1) When a member sent me this link, I didn’t think it was real. It reads like science fiction or something conspiracy theorists would circulate. But upon searching, I found that, indeed, this government department appears to be real.
Much of the work in this area depends on huge amounts of data, from all types of sources. Does this explain the push for 5G, IoT, etc.?
I have never seen anything about this in the media, and it does warrant attention.
Exploring Biodigital Convergence
“In the coming years, biodigital technologies could be woven into our lives in the way that digital technologies are now. Biological and digital systems are converging, and could change the way we work, live, and even evolve as a species. More than a technological change, this biodigital convergence may transform the way we understand ourselves and cause us to redefine what we consider human or natural….
The data-reliant nature of biodigital convergence means that the demand for data could increase substantially – particularly human, animal, plant, and bacterial data. Large platforms could potentially gather and control large amounts of information about individuals, their context, and the natural world. Some platforms could attempt to capture value by operating a closed biodigital ecosystem.”
https://horizons.gc.ca/en/2020/02/11/exploring-biodigital-convergence/?fbclid=IwAR2OYpLfoV0YmMkvVPVEetEoyLyQwqy1wAKs5IMfp27p5-gBgANHlUYOVmY
https://horizons.gc.ca/en/2020/02/11/exploring-biodigital-convergence/
2) If anyone needs a clear example that Health Canada is biased, take a look at this website, updated in April. The section for 5G under “On this page” reads like an ad for this technology. It would be impossible for anyone looking for independent, unbiased information about the safety of RF and wireless devices to get it. You’d expect this from ISED whose mandate is to support industry, but it is totally inappropriate/wrong for Health Canada to be so dishonest. Just take a look at this short video on “safety of 5G”:
https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/video/5g-technology-safety.html
5G technology, cell phones, cell phone towers and antennas
3) In California, there has been stiff and very strong opposition to bills that would weaken government regulation for the benefit of telecoms in spreading 5G. Susan Foster has been an advocate for firefighters who suffered significant health problems (especially cancers) when cell towers were erected on fire stations and property. She continues to fight the proliferation of cell towers and microcells which have been found to enhance the risk of fires. She agreed to allow me to share her letter of opposition to these bills. Her concerns regarding fires apply equally in BC and I hope this information will be shared with firefighters, Municipal Councils, MLAs and media [https://cafc.ca/page/ContactUs, https://www.civicinfo.bc.ca/people, https://www.leg.bc.ca/learn-about-us/members, https://stopsmartmetersbc.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Media-List-B.pdf].
And another letter from California follows.
Letter:
(click on photo to enlarge)
The Honorable Lorena Gonzalez
Chair, Assembly Appropriations Committee
Capitol Bldg. Rm. 2114
Sacramento, CA 95814
Dear Assembly Member Gonzalez and Committee Members,
Strongly Oppose: AB 955
This is one of several bills being introduced now that attempt to greatly reduce government oversight of the vast rollout of 4G/5G small cells (short for cell towers) everywhere that Californians live, work, and play. This bill would allow for encroachments on highways to facilitate wireless broadband infrastructure, and attempts to remove adequate local government oversight of the permitting process.
All of these bills claim to be helping ensure that all Californians have good internet access, but the dangers that they will be unleashing on California residents far outweigh any claimed benefit of more widespread access. There is a way that legislators can ensure that all Californians have good internet access, and that is by supporting legislation that provides for corded highspeed access (Ethernet, cable, DSL) based on copper wire connections, or fiber to the home. These do not have the terrible public health and risk of fires that this kind of wireless infrastructure has.
I’m sure we don’t have to remind you of the terrible cost to California of fires in recent years, and that is not just in dollars and cents, but in lives, and in Californians’ sense of well-being and security. Additionally, the cost of the very severe health impacts (documented below) of putting close proximity “small” cell towers throughout neighborhoods, will also be tremendous. This includes greatly increased use of public health services, disability payments for those who become too disabled to work, and cost to the schools when children are too ill to attend class (assuming that schools return to in person instruction).
