Wind farms – what are they doing to us?
November 2016
While most recently ‘wind farms’ have been in the news for their capacity to disrupt (or not!) power generation in South Australia, at this event Professor Simon Chapman will provide an update on research into the human health impacts of wind energy and the role he has played in trying to bring some sense to the often emotional and ill-informed debates about it.
Wind energy is enjoying exponential growth in many nations and is vital to efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Early objections to wind farms centred on aesthetic preferences but in recent years small numbers of residents near a few wind farms and anti-wind farm lobby groups have argued that they cause health problems to humans and animals near them.
In this talk Simon will look at the history of “modern health worries” about new technology and particularly the emergence of anxiety about wind farms.
Simon will describe work by researchers who have looked at the nocebo hypothesis, where being told that something is harmful creates expectations that it will be, which can translate into somatic symptoms in some people.
Simon Chapman is Emeritus Professor in Public Health, University of Sydney.
Balmain Institute Inc. 