1)   CDC was critical of cell phones, giving cautionary warnings, until it seems pressure was put on it and changes were made as disclosed in this NY Times article. (http://tinyurl.com/goh9mja )  Now the US Centre for Disease Control has hired a long-time industry affiliate to consult.

“Among the most startling revelations detailed is that immediately after publishing the new guidelines in June 2014 the CDC hired Kenneth Foster as a consultant to assist in the creation of future materials related to ‘non ionizing radiation matters’. Foster has an established record of conducting research funded by the private wireless industry and has authored a number of studies with results that contradict the notion that children are more susceptible to cell phone radiation than adults.”

http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2986953/radiating_corruption_the_frightening_science_and_politics_of_cell_phone_safety.html

2)   Teacher in Rhode Island compared effects of Wi-Fi in schools with concussions. Two short videos that every parent and teacher in BC should see. Please share.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbgIdyhAXfM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGu9RDgAPG0

3)   Some members would like to get in contact with others who are using analog meters for net-metering with solar panels. Could you please email them at:  landforlife@shaw.ca?

4)   Many people are getting letters saying that their analogs have expired and that no Legacies are available so they must take a $$meter. BC Hydro has been saying this for many months, yet people keep getting analogs to replace their expired ones. A member had one changed just yesterday – and received an analog. BC Hydro has a history of misleading us, the people on the phone have no idea about anything. Demand an appointment and speak directly with the installers. They are knowledgeable, friendly and most helpful.

5)   TOU Pennsylvania:  One of the many requirements in BC Hydro’s business case was to be able to use time-of-use billing. Hydro continues to say it has no plans for TOU, but a justification for smeters all along has been “saving energy” through encouraging less usage through TOU. In reality what this type of billing does is make those who are most vulnerable, those who are at home all day, the elderly, the disabled and young families, to pay much higher prices for heating, cooling, cooling, washing clothes, etc.  Those who are able to do so overnight will pay less – but in no place has this reduced usage. It just shifts time of use for those who are able. TOU is being introduced in many areas, and it will be here, too, most likely through incentive programs, e.g. offering gifts or some small reduction in rates.

http://www.metering.com/news/pennsylvania-utilities-prep-summer-tou-programmes/

6)   French cell phone company warns teenagers and pregnant women to avoid prolonged exposure to radiation.

“We recommend that you use the hands-free kit to reduce exposure to radiation.

To reduce the adverse effects of prolonged radiation exposure, we advise teenagers to hold the phone away from their lower abdomen, and that pregnant women hold the phone at a distance from their stomach.”

http://www.saferemr.com/2014/06/joint-statement-on-pregnancy-and.html

Letters:

Telus Small Cell Transmitters, Accountability, and EMF

Sent by X   On Jan 16   by email to :

justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca  elizabeth.may.c1a@parl.gc.ca gary.holman.mla@leg.bc.ca Navdeep.Bains@parl.gc.ca  Jane.Philpott@parl.gc.ca  Doug.Anastos@telus.com

Dear Mr. Trudeau,

Congratulations on the wonderful, heartfelt approach you are taking to leadership – such a refreshing change for Canada!

Last November, I became aware that my phone and internet provider Telus is being permitted to place small cell transmitters on utility poles in residential neighborhoods at will. From what I understand, ten of these residential transmitters are equal in EMF emissions to one standard cell tower. Thus, based on a growing body of research, their cumulative affect and the resulting health negative ramifications could be huge.

I am writing to you not about this project specifically however, but about my growing concern about EMF exposure and inadequate awareness of and protection from EMF on a federal level.

First, an update on the Telus Issue

I initially contacted my MP Elizabeth May about my concern in early November and we agreed to revisit it after the Paris talks.  (I have just resumed my correspondence with her about this last evening.) My initial question and concern was – who decides what can be put on the utility pole outside my bedroom window and what if the exposure levels I am told are safe make me and my family sick?

