1) In the Call to Action that was attached to Saturday’s update, there was an incorrect link to Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. The correct link is:
https://pm.gc.ca/en/cabinet/honourable-steven-guilbeault
In case you wish to forward this to friends and family, here is a link to the document with the corrected link to the Minister.
Please see below for a sample letter provided by Prevent Cancer Now that you could send or use for ideas to write to your Senators, to the Senators on the Senate’s Energy, Environment and Natural Resources (ENEV) Committee.
2) After reading about Google’s plans to lay fiber optic around or through Vancouver Island, I checked to see how Connected Coast is doing. It appears to be progressing very well.
Connected Coast, Winter 2022 Quarterly Update
First 50 kms of subsea fibre-optic cable laid for Connected Coast project
“The Connected Coast project hit a milestone last week January 28, 2022, as the first 50 kilometres of fibre-optic cable was laid at landing sites across Northern B.C.
The fibre was laid and connected at shore landings at three communities: Lax Kw’alaams, Metlakatla, and Dodge Cove. Another leg was brought ashore at Ridley Island, an industrial area just outside of Prince Rupert, which will connect into CityWest’s main network.”
https://connectedcoast.ca/winter-2022-quarterly-update/
3) A bizarre study that shows cell phones and brain tumors are not related. I bet the industry will use this one widely despite the fact that the subjects were far from being typical of cell phone users. And ridiculous explanations for other “positive” findings — such as cell phone users seeking medical help for tumors more quickly than non-users. The selection bias is extreme here, with the scientists apparently selecting subjects that would support the desired result– older women who seldom used cell phones. Medscape supposedly is credible and a major source of material for physicians. Thank goodness they included EHT’s criticism of the study but it is too bad the title is so prominent. We can only hope that doctors will read the entire article.
(click on photos to enlarge)
No Link Between Cell Phones and Brain Tumors in Large UK Study
“These results support the accumulating evidence that mobile phone use under usual conditions does not increase brain tumor risk,” said study author Kirstin Pirie, MSc, from the Cancer Epidemiology Unit at Oxford Population Health, United Kingdom, in statement.
However, an important limitation of the study is that it involved only women who were middle-aged and older; these people generally use cell phones less than younger women or men, the authors note. In this study’s cohort, mobile phone use was low, with only 18% of users talking on the phone for 30 minutes or more each week, they note.
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/971214
Letters:
Dear Senator —-
The Right to a Healthy Environment is a centerpiece of proposed updates to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), Canada’s premier law to protect the environment, 23 years after it was passed.
But current proposals — under review now in the Senate — fall short. We MUST do more. The world has changed and a lot has been learned since CEPA came into law a generation ago. I am writing to urge you to support these FOUR KEY STEPS to fix Bill S-5, to give Canadians a chance of a real and meaningful Right to a Healthy Environment.
1. Apply a CLIMATE LENS, to advance low-impact options and reduce waste.
2. REGULATE NON-IONIZING RADIATION used in telecommunications. Radiation for wireless communications is bioactive, and levels are quintillions of times higher than historical naturally low levels. There is no Canadian law or policy addressing environmental effects of “wireless radiation.”
3. CATCH UP with a generation of science and experience. A meaningful Right to a Healthy Environment requires that we:
• Improve scientific methods and infrastructure, data requirements and decision-making,
• Use precautionary approaches,
• Regulate “look-alike” chemicals as groups or classes, and
• Prevent genetic pollution via genetically modified organisms.
4. DON’T go backwards. A regressive amendment, that might even jeopardize the constitutionality of the law, is to create a two-tier list of “toxic” chemicals. Instead, we need to retain and improve existing authority in CEPA.
This is one of my highest priorities for a healthy future. Please share your thoughts and intentions, and keep me informed of progress.
Sincerely,
Sharon Noble, Director, Coalition to Stop Smart Meters
“Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.” Mark Twain