“We, Polish wind farm victims believe the future is now”
“With Bavaria’s highest court which has just upheld the state’s hotly contested 10 H wind turbine permitting rule, good chances are Poland will also get rid of its 'ill wind'.”
By Mariusz Bilski
Dear All,
I am deeply grateful to all of you who decided to act before I even thought of writing to you. I would also like to address all who share the belief that public health and human rights issues related to wind turbines should no longer be subject to dispute or compromise. Needless to tell you how much I admire your work which not only brings knowledge and understanding upon the problem of wind turbines but also gives hope to local communities that this entire wind industry will be soon sent to the dustbin of history. It is, indeed, because of the turbines which had been erected in my neighbourhood that I truly understood their devastating impact, started to explore related research papers and, consequently, pass the knowledge on others.
Our story is very much similar to most stories told by wind turbine victims. We got our house built in a rural area (ambient noise being almost minimal there) back in 2007, and enjoyed living there happily until spring 2014. Then came wind turbines with their sneaky, debilitating, industrial noise. Only three of them, which is very much reminiscent of the tragedy of some Falmouth residents about whom we know that they either left their homes or until recently have tried to heroically endure excessive infrasound immissions. All of the installations being Vestas, and one of them, not surprisingly, V82 model, which according to dr Paul Schomer’s research, is in the top three of most nauseagenic ones. I experienced their profound impact right after they had been put up. Naturally, all negative symptoms used to disappear whenever I was away from home. Any time I was back I could hear that unique, insidious sound that would nearly destroy the function of my brain. The only thing I could compare the sensation to, during strong winds, was sawing my brain in half by an unprofessional chain-saw operator.
I do not know how I managed to survive the next 12 months. Yet, at that time I thought I was fully aware of what I was going through as I had already been familiar with most of your publications. Permanent headaches, fullness, buzzing and ringing in my ears were just minor symptoms. The worst was yet to come. When vertigo came and I realized that it impairs ability to drive I really got scared. Then hypertension appeared which led the way to morning nosebleeds. When I experienced my first cardiac arrhythmia I was terrified. It was not until I found out my cognitive ability had been impeded that I realized I had to make the hardest decision in my life. I realized that I could no longer run classes with my students having difficulty concentrating and memorizing things, my brain being literally a mess. When I finally realized this I got scared to death. That was, probably, the last straw. I realized there was nothing else left for me to do but to move away from home. From the home I love. From my family I love still more.
From today’s perspective things look even worse. I still have not recovered from the trauma. A few weeks after I had left my home I experienced an episode of panic. There was a strong wind outside. I woke up at 4.30 in the morning, just as if I had heard those turbines right behind my window while they were actually 6.5 kilometers away. A coincidence? I do not think so. I decided to move places again. Now I am about 15 km away from the monsters. Even though I try to stick to healthy lifestyle, take lots of exercise and think positive I am still having difficulties getting decent sleep and cannot break away from that anxiety, which is not mine, but has permeated me all over. I have been sensitized to such an extent that I know I should not even get as close as 5-6 km to them to prevent tinnitus and vertigo and, quite simply, to protect my sanity. I visit my home once or twice a week, just to make sure my family are ok, and that it is still my place on earth. My boys seem to be OK, but how can I ever be sure being impacted so severely myself? My wife can hear that sneaky sound at night and occasionally gets buzzing and ringing in the ears. My family all love the place so much that the idea of ever leaving it would not even cross their minds. Once we decided to fight for a decent quality of life there seems to be no way back.
There is also some good news. As you know well, Polish Parliament is just about to pass the law which, in fact, will be the first world attempt to provide a setback regulation intending to protect human health, and bring in reasonable, but still limited, spatial governance regarding industrial wind power, on a national level, by a national authority.
Unfortunately, the shameless Polish wind lobby have launched a disgraceful and aggressive campaign to undermine these efforts and derail the progress that has so far been achieved in this respect, with dr Leventhall acting as their ideologue-in-chief.
Here is the position of NIPH-NIH on wind farms siting:
The three critical commentaries concerning dr Leventhall’s critique of the above are to be found at:
To anyone who has done professional research into the subject or ever accessed clinical evidence against wind power dr Leventhall’s argument will surely sound outright deceptive. No wonder Sherri Lange urges dr Leventhall to “(…) try telling this to a family with family members who are chronically sleep deprived and unwell, unable to live and sleep in their own homes (…)”.
