EMF-Omega-News 28. February 2009

Dear Sir, Madam, Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,

for your information.

Best regards,
Klaus Rudolph
Citizens' Initiative Omega
<http://www.next-up.org/Newsoftheworld/OmegaNews.php>http://www.next-up.org/Newsoftheworld/OmegaNews.php
http://www.mastsanity.org/index.php?option=com_newsfeeds&task=view&feedid=1&Itemid=52
http://mast-victims.org/index.php?content=news&action=view&type=newsitem&id=2569
http://weepnews.blogspot.com/search/label/Omega%20News
Member of the Buergerwelle Germany (incorporated society) Protectorate Union of the Citizens and Initiatives for the Protection against Electrosmog
http://www.buergerwelle.de/cms/content/view/57/70/

THE EFFECT OF MICROWAVE EMISSION FROM MOBILE PHONES ON NEURON SURVIVAL
IN RAT CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5545282/

Some of the recent Publications of Prof. Olle Johansson
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5547525/

Mobile phones: tomorrow will be too late
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5545372/

Apparent decreases in Swedish public health indicators after 1997
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5534130/

The Nordic Adaptation of Classification of Occupationally Related Disorders (Diseases and Symptoms) to ICD-10
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5542670/

26/02/2009 - February 2009 - Science Update
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5544105/

Cell Phones Risks
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5532995/

Would You Hire EPRI To Investigate a Cancer Cluster?
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5537216/

Mobile Phone Antennas on Water Towers
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5540294/

Life Goes Wireless
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5534969/

Are You Suffering From Radio Wave Sickness?
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5544270/

Standard for EU lobbying transparency
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5544848/

The People's Initiative Foundation
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5545232/

Judge orders demolition
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5537716/

Judgement Extract District Court Carpentras France Residents Living Near
Phone Mast Against Compagny Sfr
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5547571/

Important Antenna Victory in Los Angeles
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5542879/

Phone mast gets go ahead after council mistake
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5535785/

Lexden planning cock-up angers residents
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5537463/

Fears that stack may be used as phone mast
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5539784/

O2 launches fresh bid to build phone mast on cinema's roof
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5540334/

Council's short shrift for mobile phone mast
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5541500/

Public meeting called over phone mast
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5542303/

43 mobile phone antennas on Church properties
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5544088/

Talks over mobile phone mast
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5545900/

Drivers on cell phones kill thousands
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5534959/

Tetra saving costing lives
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5545913/

Maglev line for World Expo still on track
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5547593/

Next-up News Nr 844
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5532929/

Next-up News Nr 845
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5534954/

Next-up News Nr 847
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5540174/

Next-up News Nr 848
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5542273/

Next-up News Nr 849
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5545358/

Next-up News Nr 850
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5546610/

News from Mast Sanity
http://tinyurl.com/aotw3

Omega-News Collection 28. February 2009
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5547606/

--------

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Words of Wisdom

"Act as if the principle by which you act were about to be turned into a universal law of nature". --Immanuel Kant

"You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no results." --Gandhi

"The arc of history is long, but it bends towards justice." –Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." --Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Your silence will not protect you." --Audre Lorde

"A time comes when silence is betrayal." --Martin Luther King

"Liberty can not be preserved without general knowledge among people."
--John Adams

"The world shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." --Anais Nin

"Remaining silent about the destruction of nature is an endorsement of that destruction."
--Redwood Mary (a.k.a. Mary Rose)

That which is looked upon by one generation as the apex of human knowledge is often considered an absurdity by the next, and that which is regarded as a superstition in one century may form the basis of
science for the following one. --Paracelsus

"How could I imagine how lost in the open field I was." --Neal Lindley

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
--Margaret Mead

" If one advances confidently in the direction of their dreams, And endeavors to lead a life which they have imagined, They will meet with a success unexpected in common hours."
--Henry David Thoreau

"Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being
shared." –Buddha

Motivation is not a problem for anyone who accepts the extraordinary truth contained in Yeshe Aro's ancient prescription for happiness: "On this depends my liberation: to assist others – nothing else."

"Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from?
Is it not from your passions that make war within your members?
You covet but do not possess.
You kill and envy but you cannot obtain; you fight and wage war.
You do not possess because you do not ask.
You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions."
James 4: 1-3 (James is the brother of Jesus, who became a leader in the early church)

The Radiation Research Trust's newsletter of March 2009 / Professor Olle Johansson Research Information Update

From: "Olle Johansson" <Olle.Johansson@ki.se>
Sent: Friday, February 27, 2009 6:20 AM
Subject: The Radiation Research Trust's newsletter of March 2009

To everyone on my mailing list,

Please, see the enclosed file, "The Radiation Research Trust's newsletter of March 2009", it contains a lot of excellent information and reading ! !

-----------------------------------------------------

ALSO -

Here is an up-date on some of the recent publications of mine that may be of value for you.

Johansson O, "Fredrik Reinfeldt, now that you are Sweden's prime minister, are you prepared to listen?", J Aust Coll Nutr & Env Med 2007; 26: 19-20

Lindkvist L, Johansson O, "SSI lägger ansvaret för skadorna av mobilstrålningen på dig" (="The Swedish Radiation Protection Authority puts the responsibility for the mobile phone radiation damages on you!", in Swedish), Arbetarbladet 23/10 2007

http://www.arbetarbladet.se/utskrift.php?id=576016&avdelning_1=103&avdelning_2=122

Cohen A, Carlo G, Davidson A, White M, Geoghan C, Goldsworthy A, Johansson O, Maisch D, O'Connor E, "Sensitivity to mobile phone base station signals", Env Health Perspect 2008; 116: A63-A64

Lindkvist L, Johansson O, "Utan trådlöst för barnens skull!" (="Without wireless for the sake of the children", in Swedish), Dalarnas Tidningar 6/2 /2008

http://www.dt.se/opinion/debatt/article276988.ece

Lindkvist L, Johansson O, "Utan trådlöst för barnen skull" (="Without wireless for the sake of the children", in Swedish), Nerikes Allehanda 12/2/2008

Lindkvist L, Johansson O, "Utan trådlöst - för barnens skull" (="Without wireless - for the sake of the children", in Swedish), Corren 20/2 2008

http://www.corren.se/archive/2008/2/19/jlhjeylx6ecdgcx.xml

Johansson O, "Rena (tomat)soppan om strålning" (="Unadulterated (tomato) garbage about radiation", in Swedish), Södertälje Länstidning 2/4 2008

http://www.lt.se/index.asp?kat=re&i1=index_red_2007.asp&i2=1&Id=25736&isp2=hela

Johansson O, "Mobilstrålning en dödssynd" (="Cellular radiation is a mortal sin", in Swedish), Norrbottens-Kuriren 7/4 2008

http://www.kuriren.nu/debatt/artikel.aspx?articleid=3457430

Johansson O, "SSI ger fel besked om mobilstrålning" ("SSI (=The Swedish Radiation Protection Authority) misinforms about mobile radiation", in Swedish), Eskilstuna-Kuriren 8/4 2008

http://www.ekuriren.se/ekuriren/standard_artikel.php?id=665985

Johansson O, "Vilken strålande tomatsoppa!" (="What a radiant tomato soup!", in Swedish), Västerbottens-Kuriren 10/4 2008

http://www.vk.se/Article.jsp?article=180540

Nilsson M, Hallberg Ö, Hellberg K, Johansson O, "Vilseldedande om mobilmaster" (="Misleading information about mobile masts", in Swedish), Helsingborgs Dagblad 18/4 2008

http://hd.se/ledare/2008/04/18/vilseldedande-om-mobilmaster/

[Se även replik från Mjönes L, "Mobilmaster orsakar inte skadliga hälsoeffekter",

Helsingborgs Dagblad 29/5 2008

http://hd.se/ledare/2008/05/29/mobilmaster-orsakar-inte-skadliga/

samt replik från Johansson O, Nilsson M, Hallberg Ö, Hellberg K, "Svepande formuleringar om mobilmaster", Helsingborgs Dagblad 5/6 2008

http://hd.se/ledare/2008/06/05/svepande-formuleringar-om/]

