Sprint v. County of San Diego / Cell Phone Radiation Law / Pediatric Cancer / phone masts / judicial review / Doctors who should know better / phone tower

W.E.E.P. News

Wireless Electrical and Electromagnetic Pollution News

22 September 2010

Sprint v. County of San Diego

Here is a major court decision in California, which would apply across the US?  It returns to the municipalities the right to some determination about where towers and transmitters would be sited. Of course, the company must still be allowed to operate in an area, but the decision means that a restriction on siting near schools and hospitals, for example, could be enforced.

Because Canada so often follows the US I am hoping that some municipality will force the issue here.

http://cellularpcs.com/2008/10/05/thinking-about-sprint-v-county-of-san-diego/

Regards,

Sharon

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Burlingame Bill Echoes SF Cell Phone Radiation Law

By Katharine Mieszkowski |September 20, 2010

http://www.baycitizen.org/blogs/pulse-of-the-bay/burlingame-may-follow-sf-cell-phone/

Monday night at 7 p.m. at Burlingame City Hall, City Council members will consider the question of how much cell phone users have the right to know about the radiation leaking into their heads.

In June, San Francisco made national news by enacting legislation requiring retailers to prominently post the radiation levels emitted by cell phones. Tonight, the Burlingame City Council will hold an informational meeting to hear about a similar ordinance in development by City Councilman Michael Brownrigg.

Among those speaking will be a rep from the Cellular Telephone Industry Association and a researcher from the Environmental Health Trust, who is the author of a paper entitled "Cellphones and Brain Tumors."

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Pediatric Cancer:Curing the Beast

20/09/2010 15:42:00 Laura Lamp King

http://www.foodconsumer.org/newsite/2/Cancer/pediatric_cacner_curing_the_beast_092020101044.html

Do you know how many types of Childhood Cancers there are?

Do you know their names?

    * Brain Tumors
    * Endocrine Tumors
    * Ewing's Sarcoma
    * Germ Cell Tumors
    * Hematology Disorders
    * Leukemia
    * Lymphoma
    * Medulloblastoma
    * Melanoma
    * Neuroblastoma
    * Neurofibromatosis
    * Osteosarcoma
    * Retinoblastoma
    * Rhabdomyosarcoma
    * Wilms' Tumor

Do you know how many children will die in 2010?  Do you know their names?  Some of you do. 

"Our dear precious Sam has won the prize. He is celebrating in Heaven with Jesus and other family members that have passed on before him. We had told Sam all week this past week that we would be with him soon....in just the blink of an eye. How I cannot wait for that day! Everything feels so different. We knew this was coming 4 weeks ago when Sam was sent home in hospice care. Even knowing in our hearts that this would happen never prepares you for when it actually happens. Mike and I were holding Sam and he died in our arms and went straight to the arms of Jesus. He put up such a fight and never stopped fighting until the very end," Sam's Mom.

What would you do if you had taken your child to the doctor for flu-like symptoms and found it was so much more than the flu?

Peyton's parents remember, "Our entire world stopped.  We awoke to a phone call from our doctor saying we needed to pack a bag and take our daughter up to All Children's Hospital immediately. Once in the doctor's office at ACH, we were told that yes, she did have Leukemia. They gave her some local anesthesia and we sang some songs while I had to hold her down so they could do a bone marrow and spinal test. She was a trooper throughout, but we found out later that the Leukemia had invaded her body so much that the doctor was unable to get enough bone marrow to test."

After immediate admission to the hospital, Peyton got an IV and morphine was administered every 15 minutes.  Peyton's dad said, "It may seem odd, but I had heard so much about morphine, I was actually leery of it. But it helped out with her pain, and made her silly. She got 2 blood transfusions. Her white blood cell count was high, but her red blood cell and platelet counts were low. Thanks to the morphine, she slept."

The Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation (PCRF) is a non-profit organization founded in 1982 to improve the care, quality of life and survival rate of children with malignant diseases.

Since its inception, PCRF has raised over $22 million to fund cuttingedge research that leads to medically sound treatment protocol for childhood cancers.  Much progress has been made.  For instance, childhood leukemia, once almost certainly fatal, now has a 70% survival rate.  But the battle is far from over - cancer continues to afflict more children under the age of 18 each year than any other disease.

