Harvard Experts Compare Wireless to Tobacco

Skeptical?

Check out what Harvard Doctors state. 

The Harvard Edmund J. Safra Center for Ethics just published an expose on how our federal government has ignored wireless health risks.

In Captured Agency: How the Federal Communications Commission is Dominated by the Industries it Presumably Regulates investigative reporter Norm Alster details how "consumer safety, health, and privacy, along with consumer wallets, have all been overlooked, sacrificed, or raided due to unchecked industry influence".

On The FCC,  “Remarkably, it has not changed course despite the IARC classification of cell phones as possibly carcinogenic, despite the recent studies showing triple the glioma risk for heavy users, despite the floodtide of research showing biological effects, and despite even the recent defection of core industry booster Alex Lerchl. "

"It is the refusal of both industry and the FCC to even acknowledge this cascade of warning signs that seems most incriminating. Of course, industry behavior goes well beyond pushing for the FCC‘s willful ignorance and inaction. Industry behavior also includes self-serving public relations and hyper aggressive legal action. It can also involve undermining the credibility of and cutting off the funding for researchers who do not endorse cellular safety…."

"It is these hardball tactics that recall 20th century Big Tobacco tactics.”

Read the Harvard Book for free here. AWESOME!

“You could compare it to passive smoking” 

Dr. Franz Adlkofer at the Harvard Law Center for Ethics Lecture in 2011 discusses how he was unjustly accused of scientific fraud for his REFLEX study findings that cell phone radiation damages DNA.  In this lecture he describes the institutional corruption and Industry involvement that led to accusations that his work was fraudulent.

He was later exonerated and the accusations entirely dismissed by an ethics panel after an investigation showed that these accusations were unfounded. Listen to him describe the results of his research here in 2010.

Please watch the video of his lecture at Harvard here . Please note he is introduced by top Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig. Dr. Adkofer compares  the biological impact to tobacco at  one hour 22 minutes (1:22:00). You can hear him talk about wireless routers right after. Watch the video of his lecture at Harvard. 

Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Lessig is pro-bono representing Berkeley in their Cell Phone Right to Know Case after the Wireless Industry sued the city.

From Kevin Kunze Video

Berkeley lawmakers voted to require cellphone retailers to provide customers with a notice on the potential health hazards of carrying their device too close to their bodies and the increased risks to children.  Lawrence Lessig not only Director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University and is also is a current Democratic presidential candidate.

Watch a brief video on the Berkeley Ordinance here.

Read an article in The Guardian HERE.  

Watch and Read NBC coverage on the lawsuit and Lessig’s role Here.

Harvard Neurologist and Autism Expert Recommends Reducing Wireless Exposures.

Dr. Martha Herbert  PhD, MD of Harvard Medical School is a neurologist and neuroscientist  and has cautioned the Los Angeles Unified School District against the use of WiFi in schools. Read her letter here.

Dr. Herbert directs the Transcend Research Lab at Massachusetts General Hospital. She also directs the Cure Autism Now Foundation’s  Brain Development Initiative and is the Co-Chair of the Environmental Health Advisory Board of the Autism Society of America. Her recent compilation of the science potentially associating EMF exposure with autism in the BioInitiative Report, can be found here.

Harvard Educated Doctors Are Also Speaking Out.

Read Dr. Powell's Letter to Our Maryland Superintendent

Dr. Powell is a retired U.S. Government scientist (Ph.D., Applied Physics, Harvard University, 1975). During his Government career, he worked for the Executive Office of the President, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Read Dr. Carpenter's Letter to the Fay School Here.
David Carpenter has a medical degree from Harvard Medical School who serves as director of the Institute for Health and the Environment, a Collaborating Center of the World Health Organization, as well as a professor  at U Albany's School of Public Health. He previously served as Director of the Wadsworth Center of the New York State Department of Health, and as Dean of the University at Albany School of Public Health. Read His Court Declaration on WiFi in Portland Public Schools. 

