Wind Farming and the Not-in-My-Backyard Syndrome: A Literature Review Regarding Australia’s Challenge in Relation to Climate Change and CO2 Emissions

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Let me begin with a personal note. When several Australian newspapers reported about people objecting to the establishment of wind farms in rural and regional Australia, the Notin-my-Backyard syndrome (NIMBYism) entered my thoughts. Knowing that Australians were emitting more than reasonable amounts1 of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, this literature review was started. It is the result of trying to understand the objections to wind farming. I must admit that I like the turbines, their imposing height, the way they enhance the landscape, and their capacity to produce electricity. In 2002, I was standing under a turbine on the Isle of Fano in Denmark, it was noisy but not overwhelming, I was in awe, admired a manmade product fitting perfectly into the landscape. Reading years later the objections to wind farming in Australia triggered concern and an interest into researching NIMBYism. According to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) (2009, pp. 1-5) climate change is the greatest ecological, economic and social challenge of our time. Globally, CO2 emissions, temperature and sea levels are rising faster than expected and average temperatures are increasing (CSIRO, 2009, p. 3). These trends are recorded on all continents and in the ocean. “Since the Industrial Revolution global CO2 concentration has risen by 37%” which “is mainly due to fossil-fuel use and land-use change” (CSIRO, 2009: p. 5). CO2 is a contributing factor in the enhanced greenhouse effect which is resulting in climate change. Approximately 25% of the CO2 emitted in the atmosphere is absorbed by the ocean and another 25% is absorbed by the natural environment on land. In water, CO2 makes the oceans more acidic. Ocean acidification interferes with the formation of shells and corals, and has far reaching implications for the health and productivity of the world’s oceans (CSIRO, 2009, p. 5). The CSIRO also finds that “the likelihood of observed warming being due to natural causes alone is less than 5%” (p. 5). And they continue: