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4/2/06
New Mexico group makes progress in opposing intrusive towers
From: Chellis
Glendenning, Chimayo, NM
Subject: NO TOWER
Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2006
"Our county commission passed a 9-month
moratorium. It was a wildly satisfying
meeting in which our perspective reigned,
we were truly listened to...
Our group also raised enough money in $10
donations to hire the US Supreme Court/Arroyo Seco
lawyer to talk to the county lawyer and we'll see
what comes of that. The county is
motivated. Meanwhile, the New
Mexican offered us a full page of Letters to the
Editor with photos on the Sunday before Good
Friday, and we're filling it...
On that Sunday, you will be able to see it at
www.freenewmexican.com.
At least I hope you'll see it via
that venue. There's a difference between freenewmexican.com
and a paid online subscription. The village is glutted with NO
TOWER signs made by our local sign maker. That's our news...
Che"
3/24/06
The Sun-Sentinel, a major Florida newspaper, is featuring
a series of stories on
"Cell Phones and Your Health: The Radiation Question" in a recent
edition.
You can access them at this
link
2/1/06
Tower erected in historic Chimayo, New Mexico
Residents of Chimayó, including members of
the
Chimayó Council on Wireless Technology, were surprised by the
construction of a T- Mobile wireless tower at a sensitive location
both in relation to the health effects caused by the emission of
non-ionizing radiation and damage to the value of the historical and
scenic ambience of their traditional community. The tower was
erected around February 1 and went on online March 24. The T-Mobile
tower looms over the Benny Chavez Community Center which houses the
Chimayó Senior Center, provides space for many community gatherings,
and hosts a playground.. The Chimayó Conservation Youth Corps is
housed not far down the road at the Manzano complex. Within a short
walking distance of the tower are the Presbyterian Church, El Buen
Pastor, and the Interfaith LEAP Center that provides
interdenominational health and social services.
Chimayó’s citizens are proud of their history
and unique natural setting with its special historical and cultural
features. The tower degrades the beauty of the cerros that
cradle the Chimayó valley to the east and the historical value of
the nearby Plaza del Cerro, the only complete fortified colonial
Spanish plaza still remaining in northern New Mexico. The Chimayó
History Museum is housed in the Plaza. The Ortega Weaving Shop,
where local weavers have sold their craft for generations, is even
closer to the tower. And one views the structure as one approaches
the sacred pilgrimage Santuario church, both from the western and
southern routes.
Chimayó residents and their representative
organizations were not adequately consulted by the T-Mobile company
when plans were afoot to construct this tower. Alarmed by the tower
and plans for additional towers, local citizens want the tower
removed.
Photo of Members of the
Chimayó Council on Wireless
Technology
Letter to the Editor
11/20/05
A study will begin in Australia this week to find out if mobile
phones are damaging the health of children..
This
link is to an article appearing in the Sydney Morning Herald.
2/11/04
Citizens Group Challenges FCC Refusal to Investigate Health Effects of Broadband Transmissions
Washington, D.C., Feb. 11, 2004 -- A group of scientists, engineers, and community leaders has asked the D.C. Court of Appeals to order the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to initiate scientific research into the health effects of wireless transmission of 3rd Generation (3G) digital signals from the increasing level of broadband technologies and other radiofrequency (RF) transmitters in residential communities and areas near schools and hospitals.
The EMR Network (EMR) petitioned the FCC 3 years ago to open an inquiry into current environmental impacts of RF radiation. Last August the FCC denied the request, disclaiming any responsibility. EMR filed its brief seeking to reverse this action late last week.
Under the Telecommunications Act of 1996 the FCC has sole jurisdiction to determine acceptable levels of RF radiation in populated areas. Its present guidelines were developed almost 20 years ago. Citing the increasing number of international studies finding biological effects from RF radiation, EMR asserts that the FCC is obligated to review its obsolete guidelines without further delay.
Whitney North Seymour, Jr. is providing legal counsel for this appeal pro bono. His legal career has included private practice, a term as federal prosecutor for New York, and public interest work with a particular interest in environmental law, having co-founded the Natural Resources Defense Council in 1969.
