Tag: Nature

California Wildfires and EMF radiation pollution


In Sonoma County California we’ve had 3 major wildfires in the past two months, evacuations, and weeks of toxic smoke. This deadly scenario has played out for several years in a row and the damage to lives, homes, nature, and towns throughout California is unprecedented.  California’s investor owned utility, PG&E, has been found guilty for the majority of the previous fires, including many lives lost.

In 2019 Business Insider reported, “Over 1,500 California fires in the past 6 years — including the deadliest ever — were caused by one company: PG&E.” 

National Geographic reports on the science connecting wildfires to climate change, stating: “Increasing heat, changing rain and snow patterns, shifts in plant communities, and other climate-related changes have vastly increased the likelihood that fires will start more often and burn more intensely and widely than they have in the past.”

What if there are other unexamined reasons for the intensity of these wildfires? Or maybe a combination of reasons? How might the following be a factor? 
 
  • Smart grid equipment that emits microwaves was installed on utility power lines starting around 2013 throughout California.
  • Utility smart meters have caused fires at the meter or in an appliance. Smart meters transmit pulsed radiation every few seconds have dramatically increased microwave pollution. 
  • Trees and plants are stressed, drier, and more fire prone from years of microwave radiation pollution from cell towers, cell phones, smart meters, etc. 
  • Stressed trees and plants emit terpenes which makes them more fire prone.
Scientists conclude plants are stressed by microwave radiation. Here are a few studies:

  •  Eklipse Report: The impacts of artificial Electromagnetic Radiation on wildlife (flora and fauna) “Terpene emission was reported to be enhanced by EMR and could also be considered as a marker of stress perception.” https://www.eklipse-mechanism.eu/documents/15803/0/EMR-KnowledgeOverviewReport_FINAL_27042018.pdf/1326791c-f39f-453c-8115-0d1c9d0ec942

  • Radiofrequency radiation injures trees around mobile phone base stations “Statistical analysis demonstrated that electromagnetic radiation from mobile phone masts is harmful for trees.” https://www.researchgate.net/publication/306435017_Radiofrequency_radiation_injures_trees_around_mobile_phone_base_stations

  • Influence of microwave frequency electromagnetic radiation on terpene emission and content in aromatic plants “There was a direct relationship between microwave-induced structural and chemical modifications of the three plant species studied. These data collectively demonstrate that human-generated microwave pollution can potentially constitute a stress to the plants.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25050479/

  • Plant Responses to High Frequency Electromagnetic Fields “Indeed, numerous metabolic activities (reactive oxygen species metabolism, α- and β-amylase, Krebs cycle, pentose phosphate pathway, chlorophyll content, terpene emission, etc.) are modified, gene expression altered (calmodulin, calcium-dependent protein kinase, and proteinase inhibitor), and growth reduced (stem elongation and dry weight) after low power (i.e., nonthermal) HF-EMF exposure.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4769733/

SB 649 is a shameless gift to the telecom industry

photo courtesy Kevin MottusIf Senate Bill 649 passes…
in 2018 you could awake to a cell tower right outside your bedroom window.

Unless you live in a fire station, a coastal commission or a historical city, SB 649 would put cell towers in every neighborhood and countryside in California. SB 649 would only allow design of how refrigerator sized equipment on and near poles can look.

Over the counter permits would eliminate local review of radiation impacts and essentially deregulate the telecom industry.  300 California cities and 47 counties oppose SB 649.

SB 649 will increase harmful radiation pollution.  Independent scientists are calling for immediate action to reduce radiation:

“Effects include increased cancer risk, cellular stress, increase in harmful free radicals, genetic damages, structural and functional changes of the reproductive system, learning and memory deficits, neurological disorders, and negative impacts on general well-being in humans.” https://www.emfscientist.org/

Peer reviewed published studies found radiation causes a wide range of health impacts including sleep problems, headaches, tinnitus, DNA damage and cancer. Children are more vulnerable.

“The harmful effects of electromagnetic fields, regardless of their frequencies, are now scientifically settled. Pregnant women (the fetus) and children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable.”- Dominique Belpomme, MD, MPH, Paris V Descartes University, European Cancer & Environment Research institute.