+Yale Doctors Are Speaking Out, Calling For Caution

"The scientific evidence is sufficiently robust showing that cellular devices pose significant health risks to children and pregnant women. The weight of the evidence supports stronger precautionary regulation by the federal government. The cellular industry should take immediate steps to reduce emission of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) from phones and avoid marketing their products to children.” 
John Wargo, Ph.D., professor of Environmental Risk and Policy at Yale University and lead author of the Cell Phone Report. Read it HERE. 

If Harvard and Yale are publishing articles about how the Wireless Industry is Misleading the Public and How Wireless Industry Executives are Influencing the US Government.....
Shouldn't we parents listen?

We do not want our children exposed to "passive smoking" like toxic radiation in class for 6 hours a day.

Read Ten Facts About Wi-Fi in Schools Every Parent Should Know. 
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Retired World Health Organization Director States Wireless Has Health Effects

Retired World Health Organization General-Director Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland

"Wireless Technology has Health Effects There is no Doubt "

On Friday the 14th of August 2015, retired World Health Organization  General-Director and Prime Minister of Norway, Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland was interviewed by the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten.  One of the issues raised in the interview was her current thoughts on wireless radiation. Her statement was crystal clear. 

Why are so many retired officials speaking out on this? 

The former CDC Director Dr. Christopher Portier also spoke out on this two months ago. 

He presented "The Precautionary Principle Should be Invoked for RF-EMF" at a conference. 

 Dr Portier was Director of the National Center for Environmental Health and the US Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry at CDC.  Prior to his work at CDC, Dr. Portier was the Associate Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences at NIH and Associate Director of the National Toxicology Program. Dr. Portier served as the CDC expert on the 31-member IARC expert working group that declared radiofrequency wireless radiation "possibly carcinogenic" to humans in 2011. Read More 

Wi-Fi in School ADA Federal Complaint Against School After Child Fell Sick From Wireless Installation

Breaking: 8/12/2015 Federal complaint seeks injunctive relief for violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and damages for breach of contract and negligence. 

Parents Call For the Removal of the Wi-Fi System at Massachusetts School. 

Please Download the Filed Complaint HERE. 

After more robust School Wi-Fi was installed in Spring 2013, a 12 year old boy started to experience troubling symptoms, which he reported to his parents when he came home from school. These included severe headaches, itchy skin, and rashes. The school nurse indicated that various children in the same classes were reporting increased headaches, dizziness, nausea and chest pressure. The symptoms were present whenever he was at school. 



Key Points in the Complaint: 

The child was diagnosed with Electrical Hypersensitivity (EHS) after several tests. The complaint cites the symptoms of EHS from wireless exposure as "severe headaches, fatigue, stress, sleep disturbances, skin symptoms such as prickling, burning sensations and rashes, muscle aches, nausea, nose bleeds, dizziness and heart palpitations. Parents brought the issue to the schools attention. 

The school instructed the nurse that legally they are not obligated to be concerned about Wi-Fi radiation even though other children were having similar symptoms.

According to the the United States Access Board  "Measures taken to improve indoor environmental quality, such as reducing air pollution, noise and electromagnetic fields in buildings, will increase their accessibility for people with asthma and/or electromagnetic sensitivities, as well as provide a more healthful environment for all building occupants."

The complaint states that the school has failed to provide reasonable accommodations for the child as required by the ADA. 

“According to the Americans with Disabilities Act and other disability laws, public and commercial buildings are required to provide reasonable accommodations for those disabled by chemical and/or electromagnetic sensitivities.”

The parents offered to pay themselves for non-disruptive accommodations such as hardwiring the internet with ethernet connections  and the school declined. 

The school insisted that the Wi-Fi system complies with Federal Communication Commission (“FCC”) radiofrequency radiation guidelines adopted in 1996 despite the EPA clarifying that such regulations do not apply to long-term Wi-Fi exposures in schools. 

