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| Former wind energy supporters tell what it's like to live within 1/4 mile of wind turbines Health problems Other than the reported anxiety, high blood pressure and sleep loss, some of the local farmers in Lincoln Township, Wis., are facing one of the most frightening affects from windfarms. Because the Wind Energy companies did not erect additional power lines to accommodate the increased electrical carriage from the turbines, the residents are battling stray voltage and electrical pollution. Animal health problems in a formerly award-winning herd include cancer deaths, ringworm, mange, lice, parasites, cows not calving properly, dehydration, mutations such as no eyeballs or tails, cows holding pregnancy 1 to 2 weeks and then aborting, blood from nostrils, black hair coats turning brown, mastitis, kidney and liver failure. Other farms in the area farther away from turbines are seeing a decrease in milk production. Three farms are ready to sell. Resident health problems include diarrhea, 4 to 5 menstrual periods per month, night sweats, sleeplessness, rashes, itching, headaches, bloody noses, frequent urination, attention deficit disorder diagnosed in a three-year-old, and inability to conceive. Sometimes even short-term visitors contract the symptoms, including construction workers who broke out in nosebleeds after a few hours of work. Noise was so bad for some residents in Lincoln Township that Wisconsin Public Service offered to buyout six homes. For those who have chosen to stay, they are living with different degrees of noise disruption. "I called the utility every day about the noise problem." "We're disturbed by the noise and blinking lights. We were misinformed. [The utilities] pulled it over on us." "At the town meetings I'd listen to other people and I thought, 'They're just angry. How can [the turbines] be that noisy?' . . . When they went in I couldn't believe the noise." "The noise is the worst problem . . . The worst sound is when we have low winds. It's a chop-whoosh sound like a jet at an airport or a train station." "It dominates the sound environment on the worst days." "They said 50 decibels equals a conversation. So I figured I can't hear a conversation 1/4 mile away, so we'll be okay . . . Low frequency noise will come through windows when they're closed and when we're sleeping . . . At night it's bad when you're trying to get to sleep." "The quality of our life has been affected . . . It's radically altered our ability to enjoy our property." "There will be a string a days with unending pulsating." "We're learning to live with the nose, but not by preference. It's when they're off that you realize what you've lost."
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