"EMR is requesting the Court to reverse the Commission's dismissal Order and require the FCC to issue a Notice of Inquiry about the need to revise its Rules concerning the environmental effects of RF radiation," states Janet Newton, President of The EMR Policy Institute, who assisted in preparing the appeal brief file last week. "Given the explosion in the past decade of RF radiation-dependent technologies that are in continuous operation throughout our environment, the FCC must shoulder its statutory responsibility and take a NEPA-compliant "hard look" to protect the public interest in this evolving public health question, especially in light of the fact that other regulatory agencies - EPA and FDA - have been largely defunded in their fiduciary roles"
[See appeal summary at: http://www.emrpolicy.org/litigation/case_law/docs/11feb04background.pdf]
1/26/04
Local citizens demonstrated the power of
community organization in Chimayo, New Mexico.
Eleven Microwave Towers Beaten Out of Northern
New Mexico
5/8/03 - See the letter
from The National League of Cities' Executive Director Donald
Borut to Senator Patrick Leahy endorsing the "Local Control
for Broadcast Towers Act" and the "Local Control For Cellular
Towers Act."
4/18/03
- March 2003 Fact Sheet entitled, "Studies
on Radiofrequency Radiation Emitted by Cellular Phones," from
the National Toxicology Program/National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences (NTP/NIEHS). The NTP is in the design phase of a
number of studies to be conducted on Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR);
this fact sheet describes the status of NTP research efforts.
4/18/03
-The New York City Department of Education is considering a
proposal to rent space on public school properties as sites for
wireless communications facilities, i.e., mobile phone antenna base
stations. Glenn Encababian of the Bronx is spear-heading the effort
to inform parents and elected official about this proposal and about
the debate over possible health risks from exposure to radiofrequency
radiation emitted by these antennas. For more information, send
e-mail to: EMR Network
Elected officials and parents
have sent letters to Chancellor Joseph Klein questioning the wisdom
of this proposal. Letters have been sent by:
Note especially the February
6, 2003, Press Release from Ruben Diaz Jr., New York State Assemblyman
for the 75th District in Bronx County. In this Release Mr. Diaz
announces legislation he has drafted to be introduced in this session.
The Legislation prohibits: "the placement, erection or construction
of a wireless communication facility on school grounds or buildings."
4/9/03 - "Wireless
Worries": A new study provides fresh evidence that mobile
phones may damage brain cells, especially in teens - Time Europe,
Feb. 24, 2003 | Vol. 161, No. 8
"You're
in the Picture": Mobile phones that send and receive images
are the latest threat to privacy - Time Europe, Feb. 24,
2003 | Vol. 161, No. 8
3/14/03 -
Parents', students' and community opposition to placement of AT&T
cell phone antennas on Sullivan Heights High School in Surrey, BC
prevails.
This account comes from Milt Bowling, coordinator of Canada's
Electromagnetic Radiation Task Force and board member of The EMR
Network. Milt participated in the public hearings.
2/20/03 - Environmental
Groups Sue FCC over Cell Phone Towers - The Forest Conservation
Council (FCC), the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) and the Friends
of the Earth (FoE)
filed a lawsuit against the FCC (Federal Communications Commission)
in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
The suit alleges that the FCC
violated the National Environmental Policy Act, the Migratory Bird
Treaty Act and the Endangered Species Act by allowing 5,820 cell
phone towers to be constructed along the Gulf Coast of the U.S.
from Tampa, Fla., to Port Isabel in Texas.
The groups say that tens of
thousands of migratory birds have been killed by flying into the
towers or their support wireless at night and when visibility is
poor.
2/7/03 - The Association
for Comprehensive Neurotherapy discusses electrical
sensitivity and the impact of wireless technology on the development
and health of children's central nervous systems. This article
first appeared in their journal Latitudes. See also the archived
forum on Electromagnetic Radiation with featured guest Margaret
Meade Glaser.
2/7/03 -
A bibliography from Professor Roger Santini, researcher at the NationaI
Institute of Applied Science in Lyon, France: " PUBLICATIONS
ABOUT THE HEALTH OF PEOPLE LIVING IN VICINITY OF CELLULAR PHONE
BASE STATIONS." He has compiled this list to counter assertions
that no studies exist on this subject., that base station antenna
radiation is too weak to affect those living near them, or that
studies on this subject are impossible to carry out.
2/7/03 - Netherlands
to Re-Examine Mobile Phone Health Risk
The Health Council of the Netherlands has released a new report
recommending the establishment of a "center of expertise" on health
effects of electromagnetic fields and also made recommendations
for proposed research studies designed to address "important gaps
in knowledge and which questions should be answered first to meet
public disquiet."
A copy of the executive summary is available in English.