Due to the dedication of volunteers supporting PCRF, 80% of every dollar raised goes directly to research.  PCRF is privately supported through donations from individuals, charitable foundations and businesses that recognize the urgent need to improve treatment and cure childhood cancers.  The foundation raises funds through gifts from individuals, special giving programs, events, corporate sponshoships, grants and the sale of holiday cards drawn by children fighting cancer.

According to the PCRF website, they currently are funding grants for research in the areas of stem cell transplantation, stem cell biology, molecular oncology, and molecular and cellular genetics.  PCRF supported over $1.2 million in research work in 2009.

There are some optimistic moments in the research and treatment of childhood cancers every time a child survives.

"At age 2, Sierra was diagnosed with PNET (primitive neuro ectodermal tumor).  She received high dose chemotherapy and stem cell rescue in May 1996.  A very healthy Sierra now loves any sport, especially Little League, and physical education is her favorite subject in school!  Sierra's mother notes that "Sierra is tough!  She has recently become very open about her cancer and she shared about her brain tumor and scar at her Share Day at school."

"Eleven years ago, 4 year old Jack was diagnosed with acute lymhoblastic leukemia and immediately began treatment with aggressive chemotherapy for three years.  Jack's mom had been volunteering at PCRF prior to his diagnosis.  Today Jack is a healthy and active freshman in high school, enjoying a life of soccer, football, fishing, surfing, boogie boarding and loves playing electric and acoustic guitar."  Now living like a typical teenager, his life as a young child was anything but.

There are thousands of stories about childhood cancers; there will be about 12,000 stories of cancer diagnosis this year.  There will be about 4,000 stories of pediatric cancer related deaths; 11 stories a day.

September has been set aside as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month spotlighting the types of cancer that largely affect children, survivorship issues, and - importantly - to help raise funds for research groups working towards a cure. 

The voices of the children cry out for a cure!  The parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends of those children carrying the burden of fighting these terrible childhood cancers also cry out for a cure.

Pediatric Cancer needs to be brought out into the daylight where it can receive the attention it deserves as the ugly beast stealing our children before they have the chance to explore life.   Research is essential in the discovery of Pediatric Cancer treatments, essential in saving the lives of these children.

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Why are they not looking more closely for the cause of cancer?  Why do they not investigate the home environment?

Are there chemicals that the children are exposed to?  Are the children exposed to electro magnetic fields and radiation?

Martin

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Call for restrictions on mobile phone masts

http://oceanfm.ie/news/2010/09/21/call-for-restrictions-on-mobile-phone-masts/

There has been a call for Sligo Borough Council to impose certain restrictions on the erecting of mobile phone masts.

It comes as planning permission has been sought for a Vodafone mast on the Bundoran Road.

At last nights meeting of the Council members raised concerns over the fact the proposed site was in a residential area.

Although further information was sought on this particular project, there was a call for a similar situation to be implemented in the Borough as is currently in the Council- namely permitting masts only to be built in industrial estates.

Sinn Fein Councillor Arthur Gibbons called for a blanket ban on the structures until further information is made available on any possible dangers associated with them

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Leitrim Council to seek judicial review on planning issue

http://oceanfm.ie/news/2010/09/21/leitrim-council-to-seek-judicial-review-on-planning-issue/

Leitrim County Council will seek leave for judicial review on planning decisions on two mobile phone masts overturned by An Bord Planala.

It's claimed the structures in question will be in close proximity to residential areas and  in breach of the County Development plan.

It comes as similar concerns have been raised in Sligo where Councillors last night called for certain restrictions to be placed on the granting of permission for such structures.

Members urged the executive to refuse permission for a Vodafone mast on the Bundoran road close to a housing estate.

Siin Fein Councillor in Leitrim, Martin Kenny said they are taking the issue to the courts as An Bord Planala has ignored the County Development Plan.

