Trump claimed wind turbines cause cancer, reigniting a long-running hate campaign against wind power with a weird conspiracy theory
Donald Trump waves to members of public following his address to the Scottish Parliament on April 25, 20012. Trump spoke of his concerns over a proposed wind farm, mooted to built near his new GBP 1 billion golf resort, telling the Scottish Parliament that they will destroy tourism in the country.
- President Donald Trump at a Republican fundraiser in Washington DC raised eyebrows with a series of wild claims about wind turbines.
- The president cited a long-discredited theory which claims that the renewable energy source causes cancer.
- He went on to assert that wind turbines are responsible for the deaths of birds.
- Trump has history with wind turbines. He campaigned furiously against a wind farm being built near his golf course in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, but ultimately lost.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday launched his latest wild attack on wind turbines, an energy source that has long attracted his ire.
“They say the noise causes cancer,” the president remarked of the turbines at the National Republican Congressional Committee fundraiser in Washington DC.
Trump linked the technology to ex-presidential rival Hillary Clinton, who he claimed “wanted to put up wind.”
“If you have a windmill anywhere near your house, congratulations your house just went down 75 per cent in value. And they say the noise causes cancer, you tell me that one, OK?” remarked Trump, imitating the whirring noise made by the turbines.
He went on to express concern for the effect of turbines on wild bird populations.
“The thing makes so much noise, and of course it’s like a graveyard for birds. If you loved birds, you’d never want to walk under a windmill again.”
Scientists have long rejected the decades-old claims of those who argue that wind turbines cause a variety of illnesses, including cancer.
Simon Chapman, a professor in public health at the University of Sydney in Australia, in a 2012 article reviewed stories of people who had illnesses they blamed on turbines.
He suggested that the illnesses – which were real – were not attributable to the turbines, but instead are “psychogenic”, which means they are caused by anxiety and unrest.
In February 2019, a Scottish court ruled that Trump International Golf Club Scotland Ltd should pay legal costs incurred by the Scottish government during a years-long legal battle with the Trump club, which unsuccessfully sued to halt the wind farm project. The club, opened by Donald Trump in 2012, claimed the turbines would spoil the view from the seaside course.
It is true that many birds are killed flying into wind turbines. However, far more are killed by flying into cellphone and radio towers or by being mauled to death by cats.
Back in February Trump lost a long-running legal battle with the Scottish government over a wind farm near one of his golf courses.
He launched the battle before his election, over an off-shore farm near his golf course in Aberdeenshire, northwest Scotland. He lost and had to pay legal bills for himself and the Scottish government.
Last week, Trump attacked wind power at a rally in Michigan, claiming that if the wind doesn’t blow, televisions and other electronic devices will lose power.
In fact, turbines can store the energy to be used even in times of calm.
Source: businessinsider.in