Nilsson M, Hallberg Ö, Hellberg K, Johansson O, "Hög tid att lägga korten på bordet" (="Now it is time to put all the cards on the table", in Swedish), Borås Tidning 27/4 2008

http://www.bt.se/debatt/hog-tid-att-lagga-korten-pa-bordet(609680).gm

Johansson O, "Mobilstrålning och hälsa: Rena rama (tomat)soppan!" (="Mobile radiation and health: Unadulterated (tomato) garbage", in Swedish), Ljusglimten 2008; 19: 14-15

Nilsson M, Hallberg Ö, Hellberg K, Johansson O, "Vilseledande om mobilmaster" (="Misleading information about mobile masts", in Swedish), Gotlands Allehanda 6/5 2008

http://www.helagotland.se/insandare/artikel.aspx?articleid=3596332

Johansson O, "The functional impairment electrohypersensitivity and health effects of modern-life electromagnetic fields: A neuroscientist's views",

In: Proceedings of the First Hellenic Congress on the Effects of Non-Ionizing Radiation, with International Participation (eds. LH Margaritis, SA Zinelis), Thessalonica, Greece, 2008, pp 13-18

http://multimedia.biol.uoa.gr/2008/Seminaria_Diplwmatikes%20k.a/Synedrio_Thess/thesaloniki-emf-2008-proceedings-12-05-08-TELIKOeng.pdf

Hallberg Ö, Johansson O, "Ohälsan tycks öka sedan 1997 - beror det på förbättrad diagnostik eller på en försämrad miljö?"" (="Ill-health seems to increase since 1997 - is it because of better diagnostics or is it due to a deteriorated environment?", in Swedish), Medicinsk Access nr. 4/5, 2008

Avino P, d'Alessandro A, Bedini A, Belyaev I, Belpoggi F, Blackman C, Blank M, ?Bobkova N, Bruno B,?Cinti C, Cristaldi M, Dasdag S, De Ninno A, Del Giudice E, de Salles ?A, Doull S, Georgiou C, Goodman R, Grimaldi S, Giuliani L, Hardell L, ?Havas M, Hyland G, Lisi A, Ieradi L, Johansson O, Khurana VG, Lai H, ?Margaritas L, Marinelli F, Markovic V, Maxey E, Oberfeld G, Phillips ?J, Richter E, Salford L, Scalia M, Seyhan N, Shalita Z, Soffritti M, ?Szmigielski S, Udroiu I, Verduccio C, Zeyrek M, Zhadin M, Zinelis S, ?Zucchero A, Goldsworthy A, "The Venice Resolution 2008",

http://www.icems.eu/resolution.htm

Dämvik M, Johansson O, "Försiktighetsprincipen ställer krav på rapportering av osäkra risker" ("The Prudence Avoidance Principle demands reporting uncertain risks", in Swedish), Läkartidningen 2008; 105: 2274-2275

Dämvik M, Johansson O, "Förklaring av riskbedömningsmetod" ("Explanation of risk assessment method", in Swedish),?Miljömagasinet 2008; 28/40, 17

Johansson O, "Mobilstrålning och hälsa: Rena rama (tomat)soppan!" (="Mobile radiation and health: Unadulterated (tomato) garbage", in Swedish), tf-Bladet 2008; (3): 20-21

Johansson O, "Stödet från Hjärntrusten Deje välkomnas - Replik till "Pseudokritik av elöverkänsliga"" ("The support from the Brain Trust Deje is welcome - Reply to "Pseudocriticism of electrohypersensitive persons"", in Swedish), Miljömagasinet 2008; 28/51-52, 17

Hallberg Ö, Johansson O, "Ohälsan tycks öka sedan 1997 - beror det på förbättrad diagnostik eller på en försämrad miljö?"" (="Ill-health seems to increase since 1997 - is it because of better diagnostics or is it due to a deteriorated environment?", in Swedish), Ljusglimten 2008; 19/4, 17-19

Johansson O, "Mobilstrålning och hälsa: Rena rama (tomat)soppan!" (="Mobile radiation and health: Unadulterated (tomato) garbage", in Swedish), Nya
AnnonsX:et 2008; 20: 6-7

Johansson O, "Mycket tveksamma energivinster" ("Very questionable energy gains", in Swedish), Miljömagasinet 2009; 29/1-2, 13

Johansson O, "Electrosensitivity in Sweden", EMFacts 2009-02-09,

http://www.emfacts.com/weblog/?p=1036

Johansson O, "On electrosensitivity", EMFacts 2009-02-26,

http://www.emfacts.com/weblog/?p=1049

***

Also, see the recent (very large!*) "BioInitiative Report: A Rationale for a Biologically-based Public Exposure Standard for Electromagnetic Fields (ELF and RF)" [my own contribution=Section 8]

http://www.bioinitiative.org

[*N.B. It contains more than 2,000 references!]

If you just want to read the press release, see: "Serious Public Health Concerns Raised Over Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) from Power Lines and Cell Phones"

http://www.bioinitiative.org/press_release/docs/august31_2007.pdf

******************************

Also see:

Recently, in the Swedish TV channel TV4, the programme "Efter tio", had a very good interview about the functional impairment electrohypersensitivity:

http://anytime.tv4.se/webtv/?treeId=9017

[the part about electrohypersensitivity comes approx. 35 minuter into the programme]

******************************

From Morten Julius in Denmark:

"Mobile Phone Radiation: Is it safe or not? That is the question"

This interview is from the 21st of May 2008 and has been made to throw light on things that really matter. The interview consist of 15 parts of app. 10 minutes each. Please share with every one you care for so they can become aware too." (Morten Julius)

http://www.bevolution.dk/pdf/MobilePhoneRadiationIsitsafeornot.pdf

Furthermore:

"Do we really need "science" any more?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqwhmfy3bvw

******************************

<dangers-of-cell-phones.aspx">http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/11/29/interview-with-expert-on-
dangers-of-cell-phones.aspx>

******************************

"Swedish professor joins Kingswinford anti-mobile phone mast protesters"

http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5488137/

news/2009/02/03/swedish-professor-joins-kingswinford-anti-mobile-phone-mast-protesters-97319-22836679/">http://www.birminghammail.net/news/black-country/black-country-
news/2009/02/03/swedish-professor-joins-kingswinford-anti-mobile-phone-mast-
protesters-97319-22836679/

******************************

Best regards
Yours
Olle

(Olle Johansson, assoc. prof.
The Experimental Dermatology Unit
Department of Neuroscience
Karolinska Institute
171 77 Stockholm
Sweden

&

Professor
The Royal Institute of Technology
100 44 Stockholm
Sweden)

Cell Phones, the New Cigarettes / The Children's Wireless Protection Act

Cell Phones, the New Cigarettes

By Albert Roman
Epoch Times Staff Feb 25, 2009

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/12653/

Elizabeth Barris is concerned about the ill effects of cell phones and Wi-Fi. (Mike Chamness)

Elizabeth Barris, director of The Peoples Initiative Foundation, a new non profit organization, is on a mission to change the law and inform the public about the devastating health effects from EMR (electromagnetic radiation), which is emitted from cell phones and Wi-Fi.

Her most recent actions include a letter of request to Governor Schwarzenegger, First Lady Maria Shriver, Department of Health Services (CDHS), and Office of Environmental Health hazard Assessment (OEHHA) to mandate that all wireless product packaging carry a warning label, as well as the buildings, which carry the signals.

She has also submitted legislation on both the state and federal level entitled The Children's Wireless Protection Act calling for the warning labels but also addressing Wi-Fi in schools and the need to replace this infrastructure with hard wired cable or DSL.

"The ill health effects from the current wireless infrastructure effects both the students and teachers who are forced to work in a highly charged EMR environment. A hard wired cable or DSL environment would give the same benefits of fast Internet access but without the ill health effects," she says. Ms. Barris has also been working on an as of yet to be completed documentary film on the subject for the past two years.

"It (warnings) should be on the packaging just like cigarettes so that parents know that this product could potentially give their child a brain tumor. Anyone who uses a cell phone should be informed of these findings, but they're not. The labels should also be on industry's dime rather than the taxpayers," says Barris.

Alarmist Talk?

