Wind farms and health: who is fomenting community anxieties?

Shepherd, Daniel

doi:10.5694/mja11.11500

Topics

To the Editor: By his deployment of ad hominem arguments, outdated or industry-sponsored research, comparison to an unrelated phenomenon, and a biased selection of case studies and research reports, I fear the pro-wind-industry opinions expressed by Chapman1 will only serve to exacerbate the psychogenic and sociogenic processes he laments.

Department of Psychology, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand.

Correspondence: daniel.shepherd@aut.ac.nz

Competing interests:

No relevant disclosures.

1. Chapman, S. Wind farms and health: who is fomenting community anxieties? Med J Aust 2011; 195: 495. <MJA full text>
2. Pedersen E, Persson Waye K. Wind turbine noise, annoyance and self-reported health and well-being in different living environments. Occup Environ Med 2007; 64: 480-486.
3. Shepherd D, McBride D, Welch W, et al. Evaluating the impact of wind turbine noise on health-related quality of life. Noise Health 2011; 13: 333-339.
4. Møller H, Pedersen CS. Low-frequency noise from large wind turbines. J Acoust Soc Am 2011; 129: 3727-3744.
5. Van den Berg GP, Pedersen E, Bouma J, Bakker R. Project WINDFARMperception. Visual and acoustic impact of wind turbine farms on residents. Final report. FP6-2005-Science-and-Society-20. Specific Support Action Project no. 044628. Groningen, Netherlands: University of Groningen, 2008. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-1781 (accessed Jan 2012).

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