Barnstable County Superior Court Judge Christopher Muse, an actual, existing, sitting judge with real power over real people’s lives, has declared wind turbines cause dental injuries:
Neil and Elizabeth Andersen, who live about a quarter of a mile from the turbines, said they caused “continuous insomnia, headaches, psychological disturbances, dental injuries, and other forms of malaise” they had not suffered prior to the turbines’ construction.
“The court finds the Andersens claims that they did not experience such symptoms prior to the construction and operation of the turbines, and that that each day of operation produces further injury, to be credible,” the judge wrote.
Continued operation of the turbines at previous levels put residents at risk of “irreparable physical and psychological harm,” he judge wrote.
Let’s break down the ways Judge Muse is ignoring reality:
- What exactly causes these problems? Wind turbine opponents don’t have an answer – that’s why they throw out dozens of discombobulated theories (sound! infrasound! air pressure! deadly shadows! electromagnetism!) in hopes you might find one plausible. Meanwhile, a comprehensive independent assessment of all available research showed no basis for the litany of conditions blamed on “wind turbine syndrome.”
- Why are so many people immune from “wind turbine syndrome”? Why do a few people say they feel sick in so many different ways, while so many of their neighbors – and even children in the same household of “syndrome” sufferers – feel great? Judge Muse doesn’t have an answer, but science does. Research shows it’s a communicated disease: People told to expect to feel sick do, while those who don’t expect to get sick don’t. Turning off the turbines won’t cure that – turning off Fox will.
- Why do wind turbines only make people sick at night? Why don’t they make people sick during the day? Either Judge Muse is leaving people at great risk of illness during the day, or he’s admitting his own logic doesn’t hold water.
A judge willing to create his own reality is the last hope for Falmouth’s wind turbine opponents, whose neighbors don’t believe their increasingly absurd claims. In April, voters at a town meeting declined to have a referendum on tearing down the turbines. Town officials decided to have the referendum anyway, so in May voters rejected tearing down the turbines by a 2-to-1 margin.
If you live in Falmouth, join the hundreds of residents who support the wind turbines. And no matter where you live, like Friends of Falmouth Wind on Facebook.
Cross-posted from The Green Miles
…if you got hit in the mouth by one of those spinning blades!
What’s his theory, is infrasound rattling their fillings loose now? Can we get a survey and see if 4 out of 5 dentists agree?
Now my mouth hurts from reading that! Blogging causes dental injuries too!
tooth grinding caused by stress.
I imagine it’s worse at night because the quiet makes noise more noticeable. But nights are generally less windy than days, so the turbines wouldn’t be spinning as fast.
I can’t speak for this particular turbine, but, in aggregate, for turbines of this size in the US, the production within a 24 hour period typically peaks just as the sun is going down and just as the sun is coming up. I write “typically” because there can be substantial day-to-day variance of that pattern, but aggregated over months and years, that is the pattern.
Nights are “less windy” than dawn and dusk, but typically more windy than mid-day.
propter hoc?
If I get the flu tomorrow, can I blame the nearby wind turbines?
…I figured it was due to wind turbines being too far away!
…I thought sure this diary was going to be written by our resident contrarian from Waltham:)
I’m not defending the judge, but I wonder if perhaps the dental claims are not as far-fetched as the diary would suggest. Bruxism is a real disorder that has real consequences. It is often induced by anxiety and stress, and it often is most pronounced at night.
The “dental injuries” claim might therefore be a consequence of the added anxiety and stress that the plaintiffs surely allege.
I’m not saying it’s accurate, but I think it may not be as far-fetched as these exchanges imply.
… with the addition that worrying excessively about something, say ‘wind turbines’ for example, can induce bruxism and the follow on symptoms. People do sometimes make themselves sick with worry.
And, so, if they are worried about wind turbines, excessively, say because they listen to Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh (indiscriminate liars both who’s entire schtick builds on fear to erase sense), or even because they listen to DFW, then I could easily see this cycle of worry – symptomology – justification – worry -symptomology -justification play out.
That’s exactly how you blame anything on wind turbines. “They made me so mad, I spilled hot coffee on myself!” does not equal “wind turbines cause burns.”
I sleep with a mouth guard. Over the years, I had a lot of grinding and visible loss before getting one.
The evidence for wind turbine syndrome is supported by the post hoc propter hoc fallacy, the recirculation of the same pseudoscientific evidence, and the active propagandizing of a handful of wingnuts. I chased some of that crap around and found that research against turbines was just crap.
Unfortunately, the research for turbines is mostly produced by the industry, generally a dubious source. The relative scarcity of serious, scholarly research provides the kind of opening pseudo-scientists and conspiracy theorists exploit on “issues” ranging from Bigfoot to UFOs.
The Sagan Rule is the best rule of thumb in judging these crazy things: “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.”
In Sagan’s exact words,
It’s the wind. If the victims would move to someplace with no wind, their health problems would disappear.
Was Christopher Muse from Waltham original and might his middle name be ‘Daniel’?
We think that it’s just a ruse
Made by those who would refuse
Turbines’ use instead of fuels.
But a judge, one Christopher Muse
Put himself in others shoes
And saw when plaintiffs took a snooze
Dental enamel was theirs to lose.
This conclusion did not amuse
Those of us who study news:
It confounded cause with other clues
Not to explain, but to confuse.
Calvin Trillin?