Back in the 1990's, Dr. George Carlo, former lead epidemiologist of Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA), spearheaded a six-year, $25 million study on cell phones and public health. In a clip from the trailer of Barris's documentary on the subject, Dr. Carlo asserts, "There are over 300 statistically significant findings showing an increased risk of tumors [from cell phone use]. There are about three or four statistically significant findings showing no increased risk. So it's like 300 to four. Now how do you reconcile that with what you see in the news media? We have never had an exposure like this before. We've never had an exposure that's dangerous that's being sustained by four billion people (cell phone users worldwide). We've never had it in history."

Carlo's not alone. The recently published BioInitiative Report contains a compilation of damning studies from around the world of top oncologists, scientists, and public health experts attesting to the harmful effects of EMR.

Included in this report are findings from Dr. Lennardt Hardell, a world renowned leader in neurology from Sweden, who in 2006 authored an article published in World Journal of Surgical Oncology, stating, "In our series of studies on tumor risk associated with use of cellular or cordless telephones the consistent finding for all studied phone types was an increased risk for brain tumors, mainly acoustic neuroma and malignant brain tumors."

In a more recent study presented at the Radiation Research Trust conference in London last year on EMR and health effects, Dr. Hardell presented an unpublished study which found a 5-fold increase in childhood brain tumors when the child begins to use the cell phone before the age of 20.

The enormous and recent increase in use of cell phones by children is of particular concern.

In 2007, there was a 46 percent increase of cell phone use in children between 8 and 12, according to Dr. Devra Davis, Healthy Child Advisory Board member, and director of the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh.

Carlo is also deeply concerned about cell phone use among children. "When you start talking about a child 8- or 9-years-old beginning [cell phone] use, by the time they are 18 or 19 years old, they will have used the phone for 10 years. The projections that we do have indicate that we are putting these children in unbelievable danger," he says.

Dr. Carlo also believes that EMR contributes to autism and ADHD: Mariea T, Carlo G. "Wireless Radiation in the Etiology and Treatment of Autism: Clinical Observations and Mechanisms", Australasian Journal of Clinical Environmental Medicine 2007; 26(2): 3–7, 17.

Barris' proposed legislation addresses wireless technology in schools. "There is a great misconception that Wi-Fi in the public school system helps learning. Wi-Fi disrupts learning. Wi-Fi causes ADD and ADHD in children. Wi-Fi in schools means that these children and teachers are sitting for eight hours a day in a field of electro magnetic radiation with fields strong enough to carry the Internet." says Barris.

Charles Graham, Ph.D., physiologist at the Midwest Research Institute in Kansas City, Mo., has conducted studies indicating that electromagnetic radiation alters hormone levels. When women were exposed to elevated levels of EMR overnight in the laboratory serum estrogen levels increased. Studies have shown that elevated estrogen levels are a risk for cancer development. Graham C, Cook M, Gerkovich M, Sastre A. "Examination of the melatonin hypothesis in women exposed at night to EMR or bright light," Environmental Health Perspective 2001 May; 109(5): 501–507.

"The ratio of female to male births is already being thrown [off] (in favor of females), but will be much more extreme in the years to come from putting our children in EMF all day long and exposing their young and still developing bodies to this EMR. It is a problem we have never in the history of evolution encountered. Also, EMR is genotoxic, so any amount of exposure changes the cell and can compromise the immune system," says Barris.

In France there are ad campaigns regarding the ill health effects of cell phones, and France has now even banned advertising cell phones to children under 12. In addition, 11 other countries including the U.K., Japan, India, Israel, and Russia have issued either public health warnings regarding children and cell phones or placed restrictions on their sales to minors and advertising to minors. Why hasn't the United States followed suit?

Conflict of Interest?

Barris considers it peculiar that the FDA delegated the responsibility of creating safety standards for EMR to the Federal Communication Commission (FCC), which regulates the telecommunications in the United States and internationally, to set standards related to acceptable levels of radio frequency (RF) exposure.

"There are two problems [with this]. The FCC is not a health organization, and is therefore not qualified to make assessments health. Second, the FCC resorted to allowing the telecom industry and its paid industry scientists to set the current standards. Would you trust the tobacco industry to tell you about the safety of their product or would you prefer the U.S. Surgeon General to do it?" asks Barris.

Another conflict of interest could be the fact that frequency bandwidth is auctioned off by the government to the telecom industry. Barris doubts the FCC would compromise its financial interests by doing anything to adversely affect the industry's profits, thereby biting the hand that feeds it.

Additionally, the Center for Public Integrity has found that FCC officials are bribed by the telecom industry with such perks as expensive trips to Las Vegas.

Even more interesting is that in the past few years it has been brought to light that the telecom industry has been attempting to change the acceptable Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) of EMR emitted from cell phones tenfold from 1.6 watts per kilogram to 16 w/Kg. This would enable wireless technology consumers to watch movies and television on their cell phones. Barris believes that this is an example of industry safety standards being based on protecting industry profits rather than human health. "Have our bodies changed so much recently that we can now absorb 10 times the amount of radiation? Or has something else changed? Like the need to sell more product?" she asks.

It should also be noted that FCC's acceptable standards of RF exposure are based on the obsolete theory that the only risk from RF and microwave exposure is excessive heating of tissue (thermal effects).

Dr. Carlo is also deeply concerned that the cell phone industry's history might be analogous to that of tobacco, of which he states, "The power of the industry to influence governments and even conflicts of interest within the public health community delayed action for more than a generation, with consequent loss of life and enormous extra health care costs to society."

A constructed epidemic curve projection shows, according to Carlo, that a massive increase in cases of brain and eye cancer attributable to cell phone use will occur in the coming years. "Those numbers are unprecedented."

"There are not enough brain surgeons in the world to address [this issue]. This is a rabbit hole that, when you go down into it, it opens up into a black hole. I'm continually shocked at what I find. It goes from unconscionable to downright criminal," said Barris.

What Does Industry Say?

The telecommunications industry claims that the scientific findings reveal no link between cell phone use and harmful health effects and that further testing is needed. Indeed, many of industry's scientific findings are inconclusive or find no causal relationship between RF and EMR and negative health effects. "The industry considers studies related to the adverse health effects on children and adults as a public relations problem as opposed to an actual problem that needs to be dealt with," says Barris.

Barris expects a "tsunami" of both brain tumors and lawsuits in the very near future. "The industry's objective is to have more studies to refute the studies which show ill-health effects from cell phones and EMR," she says, adding that this is the strategy designed to keep the money rolling in for as long as possible and head off protective legislation.

What's Being Done by the U.S. Government?

Congressman Dennis Kucinich of (D-Ohio) is chair of the subcommittee of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which held a hearing regarding cell phones and cancer last September.

Because of the disparate findings and interpretation of findings by scientists, concrete measures to warn people of the effects of cell phones have not been made. Barris hopes that with the election of President Obama, and his approach of "preventative measures" regarding health care, these health and safety factors with cell phones and Wi-Fi will be addressed.

What's the Solution?

With scientific studies yielding different results, coupled with an increasing usage and dependence on wireless technology, what should the public do?

Dr. David Carpenter and Cindy Sage, co-authors of a portion of BioInitiative Report (bioinitiative.org), suggest continued research is necessary, but we shouldn't wait for the results—precautions and substantive changes should be established now. They recommend "wired alternatives to Wi-Fi be implemented, particularly in schools and libraries so that children are not subjected to elevated RF levels until more is understood about possible health impacts.

Barris suggests that parents get active in having Wi-Fi removed from schools. They can do so by calling or writing their school representatives and public officials to express their concerns. One can also sign an online petition:

www.thepetitionsite.com/5/the-children39s-wireless-protection-act

She has the following suggestions for parents whose children use cell phones:

•    Invest in a $10.00 landline and use it! Do not use cordless phones. "It's better to have the inconvenience of a landline than the inconvenience of a brain tumor."
•    Limit cell phone use to emergencies only, including texting.
•    Don't let them sleep with their cell phones under their pillows at night so they can text their friends.
•    Turn off all cell phones when not in use.
•    Use a speakerphone whenever possible.
•    Start trying to break your own habit of using a cell phone by setting a good example for your children, and tell them why you're doing it.
•    Use a headset, preferably the old fashioned kind that wraps around the head, as opposed to sticking a wire inside the ear if you do have to use your cell phone in an emergency situation.
•    Get an "air tube headset" online, as it is currently one of the better alternatives to sticking a hard wired signal right inside your ear
•    Last but not least, INVEST IN A LANDLINE!

