Opinion: Innergex renewable energy and their goal Part 2 of 3

All living creatures depend on each other for a balanced echo system. When you disrupt this balance it can have irreparable consequences or repercussions. Because we are all so intertwined, keeping the balance is very important. Therefore it is essential that we do not encroach on, or disturb this fragile system by putting up wind turbines. The human impact on the environment and wildlife should be as small as possible so that we will have nature, in its natural habitat for generations to come.

To understand this balance better, we need to start with the smallest of creatures, the ants and worms. With the building of these Industrial Wind Turbines (IWTs) they will clear out an area about the size of a football field for each one. The land will be stripped bare of all plant life and soil to prepare the ground for the base. They may even drill down into the bedrock to anchor the IWT, and then back fill the ground while they compact the soil to prepare it for tons of concrete and re bar, destroying a lot of ant colony’s and worms that live there.

Consequently, the colonies that do not get destroy by them digging and compacting the soil will soon move on as the vegetation they eat will have been removed or destroyed. If the ants and earthworms do not leave because of lack of food, they most assuredly will move when the turbines start up and the vibration, seismic activity or infrasound cause their colony’s to collapse. This will be the final straw that will drive them out of the area, but only if they are able to get away in time.

People never think much of ants or worms unless they are nuisance like ants at a picnic. But in reality, ants and worms are very beneficial to the echo system as they both enrich the soil in different ways. Ants drag down plant life which decays and produces nutrients and nitrogen which is essential to plant growth. While earthworms are the best contributors to a nutrient rich soil (top soil) because they eat underground and decaying vegetation (plant life). Both ants and worms play another important role, they both irrigate the soil with their digging and therefor plants get the water and nutrients they need to grow.

If the ants and worms disappear from the area, the land will become less fertile, and more compact, hard and barren. These small almost seemingly unimportant creatures play a huge role in our echo system. They are also a food source for reptiles, birds and mammals. Salamanders, snakes, grouse, mice and bears eat one or the other or both. If an ant or worm is unlucky enough to fall into the water fish will also take advantage of having him for a snack. With the loss of the ants and worms, we may also lose salamanders, snakes, mice, birds, even bears. This is really a chain reaction starting with the smallest of creatures.

Snakes are very important to the echo system by keeping down the population of small rodents such as mice and rats. Snakes use infrasound and vibration to hunt. Wind Turbines create infrasound and seeing that it is quite possible that they will be anchoring the base to the bedrock, the vibration and infrasonic noise will impair the snake’s ability to hunt successfully. Not only will it be harder for the snake to be a successful hunter, but most may starve to death because of the fact that the turbine base and compacted soil has made the land uninhabitable for underground creatures like worms, mice or rats. Other small mammals will lose their habitat as well, such as squirrels, chipmunks and rabbits which are a food source for other larger predators. Such as weasels, martin, fox, coyotes, and wolves. The chain reaction is bound to happen as every critter plays a vital role in it. But I am sure that the first to leave will be the big game animals such as the moose and deer because of the noise, infrasound, vibration and lack of food.

Animals, like humans will go where they feel safe, secure and have an abundant food supply along with shelter and fresh water. With the building of turbines, along with the construction and the noise, you can rest assure that the animals will abandon this area because of loss of habitat, shelter, food, water, safety and security from threats of exposure, being frightened and uneasiness. Not only because of deforestation and loss of vegetation, but small and large animals alike depend on their hearing and eyesight to let them know of impending danger and with the constant sounds of the turbines the shadow or light flicker and vibrations or even dirty electricity,  they will lose their ability to sense danger. Therefor it only makes sense that animals will go where they can find an area that meets their needs and because some studies show that infrasound travels a lot further than they thought. These animals might be moving hundreds of miles away because of the sheer size of these Industrial Wind Turbines and the acreage of land that they will strip clear.

Infrasound knows no bounds or barriers and can travel great distances. It is not yet known the effects it will have on our streams, creeks, rivers ponds, or our lakes. Therefor it is not known how it will affect our frogs, turtles, fresh water clams, crayfish or snails. Raccoon’s depend on these aquatic creatures as a reliable food source. Fish also depend on some of these to survive and fish use their vision, sense of smell, taste, and also depend on their lateral line which detects gentle currents and vibrations in the water from other fish or a possible food sources. As far as I know, there have been no studies as to how infrasound will affect the fish, or how it will affect all the other aquatic creatures like the mink, muskrat and beaver and their ability to produce young, find shelter or a readily available food supply.

There have been instances where dolphins have washed up on the beaches in one area and seals abandoning their young in another area. They are attributing this to the off shore turbines but further studies need to be done. Therefor what will this do to all our fish and aquatic mammals in our lakes, will they still be able to reproduce successfully or will these turbines kill off all our fish and aquatic mammals? Seeing how this area is a very populated area with the abundance and variety of fish, our waterways need to be protected at all cost as we do not get a second chance to bring back a loss of this magnitude. We cannot take for granted that vibration and infrasound will not have an effect as they are already starting to see the effects from migrating mammals in the oceans where turbines are built.