Intentionally or not, you have just said that, dr Leventhall. And since you dared to say that to me and hundreds of other wind farm victims in Poland alike, let me, then, take the liberty of answering you. TO ANY WIND FARM VICTIM SUCH AS MYSELF WHAT YOU SAY IS NOT JUST QUASI-SCIENTIFIC MUMBO-JUMBO. IT IS UTTER BALONEY. Dr William Hallstein, speaking of of the Falmouth wind turbines, recognized it the following way: “The human nervous system is the most sensitive instrument available to date for evaluating the impact of (…) wind turbines on residents who live close to them. The ONLY experts in the discussion are the people who are sensing the sound, vibrations, pressure waves, etc emitted by the turbines. There is no one more "expert" than these people. No so called expert has either equipment nor information more accurate and sensitive than the affected residents' nervous systems. NO instruments more sensitive than people have been invented! Others who claim to be experts are peddling smoke and mirrors in an effort to invalidate and discredit the affected residents (…)“.
http://www.windaction.org/posts/44341-william-hallstein-md-letter-to-falmouth#.VzhxFSHQLkd
I know what I feel and I know what I hear. I know where my threshold of hearing and my threshold of perception is. I will tell you more, dr Leventhall, I would have never found out if not for the turbines. Politicians, wind developers, lawyers should stop playing doctors: THEY SHOULD LISTEN TO THEM! - writes Monique Aniel Thurston from Maine on her blog.
The same goes for acousticians. Even though they have state-of-the-art instrumentation and apply appropriate methodology to measure the sound, they can’t afford the luxury of ignoring the complexity of its impact upon human nervous system. That is all what it takes to truly facilitate and support sound clinical research. It’s the highest time you recognised that dr Leventhall.
The history of wind industry is, no doubt, a reoccurring story of telling endless lies, the most vivid example of human right abuse, and a way of distorting democracy. Those of you who experienced wind turbine syndrome first hand know well that for the affected it is horror, terror, and torture. How can anyone ever question wind turbine related health impacts? How can this ever be tolerated by democratic governments? What kind of democracy is this?
Ironically, it is the new Polish government and Parliament who have often been accused of undemocratic practices by opposition parties and European institutions who claim to cling to democratic standards. Truth is, hadn’t it been for the new authorities we would be now on the way to please Polish and European wind lobby whose intention was to turn Poland into industrial wind powerhouse by increasing megawatt capacity fivefold. No doubt, not only would this mean environmental destruction, but also horrendous threat to public health. The authorities are really under pressure, as they have come in for a lot of undeserved criticism. Those who are familiar with the issue but, above all, wind farm victims themselves, who are growing in numbers, know that no government which will succumb to this despicable blackmail would be worthy of respect.
We, Polish wind farm victims cannot stand by as neutral observers while this villainy proceeds. The fraudulent industry has no moral right to ruin people’s lives and health. Governments can no longer pretend they do not know. It is not that Polish Government officials and MPs of the ruling party are so knowledgeable about the problem. They seem to, for instance, totally ignore the fact that siting of wind power installations is, by definition, a health related issue and the Ministry of Health must be engaged with the legislation process. So far the bill has remained exclusively with The Infrastructure Commission as if it were merely a technical issue.
The good thing is they listen to people, and listen willingly. The problem they are facing is that majority of Poles have been brainwashed by pro-wind propaganda. They still think it comes cheap, is ecological, and, above all, safe. Although the falsehood of that myth seems to have already been debunked, the voice of reason is, still, hardly heard across Europe. Poland is no exception here. We cannot wait, however, until knowledge descends upon the nation and its decision makers. Therefore, providing further enlightenment for Polish MPs seems urgent and absolutely indispensable if they should ever be persuaded into making responsible decisions.
Australian Stop These Things wrote not long ago that any government that sides with the wind industry will find itself in the dock, and that it will not be a very distant future. We, Polish wind farm victims believe the future is now. Wind business in Poland has already taken a heavy toll. Now is the time to act. Poles have always felt downright hatred towards oppression and oppressors. With Bavaria’s highest court which has just upheld the state’s hotly contested 10 H wind turbine permitting rule, good chances are Poland will also get rid of its “ill wind”. As long as it is blowing, however, your professional and moral support would be invaluable.
Therefore, I strongly encourage you to make a socially useful contribution and, while the bill is pending a final settlement, urge our parliament to give the entire legislative proposal careful consideration, or perhaps, regarding heavy load of evidence against wind power, administer a thorough overhaul of the bill.
Any submission will be very welcome and as it would be vital to get them translated into Polish by administrative office of the Sejm before they are circulated further, I suggest they should be sent directly to the bodies concerned:
Best regards,
Mariusz Bilski