Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Arlene King, says wind turbines are not a health problem. Some people living within the vicinity of the machines have reported dizziness, headaches and sleep disturbance. The complaints prompted King to conduct a review of previously published studies mainly from abroad, and current legislation here. When she put them together in a report, she concluded Ontario’s nearly 700 wind turbines are not making people sick.
But there’s a lot more to this story. In isolation, wind turbines are a technology-driven, renewable energy source with the potential to contribute to the greening of Ontario. But what about their aesthetics? And what about their affect on farm animals? Or what about using land to produce energy rather than crops and livestock? Those are hot buttons for people everywhere.
Science and society clash when technology is not well understood or presented. I cover the wind turbine decision in my Urban Cowboy column is today’s Guelph Mercury.
The wind farm photo below is from treehugger.
