Saturday, June 23, 2012

"ONE CODE 4 MCS - 4 EHS": final results of the campaign





"ONE CODE 4 MCS - 4 EHS": resultados finales de la campaña 

Las cifras totales de votos a 14 de junio de 2012 (fecha de cierre para recogida de firmas), es de 188 votos, insuficientes para que la Declaración Escrita sea aprobada, ya que el mínimo estaba marcado en 378 votos
Los diputados promotores de la Campaña One Code 4 MCS – 4 EHS (Willy Meyer, Raül Romeva i Rueda,  Kriton Arsenis,   Michèle Rivasi,   y Oreste Rossi) se han reunido para mostrar la voluntad política de seguir trabajando en el reconocimiento de estas enfermedades a nivel europeo, considerando que esta campaña es sólo el primer paso de concienciación. Entre otros proyectos, se ha planteado la posibilidad de realizar una conferencia en el Parlamento Europeo sobre este asunto antes de final de año, a la cual probablemente le seguiría otra iniciativa parlamentaria. 
Tal y como nos comunican desde el Parlamento Europeo, queremos considerar esta campaña como una primera iniciativa que nos va a abrir puertas para seguir trabajandoel reconocimiento de la SQM y la EHS desde diferentes aspectos. 
Agradecemos el esfuerzo de asociaciones, enferm@s, familiares, médic@s, científic@s, polític@s , sindicatos y otros voluntari@s que han puesto todo su empeño y esfuerzo en ayudar a los enfermos de SQM y EHS ante el Parlamento Europeo. 
Seguiremos trabajando unidos hasta conseguir nuestros propósitos.

"ONE CODE 4 MCS - 4 EHS": final results of the campaign



The total number of votes at June 14, 2012 (deadline for collecting signatures), is 188 votes, not enough to enable the Written Declaration to be approved, since the minimum was set at 378 votes.

Members promoters Code 4 MCS Campaign One - 4 EHS (Willy Meyer, Raul Romeva i Rueda, Kriton Arsenis, Michèle Rivasi, and Oreste Rossi) have come together to show the political will to continue working on the recognition of these diseases European level, considering that this campaign is just the first step of awareness. Among other projects, has raised the possibility of a conference at the European Parliament on this matter before the end of the year, which probably follow another parliamentary initiative.

As we have heard from the European Parliament, we consider this campaign as a first initiative that we will continue working to open doors for recognition of MCS and EHS from different aspects.

We appreciate the efforts of associations, enferm 's, family, medic' s, Science @ s, s political prisoners, trade unions and other volunteer s who have made ​​every effort and effort in helping those suffering from MCS and EHS before Parliament Europe.

We will continue working together to achieve our goals.



Smart Meter Victory in Oakland County, Michigan


Smart Meter Victory in Oakland County, Michigan

June 21st, 2012 – Oakland County, Michigan – Commissioners Support Smart Meter Refusal.  Today, on a unanimous consent vote, the 25 member Oakland County, Michigan, Board of Commissioners approved a resolution that supports the right of every utility customer to be able to opt-out of a ‘smart’ electric meter without cost or penalty.  The resolution also contains language calling for it to be forwarded to the Governor, the Attorney General, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC), and the members of the legislature who represent Oakland County.  Our heartfelt thanks go to Commissioner James Runestad for proposing and spearheading this fine document, and to Christine Long and her General Government Committee that earlier held a very thorough and well run hearing on this where DTE was given its chance to defend its program and many citizens expressed their passionate support for the resolution to escape the DTE program.
One of the highlights of the “Public Comments” was an emotional talk by Dominic Cusumano, who spoke of the illness experienced by his wife soon after being exposed to a smart meter on their home in Addison Township.  He explained how this objectionable device had been installed on their home without their knowledge or consent, how he had demanded its removal, and how unresponsive the utility had been to their predicament.  Ultimately he stated that he had to remove the meter himself in self-defense.  For that he is being sued by the utility and is currently awaiting a decision from the Oakland County Circuit Court.  A video of his brief talk can be seen in the linked news story by Oakland Press.
We understand that, just before the public session of the Commission, there was an apparently desperate (but unsuccessful) last minute effort by DTE representatives to lobby Commissioners not to do this.   When the public session began, the Runestad resolution was on the “Consent Agenda” and it quickly became apparent that there was not a single Commissioner asking it to be removed to the “Regular Agenda” where it might have been debated and a roll call vote taken.  About 20 citizens had come to this Commission meeting prepared to speak for the resolution during “Public Comments”.  When it became apparent the resolution had already passed, most used their time at the microphone to thank the Commission for doing the right thing.
None of the above events would have been possible but for the climate of opinion created in southeastern Michigan.  This foundation was developed by the efforts of many individuals.  I would love to name them here but am concerned that in remembering some, I might overlook others.
Two who must be singled out were John and Pauline Holeton, whose efforts for this cause were tireless!  These two went from city council to city council, many times driving an hour or more each way to go to a meeting where they were only allowed to speak for 3 minutes during “Public Comments”.  Often they were able to persuade others to go with them and also speak for 3 minutes.
At first John and Pauline faced an almost impossibly uphill battle, but gradually, little by little, their efforts began to bear fruit.  They distributed thousands of DVDs.  In time others joined in to help until the effort snowballed into what we saw today.
Before today’s action, twenty-one units of local government had passed resolutions urging caution in the rush to deploy smart meters, calling for investigation of the health and privacy effects, and supporting the right of citizens to ‘opt-out’.  As a result of these local government actions the Michigan Public Service Commission opened an investigation in January.  A report on that investigation is due out next week.
There are now two bills pending in the state legislature which would give citizens the right to opt-out, proposed by representatives McMillin and Opsommer, who also deserve our heartfelt thanks.  While these bills are currently languishing in the House Energy Committee, it is to be hoped that today’s action by Oakland County will help to move them along.  The utilities in this state have had too sweet a deal in Lansing for too long.  It is surely time to change that!

