We've got mail!

Wind Letter Was Bogus

To the Editor:

The headline of a recent letter in this paper announced: "Wind Turbine Noise Affects Health." Alleged to have been written by M. Nathaniel Mead from the National Institute of Environmental Health Science, the letter is a total fraud.

The pseudonymous composer borrowed the name of a legitimate science writer. He (or she) enumerated medical problems which can result from exposure to high noise level: hypertension, stroke, heart failure, immune problems, sleep disruption, social handicaps, drug use, accidents, impaired learning, and more.

By injecting a comment about the need to control wind turbine noise, the writer implied that turbine noise could precipitate all these potential complications.

The studies were about highdecibel vehicle, train, and air traffic noise. They had absolutely no mention of or connection to wind turbines.

The writer attempted to create legitimacy by citing the World Health Organization, an audiologist, and a medical journal. The deception and the manipulation of studies were intended to create fear.

This is not an isolated case. It is common practice in material disseminated by opponents of wind farms. Dr. Nina Pierpont of Franklin County, N.Y., for example, relies on distortions, omissions, and disingenuous connections to arouse fears in her voluminous anecdotal writings published on the internet. Wind-turbine opponents mistake them for "studies."

Discussing shadow flicker, Pierpont states that "the strobe effect has the potential, like other flashing lights, to trigger seizures in people with epilepsy." She never acknowledges that the Epilepsy Foundation has flatly stated that wind turbine shadow flicker does not trigger seizures because the turbine's rate of one shadow per second (1 Hertz, or Hz) is so low a frequency as to be harmless. Seizure range is 5- 30 Hz.

Writers of this ilk also leave their readers with the impression that shadow flicker is a daytime constant. The truth is that at this latitude, shadow flicker at a given point occurs only about 25 hours per year.

Another example is Pierpont's contention that turbines "make large-scale, industrial noise."

"Jet engines is the most common description I hear in surveying people," she writes. She neglects to say that any valid comparison to the sound of a jet engine would be to a jet engine a mile up in the sky! She implies that the sound could be that of a jet at take-off, which at 150 decibels at 25 meters is about 10 million times (10x10) the approximately 50-55 dB sound of a wind turbine at a setback equivalent to the turbine height. (The decibel scale increases exponentially, like a seismograph scale.)

The letter to Endeavor News was a lie on many levels. A science writer's name was stolen, a credible institution's name was falsely appropriated, and medical data were deliberately misused to mislead the public.

Potter County Planning Director Charlotte Dietrich deserves a great deal of credit for recognizing the implausibility of the phony letter, for researching the articles it cited, and for contacting the institution and the journalist who were victimized.

Manipulation of data and outright deception to create fear have no place in intelligent debate. They are the tools only of those who have no legitimate arguments.

Environmental Impacts of Wind Energy Projects, published in 2007 by the National Academies Press, is available in its entirety online at nap. edu. Authored by the National Research Council's Committee on the Environmental Impact of Wind Energy Projects, it notes on page 143 that three different studies have found that "despite low public acceptance during the project-proposal phase, acceptance levels generally have increased following construction."

Translation: for most people, fears that were generated before the projects' completion are put to rest when the benefits to community are realized and people see that potential problems had been greatly exaggerated.

Do we have something to fear besides fear itself? Perhaps so: lies, bold deceptions, wild imaginations, and irrational emotions.

We will continue to research and work for the health, safety, welfare, and best interests of the county.

Wanda Shirk

Chair, Potter County Planning Commission

(Editor's Note: The letter to which Ms. Shirk refers, appearing in the Feb. 2 edition, was sent via email. Our research found that the author was, in fact, M. Nathaniel Mead. However, as Ms. Shirk noted above, the sender sneakingly injected a sentence into the Mead essay as follows, "Wind energy ordinances must include a top limit for how much turbine noise can safely be added to our environment." This may have led to the impression that Mead was referring only to wind energy in his writings about the impact of noise on human health. Effective immediately, all letters submitted for publication in Endeavor News must include a telephone number - not just an email address - to be used for verification. When it comes to authenticity of letters, when in doubt we'll leave it out.)

Health Care: Time For Reform

Dear Editor:

Many people have misconceptions about health care and how it should be reformed.

I urge your readers to pay attention to this issue because many people are suffering under our present private, forprofit health care system.

Because of the 80/20 rule (20 percent of Americans use 80 percent of the services), health care must be covered by insurance. Private insurance cannot adequately cover Americans, even when the government covers most of the sickest.

If we want an affordable, efficient and quality health care system, we must turn to the government -- under a single payer health care system which is publicly financed but privately delivered.

Payment would come from the government, and doctors would be free to practice medicine as they always have. Patients would be able to see the doctor of their choice, and our health care system would not be fragmented by private insurance.

Elizabeth Elgie

Ithaca, N.Y.

Wind Letter Misleading

Dear Editor:

I am writing in reference to a letter to the editor, that was published in Endeavor News on February 2, 2008, titled "Wind Turbine Noise Affects Health."

This letter was a deceptive way to make people believe that the noise from wind turbines causes many health problems. It begins by saying that "a new peer-reviewed study made available to us" by the US Government's National Institute of Health claims "the connection between noise and coronary disease - particularly at night - is serious."

The "to us" would apparently refer to the organization named at the end of the letter, leading the reader to believe that these were scientific facts concerning wind turbines.

The truth is, nowhere in these studies do they mention wind turbines. Their study was based on community noise, such as road traffic, trains, and aircraft.

In fact, we have found no scientific studies that have shown wind turbines to be a health hazard in any way.

But most disturbing of all is that the person who sent this letter to the editor is not who he is pretending to be. The letter was signed M. Nathaniel Mead, National Institute of Environmental Health Science.

I have had email communications with Mr. Mead stating he did not send this letter to the editor, nor did he have any knowledge of it. M. Nathaniel Mead is a pen name for a writer who writes for a scientific journal called "Environmental Health Perspectives." He is not a member of the staff of the National Institute of Environmental Health as the signature on the letter would lead you to believe.

This letter to the editor was written by a dishonest person who is willing to lie to stir up up opposition to the proposed wind farm(s). I ask the public to please consider the source when rumors abound. Take the time to research on your own before believing what you hear. The Planning Commission is doing everything they can lawfully do to make a recommendation that will be fair and reasonable and regulations that will protect the health and safety of the County.

Charlotte Dietrich

Potter County Planning Director

'Spay Day'

To the editor:

Tuesday, Feb. 26, is Spay Day USA.

Having your pet spayed or neutered is one of the best things that a responsible pet owner can do for a cat or dog.

Spaying greatly reduces the chance of breast cancer and prevents reproductive tract disorders, while neutering eliminates the risk of various testicular diseases. In addition, pets that have been spayed or neutered are less likely to roam, which means they are less likely to get in fights with other animals, get hit by cars or be abused by cruel people. Most importantly, pets that are spayed and neutered do not contribute to the problem of overpopulation.

The Humane Society of the United States reminds everyone that it's not just rabbits that multiply like rabbits. Take part in the 14th annual Spay Day USA. Together, we can ensure that every companion animal enjoys a long, happy and healthy life.

Cindy Lewis-Black Public Relations, HSUS