With the proven harmful effects of too much reliance on the burning of fossil fuels to generate the not only much needed by essential electricity—since everything that we use today seems to be operated by this energy source, more and more government and non-government-related organizations are looking for alternative ways to generate electricity. Burning of fossil fuels usually lead to the dumping of huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is actually a not very potent greenhouse gas. There are a lot of more potent greenhouse gases that could promote the entrapment of heat from the sun in the atmosphere which is what causes sea temperatures to rise and trigger an ever famous phenomenon called climate change. But continuous dumping of this not so potent greenhouse gas (carbon dioxide) into the atmosphere and at huge amounts can indeed prove to be problematic.
One of the proposed ways to combat the effects of the burning of fossil fuels and other substances that leads to significant carbon emissions in the atmosphere is to generate electricity via clean and renewable ways or green energy if you will. Windmills that are equipped with wind turbines is probably one of the most popular and efficient ways to generate electricity without having the need to actually burn anything.
In Cape Cod Massachusetts, USA, an aggressive and revolutionary green energy project was proposed. The initial proposal was to create several offshore windmills—offshore windmills are basically windmills that are left floating into the sea, with foundations nailed deep down into the sea bed for stability, and to generate a significant amount of green energy for the city. However, the initial offshore windmill construction was rejected as per the local government’s ruling suggesting that it was too premature for the small city to host such a huge and relatively untested, and on top of that, costly, green energy project. An alternative proposal was made which was comprised of the construction of conventional windmills or land-based ones, in carefully selected areas. The alternative proposal was later on approved by the local government and other regulating bodies.
It turned out that the windmills were put up near residential zones. After some time, residents of Cape Cod city reported to be hit by an unknown medical condition they call Wind Turbine Syndrome. According to the residents who live in close proximity with one of the wind turbines, they have experienced significant health and lifestyle deteriorations ever since the windmills began operating and producing clean and carbon-less energy. Ringing in the ears, nausea, headaches, dizziness, insomnia, and even heart palpitations were some of the medical complaints that the residents associate with the windmill operations.
First and foremost, the construction and the presence of numerous wind turbines within the vicinity of Cape Cod residential zones should be considered a blessing and not a curse. One wind turbine in that area creates about 5 Million kWh of clean energy per year which can mean a lot to the relatively small share of clean energy in the US’ total energy production. This can also mean a lot to Cape Cod’s economy considering that it has approximately 15 towns to supply with electricity. Without electricity, business operations, which are mainly dominated by the tourism industry, would be disrupted and the Cape Cod’s economy would suffer.
Whether the claims of the residents residing near the windmills are real or are merely psychological is not yet clear. But as far as peer-reviewed evidences are concerned, studies have suggested that living near the vicinity of a wind turbine should theoretically produce no adverse medical effects such as the ones the residents have reportedly experienced . So as far as research-based medical study is concerned, the claims of the residents are invalid and groundless. Discontinuing the fruitful, both economically and environmentally, operations of the windmills based on subjective claims that are groundless and are yet to be scientifically proven is ridiculous and goes against the principles of cost-benefit analysis. However, should it be found out that the presence of windmills near Cape Cod’s residential areas indeed causes the medical disturbances reported by the residents, using scientific and academic means, then the right thing to do would be to discontinue the operations despite their environmental and economic benefits. But until then, their claims remain subjective and groundless and so there is no reason for the Cape Cod wind turbines’ operations to stop.
References
Bleier, K. (2013). Cape Cod Town Residents Claim to be hit by Wind Turbine Syndrome. Novosti.
Hau, E. (2006). Wind Turbines: Fundamentals, Technologies, Application, Economics. Birkhauser Publishing House, 32.