Wireless Interference: The Health Risks of RF-EMFs


Wireless Interference: The Health Risks of RF-EMFs

The health risks of RF-EMFs, the radiation from cell phone towers and other media technology, are not entirely known, though early signs are troubling.

In January 1990, a cell tower goes up 800 feet from Alison Rall’s dairy farm inMansfield, Ohio. By fall, the cattle herd that pastures near the tower is sick, and Rall’s three young children begin suffering bizarre skin rashes, raised red “hot spots.” The kids are hit with waves of hyperactivity. The girls lose hair. Rall, when she becomes pregnant with a fourth child, can’t gain weight.


Desperate to understand what is happening to her family and her farm, she contacts an Environmental Protection Agency scientist named Carl Blackman. He’s an expert on the biological effects of radiation from electromagnetic fields (EMFs)—the kind of radiofrequency EMFs (RF-EMFs) by which all wireless technology operates, including not just cell towers and cell phones but also wi-fi hubs and wi-fi-capable computers, “smart” utility meters, and even cordless home phones. “With my government cap on, I’m supposed to tell you you’re perfectly safe,” Blackman tells her. “With my civilian cap on, I have to tell you to consider leaving.”


When Rall contacts the cell phone company that operates the tower, she is told there is “no possibility whatsoever” that the tower is the source of her ills. But within weeks of abandoning the farm, the children recovered their health, and so did the herd.


We all live in range of cell towers now, and we are all wireless operators. As of October 2010 there were 5.2 billion cell phones operating on the planet. “Penetration,” in the marketing-speak of the companies, often tops 100 percent in many countries, meaning there is more than one connection per person.


I don’t have an Internet connection at my home in Brooklyn, and, like a dinosaur, I still keep a landline. Yet even though I have, in a fashion, opted out, I’m bathed in the radiation from cell phone panels on the parking garage next door. The waves are everywhere. We now live in a wireless-saturated normality that has never existed in the history of the human race, and the effects of EMFs on human beings are largely untested.


In May 2011, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) issued a statement that the electromagnetic frequencies from cell phones would henceforth be classified as “possibly carcinogenic to humans.” The IARC decision followed multiple warnings, mostly from European regulators, about the possible health risks of RF-EMFs. In September 2007, the EU’s European Environment Agency suggested that widespread radiofrequency radiation “could lead to a health crisis similar to those caused by asbestos, smoking, and lead in petrol.” Double-strand breaks in DNA—one of the undisputed causes of cancer—have been reported in tests with animal cells. Neuroscientists at Swinburne University of Technology in Australia discovered a “power boost” in brain waves when humans were exposed to cell phone radiofrequencies. The brain, one of the lead researchers speculated, was “concentrating to overcome the electrical interference.”


