Lisa Linowes and the Disinformation of Industrial Wind Action Group

2011-08-12

Lisa Linowes is the Founder and Executive Director of Industrial Wind Action Group, a group dedicated to “counteract misleading information” and provide “residents, as well as government officials, the information to make informed decisions” about wind energy projects.

However, the organization routinely promotes discredited problems and messengers instead of credible sources.  On their website, the Industrial Wind Action Group links to articles and information from sources whose work is unscientific or has been linked to the fossil fuel industry – rather than objective sources that could help residents and government officials make informed decisions.  According to our investigative research, the Industrial Wind Action Group continues to hype anti-wind rhetoric above reality.

Promotes Discredited “Problems”

Claim Reality
Wind energy installations cause “Wind Turbine Syndrome” by Nina Pierpont Discredited by panel of scientists and medical professionals including a professor of audiology (Expert Panel Review, 2009)
Birds populations are disproportionately affected by wind turbines Most construction including housing and skyscrapers impact bird populations. Wind’s impact on bird populations is much less than traditional energy sources, with coal being the largest risk to wildlife (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, 2009)
The Shadow Flicker caused by spinning turbine blades are causing health problems Expert panel for the National Academy of Sciences found shadow flicker to be harmless to humans (National Research Council, 2007)
Property Values decrease because of wind energy facilities Wind energy facilities were found to have no evidence of widespread impacts on home property values (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 2009)

“Experts” tied to the Fossil Fuel Industry

“Expert” Tied to
Andrew P. Morriss

  • Senior Scholar at the Mercatus Institute
  • Senior Fellow at the Institute for Energy Research
  • Mercatus Institute: $1.44 million in funding from 1999-2006 from Koch Industries, a major fossil fuel conglomerate.
  • Institute for Energy Research: over $300,000 from Exxon Mobil since 1998, funding from other coal and oil companies
Glenn Schleede

  • former Vice President of the New England Electric System
  • former Senior Vice President of the National Coal Association.
  • New England Electric System: recently acquired by the National Grid, it is the largest natural gas distributor in the Northeast
  • National Coal Association: now known as the National Mining Association, it represents the coal industry in Washington, D.C.
Robert Bryce

  • Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute
  • Former Fellow at the Institute for Energy Research
  • Manhattan Institute: significant funding from the Koch Family Foundations and over $50,000 in 2009 from Exxon Mobil.
  • Institute for Energy Research: over $300,000 from Exxon Mobil since 1998, funding from other coal and oil companies
Robert Bradley

  • Adjunct Scholar, Cato Institute
  • Adjunct Scholar, Competitive Enterprise Institute
  • CEO and Founder, Institute for Energy Research

 
  • Cato Institute: founded by Charles Koch, CEO and Chairman of Koch Industries, a major fossil fuel conglomerate and supported by the Charles G. Koch Foundation.
  • Competitive Enterprise Institute: funding from the Koch Family Foundations and oil companies including Texaco and Amoco (now owned by BP)
  • Institute for Energy Research: over $300,000 in funding from Exxon Mobil since 1998, funding from other coal and oil companies

Not Fulfilling The Mission

The Industrial Wind Action Group states its mission is to “counteract misleading information” and to “provid[e] residents, as well as government officials, the information to make informed decisions.”  Unfortunately, the sources routinely cited on www.windaction.org spread misleading information and promote fossil fuel talking points through purportedly neutral third party sources.