Dwarfed by Turbines

Dwarfed by Turbines

Thursday, July 30, 2009

July 30th - a break from the Turbines

I arrived home yesterday from a four day seminar in Toronto with Mary Kay Canada and to my delight the turbines were not turning (none of them)! I enjoyed my time in Toronto; earning awards for my business, seeing the hundreds of women who are making more out of their life, hearing inspiring stories, and learning more about my business in training sessions with Canada's best!!! I was number 18 in Canada for my category and that was a boost I really needed! Working a home business with the turbines outside my office window has been tough - the fatigue and the other health issues we have had have made working and living here a challenge to say the least....not to mention the noise!!!
While I was away, I suffered none of the affects I have hear at home - no headaches, no nausea, no ear ringing or sore glands...it was truly fantastic! I arrived home yesterday and as I said, the turbines were not spinning and as far as I can tell, they are silent today as well. I feel great and I am loving it! I hope it continues - I suppose it's too much too hope that they have shut them off!!!
The reason I mention my business is that I have some big goals for this calendar year and they involve excellent time management being a part of the weeks and months to come. I plan to be in the Top 10 for Canada this year and that is a huge goal. For this reason, you may see less posts on my blog. I will continue to post new issues, links, information when I recieve it. I will also post updates on our health, however, with the summer months and the wind turbines turning slowly and sometimes not at all, we have had less issues so you may see less posts for this reason....But don't worry, I am still here and still very focused on assisting those with issues and with increasing awareness of the problems with Wind Energy. I am sure that come the fall, if the issues return, you will see me blogging more. In the meantime, set yourself as a tracker so that you are notified when I do blog in and that way you will not miss any posts.
Thank you for all of your comments, support and ongoing information! Together, we can help save others from the effects of Wind!!!

Nik

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Response from Agatha Garcia-Wright, Director EAAB

we rec'd a response to our request for elevation of the Raleigh Wind Energy Centre (project) from Agatha Garcia-Wright, Director Environmental Assessment and Approvals Branch today. I have to wonder why the projects information is taken at face value, and our complaints and concerns about our health are disregarded. "a decision has been made that an endividual EA is not required"..."I am satisfied...that the purpose of the EAA, 'the betterment of the people of the whole or any part of Ontario by providing for the proteciton, conservation and wise management in Ontario of the environment,' has been met for the Project."....."You contend that current wind farm projects are the cause of many negative health effects to yourself and your family, and that this project will increase and compound the existing symptoms which you have understood to be the result of wind turbine operation. Invenergy Canada has documented the locations of the turbines in its Environmental REview REport/Environmental Impact Statement (ERR/EIS), and has indicated that the nearest turbine, T52, is 1.3 km away from your residence. The minimum municipal zoning by-law setback is 600 metres from the closest residence. I am satisfied that Invenergy Canada has met applicable turbine setack requirements when locating hte turbine structures near any residential receptors.".....

"you also believe negative health effects...." "in its ERR/EIS, Invenergy Canada has demonstrated that is has assessed potential environmental, social, cultural, and economic effects, as well as public safety and health issues,..." "...a study was undertaken by Dr. David Colby from Public Health Services at the request of the municipal council to examine the health impacts of wind turbines, and presented....June 2009 document "The Health Impact of Wind Turbines:..."although oppotision to wind farms on aesthetic grounds is a legitimate point of view, opposition to wind farms on the basis of potntial adverse health consequences is not justified by the evidence"..."...there is no scientifically valid evidence that wind turbines are causing direct health effects..."

Hmmmm, what about all of the other documentation citing issues and suggestions for further setbacks....If there is no scientific evidence that the problems are caused, please show me the scientific evidence that proves the problems are not caused!!!

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Draining a Drained Medical System

So Today, we visited our family doctor to discuss our symptoms. Since there are many symptoms, there was not a lot she could do. She documented our problems and discussed possible causes of some of the symptoms. She did agree that lack of sleep can cause some of the other problems. We shared information, she shared information and we are taking a few steps to rule out possibilities other than wind turbines, but really, it was what I expected. An appointment to show that we reported our problems to our doctor and really nothing more. The health care system is already so strained, it makes no sense to me that we needed for our doctor to document what I am already documenting.... however, we are glad we went and got "checked out"...always better safe than sorry.... Today when we came home, the wind turbine by our home was still, but the others were turning...from where I sit now, it appears that the one directly beside us is turning slowly and the one directly behind us just a bit slower than that, it's tougher to tell from here... I have noticed that I have had a few good nights sleep since the milder weather, and since it seems that the turbines closest to us are not always running....still I have headaches more days than not and my husband is not sleeping...Our youngest has started vomiting again...once about 5 days ago, again 2 days ago and then again yesterday he seemed like he was near but didn't. He felt warm the first incident but was not running a fever so I hope it is teeth or some other growth spurt, but I fear it was motion sickness, for lack of a better term, and I worry that he may suffer growing up here. We discuss moving often, but are hopeful that the wind company will follow through with their promise to help us find the problem and a solution.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