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Doctors who should know better

Or - how to harm the patients

Boone Hospital looks to fix poor cell signals
Columbia Daily Tribune

If funded, the proposed "cellular repeater solution" would rebroadcast cell phone traffic received by the roof antenna throughout the building. ...

http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2010/sep/21/boone-hospital-looks-to-fix-poor-cell-signals/

Robert

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Colonia residents ready to fight cell phone tower

myCentralJersy.com

The neighbors are looking to scuttle plans by cell-phone provider T-Mobile to erect a 120-foot antenna pole at the intersection of Jordan Road and Inman ...

http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20100920/NEWS/9200360/Colonia-residents-ready-to-fight-cell-phone-tower

Web site www.weepinitiative.org e-mail contactweep@weepinitiative.org

To sign up for WEEP News: newssignup@weepinitiative.org  (provide name and e-mail address)

W.E.E.P. – The Canadian initiative to stop Wireless Electrical and Electromagnetic Pollution

POTENTIALLY HARMFUL RADIO FREQUENCIES / Book launch of Devra Davis' new book / Best avoided / Spanish documentary / 'Super Why-Die'

W.E.E.P. News

Wireless Electrical and Electromagnetic Pollution News

21 September 2010

PICK OF THE WEEK #11: POTENTIALLY HARMFUL RADIO FREQUENCIES USED IN THE PACKAGING AND FOOD INDUSTRY.

September 19, 2010.  Few people realize that radio frequencies (RF) are currently used in the manufacturing industry to mold plastics for car parts, vinyl fabrics, and food packaging.  In fact this industry used the first incarnation of the "microwave" oven that we all enjoy today.

Our home microwave oven works on radio frequencies to heat food.  Similarly, radio frequencies, which are much more energy efficient than thermal energy production by fossil fuels, are used to mold and seal plastics.  These machines are called RF heaters.

Are these machines safe and who sets the safety standards?

After leaving the U.S. Navy, Dr. Zory Glaser worked for NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) and helped formulate our current guidelines with the Canadian government for radio frequency radiation.   He passed along a document that I would like to share with you that demonstrates the reasons for establishing the "thermal effect" guidelines.

Radio frequency (RF) heaters are known to leak radiation. Dr. Glaser was shocked to see that machine operators had taped large fluorescent light tubes to the outside of the machines to determine when they were operating.  What worried him was that there were no wires connected to the lights.  The leaking radiation was so intense it would light up the tube.  These observations resulted in a study by Canadian government officials to determine if these machines were safe to use.

To read more . . . visit . . . www.magdahavas.com

Notice for the book launch of Devra Davis' new book on cellphones

"Disconnect: The Truth about Cell Phone Radiation, What the Industry has done to Hide it and How to Protect your Family ".

www.devradavis.com

Monday, Nov. 22nd 2010 7pm,  at the Dala Lana School of Public Health of the University of Toronto,

155 College Street, Toronto, Ontario.

Auditorium - Room 610 (at McCaul, Queen's Park subway)

Upcoming media this week is as follows:

Short news piece with Wendy Mesley on CBC the National – 9/21

The Globe and Mail interview in Focus section – 9/25

Toronto Star interview in Living section – 9/25

CBC Radio Day Six with Brent Bambury – 9/25 (airs at 10:30 am ET)

Longer interview with Wendy Mesley on CBC The National weekend edition – 9/26

More media to come….

Best wishes to all

Dorothy

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Dirty' electricity best avoided

The (Stratford) Beacon Herald

An international group of scientists believes electromagnetic radiation (EMR) from dirty ... This electrical pollution can have a negative effect on health. ...

http://www.stratfordbeaconherald.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2765089

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Spanish documentary on the health effects of electromagnetic radiation in residential areas and schools, which was censured and never shown on the national TV due to industry's pressure:

http://www.pantanodelzujar.es/blog/contra-corriente-censurado-en-documentos-tv/

Fina Carpena-Méndez, PhD
Assistant Professor

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(A new danger to be aware of)

FCC heralds a new era of 'super Wi-Fi'

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TECH/innovation/09/14/fcc.super.wifi/

(CNN) -- It's more powerful than your current home network -- able to leap through tall buildings from a single port.

Look, up in the sky.

It's "SUPER Wi-Fi!"

At least that's what U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski is calling a new class of bigger-faster-better internet connections, which could jump from fiction to reality after a commission vote on September 23.

Genachowski says "super Wi-Fi," which he also refers to as "Wi-Fi on steroids," may spark a technological revolution in the U.S.

"The spectrum allows signals to travel further, to go through walls, to [transfer] more information -- so it's very robust," he said in an interview with CNN.com. "Super Wi-Fi has extraordinary potential. What's as exciting is we have a new platform for innovation and we can't anticipate what will happen next."