The Fay Board of Trustees received four letters  from scientific experts in electromagnetic fields.

"I must, as a public health physician, advise minimizing these exposures as much as possible. Indications are that cell phones and wireless technologies may turn out to be a serious public health issue, comparable to tobacco, asbestos, DDT, PCBs, pesticides and lead paint, or possibly worse given the ubiquitous nature of the exposures."
-Dr. Carpentar, Director, Institute for Health and the Environment, University of Albany

Compliance with FCC guidelines, thus, unfortunately, is not in any way an assurance of safety today, as the guidelines are fundamentally flawed. Until the guidelines and
advisories in the U.S. are updated, the intelligent thing for your Board of Trustees to do is to exercise the Precautionary Principle and hard wire all internet connections.
- Dr.  Martin Blank, Columbia University  
  

"We know that the heart is sensitive to and can be adversely affected by the same frequency used for Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz) at levels a fraction of federal guidelines (less than1%) and at levels that have been recorded in two Ontario schools with Wi-Fi technology. "

-Dr. Stephen T. Sinatra, Cardiologist. M.D., F.A.C.C, F.A.C.N., C.N.S 

"Radiation of the kind emitted by WiFi transmitters impacts attention, memory, perception, learningcapacity, energy, emotions andsocial skills. Thereisalsodiminished reactiontime, decreased motor function, increased distraction, hyperactivity, and inability to focus on complex and long-term tasks. In some situations, children experience cardiac difficulties. "

-Dr. Olle Johansson, Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute,  

Download letters HERE. 

Local and International Press coverage 
School's Wi-Fi Making Son Sick, Parents Say In Lawsuit - CBS Local 
Family sues Fay School in Southboro, claims Wi-Fi made son ill- Telegram
Parents Sue School, Claim Wi-Fi Makes Son Sick -Yahoo Parenting
Parents sue elite private school where they say the Wi-Fi signal is making their son, 9, seriously ill - Daily Mail 

Sept 1- 2015 Breaking NEWS Update: Preliminary agreement reached in Southborough Wi-Fi lawsuit - WCVB, 27th August 2015

Woman Wins Disability Payout for WiFi ‘Sensitivity'

Please Download the Filed Complaint HERE to Read it in Full. 

Watch The Recent Massachuttsetts State House Briefing on Wireless Radiation Children

Right To Know - An Environmental Health Briefing from Grassroots Environmental Ed on Vimeo.

Read More about Electrical Sensitivity and watch videos of  people around the world talk about their symptoms HERE. 
Read Ten Facts About Wi-Fi in Schools Every Parent Should Know. 
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Boston Parents Newspaper: Is School Wi-Fi Safe?

Putting EMF exposure on your radar of potential health risks.

by Brian Spero

See the article online at Boston Parents HERE

A primary responsibility of being a parent is diligently protecting the safety and well-being of your children. We spend a lot of time teaching our kids techniques for navigating dangerous situations, scrutinizing the individuals and institutions we temporarily entrust them to, showing them how to eat right, looking after their personal hygiene and so on. When it comes to a rising new concern that could potentially contribute to a host of health complications, we owe it to ourselves, and our kids, to listen and learn.

Electromagnetic fields (EMF) are a form of radiation or invisible area of energy associated with the modern use of electrical power. Common sources of EMF radiation include power lines, computers, cell phones and wireless Internet (Wi-Fi) networks. While most of us over the years have probably heard rumblings of the possibilities of negative health effects attributed to high levels of exposure to EMFs, little definitive word has reached the mainstream stamping it as a legitimate concern. But in a world in which experts estimate we encounter 100 million times the exposure to artificial EMF radiation than our grandparents did, there’s never been a more critical time to take a closer look.

A Voice of Warning

One person who has been fighting to get the word out about pervasive negative health implications relating to EMFs and Wi-Fi in schools is Camilla Rees. An investment banker by trade, Rees realized she has a particular sensitivity to EMFs about seven years ago. Since then, she’s dedicated herself to learning as much as possible about the science and research regarding EMF exposure and relating the facts in everyday terms people can understand, founding electromagnetichealth.org along the way.

