As doctors we are concerned about the myths circulating in the community that wind farms are making people sick.
The consensus of medical professionals and major organisations, including the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), Australia’s leading experts on health and medical research, say that there is no evidence for this.
If you compare wind farms to the health impacts of burning coal, gas, and oil to provide electricity, then wind farms come out way in front. Wind farms reduce air pollution. Wind farms save lives.
On the other hand, fossil fuels are harmful to our health.
Air pollution from the burning of fossil fuels causes more deaths in Australia than car accidents. A landmark study showed over 11,105 deaths a year from transport- related air pollution alone. Those in rural areas are not exempt from these health impacts. The electrification of transport with clean renewable energy will reduce those deaths immediately.
Fossil fuels also drive climate change, the single biggest threat to human health. 2024 is likely going to be the warmest year ever recorded. The years just keep getting warmer.
Climate change brings on extreme weather around the world that threatens many lives. Flash flooding kills people. Heatwaves kill people. Bushfires kill people. Droughts kill people.
The Central West has had to deal with all these weather events over the past decade and, sadly, there will be more extremes to come. The latest climate change modelling by the NSW government states that in the coming years the region will be especially susceptible to changes in rainfall patterns, increased temperatures, and extreme events.
Climate change is not going to get better unless we listen to the science that tells us that to save lives and our health, we must move away from polluting fossil fuels and embrace renewable energy.
Wind farms, along with solar and batteries, will not only provide our towns and cities with continuous, affordable, clean power, they will ensure our families and communities can breathe cleaner air and flourish on a stable planet.
Signed,
Dr Kate Wylie MBBS BHSci FRACGP DCH Grad Cert PESH
Dr Sarah Koffmann MBBS BSc(med) FACRRM DRANZCOG (Adv) DCH
Dr John Van Der Kallen MBBS B Sci(Med) FRACP CCPU
Dr Marcus Hayward BSc(Hons) MBBS DCH FRACGP
Dr Jane Morgan FRACGP
Dr Sonia Jones BAppSc MBBS MMed FACRRM DRGA
Dr Roly Stokes BE(Mechanical) BSc(Physics) MBBS
Dr Richard Stiles MBBS FACRRM GDRGP(Surg) FRACGP M.Bioethics
Dr Jane Lawrence MBBS
Dr Alan McCeery MBBS FRACGP FACCRM DA Grad Dip Sports Med
Dr Gregory White MD M.Psychiatry
Dr Laura Stephens MBBS FRACP
Dr Gabriel Shannon AM BSc MBBS FRACP
Dr Jocelyn Rikard-Bell MBBS FRACGP
Dr Phillip Butler MBBS FRACP
Dr Kam Wong PhD MBBS BEng MSc FRACGP
Dr Shaun Watson MBBS FRACP PhD
Dr Katherine Watson MBBS
Dr Atmaram Rana BM FRACGP
Dr Mark Pulley MBBS FRACGP
Dr Tegan van Gemert MBBS MMed FRACP
Dr Jacqueline Duc MBBS BMedSci BA FRACP FAChPM
Dr Sivakamy Ayngkaran MBBS FRACGP FARGP
Dr Binesh Gurung MBBS
Dr Uma Andrada MBBS
Dr Jerry Kovoor MBBS
Dr Danielle Andreussi B.Biomed MBBS DCH FRACGP
Dr Hal R Rikard-Bell BSc MBBS FRACGP FACRRM DIP O&G DIP ACSCM
Dr Natalie Baptista BSc(Adv)(Hons) MD MPhil
Dr Bill Mackie MBBS FRACS MBA
Dr Judy Xu BMed MD
Dr Justine Yu BSc MD
Dr Peta Harrison MBBS FRACGP
Dr Claire Noonan BMedSci (Hon) MBBS FRACGP
Dr Nicole Bartos MBBS FRACGP
Dr Jayne Crew MBBS, BSc, PhD, FRACGP
Dr Sonja Kauffman FRACGP, MBBS, B.Med.Sci
Dr Bridget Elbourne BA MBBS FRACP
Dr Ray Parkin MBBS FRACP MA MMED DDU
Dr Timothy Jones MBBS DCH FRACGP
Dr Peter Holmes MBBS Dip RACOG
Dr Ruth Morgan MBBS
Dr Cathy Marshall MBBS FRACGP
Assoc Prof Bruce McGarity MBBS FRACP
Dr F. Ross Wilson OAM MBBS FRACGP FARGP FACRRM DA DRCOG DCH DCCHcp
Dr Elizabeth Kennedy MBBS FRACGP-RG FACRRM DipRGA
Dr Chandima De Alwis MBBS FRACP
Dr John Schibeci MBBS FRACGP
Dr Hnin Yee Mon MBBS FRACGP
Dr Peter Bryant MBBS FRACGP FACRRM
Dr Geoff Marshall MBBS FRACGP FACRRM FAFPHM FRCPA (Clinical Forensics)