Peer reviewed published studies found radiation harms nature, trees, birds, and bees. Studies of radiation impacts on wild birds documented nest abandonment, plumage deterioration and death. https://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/us_doi_comments.pdf

Read our opposition letter here: SB 649 UPDATE 7:6:2017

SB 649 abandons the public to trust the telecom industry to certify radiation safety.

EMFSN, EON and CABTA in the news on KPFA and here.

Health, environment, consumer, and justice organizations  representing millions of Californians have opposed SB 649 including:  Environmental Working Group, Sierra Club California, California League of Conservation Voters, AARP American Association of Retired Persons, Association of Environmental Professionals, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, California Communities Against Toxics, Center for Environmental Health, Citizens for Health, SF Public Utilities Commission, The Greenlining Institute, The Utility Reform Network, Teens Turning Green, As You Sow, Baby Safe Project, Bay Area Educators for Safe Tech, California Brain Tumor Association, Chico Chapter of Weston A. Price Foundation, Citizens For A Radiation Free Community, Consumers for Safe Cell Phones, Daily Acts, East Bay Move to Amend, Ecological Options Network, EMF Safety Network, Environmental Health Trust, Environmental Voices, EMR Protection Forum, Grassroots Environmental Education, Green Sangha, Health & Habitat Inc, Healthy 880 Communities, Law Offices of Harry V. Lehmann PC, Marin Chapter of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Mom’s Across America, Moms Advocating Sustainability, National Association For Children and Safe Technology, Parents for a Safer Environment, The Peoples Initiative Foundation, Physicians for Safe Technology, Radiation Research Trust, Sacramento Smart Meter Awareness, Sage Associates, Scientists for Wired Technology, Seniors for Environmental Awareness, Stop Smart Meters, Veterans for Radiation Safety, Windheim EMF Solutions, Wireless Radiation Alert Network, Wireless Radiation Education and Defense, and Your Own Health and Fitness.

The majority of these groups listed above oppose SB 649 based on the science of wireless harm.

The Communication and Conveyance committee passed the bill on  July 12. The Assembly Appropriations Committee passed the bill on September 1.

The State Assembly and Senate barely passed SB 649 and the bill now awaits the Governor’s signature or veto.  Find how your representatives voted here: http://emfsafetynetwork.org/sb-649-barely-passes-the-assembly-moves-to-the-senate/

Update on Oct.15, 2017 Governor Brown Vetoed SB 649!

Trees injured by cell tower radiation

Scientists in Germany studied tree damage in relation to electromagnetic radiation for nine years, from 2006-2015.  They monitored, observed and photographed unusual or unexplainable tree damage, and measured the radiation the trees were exposed too.

“The aim of this study was to verify whether there is a connection between unusual (generally unilateral) tree damage and radiofrequency exposure.”
They found significant differences between the damaged side of a tree facing a phone mast and the opposite side, as well as differences between the exposed side of damaged trees and all other groups of trees in both sides. They found no tree damage in low radiation areas.
The 30 selected trees in low radiation areas (no visual contact to any phone mast and power flux density under 50μW/m2) showed no damage.
The scientists concluded, “Statistical analysis demonstrated that electromagnetic radiation from mobile phone masts is harmful for trees.”  Link to the study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27552133?dopt=Abstract#

Damaged Magnolia trees across the street from a cell tower

US Department of the Interior warns: communication towers threaten birds

Bald Eaglesh In a letter about a new nation wide wi-fi deployment (called *FirstNet), the US Department of the Interior states the wireless proposal threatens birds, and is not consistent with current information and laws that protect birds.  They called for an environmental review.

hTwo  hundred forty one bird species are at mortality risk from both tower collisions and from exposure to the radiation towers emit.  This includes birds that are endangered or threatened, Birds of Conservation Concern, migratory birds, and eagles.  They estimate up to 6.8 million bird deaths a year may result from collisions with towers.

hhStudies of radiation impacts on wild birds documented nest abandonment, plumage deterioration and death.  Birds studied included House Sparrows, White Storks, Collared Doves, and other species.  Studies in laboratories of chick embryos documented heart attacks and death.

hIn their letter, The Dept of the Interior criticizes the FCC’s radiation safety guidelines stating,“the electromagnetic radiation standards used by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) continue to be based on thermal heating, a criterion now nearly 30 years out of date and inapplicable today.”