“It’s hard once you know something that is very important happening to society to turn a blind eye to it,” says Rees, who feels certain EMF radiation poses a threat. “You have to ethically move to educate people, raise awareness and try to move things in the right direction.” And with institutions ranging from daycare centers and grammar schools all the way up to colleges and universities racing to remain on the cutting edge by upgrading to campus-wide, industrial strength Wi-Fi, there’s a growing number of concerned individuals desperate to get to the truth.

What We Know About EMFs

According to Rees, the first thing to understand about this complex and often controversial topic is radio frequency radiation is biologically active. “We know for certain, it’s absolutely unquestionable,” she says, citing more than 20,000 studies.

“We think of ourselves as solid beings, but we’re actually electromagnetic,” Rees explains. “And when there’s an energy source that’s more powerful than the delicate balance in our bodies, it causes disruptions. So as a result, you’re going to see every system potentially being affected.”

From cancer risks and behavioral changes to cardiovascular irregularities and sleep disorders, Rees offers a laundry list of related concerns that includes many of the most prevalent medical conditions plaguing our society. “Chronic illnesses have skyrocketed since the mid-1990s when all this technology started to proliferate,” says Rees.

Martha Herbert, an assistant professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and a pediatric neurologist and neuroscientist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, contributed an article to the Autism Notebook Spring 2015 edition, titled “Connections in Our Environment: Sizing up Electromagnetic Fields,” in which she details documented parallel issues that occur in cases of EMF exposure and autism. “There is a whole series of problems at the cellular, sub-cellular and metabolic levels and immune levels that have been identified in autism. And interestingly, for every single one of those problems, there’s literature about how EMFs can create those kinds of problems,” says Herbert. “The argument I made is not that it proves EMF causes autism, but that EMF can certainly contribute to degrading the physiological integrity of the system at the cellular and molecular level.”

She sees this type of radio frequency radiation as yet another element encountered in modern life, along with toxic chemicals, air pollution, stress, poor sleep and pro-inflammatory foods, which serve to degrade our health.

Why Is Wi-Fi in Schools Worse?

One might wonder why should I worry more about Wi-Fi in schools when radio frequency radiation today is pretty much everywhere? Rees would answer the growing levels of EMF exposure in everyday life is, in fact, a reality all of us will sooner or later need to confront. However, its persistent presence in schools, among children at the developmental stages who are most vulnerable to all forms of toxic exposures, is the first ingredient in a recipe for a perfect storm.

The second lies in the fact that industrial-strength Wi-Fi routers schools typically use are much more powerful than the ones you find at home. “These 5GHz routers are designed to go through cement, brick and to cover the campus, too,” says Rees, adding they’re also higher wattage and configured to be able to serve hundreds of users simultaneously.

Finally, there’s what Rees describes as the continuous exposures and cumulative, chronic effect of being bathed in EMF radiation eight hours a day, five days a week, 10 months a year. “This beautifully balanced body we have is being pushed by this outside energy source that’s perceived as a stressor. Your body needs to rebalance, it needs to rest and repair,” she says.

Rees points to studies confirming students and teachers experiencing signs of chronic electro-sensitivity ranging from fatigue, headaches and irritability to visual disruption, depression, dizziness and nausea. Says Rees, “There’s just a lot of cognitive and physical fatigue and therefore it impairs learning. How can someone really learn or teach in an environment where their head feels fuzzy and foggy and their reflexes are slow?”

Herbert says high levels of EMF exposure make us all, but especially children, less resilient and more vulnerable. “(Kids) don’t need any more extra stressors in their system. When they’re more stressed, they will probably be less attentive, more likely to have behavioral outbursts, learn less well and possibly get sicker depending on their vulnerabilities,” she says. “But no matter what resilience you have, it’s still eating away at your resources. Nobody is immune from EMF.”