Carpenter and Sage add, "For emissions from wireless devices [cell phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and so on], there is enough evidence for increased risk of brain tumors and acoustic neuromas now to warrant intervention with respect to their use.

"Redesign of cell phones and PDAs could prevent direct head and eye exposure, for example, by designing new units so that they work only with a wired headset or on speakerphone mode," says Carpenter and Sage.

"If industry is requesting further tests, then why don't we have warning labels in the meantime, erring on the side of caution rather than ignorance?" asks Barris.

If you or someone you know has a story related to this subject and thinks it should be considered for the documentary Barris is currently working on, please contact her at

Contact@ThePeoplesInitiative.org

Last Updated
Feb 26, 2009

 

-------------------------------

Hello All,

There is a petition to Congress regarding the placement of warning labels on all cell phone and wifi packaging which I've started and would like you all to take a moment out of your busy day and paste this address into your browser and sign if you would be so kind.  The legislation is entitled The Children's
Wireless Protection Act and also addresses WIFI in schools...

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/5/the-children39s-wireless-protection-act

For those of you who don't know, I've been working on a documentary film on this subject for the past 2 years.  The warning labels are for children, but it is designed to give everyone a heads up to the fact that these EMR (electromagnetic radiation) products are deadly...and not just to children.  I would like to keep all of my friends and business associates on this email list for years to come, so I am glad to be telling you about this huge problem, but now we can also actually do something about it, by signing this petition.

Getting this legislation past will be an enormous step in the right direction.

I recently gave an interview to a newspaper about this subject and the legislation.  It made the cover of their health section today.  You can read the article at...

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/12653/

I also think it is coming out on the West coast as a 3 part article, this week, next and the following, or on 3 consecutive days, the first day being tomorrow (Thurs.) but not 100% sure if the article will be in the West coast edition which only comes out once a week.

This paper is very special as most US papers don't want to piss off their advertisers and will not publish articles like this.  This paper puts their content before their advertisers and are thus able to deliver news that would not normally make it to mainstream media outlets.  The article is really worth reading. You can also read much more about both this enormous problem and what we can do about it on my new website...

www.ThePeoplesInitiative.org

Please forward this email to any and everyone you know.  Your signature really counts and every single one truly does make a difference.

One last thing...The company who runs the petition site charges me if you sign up for updates from my organization, The Peoples Initiative Foundation in the box that comes up after you sign it.  If you would be so kind as to UNCHECK THE BOX and THEIR BOX (Care2 is their name) so there's no confusion, I would greatly appreciate it as it is unnecessary for me to pay this company for the people who want to get emails from me and are already on my email list.  If you forward this to other people, they can leave the boxes checked if they want to get updates on this and other future legislative action.  I don't mind paying this company a one time fee for new people who want to get updates, as that is their policy.

And finally, if you do not want to get any emails from me in the future, just email me back and I can remove your email address, no problem.  Just put PLEASE REMOVE in the heading and I will respect your wishes, no hard feelings.  So to wrap that up, please take a moment UNCHECK the boxes when it comes up asking you if you want to get emails from my organization or theirs. I will automatically ad you either now to me website's email list, or send you a separate email asking you if you'd like me to do that.  If you already know you don't want to get emails from me about this, just send me a note with
PLEASE REMOVE in the heading.

Thanks so much everyone for taking the time to read all this and most importantly, for signing the petition!  :)  I hope all is well and peace be with you.

With gratitude and sincerity, Liz

Important Antenna Victory in Los Angeles / Macrowave bulk pasteurization system / Wi-Fi in School / Cancer Causes Control.

From: "Doug Loranger"
Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 9:19 PM

Subject: Important Antenna Victory in Los Angeles

Residents of the View Park/Windsor Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles won an important victory at the Los Angeles Regional Planning Commission on February 18 (see article from LA Daily News below). While T-Mobile can still appeal to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors the 3-2 vote to deny a permit for a wireless facility proposed for the rooftop garage on a building hosting a CVS pharmacy, the victory is particularly significant because it marks the debut of a regional Southern California coalition, Residents Engaged Against Cell Towers (REACT), who successfully mobilized for the Feb. 18 hearing.

Organizations involved in this regional coalition include residents from  Los Angeles, San Diego, Glendale, Pasadena, Tarzana, Burbank, Mar Vista, Altadena, Baldwin Hills Estates, Sherman Oaks, Ladera Heights, Scripps Ranch, Hacienda Heights, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Mission Viejo, Irvine, Rancho, Santa Fe, and Escondido.

Along with the Coalition to Regulate Antennae Siting
(www.safeantenna.org) in New York City, Southern California is one of the current hotbeds of activity on this issue working to take the fight to the national level.

http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_11770802

Cellular towers become talk of towns

By Troy Anderson, Staff Writer
Updated: 02/23/2009 11:42:41 PM PST

The only notice Glendale resident John McMahon got that T-Mobile USA planned to erect a 34-foot tall cellular telephone tower in front of his home was a slip of paper that looked like a flier advertizing pizza.

It said the company planned to construct the tower on a right-of-way strip of grass between the road and the sidewalk in front of his house.

When McMahon realized what was about to happen, he and several of his neighbors contacted the city to complain.

"I was horrified," said McMahon, 38. "Aside from the health risks ... it could affect my ability to sell my house."

The Glendale City Council in January placed a moratorium on the construction of cell phone towers while city officials studied the issue. About two weeks ago, T-Mobile withdrew its application to build the tower in front of McMahon's home.

The incident is just the latest in a growing national fight to restrict the proliferation of towers near homes, schools, churches and other locations. Alarmed by the spread of the towers in hundreds of locations throughout Los Angeles County, a coalition of grass-roots groups - Residents Engaged Against Cell Towers (REACT) - are pushing for a moratorium on new construction in the county.

Activists say the towers - often disguised as trees - are a neighborhood blight, reduce property values and place residents at undue health risk.

A number of them spoke last week in opposition to a T-Mobile application to build a cell tower on the roof of a CVS Pharmacy in Windsor Hills. The Regional Planning Commission denied the conditional use permit.

"We've joined forces with people who have spearheaded efforts in their own communities because we've found countless other areas are fighting T-Mobile too," said Sally Hampton, a Windsor Hills resident and founding member of REACT.

Residents from Glendale, Escondido, San Diego, Mission Viejo, Burbank and beyond attended the meeting.

In a prepared statement, T-Mobile spokesman Steven Caplan said the company plans to appeal the planning commisions' denial to the Board of Supervisors.

Caplan noted that nearly 20 percent of homes only have wireless phones and nearly half of the 911 calls made in the United States come from cell phones.

"T-Mobile and the rest of America's wireless industry are working to respond to an unprecedented demand for mobile services in their homes," Caplan said. He added that locating towers is a rigorous process based on scientific analysis and modeling and customer input.

"Commercial, industrial and non-residential areas are considered first, but because our customers are increasingly using their wireless devices at home, it's also necessary for us to place wireless facilities in and around residential neighborhoods."

While many are concerned that cell phone radiation may cause cancer or other health problems, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says the weight of scientific evidence has not linked cell phones with any health problems.

The Federal Communications Commission regulates cell phone base stations, which operate at higher power than cell phones. The radio frequency exposures people experience from base stations are typically much lower than from cell phones because the antennas are mounted on towers and buildings and are further away from people, according to the FDA.

Still, in response to growing consumer concerns, Dan Rosenfeld, senior deputy for economic development for county Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, said the supervisor's office is working with the Department of Public Works and County Counsel's Office to craft a policy to address the height, appearance, number, location and the approval process for cell towers.

"It only makes sense that any neighborhood would be concerned about what gets built there," Rosenfeld said. "These towers can be large, can have a visual impact as well as potentially an economic impact on property values."

 

------------------------------------------------

Hi All

This story may make you consider giving up milk altogether. The story mentions 'using clean electrical energy from the grid', well good luck with that far fetched idea! There would also be a big question mark about the cleanliness of the energy as it leaves the site, and a very good chance that dangerous high frequency pollution will be caused around the farm. We know that microwaving food damages the quality and goodness, what will it do to
the milk?