The souped-up system could result in wireless internet connections coming to rural areas, fewer "dead zones" in Wi-Fi networks and the ability to transfer large files easily between machines and computers in hospitals, the FCC says.

Cities might also be able to use the larger Wi-Fi networks to offer up public wireless internet hot spots and perform such tasks as remotely monitoring infrastructure and water quality.

The changes would come about if the FCC votes to open up some of the "white space" between TV channels for use by anyone.

That spectrum allows for fast file transfers over areas that are several times as large as traditional Wi-Fi networks, which are used in many homes to connect computers, printers and mobiles phones to the internet.

If freeing up "vacant airwaves" is approved, it would be the first time since 1985 that the FCC has made new chunks of the wireless spectrum available for unlicensed use.

"This is going to be the first release of unlicensed spectrum in over 25 years," Genachowski said. "The last time we did this it led to Wi-Fi. It led to a multibillion-dollar industry and extraordinary benefits that we experience every day.

"We believe that history can repeat itself, and unlicensed spectrum will catalyze private investment -- it will create a new platform for innovators and entrepreneurs to develop new and exciting products for the public."

In addition to Wi-Fi, the 1985 spectrum change paved the way for wireless remote controls on televisions, baby monitors, wireless microphones and other gadgets.

Not everyone has been excited about the FCC's super Wi-Fi proposal, however.

Some broadcast groups as well as those who use the wireless spectrum to power microphones have criticized the new Wi-Fi plans.

The National Association of Broadcasters, however, said in an e-mail to CNN that the group "is working constructively with the FCC in hopes that the agency adopts final 'white spaces' rules that preserve the ability of local and network broadcasters to deliver interference-free television."

Jeff Evans, deputy director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute's telecommunications lab, said it appears that most technical issues with the wireless spectrum have been worked out.

The freeing up of the spectrum, however, will require concessions from theater operators and churches that use wireless microphones. They likely will have to switch wireless frequencies, he said.

Still, Evans said, the move to super Wi-Fi would be a good one.

"It should allow you to penetrate through just about any building -- and multiple walls," he said. "And instead of transmitting, say, a half-mile outdoors, you should be able to go two or three miles."

A common complaint about current Wi-Fi is that it doesn't work in all parts of a building and that the signals are sometimes so weak that they drop frequently.

On a technical level, the difference between super Wi-Fi and current Wi-Fi signals is that they travel at different frequencies, Evans said.

Old Wi-Fi is a 2.4-GHz signal, which is a shorter wavelength than super Wi-Fi, which will operate at several longer wavelengths in the TV spectrum.

Those frequencies gives the new Wi-Fi its espoused superpowers, he said.

"The wavelength is much longer and it's not attenuated nearly as much -- it's not absorbed as much by the atmosphere when you're transmitting, and it's also not absorbed by the buildings as much," Evans said.

Five or so super-Wi-Fi hotspots might be able to provide internet service to a small downtown area, he said. But it may be two or more years before such applications are available to consumers. It will take time for gadget and antenna makers to adjust to the new standards, he said.

Genachowski, the FCC chairman, said super Wi-Fi may be rolled out more heavily in some areas than others.

In dense cities where many groups are already using wireless signals, for example, super Wi-Fi may not be as prominent as in rural areas.

Charles Golvin, an analyst at Forrester Research, said the FCC's plan could bring high-speed internet connections to new groups of people.

"It's taking an unused, or fallow, resource and making it available to help it address one of the significant challenges we as a society face," he said.

But, he added, the concept may not be economical. And, at least at first, it may not be helpful to people with mobile devices -- like smartphones and laptops -- who want to be able to get on the internet from anywhere.

"You're not going to have mobile phones and laptops that allow you to get in a taxi and go and be online as you're going to the airport and things like that," he said

The FCC is already testing the concept of super Wi-Fi in a few places.

The commission says the technology has been used to bring broadband internet to a school in rural Claudeville, Virginia, to add a public Wi-Fi network in Wilmington, North Carolina, and obtain data about the "smart grid" electricity infrastructure in Plumas County, California.

Web site www.weepinitiative.org e-mail contactweep@weepinitiative.org

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W.E.E.P. – The Canadian initiative to stop Wireless Electrical and Electromagnetic Pollution