Why Isn’t More Being Done?

Rees contends in many cases schools across the country are in denial about the negative effects of EMFs. She says they’re relying on the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) to give them the green light, which it recently did in what Rees describes as a woefully inadequate report. She wrote a scathing critique of it, maintaining that the report was poorly researched and dismissive of the facts.

“Everybody has been sold a bill of goods,” says Rees. “There’s been so much publicity and promotion and propaganda about how exciting technology is and how it’s so good for learning. But a lot of that isn’t true. And a lot of that is just marketing.” Herbert agrees, pointing to the increasing learning troubles children today exhibit in schools. “We think we’re putting in all these Wi-Fi devices so they can learn better, but you’re giving with one hand and taking away with the other,” she says.

Rees believes schools don’t want to go against the grain or admit they might have been wrong, especially when they just raised money to put in Wi-Fi and have to go back to donors acknowledging it was a bad choice. However, she says there are many countries around the world and a growing movement here in the U.S. taking steps to protect children from EMF radiation. From a hard-won ordinance recently passed in Berkeley, California, demanding electronics retailers warn customers of potential health risks associated with cell phone radiation to groups of parents organizing locally across the nation, voices of concern are starting to be heard.

What Can You Do? 

Rees urges parents to band together and request schools do a thorough evaluation of the research and look at what the science is really saying. “There’s a hunger for the truth on this issue,” says Rees enthusiastically.

In the meantime, Herbert believes it’s crucial to take steps to combat the effects of intense, prolonged EMF exposure. “All of these things are wearing us down and unless you take measures to reduce what’s wearing you down and increase the protections of what you’re doing, you’re getting unnecessary exposures.” As a proactive approach, she advises families to eat healthy diets of fresh fruits and vegetables, turn off cell phones and Wi-Fi when not in use and unplug all non-essential electronic appliances before going to bed.

Herbert says in many cases children experiencing symptoms have made impressive turnarounds after detoxifying from EMF exposure. “When you give the cells a break from the unremitting stress, they can actually bound back and have better functioning, better behavior, better learning and a lot less setbacks and meltdowns.”

Rees says turning off cell phones in the schools and connecting computers to the Internet through Ethernet cables would be a major step forward, even if it might present some initial design challenges. “Not only is it safer – it’s a faster connection, it’s more pure,” she says. “There’s absolutely no reason to have these kinds of transmitters blanketing people with radiation.”

  

10 Elements of an Electromagnetically Clean and Conscious School

Read on for Rees’ top 10 tips for schools serious about reducing EMF exposure. A more detailed list can be found at tinyurl.com/o57jpph.

1. Use hard-wired cable or fiber optic communications networks, replacing over-the-air Wi-Fi transmissions.

2. Install workstations with Ethernet connections available throughout the school for laptop Internet access.

3. Teach students and school personnel to disable Wi-Fi functionality on laptops and personal devices and remove wireless “smart boards.”

4. Institute a “No Cell Phone” policy on campus, including personal hotspot devices.

5. Hard-wire computer peripherals such as mice, keyboards, speakers, monitors and other accessories.

6. Hard-wire printers and disable Wi-Fi function.

7. Disallow iPads or other tablets for students unless they accommodate an Ethernet connection and provide the ability to disable the wireless.

8. Train school personnel to be alert for signs of chronic electro-sensitivity symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, fatigue, irritability, heart irregularities and concentration problems.

9. Educate parents about the advisability of hard-wiring computers and Internet connections and limiting mobile phone use in the home.

10. Assess via antennasearch.com and with a radio frequency (RF) meter any external RF radiation sources, such as from antennas or towers, within a mile of the school.

See the article online at Boston Parents HERE

Sue Grey, an Environmental Lawyer, talks about Wi-Fi in Schools

These two videos are great to be informed on Wi-Fi in School issues. 

Read Ten Facts About Wi-Fi in Schools Every Parent Should Know. 

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