dryness, headaches and vibration

This morning, both my husband and I again woke up with dry eyes, and the kids were rubbing theirs too but were not complaining at all (we try not to ask them too much because we don't want them to believe they are sick, we want them to believe everything is okay and that way there will be no "make-believe" symptoms)....I was out most of the day with the children, but my husband was here and was very upset by the turbine noise and vibration. He said it was one of the worst days he remembers. When I arrived home around 7pm, he was on the deck waiting for us and when I got out of the car, I could understand immediately what he was referring to. The Woosh, Woosh of the windmills was extremly loud and very much felt like it was right there - I have had a headache all day and it has worsened over the course of the day, even though I was not at home, it seemed to start this morning with the dry eyes and get steadily worse. My eyes also did not recover as they have before, they have felt odd all day long. My husband said the house was Vibrating today and that sitting in the office and even the living room was almost as loud as being outside. After dinner, our neighbor from accross the field also called over to comment that his shed was vibrating today and they were also very aware of how noisy the turbines were today. We still have not heard back from the Kruger company on the noise studies they did, we have not heard back from the MOE on how they are progressing, and we have not had any feedback or response from the many councillors and the mayor of Chatham Kent whom I called and left messages for....Nik

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

July 14th - Very, Very dry eyes

I describe the feeling as dryness in the top of my eye socket, my husband describes it as sore and itchy... whatever it is, we both woke up with it this morning. Very uncomfortable eyes. I noticed my youngest was also rubbing his eyes this morning and said there was "hair in it" so I assume he is experiencing the same thing. My oldest did not seem to have any complaints....we are not sure how to relieve this eye problem and if anyone has any suggestions, they would be much appreciated. Thank you. Nik

Monday, July 13, 2009

Mid Day vibrations

Today was a very sluggish day....lots to do, but no energy to do it. I don't feel ill, just physically exhausted. It's very strange. My youngest was very, very whiny and did not seem himself today either...The turbines seem to be steady, but not overly fast today. I did not really notice them at all today UNTIL, I went to lie down with my youngest at about 3:30pm. Thinking we both could use a quick cat nap to help us feel a bit better. My son was on one side and I was in the middle of the bed when I felt the entire bed vibrating. Seriously, it was like all of the coils in the mattress were moving...kind of like those beds they used to have in old motels where you put the coin in and the "magic fingers" were supposed to give you a massage. It was laughable! I could not believe it! For a minute, I thought maybe the washer was on and the bed was picking up the spin cycle because it was so strong...you know how sometimes if your washer gets uneven in the spin cycle it can really rock and roll...but nothing was on, nothing was running. There was no explanation for the vibrations. The only thing that makes sense is the turbines vibration. I wish there was a way to capture this when it happens because of course if I was to invite someone out to feel it, it would not happen at that exact moment...the odd thing was that the vibration was centred more to the middle of the bed. It is a king size mattress on that sits on the two bed boxes. It is not on a frame because with the frame attached it sits very high and the kids sometimes still fall out of bed so we left the boxes on the floor. I wonder if the seem in the middle of the box springs is somehow responsible for the extra vibration in the middle of the bed. I was talking to someone just the other day, and she said "of course those big massive machines spinning out there in the field would cause vibration, how could they not?" It really does make sense to me, so how can the wind companies say that it's not happening?? I mean really, how could it not be happening?
I did end up getting to sleep for an hour, who knows, maybe I am actually getting used to the vibrations. I do know that both my youngest and I felt a bit better after getting some rest. I hope this doesn't continue, it is very draining and not a great feeling to feel so exhausted for no reason.....