Read more: http://www.utne.com/environment/rf-emfs-zm0z12mjzros.aspx#ixzz1ycskX8VR

Mothers now prefer handing over smartphones rather than dummies to comfort crying babies‏


Mothers now prefer handing over smartphones rather than dummies to comfort crying babies‏

  • Ten per cent of these allow toddlers to play on phones for up to two hours
  • Scottish mothers most likely to entertain babies with smartphones
  • Only nine per cent of babies are given dummies by their parents


When faced with a troublesome child, parents have traditionally turned to a toy or a dummy for help in restoring the peace.

But, in a sign of the times, they are increasingly reaching for a rather more high-tech solution . . .  a smartphone.
More than one in four mothers admits to handing over a phone to a crying or bored tot when they need entertaining, research has found.

Smarty-pants: smart mums give restless babies smartphone apps to play with
Smarty-pants: smart mums give restless babies smartphone apps to play with

And it is more common than shoving a dummy in their mouth or giving them a soft toy or even a bottle in these high tech times.

A range of apps for youngsters, including games, puzzles and educational programmes, means smartphones are now a parent’s best friend, said Asda.
 
The study found 27 per cent of mothers give their phones to their children to keep them entertained.
And although 40 per cent of these restrict playtime to no longer than ten minutes, 10 per cent admitted leaving their children to play with their mobile for anything up to two hours.

High-tech tots: Babies are shunning more traditional toys in favour of smartphone apps
High-tech tots: Babies are shunning more traditional toys in favour of smartphone apps

The poll of 1,650 mums found 25 per cent stick to a bottle of milk or other drink as the main way of keeping their child entertained.

'Oh look, he's got his father's smartphone'
One in five (21 per cent) resort to a favourite soft toy and only nine per cent use a dummy as a pacifier.

Mother of two Louise Pearson of Bishop’s Stortford, Herts, said: 'My phone is the boys’ favourite toy, sometimes the only way to keep them quiet is to hand it over.

'I have a range of apps on it for them to play with from puzzles and games to educational programmes.'

Mothers in Scotland are most likely to use their smartphone as a child’s pacifier - 40 per cent of mums north of the border do it, said Asda.

David Fletcher, Asda’s mobile phone expert said: 'No longer are mobile phones just a device for keeping in touch.

'To see them also used as an "electronic pacifier" is no surprise with the large variety of games and entertainment now available to download for children.'


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2161533/Mothers-prefer-smartphones-dummies-comfort-crying-babies.html#ixzz1ycrq4FhR

Friday, June 22, 2012

Investigation of the spinal cord as a natural receptor antenna for incident electromagnetic waves and possible impact on the central nervous system


Investigation of the spinal cord as a natural receptor antenna for incident electromagnetic waves and possible impact on the central nervous system

June 2012, Vol. 31, No. 2 , Pages 101-111 (doi:10.3109/15368378.2011.624653)

Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, California State University
Sacramento, California
USA
Address correspondence to B. P. Kumar, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, California State University, 6000 J Street, Sacramento, CA-95819-6019; E-mail: 


The effects of electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure on biological systems have been studied for many years, both as a source of medical therapy and also for potential health risks. In particular, the mechanisms of EMF absorption in the human or animal body is of medical/engineering interest, and modern modelling techniques, such as the Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD), can be utilized to simulate the voltages and currents induced in different parts of the body. The simulation of one particular component, the spinal cord, is the focus of this article, and this study is motivated by the fact that the spinal cord can be modelled as a linear conducting structure, capable of generating a significant amount of voltage from incident EMF.

In this article, we show, through a FDTD simulation analysis of an incoming electromagnetic field (EMF), that the spinal cord acts as a natural antenna, with frequency dependent induced electric voltage and current distribution. The multi-frequency (100–2400 MHz) simulation results show that peak voltage and current response is observed in the FM radio range around 100 MHz, with significant strength to potentially cause changes in the CNS. This work can contribute to the understanding of the mechanism behind EMF energy leakage into the CNS, and the possible contribution of the latter energy leakage towards the weakening of the blood brain barrier (BBB), whose degradation is associated with the progress of many diseases, including Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).


Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/15368378.2011.624653

Wireless Waste

June 20th, 2012 COREY PEIN | News
 

Wireless Waste

Portland schools have had to spend $172,000 fighting a parent's lawsuit over Wi-Fi.

news2_wifi_3833ILLUSTRATION: Keith Warren Greiman

One year ago, the parent of a Portland Public Schools student sued the district with claims a new Wi-Fi network in his daughter’s middle school was poisoning her and potentially harming other students. 