These recommendations are
a follow up to the January 2002 report by the Health Council of
the Netherlands which issued a review of the current state of scientific
knowledge on RF and health issues. In that report, the Council concluded
that: "there is at present no reason for concern" and recommended
further research be conducted. Source: Reuters
12/22/02
- "Israeli
Researchers Question Safety Of Cellphones: Your Head Serves As An
'Antenna'" By Judy Siege, The Jerusalem Post, December
20, 2002
Headaches, nausea, dizziness,
short-term memory problems, fatigue, and other complaints resulting
from cellular phone use are not due to low-level heating of the
brain; instead, they're apparently caused by the head serving as
an "antenna" and brain tissue as a radio receiver, according to
two Jerusalem researchers. Zvi Weinberger, a physicist who heads
the applied physics department at the Jerusalem College of Technology,
and Dr. Elihu Richter, head of the occupational medicine unit at
the Hebrew University-Hadassah Braun School of Public Health, suggested
this in the latest issue of the journal Medical Hypotheses. Mobile
phones, they explained, "broadcast specifically at frequencies at
which the head serves as an antenna and brain tissue serves as a
demodulating radio receiver." Thus, precaution must be taken in
the use of cellphones, they wrote. They called for a "reexamination
of the assumptions" underlying the US Federal Communications Commission
statement that the typical radio frequency exposures to cellphones
are safe.
10/23/02
- Twenty-two medical doctors of the
Interdisciplinary Association for Environmental Medicine (Interdisziplilnare
Gesellschaft fur Umweltmedizin e. V. - IGUMED) met in Germany in order
to discuss the increasing burdens brought on by high-frequency-radiation
(radiofrequency/microwave radiation) and to talk about possible remedies.
A result of this meeting is the October 9, 2002, "Freiburger Appeal."
(See excerpts below. Click here for the entire document: English,
French, German,
Italian, Spanish.)
*Spanish version will be posted soon.
"Out
of great concern for the health of our fellow human beings do we
- as established physicians of all fields, especially that of environmental
medicine - turn to the medical establishment and those in public
health and political domains, as well as to the public. . . ."
"Since the living environment and lifestyles of our patients
are familiar to us, we can see - especially after carefully directed
inquiry - a clear temporal and spatial correlation between the appearance
of disease and exposure to pulsed high-frequency microwave radiation
(HFMR), such as:
- Installation
of mobile telephone sending station in the near vicinity …
- Intensive
mobile telephone use
-
Installation of digital cordless (DECT)telephone at home or in
the neighborhood"
10/10/02
- On Thursday
October 10, 2002, bills were introduced in the U.S. Senate and the
U.S. House of Representatives to strengthen and reaffirm local control
for the siting of Broadcast and Personal Wireless Services (Cellular)
Towers and antennas. See
the complete text of these bills.
9/14/02 - Sixteen scientists
participating at the International Conference "State of the Research
on Electromagnetic Fields - Scientific and Legal Issues", which was
organized by ISPESL, the University of Vienna and the City of Catania,
held in Catania (Italy) on September 13th - 14th, 2002, have published
this resolution. These scientists have also agreed to "establish
an international scientific commission to promote research for the
protection of public health from EMF and to develop the scientific
basis and strategies for assessment, prevention, management and communication
of risk, based on the precautionary principle."
8/28/02 - From Bill Evans
- Director of Old Bird,
Inc.: Follow the links below for a significant development in
the bird mortality at communications towers issue.
8/20/02 - Elsevier's French
journal entitled Pathologie Biologie has published the study
by Roger Santini et al. on the health of people living near mobile
phone base stations. It is the first published study looking at exposures
from mobile phone base station antennas. This is the English translation
of the complete study: "Study
of the health of people living in the vicinity of mobile phone base
stations: I. Influences of distance and sex."
7/19/02 -
Lightning strikes rooftop mobile phone and paging antennas: two people
sent to the hospital.
5/31/02
- Health
Registries - What You Should Know
5/9/02 - Study:
Cell Phone Waste Harmful Associated Press / Wired.com- A new kind
of cell phone pollution and this one is silent.
Within three years, Americans
will discard about 130 million cellular telephones a year, and that
means 65,000 tons of trash, including toxic metals and other health
hazards, a study says. "Because these devices are so small, their
environmental impacts might appear to be minimal," says Bette Fishbein,
a researcher at Inform, an environmental research organization,
who wrote the report.
But, she says, the growth
in cell phone use has been so rapid and enormous "that the environmental
and public health impacts of the waste they create are a significant
concern."
