“Wind power has thoroughly corrupted the political system,” says retired High Court justice (Denmark)
Nov 16, 2012
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“The myth of Denmark as a corruption-free country”
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—The Honorable Peter Rørdam (retired), The Copenhagen Post (11/16/12)
It’s a widely held conception that Denmark is one of the world’s least corrupt countries. The message is always warmly received, but this isn’t the same as saying that Denmark is free of corruption.
I’m not qualified to speak about corruption in general, but there is one area in which I do have an in-depth knowledge: wind power, which is an industry that has managed to thoroughly corrupt the political system.
The law approving construction of a test centre of large land-based wind turbines near the Jutland town of Østerild was forced through parliament despite warnings about the effects it would have on the natural environment in the area and its impact on residents. The bill was able to make its way through parliament thanks to a complete manipulation of the facts—both by keeping some information under wraps, and by directly misinforming people.
But it wasn’t parliament that was misled. Members of parliament that voted for the law were fully aware of the truth, yet they turned a blind eye so the law could be passed. It was, in fact, voters who were tricked into thinking that they had been told the whole truth.
The only thing that matters for wind turbine makers is money. You can wonder why law makers would play along with their game, but as soon as they threatened to move jobs abroad they did as they were told.
Laying out all the details of this sitation would require more space than is available here, but for those that read Danish, Peter Skeel Hjort’s book ‘Besat af wind’ (Obsessed by the wind) provides a harrowing look into of the industry and the political system.
Collaboration between the industry and lawmakers didn’t stop with the approval of the test centre. Since then, there has been a flood of complaints from people who were unfortunate enough to find themselves living next to large land-based wind turbines elsewhere. The effects, which are well documented, can cause illness and render properties uninhabitable. Their complaints, however, are normally rejected by the authorities, who maintain that living close to wind turbines is not associated with any detrimental effects.
On October 9, Berlingske newspaper published an article by three Aalborg University scientists, who proved that the official noise calculations are wrong, and that the manipulated figures tone down the problems associated with living near a wind turbine. The authorities have done nothing to show that they have scientific evidence to base their claims on. Their only reaction has been to say that the Aalborg University study is wrong, because it does not jibe with the wind power industry’s own findings. We heard this most recently from the environment minister, Ida Auken, who is either being led around by the nose of the people whose interests she’s looking out for, or—as was the case with her predecessor—she is taking part in the misinformation.
It’s worth noting that the compensation homeowners living near wind turbines are given to make up for lost property value is based the falsified noise calculations—which means that people are, in fact, being cheated out of the full amount they are actually owed.
Corruption is defined as moral decay, and that is precisely what we are witnessing here. The fear that Denmark could lose jobs and the near religious obsession with wind power has made politicians deaf and blind to objections to wind as a source of energy, and led them to take part in the industry’s fraud. The environmental and human impacts of what they are doing appear to have no effect on them.
It only adds to the embarrassment is that instead of hiring people, the wind industry is eliminating jobs in Denmark. Meanwhile, little has happened at the Østerild test centre. Parliament rushed to approve the establishment of Østerild, because the industry told them it was vital that they could have seven large wind turbines standing in a row. Østerild was chosen because it had the physical characteristics the industry needed. Today, one turbine stands, and it remains to be seen how many more will be built.
There are a lot of people who have plenty to be ashamed of, but we shouldn’t expect that to change much. Moral scruples aren’t what we most associate with Danish politicians.
Comment by Dr Sarah Laurie on 11/16/2012 at 10:05 pm
Thank you, Justice Rordam, for outlining some of the factors in Danish society which have made it possible for so many innocent people to be harmed. I am sure the same factors apply everywhere else in the world where wind developers have been enabled to continue to do harm, despite the mounting evidence of serious health problems.
The existence of confidentiality clauses in turbine host contracts which explicitly limit the liability of these wind developers for specific harm, and similar confidentiality clauses in contracts where sick neighbours are bought out by those developers makes it abundantly clear that these companies know EXACTLY how people can be harmed by this technology.
There are many professionals, especially lawyers and acousticians, as well as politicians and bureaucrats who have assisted in this harm to innocent citizens, either by active participation and knowledge, or by a combination of fraudulent denial and willing blindness.
This corruption is in the ranks of noise regulatory authorities, planning and public health departments, all around the world. I have an intimate knowledge of the problems in Australia, and I can count on the fingers of one hand the public servants who have had the courage to do what they can to expose the problems.
My medical colleagues who know their patients are getting sick with the predictable pattern and range of symptoms, worsening over time with cumulative exposure, are increasingly telling their patients to move, if they can. Sadly, too many are too frightened to put this advice in writing.
It is completely unacceptable, morally, ethically, and I suspect increasingly legally, to stand by and do nothing, given the ever emerging evidence of a serious global problem.
Dr Sarah Laurie
CEO Waubra Foundation
Comment by Butré Jean-Louis on 11/17/2012 at 12:01 am
Renewable energy installations are deployed within the European Union after pressure from financial or ideological interest groups. The disturbing consequence is that such
projects do not fulfill the basic criteria for sustainable development.
Wind farms represent the worst case scenario. Their effectiveness remains unproven and yet for decades they have absorbed the greatest proportion of funding ring-fenced
by governments for renewable energy projects. Worse still, they contribute to the degradation of the environment.