As WW reported, there’s no scientific evidence for such claims (see “Wi-Fi Woo-Woo,” WW, July 13, 2011). The parent, David Mark Morrison, who works as a rare-book dealer, is part of a pseudo-scientific movement that claims Wi-Fi and related technologies cause everything from brain cancer to infertility to digestive complaints. 

Most studies that adherents cite as evidence haven’t been published or peer-reviewed in reputable scientific journals. Some anti-wireless websites sell literature and protective charms, including amulets and crystals.

Morrison’s case might have been easy to label as frivolous and, it seems, might have been headed for an early dismissal.

Not so. Portland Public Schools officials tell WW they have already spent $172,559 in public money to defend the district against Morrison’s claim that PPS’s Wi-Fi network has harmed his daughter.

The case against PPS has dragged on in U.S. District Court in Portland, with hundreds of hours billed by PPS’s outside counsel, the law firm Miller Nash.

“The fact that the plaintiffs have so many purported experts, all of whom we had to research and depose, really added to the cost, as did the extensive discovery requests,” PPS general counsel and board secretary Jollee Patterson told WW in an emailed response to questions.

The legal expense comes at a time when PPS is strapped, and the City of Portland recently diverted $7.1 million to help bail out the district.

Morrison did not return WW’s message. Nor did his attorney, Shawn E. Abrell of Camas, Wash. Last year, Morrison told WW he thought studies contradicting his beliefs were corrupted by industry.

One Morrison expert PPS attorneys have had to depose is Barrie Trower, who claims he worked on a “stealth” microwave warfare program for the British Navy (noting he had no rank because he refused promotions) and was assigned to a secret British prison housing “spies, dissidents, international terrorists [and] gangland killers.” 

Trower claims a bachelor’s degree in physics earned in night classes, has been repeatedly turned down by Ph.D. programs, and says he recently traveled to consult with “the king in South Africa” on Wi-Fi dangers. (South Africa abolished the monarchy in 1961.)
PPS has its own $400-an-hour expert, Brown University professor of epidemiology David Savitz.

“In the case of Wi-Fi exposure,” Savitz writes in his declaration, “there is no epidemiologic evidence whatsoever that counters the lack of biological support for a potential health hazard.”

The school district’s attorney, Bruce Campbell, argued in court filings that Morrison’s experts present “fringe views outside the mainstream of science by witnesses who are not qualified to offer their opinions.” 

In a written response to Campbell’s motion to strike his testimony, Trower concludes flatly that “Wi-Fi uses a similar frequency to a microwave oven.”

Sadly, though, you can’t make popcorn with a Wi-Fi router. 

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Yale Study On Cell Phones and Pregnancy



#Reconnect film Yale research study on cell phone radiation and the effects on pregnancy. The doctor noted similar behavior as ADHD

At Rio+20, Severn Cullis-Suzuki Revisits Historic '92 Speech, Fights for Next Generation's Survival


At Rio+20, Severn Cullis-Suzuki Revisits Historic '92 Speech, Fights for Next Generation's Survival




In 1992, 12-year-old Severn Cullis-Suzuki became known as "the girl who silenced the world for six minutes" after she addressed delegates in Rio de Janeiro during the summit’s plenary session. We air Cullis-Suzuki’s historic address and speak to her from the Rio+20 summit, which she comes back to now as a veteran international environmental campaigner and mother of two. "Twenty years later, the world is still talking about a speech, a six-minute speech that a 12-year-old gave to world leaders," Cullis-Suzuki says. "Why? It is because the world is hungry to hear the truth, and it is nowhere articulated as well as from the mouths of those with everything at stake, which is youth." [includes rush transcript]

FILED UNDER  Climate ChangeEnvironmentGUEST:
Severn Cullis-Suzuki, delivered a famous speech at the 1992 U.N. Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and is now a veteran international environmental campaigner and mother of two, attending the Rio+20 summit.
 

The invisible threat that pulls apart DNA, causing genetic disorders and cancer


The invisible threat that pulls apart DNA, causing genetic disorders and cancer

Wednesday, June 20, 2012 by: D Holt
 DNA

(NaturalNews) We are all exposed to electromagnetic radiation constantly on a daily basis from mobile phones, Wifi hot spots, power lines and electrical appliances. The sources of this pollution are many and varied, each having its own range of wavelength, frequency and intensity. How does the artificial electromagnetic soup that we bathe in every day affect our most precious gift, our DNA?

