During the Abbott government, the often recalcitrant Senate cross bench was thrown a big, juicy bone plainly intended to sweeten their disposition toward government bills which needed their support to…
How long do we wait for evidence of harm before accepting something is safe?
AAP Image/Lukas Coch
A moratorium on wind turbines until we know they’re safe sounds like a good idea, but it’s likely that those calling for a ban will never be satisfied with the evidence.
Could offshore wind be a solution to onshore wind’s problems?
Statkraft/Flickr
“More research needed” is a familiar cry in science. But in the case of the Senate’s call for yet more scrutiny of wind farms, there are signs that experts are being ushered in a preconceived direction.
The senate’s wind inquiry has recommended increasing regulation for wind farms.
Éamonn Lawlor/Flickr
People are complaining of a range of health related problems and are attributing them to wind turbines. The question is: what is the cause of these health problems?
In even the best of studies, it will be impossible to separate out ‘nocebo’ effects from direct effects.
reynermedia/Flickr
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…
People are unlikely to experience ill-health further than 500 metres from wind turbines.
David Clarke/Flickr
There is no direct evidence that wind turbines affect physical or mental health, according to a review of the evidence by the National Health and Medicine Research Council (NHMRC). The review found no…
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…
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…
People report symptoms from wind farms even when the wind turbines aren’t in operation.
Image from shutterstock.com
Fiona Crichton, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
Despite at least 19 reviews of the scientific evidence universally concluding that exposure to wind farm sound doesn’t trigger adverse health effects, people continue to report feeling unwell because they…
The sky is falling! Oh wait, no: it’s just the clouds moving…
Sarah Smith
Several Australian corporate figures have recently disparaged climate scientists. First, former banker David Murray questioned the integrity of climate scientists on national TV. Casting such aspersions…
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…
Obesity, over-diagnosis, the NDIS, vaccinations and open access for genetic information were just some of the issues covered in 2012.
Kylie May; shutterstock.com; Morberg; Pranjal Mahn
It promised to be a full year of reforms: pokies legislation, front-of-pack food labels and a dental system that doesn’t cost those in need an arm and a leg. But while we did see cigarette companies forced…
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…