Wind farms have been shown repeatedly to be completely at odds with European policy for sustainable development, in that:
The growing number of wind farms makes it necessary to upgrade the high voltage transmission system across Europe and to build more control installations because experience shows that grid stability is threatened by the erratic nature of wind energy.
The new high tension lines incur high costs and cause further unacceptable damage to the environment;
Even after several decades of technical development, wind energy remains economically unviable. Thus, wind farms devour colossal amounts of public money leading to their dependence upon an artificial market for their very existence.
Moreover, the excesses of this artificial market allow scandalous personal fortunes to be amassed at taxpayers’ and consumers’ expense with no ecological benefit. In fact, real damage is done;
Wind farms are significantly altering Europe’s natural and cultural heritage by their harmful effect on landscapes and historic buildings. They have a severe impact on property values which for homeowners often represent the fruits of a lifetime of work;
Wind farms degrade the local residents’ quality of life, even damaging the health of some;
Wind farms imperil wildlife and destroy natural habitats which have hitherto escaped the destructive powers of earth-moving equipment, concreting operations and other highly invasive human activities.
Comment by Andreas Marciniak on 11/18/2012 at 3:54 am
The Honourable Peter Rørdam. “Quote”
” but there is one area in which I do have an in-depth knowledge: wind power, which is an industry that has managed to thoroughly corrupt the political system.” and a lot of every day people around the Globe, as well as politicians , I would Like to thank you, as I’m one of the people ho lost everything I worked for all my life, because of all this corruption, I my self believed all I was told by the developer, because I be leaved in Green energy, boy wasn’t I wrong ? they all say there has been no bad reports from Europe for 20 years , even that in it self was a big Lei, I found People and grubs all aver the Globe that have been speaking out for as long as they have been butting these Monster Industrial Turbines up.
they contribute to the degradation of the most beautiful environment all around the world, how can you call that green and good for the Environment ?
Wind farms are significantly altering the world natural and cultural heritage by their harmful effect on landscapes and Mountain regents were ever they but this Industry. They have a severe impact on property values which for home owners often, you can’t sell, with the knowledge your home will coarse Harm to others if you sell, it is so easy to say just move or sell, why should you or have to ? Thank you again Peter Rordam.
Comment by gail on 11/18/2012 at 5:22 pm
The turbine corruption cancer is spreading … until it ends up in the perpetrators’ own backyards.
Will it then stop?
Comment by Itasca Small on 11/19/2012 at 9:15 pm
The marriage of the collectivist goals promulgated by UN Agenda 21 – aka Sustainable Development – to the designs of the unscrupulous seekers of wealth at any cost, have given birth to the Wind Juggernaut invading the rural regions of the developed world. Are you puzzled at the status quo of this invasion in the face of overwhelming evidence of its insidious and pervasive adverse effects; are you asking, “How can they keep-on spreading this cancer across the planet?”
If they don’t care about the taxpayers’ money; if they don’t care about the true scientific facts – including the drying, dust bowl-creating effects; if they don’t care about the other living creatures who have no concept of the war of annihilation waged against them; if they don’t care about aesthetics or property values; why would you think they will care about the destruction of human lives?
It is fact that certain environmental and collectivist leaders espouse the goal of deliberate population reduction as being necessary in order to achieve their purposes. Agenda 21/Sustainable Development goals are designed to: 1. Reduce the population, and, 2. Move the populace out of rural and into urban areas. Why? 1. Population reduction because food and other resources are hard to supply when the government controls them, hence, fewer people – fewer resources required. 2. Moving the populace to the cities makes control of the masses more feasible. Oh, did you think it was to effect proper worship of Planet Gaia by restricting the human “footprint” to allow the environment to return to “Nature?” Sustainable development is all about controlling the human “cancer” according to the ideals of power-hungry collectivists.
Industrial Wind Energy is all about money, and reducing and displacing the population.
I am a victim. My body was dying as I tried to stay in my home. I have not yet fully-recovered from the dire effects of the IWT infrasound on my already weakened adrenal glands. It is imperative that those who seek the truth about IWTs and adverse health effects hear what I am saying! My home is about 11.25 miles/24.75 km from the IWTs. I am not the only Navajo County, Arizona, victim at such a distance! I read today about the wind plant manager (I think he was in Australia), who must live 30 km from the plant he manages.
In the fight against the Wind Monsters, those who just ask for them not to be sited “too close to homes” must come to understand: 1 mile/2.2 km is not far enough! 2 miles/4.4 km is not far enough! The infrasonic wave radiation travels many miles/kms depending upon the specific conditions. You cannot fix the problem by trying to be nice and accommodating; asking for nice, caring, wind energy developers to just move their monster offspring a little farther from your home will not stop the destruction! Even if they could be sited far enough to not cause any adverse effects to humans, what about the other living creatures (and offshore creatures are NOT safe,either)?
What about all the other economic reasons this invasion must not be allowed to continue? They fool the uninformed with promises of saving the planet from man-made global warming by eliminating carbon emissions – a fiction made up to indoctrinate the people into a false religion so they will support “The Cause.” This is open warfare against humanity and the enemy does not care how many creatures are annihilated, nor how much of the environment is destroyed! The more, the better – fewer mouths to feed with “limited resources.” This plague must be eradicated from the face of the earth before it destroys Life As We Know It!