Here are some stats of how animals are affected by the audible and inaudible infrasound, dirty electricity and shadow flicker from these turbines. Who is to say that it will not happen to our wildlife because where will they go if they are pushed out of the area?

Animal’s growth, appetite and sleep play a big part of the stress that animals have near these turbines. It is recorded that a lot of farm animals are having strange behavior (aggressiveness) and aborting or having still births or having deformed young. They are also losing weight and it is impeding their milk production. In Ontario a goat farmer said that “all 20 of his nanny goats miscarried or had kids that died within hours of birth.” “An emu farm had to close after its animals started becoming aggressive and losing weight when wind turbines were installed nearby.” The death of 400 goats in Taiwan are attributed to wind turbines and is backed up with a local livestock inspector. “One sheep farmer in Waterloo, Australia had a three-fold spike in birth defects since the turbines started operating. This year, lambs have been born with no ears, three legs and hoofs turned backwards.” “In the same area, chickens have begun laying yolk less eggs.” In Wisconsin 19 cattle had to be put down or died because they were “pretty much lifeless.” Also 30 calves died.

“Denmark: 1,600 animals were born prematurely at a mink farm last month. Many had deformities, and most were dead on arrival. The lack of eyeballs was the most common malformation. Veterinarians ruled out food and viruses as possible causes.”  “Dr. Nina Pierpont, author of Wind Turbine Syndrome, interviewed a horse breeder who lost six of eight babies after wind turbines were erected nearby his breeding mares. Some aborted early, others had no milk and others didn’t conceive.” In parts of Wisconsin and Canada, residents have noticed the disappearance of hummingbirds, crickets and nesting swallows. Household pets have also been noted as acting strange when turbines are active. Cows have been seen dancing in the fields, repetitively lifting their hooves, probably from dirty electricity also they have had reduced milk production. There may be a lot more than these reported instances because there are a lot of farmers that have gag orders on them when they sign a contract with the companies as the companies want to protect themselves.

It is estimated that every year in North America, Altamont Pass 880 to 1,300 birds of prey are killed. These include 116 golden eagles, 300 red tailed hawks and numerous owls, falcons, vultures and a lot of other species are killed as it is a major migration corridor. Not only are a lot dying from these turbines but the nesting birds in the area are not producing young. Studies show that birds are having no yoke or very thin shelled eggs as the birds are stressed due to the noise the turbines make. Our migrating bats are also dying from these turbines but not in the way that they once believed. Bats are dying even when they are not struck by the blades. Bats are dying because of the air pressure. Autopsies have shown that their lungs burst from shear pressure of the blades turning. If this is happening to bats which are quite small, what is happens to our humming birds or butterflies on their migration. Some Canadians have already noticed a decline in hummingbirds and swallows since turbines have been put up in their areas. Will turbines be the end of all our migrating birds that return each year, will the remaining birds be able to make safe passage and avoid these terrible machines?

Estimated guesses in other countries,  Spain 6 to 18 million birds and bats, usually twice as many bats. The Egyptian vulture and the Griffon vulture are threatened. Germany 309 per turbine. Sweden 895 per turbine. Australia the wedge-tailed eagle is facing extinction. Atlantic, seabirds such as the Manx shearwater are threatened. “Offshore wind farms are just as bad as onshore ones, posing a growing threat to seabirds and migratory birds, and reducing habitat availability for marine birds (such as common scooter and eider ducks).” Turbines don’t just affect the migrating birds but also affect our roosting chickens. Chickens near wind farms have been reported to be laying soft shelled or no yoked eggs. If it is affecting our chickens then what affect will it have on our partridge – ruffed grouse or spruce grouse or sharptail grouse our woodland birds, turkey vultures, blue herons, song birds, blue birds and our Canadian geese.

For environmentalists, this is a dilemma of the worst kind: Clean up the planet by creating pollution-free energy, yet possibly harm the very wildlife environmentalists want to protect.

Dr. Nina Pierpont at Johns Hopkin University School of Medicine has concluded that Wind Turbine Syndrome occurs in people as well as in animals. “During my research interviews I collected anecdotal information on animal problems. I heard about moles, deer, dogs, horses, ponies, alpacas, goats, seals, sea eagles (Norway), killdeer, and frogs—all of whom disappeared, behaved abnormally, and/or had observed reproductive failure,” she has written.

In Toronto, Canada it was reported that stray voltage, ground current or (dirty electricity) killed a dog and zapped a child. How much destruction do we need to see from wind turbines before we say ENOUGH! While countless insects, reptiles, fish, birds, animal and human life is in jeopardy. What will be the final cost on a LIE of “Green Energy” will be deemed unjust. Humans have the power to say No and we have to speak for the animals and the environment. We are only here for a short time and we are supposed to protect this land for future generations. As “Stewards” of the land we need to keep it safe from the annihilation of everything that lives therein.

Help us stop the insanity. Please watch a documentary called “Big Wind” on TVO ” http://tvo.org/video/211702/big-wind ”

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Pam – Puddle Duck ,  Val – Broken Arrow & Diana – Singing Bear