Our DNA is a polar molecule which is affected by charged particles and electromagnetic fields, much in the same way as other polar molecules. Put simply, a polar molecule such as water has predominantly negative and positive regions. The charge on the molecule will align itself with the direction of an electromagnetic field. When the field oscillates then the molecule will switch from one direction to the other resulting in increased temperature, this is essentially the workings of the microwave oven.

The issue with DNA, however, is not merely one of increasing temperature. Many studies into mobile phone frequency EM radiation have only studied the heating effects. Whilst heating of the brain does occur, this is not the only cause of concern. The internal components of the DNA structure are rotated at different frequencies and different rates and the external ribbons of deoxyribose and phosphate are rotated and pulled.

Unzipping DNA

With so many differing EM fields being transmitted by so many different sources, the DNA components attempt to turn to align with their respecting fields. This causes rotational and tensile stresses on the molecule. The base pairs of the molecule are held together down the middle by weak hydrogen bonds, much the same as a zipper. These weak hydrogen bonds are used in replication, but are weak enough to be broken by the physical stresses put on the structure of the molecule. The result is damaged DNA structures that are unable to function in the way they are designed to do so. Damaged DNA results in many diseases such as genetic disorders, infertility and cancer.

The many studies into mobile phone use and overhead power lines have come to different conclusions depending on who has carried out the studies; however some results are universally proven. DNA is damaged by EM radiation. Heating of the brain occurs when a mobile phone is used and cases of cancer have been observed in areas of the body consistently exposed to mobile phone frequency radiation.

Despite evidence of the dangers, the use of EM devices is still rapidly on the increase, with smart meters, Wifi, and more powerful next generation mobile communications. This is in addition to the already numerous sources from electrical appliances, TV and radio signals, body scanners, overhead power lines and even the wiring in the walls of your home. There is no doubt that more research needs to be done. But whilst the dangers are ignored in the search for profit, no amount of research will change the daily onslaught of this silent and invisible danger.

Information for this article includes the following websites:

http://cutcat.com/docs/tecnostudies.pdf
http://www.telegraph.co.uk
http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/basics/dna
http://www.greenfacts.org/en/power-lines/index.htm
http://www.technologyreview.com
http://thefutureofthings.com

About the author:
D Holt is currently involved in research in the UK into the mechanisms involved in healing due to meditation, hypnosis and other ''spiritual'' healers and techniques. Previous work has included investigations into effects of meditation on addiction, the effects of sulphites on the digestive system and the use of tartrazine and other additives in the restaurant industry. new blog is now available at http://tinyurl.com/sacredmeditation twitter @sacredmeditate

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/036224_genetic_disorders_DNA_electropollution.html#ixzz1ySdUQKeS

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Smart home appliances? It's really all about creating consumer demand for new gadgets


Smart home appliances? It's really all about creating consumer demand for new gadgets