Martin

---------------------------------------------
Macrowave bulk pasteurization system

By Food in Canada staff | February 23, 2009

http://www.canadianmanufacturing.com/foodincanada/news/foodsafetynews/article.jsp?content=20090223_152601_7028

Radio Frequency Company's New Macrowave Pasteurization System uses a high-frequency electric field to effectively control pathogens. It's an alternative to noxious gas or carbon producing thermal techniques. Using clean electrical energy from the grid, the material to be treated is conveyed through a high-frequency electrode array where the alternating electrical energy causes the material to heat rapidly and uniformly throughout the product thickness. Radio Frequency (RF) heating is a highly efficient, direct form of heating such that no energy is wasted heating large volumes of air or preheating the system itself. The technology is "instant-on, instant-off" using energy only during the treatment process.

The company has developed a line of Macrowave Pasteurization Systems that operate at 40MHz where the depth of penetration and uniformity of heating are optimized, thereby ensuring effective microbe kill and avoiding the deleterious effects on product quality from prolonged exposure to high temperatures. These systems are available in conveyorized or batch configurations.

www.radiofrequency.com

 

-----------------------------------------------------

Wi-Fi in School

Friends,

I had a conversation with the parent representative to the French school board (CSF) today - a fellow parent at my children's school - she told me that the CSF was going to ask Health Canada and the BC Worker's Compensation Board to do some of it's own research on EMR from Wi-Fi. We had an exchange - she said that it was not the CSF's job to set safety limits.

Below is my response to an email she sent out earlier this evening.

By the way, she is a doctor.

CK

-------------------------------------------------------

From: Carl Katz
Date: 2009/2/25
Subject: Re: Parents Ordi-Santé et Principe de Précaution.
To:

XXXXXXXXX, I do appreciate your proactive activity around this.

With respect to your comment this afternoon, you are absolutely correct that it is not CSF's job to establish safety limits, but it should be its first priority to ensure the safety of all of the children in its care. And ANY doubt should be decided for the benefit of the students.

Health Canada has NEVER effectively responded to an emerging health threat - tobacco? asbestos?. If you watched the BBC Panorama show (Wi-Fi: A Warning Signal), you would have heard Sir William Stewart, U.K.'s top scientist saying the the WHO (OSM) is wrong - that the whole basis of their safety
limits are inadequate to protect the population, especially our children.

Same for the German government who has warned all citizens not to use Wi-Fi. Is that not telling? Or Gerd Oberfeld and Henry Lai, who are world reknowned for their research into electromagnetic radiation and biological effects - they both said they would pull their children out of any school that had
Wi-Fi. And Olle Johansson of the Karolinska institute in Sweden has found biological effects at radiation levels lower than Wi-Fi. If you have not watched it, here is the link to the show:

http://www.mastsanity.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=132&Itemid=113

In 2002, Lloyds of London and the entire insurance industry excluded health effects from electromagnetic radiation from all liability policies for the wireless industry. This was in response to the work that Dr. George Carlo did with the Wireless Telecommunications Research program from 1993 to 1999 (300 scientists, 28.5 million dollars). Interestingly, the insurance industry has known about and responded to emerging health threats in exactly this manner. They did exactly the same thing for the tobacco industry while tobacco execs continued to say there were no health effects from smoking.

We do not need any more short term epidemiological studies. A two or three year study will not answer the question of what may or will happen after ten or fifteen years - the time it takes for cancerous tumours to present. We now know with certainty, that radiation from Wi-Fi, cellular and cordless home phones cause leakage in the blood brain barrier, breakage of DNA, interruption of intra-cellular communication, and changes in cognitive function (the Stewart Report, 2000). This is not a "maybe, we need more data" situation. If you don't believe me, please look at the truly "independent" double blind, peer reviewed research (in other words, not funded by the wireless industry).

We MUST apply the precautionary principle because there is so much evidence (not doubt, evidence). In my opinion, anything less is absolutely reckless.

Respectfully,

Carl Katz

----------------------------------------------------

Cancer Causes Control.

2009 Feb 18. [Epub ahead of print]

Maternal occupational exposure to extremely low frequency magnetic fields and the risk of brain cancer in the offspring.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19224378

Li P, McLaughlin J, Infante-Rivard C.

Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, 1110 Pine Avenue West, Montreal, QC, H3A 1A3, Canada.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the contribution of maternal occupational exposure to extremely low frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MF) shortly before and during pregnancy on the incidence of childhood brain tumors.

METHODS: A total of 548 incident cases and 760 healthy controls recruited between 1980 and 2002 from two Canadian provinces (Qu?bec and Ontario) were included in this study, and their mothers were interviewed. Quantitative occupational ELF-MF exposure in microTesla units was estimated using individual exposure estimations or a job exposure matrix. We used three metrics to analyze exposure: cumulative, average, and maximum level attained.

RESULTS: Using the average exposure metric measured before conception, an increased risk was observed for astroglial tumors (OR = 1.5, 95% CI = 1.0-2.4). During the entire pregnancy period, a significantly increased risk was observed for astroglial tumors as well as for all childhood brain tumors with the average metric (OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.1-2.5 and OR = 1.5, 95% CI = 1.1-2.2, respectively).

Based on job titles, a twofold risk increase was observed for astroglial tumors (OR = 2.3, 95% CI = 0.8-6.3) and for all childhood brain tumors (OR = 2.3, 95% CI = 1.0-5.4) among sewing machine operators.

CONCLUSIONS: Results are suggestive of a possible association between maternal occupational ELF-MF exposure and certain brain tumors in their offspring.

PMID: 19224378 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

As the crow flies: birds flee Tehran's polluted air / Mobile Phone Antennas on Water Towers

Hi All

It is strange, that in the past birds have been able to adapt and live in very polluted conditions in cities around the world.  Now there is electro magnetic radiation polluting cities, even the birds cannot live.  Reports such as this (below) have appeared in many different cities and different countries. 

Martin Weatherall

www.weepinitiative.org

---------------------------------------------------

As the crow flies: birds flee Tehran's polluted air

Exodus of the resilient black crow follows flight of other wildlife from Iranian capital

Robert Tait

guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 13 January 2009 14.36 GMT

Article history

Tehran's notoriously bad air pollution has long been a health hazard for its 12 million people, but now the toxic mix of fumes has sent a different set of residents fleeing – the city's black crows.

Environmentalists say the hitherto pollution-resistant population of crows have fled in large numbers in recent days after air quality reached crisis levels. Unregulated urban development has also destroyed the birds' habitats.

The crow exodus occurred less than three weeks after high levels of carbon monoxide and other gases in the air drove off other species of bird, including nightingales and pigeons.

Experts fear the departure of the crow – long decried in Iranian culture as a symbol of bad news and gossip – could be the death knell for wildlife in Tehran, where many plants have already lost their smell and colour as a result of the polluted atmosphere.

Mohammad Bagher Sadough, the head of the city's environment agency, said the crow exodus was a sign of a disturbed ecosystem. Eventually the remaining bird species will also leave, turning the city into an urban desert of high-rise buildings and traffic jams.

"Pollution is not the only element in the flight of crows and others birds, but it is among the most important," he told the Mehr news agency. "Habitats have been destroyed and the perpetuation of bird life has become impossible.

"The continued existence of crows, particularly with the departure of other birds, had given us hope that wildlife could survive in the city. With their migration that hope is fading and our concern over the destructiveness of urban environments has deepened."

Dr Jamshid Mansouri, an Iranian biodiversity expert, said the birds would be forced to seek new habitats in rural environments, where they were threatened by predators and possible extinction.

"If the process continues, eventually no birds will be able to live in Tehran," Mansouri added.

The polluted air is traditionally at its worst in winter, when a thick curtain of smog hangs over the city for days on end – frequently forcing residents to wear protective face masks. On occasions the poor air quality has prompted the authorities to close schools and urge people with respiratory ailments to stay indoors.

The city council estimates that 80% of the toxic gases are caused by cars, with large numbers of motorbikes compounding the problem. A new report by Tehran's Controlling Air Quality Company estimates that cars in the city emit 4,400 tonnes of pollutants each day.

----------------------------------------------

Hello All,

I am forwarding an email that I have just sent to Thames Water. I will let you know if I get a reply.