Nik

Sunday, July 12, 2009

July 12th - 10:07pm - ears popping

As I sit at the computer, my ears are popping. I have been fine all day, and now my ears are popping. It is dark, I can not see the turbines. The reading on the home page of my blog says:
Temp: 19.0°C
Pressure: 101.5 kPa
Tendency: falling
Dewpoint: 16.6°C
Humidity: 86 %
Wind: calm

for Chatham Kent. I wish we had a tool here to measure and see what the turbines are actually doing...perhaps we could figure out where this painful ear pressure comes from! I hope someone does a study soon.

July 12th - I am Worried about our youngest

My youngest, as I mentioned previously had felt warm and was vomiting, but the thermometer did not read a fever a few days ago...Last night, he tossed and turned and kept saying "it hurts" and "all over" but I could not get more information than that since he is three...he did not seem to be in pain, but more uncomfortable and just not happy. I am concerned that he is feeling the vibrations, but have no way to know for sure. I have been told I can not book an appointment with the pediatrician for him until end of July for September. I did book a family appointment with our family doctor, however, we can not get in until near the end of this month. If it continues, I will take him to the emergency room, but I have a feeling they will look at me like I am crazy because by the time we get there, he will likely be fine....it's a tough thing as a mother, not knowing what to do. Part of me wonders if it is just normal, three year old growth and development, and part of me wonders if he is being affected more than we realize by what is happening in the environment around our home....So, last night was long and since I was awake with him, I did hear the turbines. We had some storms and power outages yesterday morning, but last night was calmer and the wind was blowing so the turbines were audible. My oldest also woke in the night a couple of times, which is not like him, he usually sleeps through the night. My husband was at work. Today I am working in the office and the rest of the family is out, away from the house so hopefully that helps them. I am feeling okay, tired, but okay today - no headache and only a bit of ear pressure, hardly noticable. The turbine I can see through the trees is barely turning. I am looking forward to getting all of my work done so that tomorrow we can enjoy a family day of fun!!!!

Friday, July 10, 2009

July 10th - Vibration Confirmation!!!

In response to Kari's question on July 8th comments section, the answer is "Nobody Knows"....each individual person reacts differently to the noise, vibration and flicker of the wind turbines. Those who have a predisposition seem to be affected more (eg. prone to motion sickness, inner ear issues, pacemakers, etc), however, there have been no official studies done to determine why some people are affected and others are not, or why, or what can be done. My greater concern is this FOR PEOPLE WHO SAY THEY ARE NOT NOTICING THE AFFECTS; HOW DO WE KNOW THAT THEY ARE NOT BEING AFFECTED AS WELL AND DO NOT REALIZE IT AS IT IS INTERNAL, OR ORGAN RELATED OR WORSE - WHAT WILL HAPPEN YEARS DOWN THE ROAD WHEN THESE PEOPLE(ESPECIALLY CHILDREN) WHO HAVE BEEN LIVING NEXT TO WIND TURBINES DEVELOP ISSUES/PROBLEMS/DISEASES AND IT IS THEN DETERMINED THAT WIND TURBINES ARE/WERE THE CAUSE????

Vibration confirmation!!! What happened last night even took me by surprise...A few months ago, I visited my dentist to rule out problems I was having related to ear pressure and headaches being related to something other than the wind turbines. As a teenager, I used to grind and clench my teeth which would sometimes cause discomfort. When I visited my dentist, he said that there was no visible damage to my teeth to indicate that I was grinding. It did not appear that I had TMJ, but that clenching was a possibility and why not try a mouth guard to see if that would help with the problem. I was fitted and picked up the mouth guard about a week ago. I was instructed to wear it at night and if I noticed I was clenching while working at the computer or watching tv I could use it then also. I have not noticed myself clenching, but last night I decided to try it out for the first time. It is basically a fitted piece of plastic that rests over my top teeth so that there is a barrier between the top and bottom teeth. It was pretty calm last night so the wind turbines were not turning very fast, at least the ones nearest me. I woke in the night, around 1:30am and it was the weirdest thing - I was not grinding or clenching, but in fact, the mouthpiece was vibrating!!!! As I kept my body/head loose and at rest, it was undeniable that my jaw was vibrating!! As the plastic lightly hit my teeth, I could feel and hear the click,click,click as it vibrated! I was shocked! At this point, I could not hear the wind turbines. I could not feel the vibration or any other disruption from the turbines! If I had not had my mouth piece in, I would have never known that I was feeling anything at all!! MY POINT here is this: Because of the mouthpeice, I was able to say for certain that I could feel a vibration happening in our home. Without it, I would have likely said that it was a quiet night with no side effects for me. So, does this mean that there are others out there who are not concsiously feeling the vibrations, but are being affected by it and don't even realize it??
I have been speaking to many people around Chatham Kent, and just this morning, was talking to a friend in Blenheim who has been trying to determine the cause of her vertigo and tiredness. She has tried many things. I asked her if there were wind turbines near her and she said "not that I know of"....my question is this How far away can these affects travel? What if she really is being affected by the turbines and does not even know it? This is not the first person who has described the same or simliar feelings of exhaustion, headache, vertigo or dizziness to me. I think it is important to note, that these people are not at all thinking about wind turbines when they are discussing how they are feeling...it is I who is thinking there may be a link...what if there is? I awoke this morning about 7:00 to the same vibration in my mouth. There is no mistaking that at rest my body was vibrating and the looseness of my jaw vibrating my teeth against the mouthpiece is evidence to me that this is a very, very serious problem.
LET'S TRY AN EXPERIMENT - If you live near a wind turbine, and you do not feel you are being affected, why not try an experiment...if you can get a moutpiece or sports mouth guard, try sleeping with it to see if you notice the same vibrations that I have noticed. Let me know what happens...Thanks. Nik

