Opening remarks by Glenn Weston-Murphy, Engineering Design Advisor & Lecturer, Yale School of Engineering

Risk-Risk Tradeoffs: Does Wind Power Cause Adverse Health Effects?

Wind power is being promoted as a source of clean and renewable energy that will reduce national dependence on foreign oil and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While some environmental concerns have been raised in the past regarding the effects of wind turbines on bird and bat populations, concerns about risks to human health have received less attention. Recently, however, some medical professionals and community members living near wind turbine facilities have expressed and published concerns about the effects of low frequency noise and "shadow flicker" from wind turbines causing a wide spectrum of health problems that have been labeled "wind turbine syndrome." In some localities, such concerns are now holding up the siting of new wind turbines. In this seminar, Rabinowitz will discuss whether "wind turbine syndrome" actually exists and how to balance such potential risk against the benefits of wind power.

Rabinowitz is the Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of Clinical Services in the Occupational and Environmental Medicine department at the Yale School of Medicine. He received his M.D. from the University of Washington.

Glenn Weston Murphy has worked at Yale for the last ten years overseeing the Mechanical Engineering teaching labs in addition to teaching design classes and advising both graduate and undergraduate engineering projects. Prior to coming to Yale, Weston-Murphy spent 20 years working in manufacturing and industry on project engineering, and troubleshooting at petrochemical and energy production facilities worldwide. He has designed and developed electromechanical, pneumatic, and hydraulic equipment for industrial applications. Weston-Murphy's areas of specialization include: energy production and policy, universal and accessible design of products and services, and architectural infrastructures. He co-founded the Connecticut Wind Working Group in 2007 in partnership with the CT Clean Energy Fund. Weston-Murphy also chairs the Town of Guilford Energy Task Force where he drafted one of the first wind turbine zoning regulations passed in Connecticut.

This lecture is sponsored by the Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy, the Institution of Social and Policy Studies, and the School of Epidemiology and Public Health

Download Glenn Weston-Murphy's PowerPoint presentation.