Best wishes

Andrew

P.S. "Electromagnetic Fields and Health: Executive Report - 2009" is now on the Mast Sanity Website at http://www.mastsanity.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=262&Itemid=136 - The tinyurl is http://tinyurl.com/89ztqe It seems to be quite popular.
--- On Mon, 19/1/09, ANDREW GOLDSWORTHY <andrew.goldsworthy1@btinternet.com> wrote:

From: ANDREW GOLDSWORTHY <andrew.goldsworthy1@btinternet.com>
Subject: Mobile Phone Antennas on Water Towers
To: cr_feedback@thameswater.co.uk
Date: Monday, 19 January, 2009, 9:01 AM

Dear Sirs,

You are doubtless aware that there are many water conditioners on the market that are designed to remove lime scale from plumbing and also to prevent new scale forming. They nearly all work by applying a weak pulsed electromagnetic field to the water as it passes through the supply pipe. This affects the balance of ions bound to colloidal impurities to make them more attractive to calcium ions. The affected colloidal particles can then slowly remove lime scale from plumbing as well as forming efficient crystal nuclei that results in any new scale forming on them (and remaining in suspension) rather than on surfaces.

The point I want to make is that the pulsed radiation from mobile phone antennas mounted on water towers could have a similar effect on the water stored inside so that the entire water supply from the tank could be conditioned (N.B. the conditioning effect can last for several days). At first sight, this might seem a good thing, but conditioned water can have biological effects (see attached paper) and could be mildly toxic in its own right.

However, perhaps more serious is that if it were to remove the protective lime scale from lead plumbing, the water would become contaminated with lead,and the customers concerned would suffer lead poisoning. Perhaps you should investigate this as a matter of urgency and, if my fears are justified, ask the mobile phone operators concerned to remove their antennas from your water towers.

Yours sincerely

Andrew Goldsworthy BSc PhD

Honorary Lecturer

Imperial College London

Fast-track wind turbine projects / Green law? / Uproar over a cluster of cancer cases / Workshop on EMF and Health / SFR mobile phone mast ordered demolished.

Hi All

In this first story you will see that Ontario is going to 'fast track' green power projects throughout Ontario.  This is too bad because Ontario already has an outdated and dangerous electrical distribution system.  The system is able to take out electricity on the electrical wires but large percentages of 'neutral' electricity has to flow back to substations through houses, through barns, across the country and through private properties.  This electrical pollution is already harming people, animals and the environment and new developments are likely to make the situation much worse.  Stray voltage is a well known pollution problem that the Ontario Energy Board was ordered to correct.

Ontario and in particular Hydro One, need to mend their faulty system first, before considering expansion and new energy projects.

Martin Weatherall

www.weepinitiative.org

Province to fast-track wind turbine projects

Feb 21, 2009 04:30 AM

http://www.thestar.com/News/Ontario/article/591043

Tyler Hamilton
Energy Reporter

Municipalities will lose the power to decide how close wind turbines can be to residential properties and environmentally sensitive areas under proposed green-energy legislation being tabled Monday.

The new rules, a blow to NIMBYism, will also ensure that developers of wind and other renewable-energy projects get construction permits within six months.

It's all part of Premier Dalton McGuinty's plan to streamline approvals for such projects, create certainty for developers and attract more investments that will create green-collar jobs in the province – more than 50,000 jobs over three years, McGuinty has touted.

Energy and Infrastructure Minister George Smitherman, speaking yesterday at the Toronto Board of Trade, said the patchwork of municipal guidelines that has evolved over the years has created a cumbersome process for energy developers. He compared it to the patchwork of municipal rules regarding public smoking before the province created an Ontario-wide standard.

Similarly, the proposed Green Energy Act will create a provincial standard for wind turbine sites and a "one-window, one-permit" approach to approvals.

"I see municipalities grappling, struggling, with how to balance the desire of local wind proponents against the desire of some local residents," Smitherman said in an interview. "A patchwork quilt is not the best way forward."

The setback distance for turbines – that is, how far they must be from a home or environmentally sensitive area – will be determined through consultation with the public and the environment ministry. Possible distances will be discussed next week, Smitherman said.

Other items expected to be in the proposed legislation:

The province's Standard Offer Program, which sets standard pricing for electricity from small renewable energy projects, has been scrapped. It will be replaced by a more ambitious program that accommodates wind, biomass, hydroelectric and solar projects.

Homeowners will soon have access to direct grants and low-interest loans to help pay for technology and appliances that make their homes more energy efficient.

New policies will support co-operatives of farmers, homeowners and businesses that want to invest in renewable-energy projects.

The province will also stimulate development of offshore wind farms on the Ontario side of the Great Lakes with the aim of pursuing power-purchase contracts with developers. Toronto Hydro and Trillium Power are two companies planning such projects. "There are wonderful opportunities for offshore wind ... there are lots and lots of exciting proposals," Smitherman said. "We're making sure we'll move those proposals along."

Beth Harrington, a spokesperson for Wind Concerns Ontario – a coalition of 29 community groups concerned about potential noise and health effects from wind developments – said the idea of a province-wide standard for turbine standards makes sense. "What we'd like to know is how will the government determine those universal minimum setbacks? What research will it be based on? Are they actually going to listen to the testimony of people living near wind turbines in Ontario?" she said.

Harrington wouldn't say what a reasonable setback distance might be, though the coalition's website suggests a minimum of two kilometres. "The ball is in the government's court," she said.

Richard King, an energy lawyer with Ogilvy Renault, which has represented wind-farm developers in Ontario, attended Smitherman's speech. He said the government is heading in the right direction by uploading responsibilities from municipalities to the province.

"The municipal stuff is frustrating, because there are a lot of procedural rights attached to it that can go on and on even for the smallest aspects of a project," he said.

 

-------------------------------------------------

Green law to restrict location of wind turbines, minister says

Feb 20, 2009 04:30 AM

Rob Ferguson
Queen's Park Bureau

http://www.thestar.com:80/News/Canada/article/590474

There's virtually no health danger posed by wind turbines, although Ontario's new "green energy" law would set province-wide guidelines on how close they can be to populated areas, says Energy Minister George Smitherman.

The law, to be introduced in the Legislature Monday, is aimed at bringing more renewable energy projects onto the grid as well as pushing conservation, including incentives to retrofit buildings to reduce electricity consumption, he told reporters.

Smitherman again took aim at opponents of a proposed Toronto Hydro project to put a string of wind turbines in Lake Ontario two to four kilometres off the Scarborough Bluffs, saying they are far enough away from homes not to be "impactful."

"People are raising questions," he said in a nod to area residents concerned about the impact turbines could have on human health, migratory birds and other natural concerns.

"We have done a lot of work looking at the evidence ... we're always reviewing the literature," Smitherman added, suggesting polluted air from coal-fired electricity plants poses health dangers that outweigh concerns about wind turbines.

Bluffs resident Roger Bywater said he's not convinced the scientific literature on "wind turbine syndrome" is as clear as Smitherman portrays, because of concerns low-frequency sound can aggravate people sensitive to migraines, for example. Bywater previously accused the government of losing its ability to discuss the turbine plan in a "fair and rational" manner.

New Democrat energy critic Peter Tabuns (Toronto-Danforth) suggested the government's recent habit of releasing hints about the green law is designed to distract Ontarians from the fact the government is planning to build a new nuclear plant at the Darlington site.

Answer To Noisy

Several factors are involved with wind turbine noise. Indeed I've stood underneath of one and heard very little noise, but as I stood out in front and off to the side of one(about 300m),it sounded like a jet engine. At night wind dies down at the lower level (below 10m), but the wind above continues to blow getting a wind shear effect intensifying the noise at some people's homes. Watch these videos to hear the testimony of someone suffering the ill-effects of the noise:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-sRfgwPgAQ&feature=related 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHE9FKOJuDo 

Submitted by Grant Church at 10:39 AM Monday, February 23 2009

Uproar over a cluster of cancer cases

The University of California, San Diego (UCSD), campus is in an uproar over a cluster of cancer cases among those working in the university's Literature Building.

Eight women who worked there developed breast cancer between 2000 and 2006, which is significantly more than would have been expected by chance, according to an analysis by Cedric Garland, a UCSD epidemiologist.

Now UCSD has turned to Leeka Kheifets for help.