Thursday, July 9, 2009

July 9th - hope it's the flu

My youngest seemd to be hot yesterday and today although when we took his temperature he did not have one. He vomited a couple of times but says he feels fine. He mentioned the "spinning" so I hope this is a flu and not related to the wind turbines in any way. He does not seem ill other than feeling warm to the touch and vomiting. He is in good spirits and says he is not sick...it is a strange one....it's pretty calm today and I feel pretty good - no headache and we all slept great the night before last - actually, it was kind of funny, even the kids slept in and for the first time in 5 years we were sleeping in and someone came to our door at 9am!!! I could not believe it!! Too funny!!! We have had a lot of visitors lately, and that is okay. I understand that people wish to see and hear the turbines. It would be great though, if people could call first so we could be prepared and better able to actually speak with them rather than running out the door, or trying to feed the kids, or whatever. My cell is 519-358-8000 and I usually have it on so it is a good number to call. Thanks.

I know the VOW group, Victims of Wind is planning a meeting soon so if you are suffering from the effects of wind turbines and would like to speak to others with similar issues, visit their website and contact them to find out about dates and locations....

Also, I have been informed that it is very important to lodge complaints with your local MOE office, as well as reporting issues and problems (noise, etc) to the Spills Action Centre (open 24/7) at 1-800-268-6060. More victims are coming forward, but without complaints and records, it is difficult for govt agencies to respond in a timely and urgent matter.

An interesting story: A friend of our recently purchased a home on number 3 highway and had commented that out of his kitchen window in the distance he could see the lake and enjoyed that view....as of a few days ago, he now sees a wind turbine.... I have noticed that several new ones have gone up in the area, or are being prepared for erection. I can only assume that these were approved earlier as I understand that our council has tabled decisions on new projects until August.

Nik

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

July 8th - Update and doctor's appt.'s

Hi,
Sorry I haven't written in a few days. We were very excited to go camping this past Friday with our children. We drove to "Our Ponderosa" campground, near Ipperwash Beach to do some family camping. As we took our spot in the campground, we looked up and looming overhead - WIND TURBINES!!!! I had forgotten that they were there. It was ironically funny that last year we were admiring them as we camped, thought they were beautiful in a way. Watched them spin over the berm and discussed with our family how "cool" they were. This year, we were disappointed to be near them when we were trying to "get away"....All turned out okay as these were a much, much smaller version than the ones near our home, and a large hill seperates the campground from the wind turbines, so we did not hear them much, and we did not feel them either. While I did not experience the ear popping that I have felt in the past when we left our home, I did not experience any symptoms either. I was quite excited that we all slept well and seemed to experience no side effects while camping in our trailer until Monday. Some people have expressed to me that since trailers are on top of the ground the vibration effect is lessened and I have heard that many victims find comfort and ease their symptoms by sleeping in trailers, tents or sheds outside their homes.

On our return from camping, within an hour of returning home, my headache and ear ache did return. Once again, it came without warning, and to my knowledge, I was not thinking about the wind turbines at all at the time....I was actually in Dealtown picking up a box from a neighbour when the pain struck me, a sharp pain in my ear and head.....
On Tuesday morning, I woke to an extremely sore lower back and pain in my eyes. They feel dry and like they are almost sitting out of the sockets...My husband experienced the same eye problems and described it as feeling like it was scratchy and itchy as well. Our five year old also complained of a very sore back, which I thought was odd because I had not yet mentioned my back issue.

