ES updates…….

04/12/2013 By Leave a Comment

I receive almost daily reports of news and events related to electrosensitivity, many of which are fascinating, but not really relevant for the FoodsMatter site – but I hate not to be able to share them so here we go with a few of the most recent.

(Many thanks, incidentally, to ES-UK, EMF Refugees and Dr Olle Johansson among many others.)


Frog_on_tree_f1Frog species are disappearing at an alarming rate in the Caribbean – could mobile phone radiation be implicated?

Researchers in the Caribbean report a 70–90% decline in the number of frogs on the islands. Not only are frogs, whose ‘peeps, tweets and staccato whistles’ enlivened the Caribbean night, an important part of the local culture but ‘they also have an important environmental role: they are consumed by birds and snakes and are major predators of mosquitoes. Their absence could lead to a rise in malaria and dengue, not to mention discomfort.’ Read more about the decline here in Yahoo News and then take a look at this research report from 2010 showing that mobile phone radiation can have a dramatic effect on the development of tadpoles.

In India…

‘The 4.5 lakh mobile towers in India are turning the country into an open microwave,’ warns Girish Kumar, researcher at IIT Bombay. ‘With 1w power (same output as cell phones) temperatures increase by 1′C in 500 seconds (9 minutes).’ Read more here in The Times of India.

Is the Cold War to blame?

Is the Cold War to blame for the lack of objective research into the possible dangers of microwave (mobile phone) radiation? A fascinating article in  The Scientist last autumn by Allan Frey suggesting that security fears in the 1970s effectively closed down all research and all funding for research into the possible dangers of  very weak microwave radiation (including breaching the blood brain barrier). As a result there is now no data that would allow scientists to determine whether or not there is a health hazard in mobile phone use.

Legal acknowledgement of EHS in Australia and compensation awarded for damage caused…

Details of the first case of its kind in the antipodes!

Michelle in silver net jacket

 

French Fashion label Smuggler designs clothes made from fabric which will block electromagnetic radiation! They should have come to me for advice – my silver net jackets were causing comment (some asking whether I was wearing a mosquito net….) five years ago!!

However, as Dr Johansson, who sent me this report remarks:
‘No! This is not the kind of society we should have…. First the spread of an environmental toxin; then we – the citizens – must wear protective clothing. Really, no.’

 

And finally…

‘Two children may have died for you to have your mobile phone.’

Whatever about the radiation given out by mobile phones, how much environmental and human damage is caused in making their cases? See this report from Inés Benitez in the InterPress Service.

 

Filed Under: Chemicals, Electrosensitivity, Environmental Issues Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thomas Ball, photographer

03/30/2013 By Leave a Comment

It is purely down to Thomas Ball, who is neither electrosensitive nor has any particular connection with anyone who is, that today’s excellent article by Nicholas Blincoe on electrosensitivity appeared in the Guardian Weekend.

He became interested in the condition a couple of years ago and embarked on a year long project to photograph and interview electrosensitivity sufferers and those who try to help them. Over the year he has recorded over 80 hours of interviews and taken hundreds of pictures, a tiny fraction which you can now see on his website. No one commissioned him to take these photographs or conduct these interviews and, although he did ‘sell’ the idea to the Guardian (we are delighted to say), his fee for the photographs will only have made the tiniest dent in the cost of the project.

So why did he do it? Because, like so many of the people who actually make society tick, he was interested by the condition, felt that electrosensivity sufferers were getting a raw deal and thought that maybe he could do something about it. What would allergy sufferers, electrosensitives and the millions of others in need of help, empathy and understanding do without that generous group of people who give their time and their expertise, and often substantial sums of money, to help establish their cause as ‘real’ and get it recognised by those in power.

So, thank you Thomas – your contribution is hugely appreciated.

Meanwhile, do have a look at the photos on Thomas’ site.  I really like the feeling of ‘detachment’  that he has created. Many of us really do look as though we have logged out of the 9-5 world and are not quite sure where we have ended up – which is pretty near what has happened!  And check out his blog where he explains a little bit more about the project.  And, of course, please do read the article in the Guardian Weekend – although I suggest that you do not venture into the ‘Comment’ section which, as usual with any article to do with electrosensitivity, has attracted all of those whose opinions would probably get them sued if they were expressed attributably! You might also want to have a look at the short film of interviews which accompanies it, a taster for the longer film which Thomas plans to make available on his own site and, hopefully, elsewhere.

Tim Hallam

This is Thomas’ photograph of Tim Hallam that appeared in the Guardian article. Tim has lined his bedroom with tin foil and silver-netted his window to create himself a Faraday cage to protect himself from his housemates’ and neighbours’ wifi, phones, cordless telephones and fluorescent/low energy lights.

 

Filed Under: Electrosensitivity, Environmental Issues Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Investors in telecoms companies, beware…

03/22/2013 By 1 Comment

All companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange are required to detail all known business risks for their investors; these documents need to be lodged withthe US Securities and Exchange Commission and can be viewed by anyone who can plough their way through the many thousands of pages filed.

The author of the Wirelesswatch blog, ‘someone who has worked on a business newswire for years’ so is skilled at reading the meaning concealed behind the words, has been trawling though these documents and discovering, often tucked away right at the end, the admission that they are all only too aware that damaging litigation over the health effects of mobile phone use may not be that far away.

For example, from the ‘Form 10-K’ submitted by Verizon:
….Our wireless business faces personal injury and consumer class action lawsuits relating to alleged health effects of wireless phones or radio frequency transmitters, and class action lawsuits that challenge marketing practices and disclosures relating to alleged adverse health effects of handheld wireless phones. We may incur significant expenses in defending these lawsuits. In addition, we may be required to pay significant awards or settlements.

Or, from Nokia’s Form 10-K:
Allegations of possible health risks from the electromagnetic fields generated by base stations and mobile devices, and the lawsuits and publicity relating to this matter, regardless of merit, could have a material adverse effect on our sales, results of operations, share price, reputation and brand value…………We cannot be certain that future studies, irrespective of their scientific basis, will not suggest a link between electromagnetic fields and adverse health effects…..
Over the past ten years Nokia has been involved in several class action matters alleging that … cellular service providers failed to properly warn consumers of alleged potential adverse health effects and failed to include headsets with every handset to reduce the potential for alleged adverse health effects….. etc etc etc

Or from Motorola:
Allegations of health risks associated with using Motorola Mobility products, and the lawsuits and publicity relating to them, regardless of merit, could negatively impact our business, operating cash flows and financial condition…. etc etc etc

Shades of cigarettes and asbestos….

And while on the subject of  mobile phones, radiation, wifi and smart meters…….

Radiation levels from wireless industry operated antenna from Maine to California  have been tested by the Electro Magnetic Policy Insitute (EMRPI) and found to be in gross violation – up to and in excess of 600% – of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s public exposure limits. These sites include rooftops as well as locations where the general public, including children, can gain access, and where workers are on the job. Read more here. 

French to ban wifi from schools.
Failing to succeed with adoption of their draft legislation on electromagnetic waves in January, French ecologist deputies have obtained approval of draft school reform legislation for precautionary measures in schools.
The National Assembly has now voted in an amendment of the law stipulates that the public service establishment of the digital educational program foreseen by the text favors “wired” connections, that is, Ethernet, rather than Wi-Fi.  Read more here.

Canadians rebel against Smart Meters. Trailer for film detailing the many downsides to smart meters. See here. 

 

Filed Under: Big Business, Electrosensitivity, Food/Health Policy Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
« Older Posts