3/22/02 -Talking
on a mobile phone whilst driving is MORE dangerous than being drunk
behind the wheel from Direct
Line - SHOCK new research published today (Friday, 22 March) reveals
that talking on a mobile phone whilst driving is more dangerous than
being drunk behind the wheel.
Tests carried out by scientists
at the Transport Research Laboratory established that driving behaviour
is impaired more by using a mobile phone than by being over the
legal alcohol limit.
2/6/02 -
Revising the Standards: A potential change in radio-frequency limits
heats up a long-standing controversy. - By Michael Roberts (Originally
published in Westword,
January 31, 2002)
1/24/02
-The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers has
retreated from a grass-roots effort to relax mobile-phone radiation
safety guidelines, but the group continues to dismiss non-thermal
biological effects that some studies suggest could be harmful to human
health.
An IEEE working group made
the decision to scrap a preliminary draft of the radio-frequency
radiation standard at a meeting with federal regulators in Motorola
Inc.'s laboratories at Plantation, Fla. The draft sparked controversy
after news reports revealed it would significantly lower radiation
exposure limits and eliminate the distinction between workers and
consumers.
See our original posting below
and the EMR Network's press release.
1/10/02
- We
have begun to compile an indexed
resource of wireless telecommunications towers and facilities bylaws
from municipalities across the country.
12/27/01 -
"THE CHILD SCRAMBLER: What a mobile can do to a youngster's brain
in two minutes." (Sunday Mirror, December 27, 2001)These
are the first images that show the shocking effect that using a mobile
phone has on a child's brain. Scientists have discovered that a call
lasting just two minutes can alter the natural electrical activity
of a child's brain for up to an hour afterwards. And they also found
for the first time how radio waves from mobile phones penetrate deep
into the brain and not just around the ear.
12/5/01
- The mobile phone invasion is an unprecedented experiment, pitting
market forces against the health of the population, particularly the
young. Governments, cashing in on the licencing bonanza, wave through
plans for a forest of phone masts. Emissions guidelines are drawn
up to minimise costs. Here, The Ecologist
looks at the issues, beginning with a damning report which, says
David Edwards, points to evidence of a cover-up. It may be good to
talk, but why isn't anyone listening?
11/28/01
- A working draft originating from Subcommittee 4 (SC-4) of the Institute
of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Committee
on Electromagnetic Safety (ICES), commonly known as SCC-28, proposes
a significantly more lenient standard for exposures (see note
below) of the general public to radiofrequency and microwave (RF/MW)
radiation. The working draft proposes setting a single standard for
all segments of the population and would eliminated the fivefold safety
factor that presently is used to give children, the elderly and the
infirm more protection than workers.
The EMR Network has received
communication from Mr. Stanziola, who is employed as the manager,
Standards Licensing and Contracts, IEEE Standards Activities, asserting
that these draft standards are copyrighted intellectual property.
The EMR Network believes that it is in the public interest to inform
the public about this document and that it is "fair use" under copyright
laws. The posting is not done for commercial purposes.
In a
phone call from Dr. C.K. Chou, Co-Chair of IEEE's SC4 of SCC-28,
the EMR Network has been informed that this draft revision should
not be attributed to any IEEE committee or subcommittee. It is a
working draft that is subject to change. There has not been any
deliberation by any committee members on this proposal as yet. The
meeting for those deliberations scheduled for Sept. 13-14, 2001,
at the FCC in Washington, DC, was postponed due to the terrorist
attacks. That meeting has been rescheduled for January 10-11, 2002.
11/1/01 - Update on the
Action Alert to cosponsor legislation
on wireless telecommunications siting.
10/11/01 - "Research
Reveals Cell Phone Hazards" - published in the on-line Industry
Standard, By International Data Group Aug 07, 2001.
10/1/01
- EMR Network Files Petition
to FCC REQUESTING REEXAMINATION of RULES for RADIOFREQUENCY EXPOSURE
9/6/01
- It's time to write to your members of Congress and request that
they cosponsor the legislation proposed by Senator Leahy and Jeffords
of Vermont, Congressman Sanders of Vermont and Congressman Tancredo
of Colorado on radiofrequency/microwave (RF/MW) radiation health effects
research, and strengthening local authority for siting of mobile phone
and broadcast facilities. Go to Action
Alert.
6/1/01 As you'll read,
Ms. Devlyn knows whereof she speaks. She places Jim Jeffords' decision
to become an independent in its correct historical and personal context.
Peg Devlyn, author of "Independent
Jeffords." This commentary was written for Vermont Public Radio
and aired on 29 May 2001. Permission was granted to the EMR Network
to distribute Ms. Devlyn's "Commentary" on June 1, 2001.