This morning, both my husband and myself again experienced the issue with our eyes, and my son continued to complain of back pain. Mine was quite bad at bed time last night (around 11'ish), but seemed better this morning......

I was finally able to reach the pediatrictians office and get a person (I called at least 50 times and the answering machine would not allow me to leave a message to schedule my three year olds' appt.) The person told me they are booking appt.'s into September but that I could not book until the end of July as their calendar was not ready yet. I could not leave my name on a list, or on a cancellation list for my youngest to be seen even though I explained the circumstances. So, the earlies my younest will be seen regarding his strange behaviours, vomitting (which has stopped), nosebleeds (which have also stopped) is SEPTEMBER. We have been trying since January to get him seen.

I made appointments for all of us with our family doctors and were not able to be seen until the end of July. I realize that medical records are important, but quite frankly, it seems as though it is a waste of time when the doctor's have no knowledge of wind turbine issues and are at a loss to determine causes...... I have not had another instance of the internal vibration and I hope to never experience it again.

The MOE is apparently investigating in the area, and my neighbor did go to see her doctor regarding her headaches and her husbands....it will be interesting to hear how that appointment goes.

I was told by a neighbor that more adjustments were made to the turbine closest to us and that it has not been running and appears to be off a lot of the time. This could be contributing to some of the relief we are experiencing. Now that the leaves are on the trees, I can not easily see the turbines out the windows, I can see the one to the rear of us right now and it is turning very, very slowly as it is a calm day. My eyes are feeling better as the day goes on, and my headache is very slight today, barely noticable...

Take care all,

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Happy Canada Day

After the "vibrating pelvis' incident, it really began to worry me that this is actually happening...I think until then, I still had that little tiny bit of possibility that our problems could be explained by other causes, besides the wind turbines...I wanted to believe that it was possible that the timing was conicidental...I had feeling previously in my chest, heart palpatations, headaches, tingling in my hands and feet, sore throat, and other issues - all of which I could think of other possible causes for - unlikely, but possible. But this vibration was like nothing I had ever felt before and I KNOW WITHOUT ANY DOUBT that it was caused by the turbines or a byproduct of them. On Sunday June 28th, I woke up with terribly sore eyes. The tops inside were again sore, almost I guess like a dry feeling, except they did not appear dry or sore...this has been a new symptom for me, which I assumed was from my contacts and so I stopeed wearing them. I was not wearing them anytime recently so how do I explain Sunday morning? And, when I mentioned to my husband on Sunday morning how my eyes felt and asked if he thought it could be related to the turbines, he sais "is that why my eyes feel like they are infected or something?" He had the same soreness in his eyes. My youngest has made comments in the early morning on several occasions that his eyes hurt, we just thought he meant he was tired, but perhaps he too is feeling this issue. As I thought about it, and as I think about it, I am pretty sure that the only time my eyes got really red and sore, and I mean RED and SORE, was when I was wearing my contacts...so I stopped wearing them (makes sense), but here is the kicker...I am pretty sure it only happened when I was at HOME, not when I wore them away from home or was out all day! I am going to experiment and see if I can rule them out as the cause, and I have a feeling that when I wear them here at home it enhances whatever is going on and makes it worse...just a theory, but I am very interested....
Thank you to everyone who sent me information and links on the vibrations. I am very interested to read about body parts, etc that can sense vibration. As most of you know I was finishing my fiscal year in June, so I am hoping to have some time this next week to read the information you sent me and to do a bit more contacting to see if I can reach the appropriate people. I think "they" count on the fact that we all have jobs, kids, lives, etc. and never quite find the time to compile our information correctly, do our homework, keep our diaries and records and make the case we need to make to stop them, whoever they may be.
Here we are, on Canada Day - fighting for a basic right to live safely in our home without fear of technology harming our children and ourselves. I thought Canada was supposed to be the country where people came before the mighty dollar. At present, it sure feels like money is the key and a few people are expendable - Sad but True?
I hope not. I would like to think that it's only a few bad apples who spoil it for the rest. I remain optomistic and hopeful that our voices will be heard and that people will be protected. Happy Canada Day! Thanks again, Nik