Kheifets has spent most of her professional career
either directly or indirectly working for the Electric
Power Research Institute (EPRI), an arm of the electric utility industry.

Read the whole story at:

http://www.microwavenews.com

Best,
Louis Slesin
[Please note that our home page is expandable. The story is easier to read when you make the window larger.]

___________________________________
Louis Slesin, PhD
Editor, Microwave News
A Report on Non-Ionizing Radiation
Phone: +1 (212) 517-2800; Fax: +1 (212) 734-0316
E-mail: <mwn@pobox.com>
Internet: <http://www.microwavenews.com>
Mail: 155 East 77th Street, Suite 3D
New York, NY 10075, U.S.A.

------------------------------------------------

Workshop on EMF and Health: Science and Policy « EMF Journal

By Moderator

February 23, 2009 - Posted by Moderator | EMF, EMR, Health, awareness, cell phone, cell tower, electricity, family, mast, microwave, mobile, protect, tower | action, cancer, cell phone, children, EMF, Facts, hazards, Health, mast, ...

EMF Journal - http://emfjournal.wordpress.com/

 

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- France : Nouveau Jugement contre un pylône d'antennes relais de SFR en Provence Alpes Côtes d'Azur (PACA), dans la région de la création du premier écovillage européen Zone Blanche Zone Santé !!

Le tribunal ordonne la destruction et admet dans le jugement un « risque sanitaire éventuel ».

Edition spéciale en préparation, une équipe d'EHS TV News est sur place pour un reportage.

- Vaucluse Matin la Une : "Le juge ordonne la destruction"

- France: a new Judgement against an SFR mobile phone mast in the region of Provence Alpes Côtes d'Azur (PACA - southeast France), the area where the first European White Zone Health Zone eco-village is sited.

The court has ordered that it be demolished and acknowledges in its judgement "a potential health risk".

Special Edition in preparation, a team from EHS TV News is on the spot to report the full story.

- Vaucluse Matin Front Page :

"Judje orders demolition"

Drivers on cell phones kill thousands / Cell phone fatal wreck / Teen crash death / Crash claims 9-year-old boy / Deadly mix / O2 plans prompt health concerns

Some results of cell phone use and electro magnetic radiation exposure are easy to see -

Martin Weatherall

www.weepinitiative.org

 

-----------------------------------------------

Drivers on cell phones kill thousands

By Gareth Powell
February 22, 2009

http://mobile.blorge.com/2009/02/22/drivers-on-cell-phones-kill-thousands/

Cell phone distraction cause at the minimum 2,600 deaths and 330,000 injuries in the United States every year, according to the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

'If you put a 20-year-old driver behind the wheel with a cell phone, their reaction times are the same as a 70-year-old driver who is not using a cell phone,' said University of Utah psychology professor David Strayer. 'It's like instantly aging a large number of drivers.'

Drivers talking on cell phones were 18 percent slower to react to brake lights, the new study found. In a minor bright note, they also kept a 12 percent greater following distance. But they also took 17 percent longer to regain the speed they lost when they braked. 'That frustrates everyone.'

"Once drivers on cell phones hit the brakes, it takes them longer to get back into the normal flow of traffic," David Strayer said. "The net result is they are impeding the overall flow of traffic."

The scientists also found previously that chatty motorists are less adept than drunken drivers with blood alcohol levels exceeding 0.08.

Separate research last year at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign supported the conclusion that hands-free cell phone use causes driver distraction.

The latest study used high-tech simulators. It included people aged 18 to 25 and another group aged 65 to 74. The simulations uncovered a twofold increase in the number of rear-end collisions by drivers using cell phones.

Telephone numbers presented by automated voice systems compete for drivers' attention to a far greater extent than when the driver sees the same information presented on a display.

Interruptions to driving, such as answering a call, are likely to be more dangerous if they occur during maneuvers like merging to exit a freeway.

Things could get worse. Wireless Internet, speech recognition systems and e-mail could all be even more distracting.

Several readers wrote to LiveScience questioning whether cell phones were really so bad for drivers.

Here is some additional information that helps illuminate the death statistic.

The estimates of annual deaths reported may well be very low.

The number, for U.S. deaths related to drivers using cell phones, comes from a 2002 study by the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis (HCRA). Researchers then estimated that the use of cell phones by drivers caused approximately 2,600 deaths.

Because data on cell phone use by motorists are limited, the range of uncertainty is wide, those researchers said. The estimate of fatalities in that HCRA report ranged between 800 and 8,000.

Importantly, the researchers noted (in 2002) that increasing cell phone use could be expected to cause the annual death estimate to rise. The 2002 estimate, for example, was up from an estimate of 1,000 deaths in the year 2000. Logic suggests the number — though just an estimate — could be much higher in 2008.

In 2001 in California, for example, 'at least 4,699 reported accidents were blamed on drivers using cell phones, and those crashes killed 31 people and injured 2,786,' according to an analysis by The Los Angeles Times.

That number can expected to be low, because of the lack of formal procedures for noting cell phone use as a cause of a traffic accident.

The Times also noted a 1997 study of Canadian drivers 'who agreed to have their cell phone records scrutinized found that the risk of an accident was four times greater while a driver was using the phone.'

 

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DPS official confirms cell phone use contributed to fatal wreck on I-35 south of Hewitt

By Regina Dennis | Monday, January 26, 2009, 02:08 PM

http://www.wacotrib.com:80/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/communities/breakingnews/entries/2009/01/26/dps_official_confirms_cell_pho.html

A 49-year-old Waco woman who died in an accident Sunday afternoon on Interstate 35 South had been using her cell phone when the incident occurred.

Gabriele Zarecor was driving a 2001 Ford pickup on the inside lane of the interstate near the Hewitt-Moody exit and lost control of her vehicle at 12:24 p.m., according to officials with the Texas Department of Public Safety. Zarecor's truck veered right and struck a concrete barrier, ejecting her from the vehicle, officials said.

State Trooper Chad Buenger, who responded to the scene, said witnesses stated that Zarecor appeared to be text messaging on her cell phone during the accident.

The pickup was the only vehicle involved in the accident and there were no other injuries. Zarecor was not wearing her seat belt, officials said.

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Last updated: February 11, 2009 9:34 a.m.

Teen crash death spurs campaign

Parkview's 'Don't Text & Drive' initiative touches Homestead

Jeff Wiehe

The Journal Gazette

http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090211/LOCAL/302119995/1044/LOCAL08

They gather around the jersey before every game, their arms slung around their shoulders while a No. 10 lies on the floor before them.

It's become part of the ritual for the Homestead High School boys basketball team this year. So has keeping the jersey on the bench, a place where it can be left undisturbed and seen through four quarters by everyone on the floor and in the stands.

"We want to save a spot for him," senior player Chris Ray said. "We dedicated the season to him."

When they huddle around that jersey, the one worn by former teammate Rodney O. Thompson, it's really their former teammate they're rallying around. And when that jersey sits on the bench, it's the classmate who died in a car accident when he tried to text and drive at the same time that the crowd is remembering.

And during a year when many Homestead students have had to deal with harsh lessons of loss while on the cusp of adulthood, Ray said the crowds at games sound louder, the team is playing better and everyone seems together.

Tuesday, Ray and his teammates and more than 100 other area high school students were at Glenbrook Square to see Parkview Hospital unveil a "Don't Text & Drive" campaign that was a result of Thompson's crash.

Thompson, 18, was killed when he wrapped his car around a utility pole on Dicke Road in October.

A 15-year-old girl riding with Thompson said he was using his cell phone to text when he lost control of the car and swerved into the way of an SUV before going off the road, according to Allen County Coroner Dr. E. Jon Brandenberger.

"It's doesn't take a scientist to know this is dangerous," Brandenberger said about texting and driving. He said texting impairs drivers seriously enough to make it appear as if they're drunk.

Brandenberger cited statistics from a few years ago that showed 5,000 teenagers dying nationwide in car crashes annually and 400,000 more receiving serious injuries. The most common causes for teen crashes, he said, are distractions.

"Don't Text & Drive" signs have already appeared at Memorial Coliseum and on the doors of Glenbrook Square. Billboards and more signs are set to follow.

Lisa Hollister, a nurse and head of Parkview's trauma services, said it's not a message just for teens. Adults are texting and driving as well, she said.

