LTE – Carol Johnson – 9-11-2013
As a Town of Forest resident, I watched most of the public hearings on the Highland Wind Farm and have read most of the public comments, technical testimony, and health surveys/medical records of those opposing the project.
All of this information is public information and anyone can view any of it by visiting http://psc.wi.gov and typing in Docket #2535-CE-100. I have written several letters to editors of local papers in an attempt to shine the light on what has actually happened in Forest Township. Now you can see the truth for yourself by looking at the public documentation of the case itself – expert witnesses for the opposition who had no scientific basis for their opinions vs. expert witnesses for Highland Wind who had substantiated facts based on years of documented experience; medical records that are now forever part of the public domain that actually contradict what is said in the affidavit filed with the record; my testimony, guiding the PSC commissioners to peer reviewed, validated studies on a condition termed “the nocebo effect”. At that time, I was unaware of the most recent study by Dr. David Perry on this condition, but you can read about it, as I just did, at http://aweablog.org/blog/post/the-nocebo-effect-and-why-its-much-more-dangerous-than-wind-
turbines
Another truth that is becoming oh so apparent to Forest residents is the degree to which the town board drained our bank account trying to block the Highland Wind Farm. Thanks to the free-spending ways of this resolutely anti-wind board, our township coffers are now empty. Town services are now financed by a line of credit with the First State Bank of Baldwin — $100,000 to be exact, which I understand most of which has already been spent. So, while the anti-wind group, through our town board, has been filling the pockets of anti-wind experts, who happily dance to the bank with our money, the property owners of Forest Township will soon be faced with having to pay off that line of credit. When I spoke up at a public hearing for the town budget, pointing out that the witnesses being hired are simply in the business of saying whatever the anti-wind groups want and that they are not considered credible experts, I was called a name and told to shut up or leave. I couldn’t believe my eyes as I watched an anti-wind activist testify that the wind developer was bankrupting the town.
Dr. Perry talks of the damage these anti-wind groups do by simply suggesting people will get sick so they do. I can add an element to his study based on what we have experienced in Forest Township, namely, the stress generated by local anti-wind campaigners causing serious damage to the health of Forest residents who support the project. The lack of civility that is now the norm in our local government meetings has made it unbearable for anyone who does not agree with the anti-wind group to attend. Similarly, the misinformation spouted by the anti-wind group has effectively destroyed relationships between friends, neighbors and family members. Dr. Perry talks of accountability for the damage these people do. It is time for the anti-wind activists, which are one in the same with the Forest Town Board to be held accountable for what they have done to our community. If you care about the truth, you will open your mind and read the links I posted. If all you care about is repeating the misinformation you hear from the anti-wind group, then you have to be honest with yourself about why you are against this project, because there are no documented adverse health effects from wind turbines.
Carol Johnson
Deer Park, WI