New York Times
Penobscot Bay (Maine) installed wind turbines last year and all the residents on the island were excited to see the changes that these environmental friendly structures would bring.
Now, about a dozen of local residents within a one mile radius is suing the wind facility that provided these wind turbines. The blades of the wind turbines are about 123 feet in length and generate extremely noisy and obnoxious sounds.
In other states such as Pennsylvania, Texas, and Massachusetts, the residents have also sued due to the negative consequences that wind turbines brought, such as noise, constant vibration, and lost property value.
Furthermore, these wind turbines have also aroused physiological changes such as rapid heartbeat, nausea, and blurred vision that are caused by low frequency vibrations from the turbines.
Last year, the American Wind Energy Assocation conducted a study that concluded that wind turbine noise and vibration does not cause negative physiological changes. Another point to consider is that the people suing in this case live in a quiet neighborhood, so their three new wind turbines may seem extra noisy compared to those in a suburban or urban setting, where it’s comparatively noisier.
What do you guys think are some solutions that can fix this problem? Does the wind facility deserve to be sued? And ultimately, the age-old question: do the benefits outweigh the costs?
3 comments:
I think that these people are just a little spoiled with their quality of life. You made a good point when you said that many people living in urban and suburban areas sleep completely fine with much more noise going on a night. The juice in this case was worth the squeeze.
I agree, the benefits that wind turbines can bring to a community through cleaner energy outweigh the minor inconveniences they give off. People who live near the farms could simply think of the noise given by the turbines as gusts of wind.
Of course wind turbines are good for the environment in the production of energy, but I feel that a new study should be conducted. The last one was conducted by the American Wind Energy Association, which makes me want to doubt the effectiveness of the survey. On another note if all of us could use less energy, then the nation would not need that many turbines. Because we are not actually affected by the turbines, I do not believe we should make judgment calls for our possible benefit. Though it may seem different, but Chernobyl or the nuclear disaster in New York came out differently. We should be wary of potential side effects that some of these technologies may have. Noise pollution is a legitimate concern (http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/554566_3) for mankind. That being said, I do not feel like win facilities deserve to be sued, but at the same time more studies need to be done. The study in this case does not seem very legitimate to me.
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