The addition of broadband encroachments to public highways, without adequate oversight, will also lead to greatly increased detrimental health impacts as a result of EMF (electro-magnetic field) pollution saturating our roadways.
Thousands of studies have found harm to health and the environment from wireless radiation (see https://www.greenmedinfo.health/anti-therapeutic-action/electromagnetic-fields and and http://www.bioinitiative.org), and these dangerous effects will be magnified tremendously with 5G. An industry spokesperson admitted to Congress that there are no studies showing the safety of 5G radiation, and they do not plan to do any.
5G will not only utilize 3G and 4G wireless frequencies already in use, but also add higher frequency submillimeter and millimeter waves. As described by Joel Moskowitz of Berkeley’s School of Public Health, writing in the Scientific American, over 250 scientists and medical doctors from around the world issued a declaration calling for an immediate moratorium on the rollout of 5G cell antennas, citing human health effects, and impacts to wildlife. (https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/we-have-no-reason-to-believe-5g-is-safe/)
Peer reviewed, published science indicates that exposures to wireless radiation increases rates of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, male infertility, memory loss and Alzheimers. (See Sarah Benson’s review of the studies here- https://biocircuitry.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/2014-Joining-the-Dots-now.pdf .
Of particular note are the cancer clusters that have been found to occur in people living close to cell towers, which Benson describes beginning on p. 9.) The ubiquitous new small cells will have the same 4G technology that have been found to be associated with these greatly increased rates of cancer, with the addition of the ultra-high frequency 5G technology. The evidence of harmful health impacts was given a big boost recently with the release of a $30-million dollar study, conducted by the National Toxicology Program of NIH, which found “clear evidence” of a link between wireless radiation from cell phones/wireless devices and cancer. https://microwavenews.com/news-center/ntp-final-rf-report
This radiation harms various forms of wildlife, and will provide much more surveillance of our personal lives. (https://www.dundee.ac.uk/news/2018/5g-study-raises-security-concerns-for-next-generation-of-mobile-communication.php) More about immense 5G surveillance and cyber security issues here: https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-communications/the-terrifying-potential-of-the-5g-network
Because 5G is somewhat blocked by buildings and trees, the quality of connections will not be great and the speeds will slow down when many people are using it. 5G even prevents accurate weather prediction, which is so essential in these days of increasingly devastating climate events. (https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2019/11/22/global-g-deal-poses-significant-threat-weather-forecast-accuracy-experts-warn/)
In drought-stricken California, we do not need to be adding thousands of very high fire-risk installations throughout neighborhoods, outside of people’s homes. These installations are inherently risky (wildfires can be caused by overloading utility poles, the use of highly-fire-prone smart meters to measure electricity usage on the installations, and the usage of temporary or permanent backup generators that contain highly flammable substances such as diesel, propane, or lithium batteries). These fires will be electrical, so firefighters cannot put water on them directly, for fear of electrocution, until the power is shut down. According to fire safety consultant Susan Dana Foster, it could take from ten minutes to two hours for the power to be cut off so the fire fighters can directly respond to a fire emanating from a small cell install. During that time (up to two hours) winds could spread the fire a considerable distance. Would you want one of these structures outside your child’s bedroom?
Although this bill is just focusing on one aspect of the 5G rollout, encroachments on highways, you need to look at the whole picture of what the the telecoms are unrolling, willy-nilly. Do not expect the fox to guard the chicken house.
Yes, it is essential that all Californians be ensured high speed internet access, and it is up to state legislators to make sure that the technology to ensure that is a safe one, and will not result in increasing public health and extreme wildfire disasters.
Thank you for voting No on AB 955, and all of these small cell streamlining bills.
Jenny Miller (name given with permission)
Convener, Towards an Internet of Living Beings
Sharon Noble, Director, Coalition to Stop Smart Meters
“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” Confucius