For more information see Dept of Interior letter and background: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/us_doi_comments.pdf

*In 2010 President Obama called for a new nationwide wireless network.  FirstNet is that broadband initiative. See background proposal and More info on FirstNet. 

“The world is going wireless and we must not fall behind. ” President Barack Obama

See this website for a compilation of studies on effects on wildlife http://www.emfresearch.com/emf-wildlife/

Alone Together

“I forgot my phone” is a video with over 25 million hits.

Bill Moyers interviews MIT professor Sherry Turkle, who has studied our relationship with technology for over three decades, about what this constant engagement means for our culture and our society. Turkle, author of “Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology and Less From Each Other”, says our devices are not only changing the way we communicate and interact with each other, but also who we are as human beings. “What concerns me as a developmental psychologist is watching children grow in this new world where being bored is something that never has to be tolerated for a moment,” Turkle tells Moyers. “Everyone is always having their attention divided between the world of people [they’re] with and this ‘other’ reality.”

Watch Bill Moyers interview Sherry Turkle here: http://billmoyers.com/segment/sherry-turkle-on-being-alone-together/

Protect Monarch Butterflies from radiation

 

On August 21, 2013 the city of Pacific Grove will hear an appeal on the placement of an AT&T 4G cell tower next to the Monarch Butterfly sanctuary.

Pacific Grove is an overwintering area for the monarch butterfly. Each year, these butterflies migrate thousands of miles from Canada to Pacific Grove and other special places in the Western Hemisphere. They arrive and stay through several reproductive cycles, and then continue their travels.

Pacific Grove has an ordinance specifically protecting monarch butterflies. It has a small area set aside for the butterflies as a sanctuary, but the butterflies roost and feed in trees in the surrounding area. Many travel books feature this sanctuary to attract visitors from all around the world.

AT&T wants to put a permanent set of cellular 4G antennas at Wilkie’s Inn, (1038 Lighthouse Avenue) next to the butterfly sanctuary. This is one of the few monarch habitats the butterflies rely on.

Here’s two studies that indicate insects are harmed by radiation.  Food collection and response to pheromones in an ant species exposed to electromagnetic radiation found exposure to radiation caused colony deterioration and affected social insects’ behavior and physiology. Another study Oxidative and genotoxic effects of 900 MHz electromagnetic fields in the earthworm Eisenia fetida found radiation caused genotoxic effects and DNA damage in earthworms.

Please take action to help stop these antennas in Pacific Grove, California. Sign this petition by Tuesday, August 20, 2013  Read more and sign the petition.

UPDATE: The city Pacific Grove council voted against the butterflies. The petition author writes, “Thank you to the hundreds of supporters on this issue. Sad to say (but not surprised) that all but one of the city council members voted for the cell antennas to be built near one of the rare monarch butterfly overwintering sites in Pacific Grove. AT&T must’ve made the incentive worth while.The city is supposed to protect the butterfly sanctuary and didn’t.”

Cell Phone Radiation Disturbs Honey Bees

Honey beeDaniel Favre examines the connection between cell phone radiation and honey bees in “Mobile Phone Induced Honey Bee Worker Piping“.  Colony Collapse Disorder has been linked to a variety of potential causes, including pesticide poisoning, and varroa mites. With the onslaught of environmental radiation from cell phone, cell tower and Smart Meters networks it is important this study be widely read and disseminated. The study abstract states,

“The worldwide maintenance of the honeybee has major ecological, economic, and political implications. In the present study, electromagnetic waves originating from mobile phones were tested for potential effects on honeybee behavior. Mobile phone handsets were placed in the close vicinity of honeybees.

The sound made by the bees was recorded and analyzed. The audiograms and spectrograms revealed that active mobile phone handsets have a dramatic impact on the behavior of the bees, namely by inducing the worker piping signal. In natural conditions, worker piping either announces the swarming process of the bee colony or is a signal of a disturbed bee colony. ”

Other publications on radiation and bees include:

Bees, Birds and Mankind, Destroying nature by electrosmog by Ulrich Warnke

The Birds, the Bees and Electromagnetic Pollution, by Dr. Andrew Goldsworthy, May 2009