turbines

ECM WORLD WATCH: GLOBAL AND NATIONAL NEWS

February 28, 2013 (San Diego’s East County)--ECM World Watch helps you be an informed citizen about important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a wide variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

NATIONAL

WORLD

Read more for excerpts and links to full stories.


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STUDY CONFIRMS HIGH INFRASOUND LEVELS NEAR WIND FARM WHERE PEOPLE ABANDONED THEIR HOMES

By Miriam Raftery

January 8, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – ECM has previously reported about serious health problems experienced by people living near the Shirley Wind Farm in Wisconsin, where county health officials sought emergency declaration for families forced to relocate.  That’s relevant here in East County, where four industrial-scale wind energy facilities propose to place turbines close to homes.

Now a Public Service Commission study has proven “dangerous levels” of infrasound generated by those turbines.  Four acoustical experts conducted C-weighted sound tests in December and found high readings oflow-frequency noise, or infrasound. One researcher became ill himself with symptoms similar to those experience by residents.  Symptoms of the afflicted families include heart palpitations, ear infections, muscle and join pain, and general malaise. 


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PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: WIND TURBINES SCAR VIEW FROM MCCAIN VALLEY’S CARRIZO GORGE OVERLOOK

October 28, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – Construction of the Tule Wind project in McCain Valley has not yet begun, though developer Iberdrola has pledged to preserve the most scenic portion of views across the Carrizo Gorge.  But photographer Tom Lemon stopped by  McCain Valley’s famed Carrizo  Gorge Overlook this weekend in McCain Valley, discovering to his dismay that wind turbines at Pattern Energy’s Ocotillo Express wind project in Ocotillo are plainly visible across the formerly pristine vista, gateway to three designated wilderness areas. 

BLM rules do not allow the agency to consider lost views when determining siting of energy projects, unfortunately for the many who cherish wilderness.

 

Above is the new view, with turbines across the horizon:


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READER'S EDITORIAL: WHY ISN'T OUR GOVERNMENT PROTECTING US FROM DUST AT OCOTILLO WIND SITE?

By Jim Pelley

Editor’s note: For months,  ECM award-winning photographer and Ocotillo resident Jim Pelley has been documenting clouds of choking dust at  Pattern Energy’s construction site for Ocotillo Express wind energy, where citizen monitors have routinely reported construction without water trucks present and twice resulted in fines on the developer for dust violations.  In this editorial, Pelley asks why the problem continues, raising serious questions for public officials who are supposed to protect public health.  The closest turbine is just 1500 feet from Pelley’s home.

October 9, 2012 --I have been told that they can make dust on this project site as long it is not over 20% opacity for three minutes. If there are a hundred trucks making 15% opacity dust all long day long I don’t understand why this is acceptable, because at the end of the day there are large amounts of dust in the air, it’s very easy to see.


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ECM WORLD WATCH: GLOBAL AND NATIONAL NEWS

U.S.
 
GENERAL NEWS
 
Supreme Court says Montana cannot ignore Citizens United ruling (NPR)
 


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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

ECM WORLD WATCH: GLOBAL AND NATIONAL NEWS

 

 
 
June 28, 2012 --  (San Diego’s East County) – ECM World Watch helps you be an informed citizen about important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflecting all voices and views, we include links to a wide variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:    
 
 
U.S.
 
GENERAL NEWS
  • Supreme Court says Montana cannot ignore Citizens United ruling (NPR)
  • Supreme Court rules juvenile life without parole is cruel and unusual punishment (Chicago Tribune)
  • GM Grass linked to Texas cattle deaths; fields found toxic with cyanide produced by crop (CBS)
  • E-mail change angers Facebook users (CNN)
  • Thousands evacuated as wildfire nears Colorado towns (USA Today)
  • With no vote, taxpayers stuck with tab on bonds (New York Times)
POLITICS
  • Issa: No evidence White House covered up `Fast and Furious’ fallout (Los Angeles Times)
  • Obama invokes executive privilege over ‘Fast and Furious’ documents (Los Angeles Times)
  • Rubio sticks to GOP doctrine over immigration (The Hill)
  • Cash rules at Romney retreat while Condoleeza Rice steals the show (Yahoo news)
WORLD
 
GENERAL NEWS
  • Analysis: Mexican ruling party faces defeat but may back reforms (Reuters)
  • Muslim Brotherhood’s Morsi named Egyptian president (CBS)
  • Morsi quits Muslim brother hood, vows to unite country (NBC)
WIND ENERGY NEWS
  • Iberdrola to explore sale of U.S. wind plants and projects (Recharge News)
  • Quatar takes state in Iberdrola (The National)
  • Texas wind energy fails again (National Review)
  • Presidential projects on wind power flawed according to new book (KXXV)
  • The trouble with turbines: an ill wind (Nature) 
Read more for excerpts and links to full stories.

 


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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

WIND ORDINANCE HITS TURBULENCE: PLANNING COMMISSION POSTPONES ACTION AMID CONCERNS FROM ALL SIDES

By Miriam Raftery

 
April 15, 2012 (San Diego)—The San Diego County Planning Commission  voted Friday to postpone action on a proposed wind ordinance after hearing several hours of testimony.  The vote was unanimous, with the exception of Commissioner Peder Norby, who abstained due to a conflict of interest.

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EAGLE DEATHS WILL INCREASE DUE TO FEDERAL RULE CHANGE BENEFITTING WIND INDUSTRY, AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY CHARGES

 

April 13, 2012 (Washington D.C.) -- The American Bird Conservancy (ABC), the nation’s leading bird conservation organization, has charged that the eagle rule change proposed today by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) will result in more eagles being killed at wind energy projects.

 


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PATTERN ENERGY REFUSES TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ON SEISMIC SAFETY CONCERNS

 

Major fault line runs under proposed Ocotillo wind site slated to provide energy for San Diego, ECM investigation finds

By Miriam Raftery
 
Jim Pelley and Parke Ewing contributed to this report
 
April 11, 2012 (Ocotillo) – Public document searches reveal that “injury or death” from strong seismic ground shaking and ground failure are potential significant impacts of the Ocotillo Express wind facility approved last week by Imperial Valley planners, an ECM investigation has found.
 
Those troubling admissions appear in a preliminary report on seismic issues in the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Environmental Impact Report (EIR). 


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THE DARK SIDE OF “GREEN”: WIND TURBINE ACCIDENTS, INJURIES AND FATALITIES RAISE SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERNS

 
By Miriam Raftery
 
April 4, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – Today marks the “International Protest Day Against Wind Power” with 765 websites participating.
 
A dark side of the wind industry that many media outlets have failed to report on is the thousands of documented cases of serious accidents. These include numerous documented cases of turbines falling over, blades flying off, injuries to workers and the public, and at least 99 reported fatality accidents.

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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.