In November 2015, I received word from Peter Luckham of my local government, the Islands Trust, that what gets put on utility poles on Salt Spring falls under the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure or provincial jurisdiction.   Despite several emails sent, I have received no response from the MOTI on this issue. MLA Gary Holman suggested I contact my MP as he believes this Telus project is regulated by Industry Canada.  My concern was also referred to Gary’s colleague and health spokesperson Judy Darcy who has not gotten back to me.

On December 7, 2015, I received an email response to my November 4th, 2015 query from Navdeep Bains, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada stating that Telus’ installation of these transmitters must comply with Safety Code 6. The letter said that because Heath Canada is responsible for establishing the guidelines of the Safety Code, my letter had been forwarded to Jane Philpott, Minister of Health. I had already written Ms. Philpott about this issue on November 4, 2015, and have not yet received a reply from her to either piece of correspondence.

Is this lack of follow-through a symptom of our overloaded digital brains?

My Conclusion:

Although Safety Code 6 was revised in 2015, there is controversy about the role industry played in shaping this code and the possible “cherrypicking” of the scientific reports which were used to support the guidelines.

I have diligently studied current peer reviewed scientific research on the adverse effects of EMF and RF on humans, bees, migratory birds, trees and more, and I am frankly appalled and outraged at the lack of conscious action by the government of Canada on this issue. (Click here for a summary of relevant research.)

My Recommendations on a Federal Level:

If we are to safeguard the future of our children, I suggest our federal government follow this course of action:

2. Educate the public about the potential harm of EMF exposure and encourage individuals to make healthy, balanced choices about cell phone use, WiFi exposure, and more.

(See this wonderful infomercial produced by the Government of Cyprus)

(As an aside: in a telephone conversation in late October 2015, Doug Anastos, Senior Real Estate Manager for Telus who is overseeing the small cell transmitter project, told me Telus is simply responding to the public’s demand for better WiFi and cell phone service.  When we, the public, demand connectivity that is healthier for body and planet, industry will respond.)

3.  Take Legislative Action:

– Legislate hydro companies to offer free or affordable smart meter opt-out to all customers.

– Permit citizens to have the final say as to whether EMF-emitting devices are placed on the roof of their condo or their children’s school, or on a utility pole by their bedroom window.

– Ban WiFi in all parks, schools, and public places and promote fibre optic internet as a data-secure, healthy, fast, and affordable alternative for all.

– Accurately measure the EMF Safety levels of new technologies like driver-less and electric cars, smart appliances, “wearables”, and more, and draw pubic attention to all potential hazards resulting from them.

– Create federal regulations and uphold human rights conventions and international law to oppose Google’s Project Loon and other global internet satellite projects that are irreversibly blanketing the planet with harmful EMF.

4. Become a leading innovator in safe technology

– Offer financial and educational incentives to industry and academic institutions for the research and development of non-physically harmful and environmentally friendly high speed, portable communication devices and technologies to replace cell phones, wireless-reliant devices, and more.

– (Becoming a world leader in innovative and healthy communication technology could shift our economy away from a dependency on oil and other non-renewable resources)

– Cell-phone Developer Insider:  In 2001, Robert C. Kane, who was a top developer of the cell phone for Motorola and worked in the telecommunications industry for over 30 years, published Cellular Telephone Russian Roulette which traces the history of cell phone development and analyzes the cell phone radiation bio-effects research base from 1950 to 1996.  He died from brain cancer in 2006. The book is available for free download here.

My Request:

Mr Trudeau, I am passionately convinced that our blind acceptance of and addiction to an EMF-emitting infrastructure is one of the major issues of our era – the one that affects how we think, sleep, focus and feel, that is shaping the brains and bodies of our children, negatively affecting pollinators and thus food and forest, and irrevocably transforming us and our ecosystems on a cellular level – all for the sake of expediency and convenience over balance and communion.

What will this world be like when there are no still, silent, untouched places left?

I believe it is essential that in this calendar year our federal government form a wise and informed multidisciplinary working group on the issue of EMF.

Warmly,

X

 

 

Sharon Noble
Director, Coalition to Stop Smart Meters

“The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.”  
~ Albert Einstein