Australian ran a front-page article about what it called a “groundbreaking” new study on wind turbines and their associated health impacts. The study supposedly found a trend between participants…
Wind farms like this one probably wouldn’t exist if the government didn’t provide a hefty subsidy.
Shutterstock
Congress passed the wind production tax credit (PTC) more than two decades ago to spur development in an industry still in its infancy. The wind sector has since matured into adulthood, prompting thousands…
Roof-top solar panels are just one part of the micropower revolution.
Presidency Maldives
There is no shortage of shouting and dire warnings about the state of the climate and our need to phase out fossil fuels. But there is a more silent revolution happening too — in micropower. Small-scale…
One of the hottest topics for the upcoming election is a new forest national park to protect the critically endangered Leadbeater’s Possum, Victoria’s faunal emblem.
Greens MPs/Flickr
Less than a week out from Victoria’s state election, both major parties have been largely silent on environmental policy. Neither the Coalition nor Labor has released comprehensive documents. It also seems…
Australia has a possible path to 100% renewables – if governments and business can be persuaded to take it.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
The political outlook for renewable energy is not great – and I’m not just talking about the view out of Joe Hockey’s car window. The Renewable Energy Target (RET), which aims to deliver 41 million megawatt-hours…
Lake George, complete with “offensive” wind turbines. Expect more views like this around Canberra soon.
Darcyj/Wikimedia Commons
We now know that Treasurer Joe Hockey is not a fan of wind farms, on aesthetic grounds at least. On Friday he told Macquarie Radio’s Alan Jones he finds the view “utterly offensive” and “a blight on the…
Both the Scottish and UK governments have published new contributions on the energy and independence debate in recent days. Energy Secretary Ed Davey visited Edinburgh to coincide with the Department for…
The medical establishment needs to acknowledge that people can worry themselves sick about wind turbines.
Terence Doust/Wikimedia Commons
The Australian Medical Association has released a statement once again affirming that there is no evidence that wind farms harm human health. Geoffrey Dobb, chair of the AMA’s Public Health Committee…
How do you stop a hurricane? Put a wind turbine in the way.
Wessex Archaeology/Flickr
Wind turbines could provide a front-line defence against cyclones and hurricanes, by slowing damaging winds and reducing storm surges. New modelling, published today in Nature Climate Change, shows large…
Proximity to wind farms may cause annoyance but not ill health.
Image from shutterstock.com
There is no reliable or consistent evidence that proximity to wind farms or wind farm noise directly causes health effects. That’s the finding of the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC…
Spinning turbines have mixed effects on the atmosphere.
Charles Cook
Wind turbines take energy from the atmosphere and turn it into electricity: so we know they must have some impact on the atmosphere’s flow. With industrial grade turbines being built at a terrific rate…
One of Britain’s largest independent cheese producers, Wyke Farms in Somerset, picked up a commendation in the BusinessGreen Leaders awards this month for its efforts to become completely energy self-sufficient…
There’s more wind in Scotland than in England, and not just in the pipes.
Danny Lawson/PA
A frequent claim heard is that the UK is Europe’s windiest country. This is a partial truth; Scotland is the windiest country, whereas England is far from the windiest. To see the truth of this one need…
The sheep think it’s OK, but what about the farmers?
letscommunicate
The government claims its new package of measures for wind farm development will give communities greater say over on-shore developments. The trouble is, one set of measures is giving them more scope to…
Exposure to infrasound, at the level produced by wind turbines, is an ordinary occurrence.
Flickr/Wavy1
Fiona Crichton, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
A surge in health complaints linked to wind farms could owe more to increased discussion of health risk than the low-level sound generated by the actual turbines, according to a new study. The study by…
Wind turbine syndrome seems to be caused by fear and anxiety spread by anti-wind farm groups.
Image from shutterstock.com
A study of mine published last night delivers a double whammy to those who argue that wind turbines cause health problems in communities. Earlier this week researchers at the University of Auckland published…
Serbian villagers fear vampires, but we have our own superstitions in the Anglosphere.
Drurydrama (Len Radin)
If the latest spate of news stories coming out of Serbia are anything to go by, the tiny and otherwise unassuming village of Zarožje has something of a vampire problem. Local legend tells of Sava Savanovi…