6/1/01 Go to our "Regulations"
page to learn about the new STOA report done for the European Parliament.
THE PHYSIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF NON-IONIZING ELECTROMAGNETIC
RADIATION - FINAL STUDY - LUXEMBOURG, MARCH 2001
5/9/01
The
Niki Taylor tragedy amplifies the growing evidence that the Wireless
Industry and FCC preemptions over local authority, all in the name
of public safety and convenience, are costing Americans dearly. Citizens
can no longer let these powerful interests hide behind the public
safety shield as they continue to assault communities with wireless
infrastructure. Perhaps the good that will come from this and other
personal tragedies is the restoration of citizen and community rights
to fully protect the health and safety of all and the restoration
of the preeminence of state's rights and local authority as they seek
to protect their citizens.
4/27/01 Go to our RFR
& Schools to read a 5 April 2001 letter from Dr. George Carlo
who directed the Wireless Technology Research (WTR) program, addressed
to the Broward County (Florida) School Board outlining the health
concerns surrounding children's use of wireless technology. Broward
is currently studying whether to equip its schools with Wireless Local
Access Networks (WLAN's) for its classroom computer systems. WLAN's
radio frequency radiation emissions parallel those of digital cell
phones. Broward's student population numbers approximately 250,000.
3/28/01 "Regina
Says 'No' to Cellular Tower" by Sara Langenberg Iowa City
Press-Citizen
The Regina School Board voted 9-6 Tuesday night to drop consideration
of erecting a cellular antenna platform near the high school's football
field.
3/28/01 - Now Available
- The Electric Wilderness, by Andrew Marino and Joel Ray. San
Francisco Press, 1986; 120 pages; preface by Dr. Robert O. Becker;
bibliography and index. ISBN 0-911302-55-7.
Written like a novel, The
Electric Wilderness recounts the opening battle in the 25-year
war over EMF effects. Told from the point of view of biophysicist
Andrew Marino, the major scientific witness in a four-year New York
State hearing on a 765-KV power line (1974-78), the book is a David-and-Goliath
tale that provides important insights into the politics of science
in the U.S. B. Blake Levitt, author of Electromagnetic Fields: A
Consumer's Guide, calls the book "a classic of its genre."
The book can be obtained by
sending a check or money order, with return address, to: Electric
Wilderness, 96 Besemer Road, Ithaca NY 14850. The price is $20.00,
all inclusive.
3/14/01 CNN - A new
report bolsters the safety concerns raised by the airline, cell
phone and television broadcasting industries on the use of ultrawide
band (UWB) wireless technology.
Important new films: PUBLIC
EXPOSURE: DNA, DEMOCRACY AND THE WIRELESS REVOLUTION
This 58-minute film is the first of its kind to explore the potential
health risks and consequences of proliferating wireless devices and
transmitting antennas. The state of the science and needed public
policy solutions are reviewed from an international citizen's rights
and consumer advocacy perspective. We talk about what the communications
industry prefers not to discuss --- how exposure to radiation from
wireless communications technology poses a major environmental health
threat.
Independent film maker, Len
Aitken, now has made 2 documentary films available on our tower
fight in the CARE area. Lookout Mountain is a more
recent production done after the broadcasters petitioned the FCC
to preempt Jefferson County's zoning denial of the supertower. It
includes more interviews with researchers and broadcasters and an
admission by the Lake Cedar Group broadcasters that they spent at
least two million dollars on the supertower zoning battle. Broadcast
Blues is a documentary following a citizen effort to expose
the dangers of electromagnetic radiation and prevent an HDTV tower
from being built in their neighborhood. Both are produced and directed
by Len Aitken-Emmy Award filmmaker. Both are available for $29.95
@ from his company. For further information, please check out the
Len
Aitken Web site.
1/15/01- Locating Telecommunications
Towers in Historic Buildings
The National Trust for Historic Preservation in tandem with the Wireless
Telecommunications Industry has published a "How-To" manual that seeks
to promote the stealth placement of antennas in and on historic buildings
and structures. The selling point is the promise of money for the
preservation of historic sites.
Read our EMR
Network position letter. Contact the National Trust for Historic
Preservation and your own state's governmental and private historic
preservation offices. Let them know they must consider the public
health questions of RF/MW radiation health effects before siting
antennas in or on historic sites. This issue is time sensitive and
needs your immediate action.
Click here to find the contact
information for all historic preservation offices. The needed
information is found under "community resources."
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