In fact, Hollister said, they probably aren't as good at it, since for many, it's a less familiar technology and causes even greater distraction.

Thompson's mother, Diveeta Thompson, conceded she had done the same as her son when she worked in sales. Now, she says, she sometimes has trouble buying the foods at the grocery store her son used to eat.

She pleaded with the teens on hand Tuesday to be careful, to not waste five seconds on something meaningless that could turn into a nightmare.

It's a message not lost on Homestead students, who still grieve a classmate who by all accounts transcended the stereotypical high school cliques that so often form.

No matter what circle you traveled in – from the jocks to the preppies to the geeks – you probably had good dealings with Thompson, according to his classmates.

"I never thought this would happen to somebody I was so close to," said Derek Kinzer, his friend and classmate. "We always got together after school, and he was so hilarious. He kept everybody relaxed and having fun."

Kinzer found out about Thompson's death while at a baseball tournament in Evansville.

He received "tons" of texts from friends, some that simply said, "Rodney's dead."

With no one there to share his feelings, he had his father drive him home immediately.

The Monday after the crash, a change came over the 2,000-plus-student school, some said.

"It allowed a lot of togetherness at school. Everybody got a lot closer," Kinzer said.

Still, the next week of classes were hard for Kinzer, a budding artist. He found himself drawing with Thompson on his mind constantly. During a composition class, he sketched out a basketball backboard with angel wings, a halo and Thompson's initials.

A friend saw it, and shortly thereafter it became the back of a T-shirt. With the school helping keep the costs down, students snapped up the shirts for about $5 apiece, Kinzer said.

They wore them to basketball games, and the student section was re-christened "Rod's Sillies" in homage to their classmate.

"Last year, they were pretty lackluster," Ray said of the fans. "This year, they've made a commitment to cheer us and honor Rodney."

The team has responded with a 10-5 record going into Thursday's game against conference opponent Norwell. If all goes right, they might be playing for a Northeast Hoosier Conference championship Saturday against Carroll.

Ray called the team "leaps and bounds" better, partly because that crowd is there to help them raise the team's game when it needs to.

Partly, though, it's because a school that had lost its footing found it again in one another.

"It is a huge school, but after the wreck, you could feel a different vibe," Ray said. "We just want to stick together and remember him."

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Crash near Branson claims 9-year-old boy

http://www.chieftain.com/articles/2009/02/16/news/region/doc4998ff919cdb3007950630.txt

The state patrol says the driver was distracted by a cell phone.

By ANTHONY A. MESTAS
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

BRANSON - The state patrol says a driver reaching for a cell phone and driving at excessive speed allegedly caused an accident that led to the death of his 9-year-old son Sunday in a single-vehicle crash north of town.

The name of the victim was not released Sunday. The Colorado State Patrol identified the driver as Michael Richardson, 40, of Branson in Las Animas County.

According to the patrol, the crash occurred at about 7:45 a.m. on Colorado 389 about 6 miles north of Branson.

Richardson's 1999 Chevrolet Suburban was northbound on Colorado 389 when he became distracted while reaching for his phone. The vehicle ran off the right side of the road and struck a delineator post before steering back onto the roadway.

The vehicle continued out of control and ran off the left side of the road where it rolled, then came to rest off the road on its wheels. According to the patrol, the vehicle also was occupied by two more of the driver's sons, an 8-year-old and a 14-year-old.

CPR efforts performed on the 9-year-old at the scene were unsuccessful. He died at the scene, the state patrol reported.

The other children sustained serious injuries including a broken ankle and femur, and were taken to a nearby hospital.

The patrol reported that all occupants appeared to be wearing their seat belts except the 9-year-old.

Pending further investigation, involvement of alcohol and drugs are not suspected.

 

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Editorials : Cell phones, driving can be a deadly mix

http://readingeagle.com/blog.aspx?bid=4&id=19303&t=Cell-phones-driving-can-be-a-deadly-mix

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Cell phones, driving can be a deadly mix

The Issue: Officials at the National Safety Council, citing more than 50 studies, call for a prohibition on using a cell phone while driving.

Our Opinion: There is no doubt about it, when a driver is talking on the phone, his mind is not on driving, increasing the chance of an accident.

By now the debate should have ended. There is overwhelming evidence — empirical and anecdotal — that cell phones present a clear distraction to drivers and increase the likelihood they will be involved in an accident.

Yet the vast majority of states — Pennsylvania among them — have no laws restricting the use of such devices when behind the wheel.

Officials from the National Safety Council want to change that, and it is about time.

Janet Froetscher, president and chief executive officer of the council, pointed to a study by the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis that estimated 6 percent of vehicle crashes causing about 2,600 deaths a year can be linked to one or more of the drivers involved using a cell phone.

The Harvard study was one of more than 50 that reached similar conclusions. Despite that, some people insist that talking on a cell phone while driving is perfectly safe.

John Walls, vice president of CTIA-The Wireless Association, a trade group for the cell phone industry, went so far as to say there are many instances where the ability to make a phone call while driving helps protect safety.

The folks on "Mythbusters," the Discovery Channel show that puts urban myths to the test in an entertaining and convincing way, would disagree.

Members of the cast got better results while driving a test course with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent than they did while driving sober and talking on a cell phone.

And it doesn't seem to matter whether drivers are using a hand-held cell phone or a hand-free phone.

"It's not just what you're doing with your hands," Froetscher said. "It's that your head is in the conversation and so your eyes are not on the road."

In a study done at the Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, a team of neuroscientists determined that simply listening to a cell phone can cause a driver to make the same kind of errors he would make if he were drunk.

The study found that brain activity associated with driving was reduced by 37 percent during cell phone conversations, according to Dr. Marcel Just, the leader of the team.

"Drivers need to keep not only their hands on the wheel; they also have to keep their brains on the road," Just said.

Using a driving simulator and a magnetic resonance imaging scanner, the scientists tested 29 volunteers as they drove along a winding road, first undisturbed and then while listening to statements over a cell phone. As the volunteers concentrated on the statements, the number of times they wandered into the opposing lane, drifted onto the shoulder or hit a guardrail increased dramatically. The volunteers fared only marginally better with hands-free cell phones.

Last year a pair of bills were introduced in the Pennsylvania Legislature that would have restricted the use of cell phones while driving. They died without consideration.

But this is a problem that shouldn't be ignored. In 2006, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation reported 1,241 crashes involving drivers using cell phones. The practice should be prohibited.

And then there are those people who try to send text messages while driving. What are they doing, using their elbows to control the steering wheel? Anyone who tries to do that should be charged with a felony: criminal stupidity.

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O2 plans prompt health concerns

http://www.southshropshirejournals.com/2009/02/20/o2-plans-prompt-health-concerns/

Residents are dismayed by news that mobile phone company 02 plans to put more antennae masts on top of Ludlow's former telephone exchange.

The Bishop Mascall Centre is across the road from the Ludlow automatic telephone exchange (ATE) and its director Moira Gibbs said she was deeply concerned by the proposal.

"The problem is that it cannot be proved there is no danger to health," she said. "There have been reports of cancer clusters near these masts. This is an area with a high population density and many children."

A letter to Moira from Derby planning consultants Ian Hewitt Associates, acting for 02 UK Ltd, says the location has been chosen because it is "a long established telecommunication facility serving Ludlow".

The letter, which has not gone to local residents, adds that comments on the proposal are invited so that views can be taken into account before a planning application to South Shropshire District Council.

Alastair Hoddart, of nearby Springfield Close, said he had read the letter and wished to bring its contents to the attention of his neighbours.

"We are on a line with the roof of the building and the signals coming from this mast," he said.

"There is a school nearby and young people at the Bishop Mascall. We are concerned for the children's health. I just can't understand why they don't put these masts in the countryside – it's not a visual problem.

"I shall now be taking this letter to all my neighbours," he added.

02 community relations manager Angela Johnson said: "This proposal is an upgrade to ensure the residents of Ludlow have good mobile communications both now and in the future.

"Mobile phone masts are very low powered radio transmitters and, as such, have to be close to where people want to use their phones.

"The World Health Organisation and the Health Protection Agency say there is no health risk as all the masts have to comply with the international safety standard.

"I am more than happy to meet with local residents if the local councillors would like to get in touch with me."

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