In this time of difficult economic times where appliance manufactures struggle to keep up their market share and profits, smart grids and smart meters look like a really smart idea. What a great way to assure that literally billions of homeowners globally will have to replace their old ‘dumb’ home appliances with new ‘smart’ ones in order to stay connected. – And then sell the idea to the environmental movement as a sustainable energy saving initiative.
Perhaps with all the emphasis on energy savings above all else, we should revisit the old proposal by the Microwave Research Center in Marlborough, NH, USA that utilized a conventional 800 Watt microwave oven transmitter as a method of heating rooms. The experimental system worked by warming up the body’s water molecules but had a few bugs to iron out, such as excessively heating up parts of the body – the testicles and cornea. Read it here. Or in The Procrustean Approach pp.131 – 134.
Why worry about cooked testicles and blindness when we could save on heating bills and reduce our carbon footprint…… What is a worry about the above proposal is that it was being spruked by members of the IEEE’s RF standard setting committee. Bizarre but true.
Now we have smart meters…..
Don
***********************************************************************************************************************
From the New York Times,
January 23, 2012
Not Quite Smart Enough
By ANDREW MARTIN
As the “smart” revolution spreads from phones to other electronics, some manufacturers are hoping to make a bundle by selling refrigerators that spew out recipes based on what’s inside, robotic vacuum cleaners with remote-controlled cameras, and washers and dryers you can monitor from your phone.
But if you’re thinking of a futuristic home like that of the Jetsons, think again. These smart appliances are not all that smart, at least not yet.
“It’s been around for a while and it hasn’t caught fire,” said Neil Strother, an analyst at Pike Research. “It seems like a cool dryer here, a fancy refrigerator there. It needs to be better packaged where if I pay an extra $200 for an appliance, show me the payback.”
Smart appliances are part of a larger trend toward smart electronics, which took hold with phones and is now moving rapidly toward televisions and household appliances. “Smart” may have been the most commonly used adjective at the recent International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas — with smart TVs, cameras, vacuums, remote controls, to name a few, on abundant display.
The idea is that consumers can control the devices, which can communicate wirelessly, with their smartphones, tablets or televisions. So the owner of a smart refrigerator could check what’s in the refrigerator on a smartphone, and in some instances, send photographs to be displayed on the refrigerator’s LCD screen.
But the smart refrigerators being offered these days aren’t smart enough to keep track of the food inside; consumers still need to do that themselves with a touch screen. And while smart washers allow remote changing of the settings, some question how many consumers would be willing to pay for that perk.
Meanwhile, an important selling point of smart appliances is that they can link into a smart electrical grid that keeps tabs on energy use and programs them to run during off-peak hours, saving money. But the smart-grid projects are just getting under way in the United States. Christopher Mims, who writes about technology for Technology Review, among others, said he thought that while the energy-saving features on smart appliances were interesting, many others were superfluous.
He recently checked out a Samsung smart refrigerator. “It has Pandora and a weather app,” he said. “You have to ask yourself, why wouldn’t you look at your phone that is in your pocket?”
David MacGregor, the president of Longbow Research, tracks some appliance manufacturers and said smart appliances will make more sense when the building industry recovers, and when they can be incorporated into new homes. “It does have the potential to become more meaningful longer term,” he said of the new technology.
Other industry officials say that the efforts to make the kitchen smart are just beginning, and that the appliances will get better and cheaper in coming years.
Boo-Keun Yoon, Samsung’s president for consumer products, said in an interview at the electronics show that smart appliances will make consumers’ lives easier, allowing them to turn on the air-conditioner a half an hour before they get home, get an alert when the dryer is done, or scribble messages on the LCD screen on their refrigerator.
“We have all entered the smart age,” he said, adding that he hopes consumers embrace the “smart age” by buying Samsung products.
In an earlier “smart age,” in 2000, Sharp introduced a microwave that could pull recipes off the Internet and set the appropriate temperature, and Sunbeam created a separate company, Thalia Products, for “thinking and linking intelligent appliances.” These efforts flopped.
“I get enormous amusement seeing what is going on,” said John Hamann, the former chief executive of Thalia Products, who said the company folded, a victim of Sunbeam’s financial woes. “We were talking about this 10 years ago.”
Mr. Hamann, who attended this year’s electronics show, said he believed the latest generation of smart products were not compelling enough.
“I think there is still way too much emphasis on technological wizardry and far too little on consumer benefit,” he said.
Still, there are differences in what is offered this time around — especially in the role of smartphones, which were not widely on the market a decade ago. In addition, even if the idea of a connected home, controlled by a smart electrical grid, is years off, it is more than just a pipe dream.
For now, though, manufacturers are promoting the high-tech gizmos on their smart appliances, rather than focusing on the potential for being a cog in a smart grid.
Samsung Electronics, for instance, offers a French-door refrigerator with an LCD screen and its own apps, allowing consumers to check the weather, browse the Web for recipes, listen to music and keep tabs on what is in the refrigerator. The 28-cubic feet, four-door refrigerator costs about $3,500.
LG Electronics is introducing a refrigerator that allows consumers to scan a grocery receipt with their smartphone so that the refrigerator can track what is inside.
So if you buy some chicken, for instance, the refrigerator will keep tabs on when you bought it and tell you when it is about to expire. If you have chicken, broccoli and lemons in your refrigerator, it will offer recipes that include those three ingredients, even narrowing recipes based on specific dietary needs and goals.
Several manufacturers are introducing washers and dryers equipped with Wi-Fi that alert consumers on their television or smartphone when a load is done, and gives them the option of fluffing towels for another 10 minutes or adding a rinse cycle.
LG’s robotic smart vacuum can be told, again, through a smartphone, to clean up the living room. And since it’s equipped with a built-in camera, its owner can secretly watch what the nanny is doing, too.
LG’s smart appliances are not yet available for sale so prices are not set; officials said they would cost more than conventional appliances.
Not all manufacturers are sold on the idea of outfitting household appliances with computer screens and apps.
General Electric’s smart appliances, for instance, do nothing more than communicate with a smart grid to save money by operating during off-peak hours. “If the purpose is saving more energy, why would you want to put something on that takes more power?” said Kevin Schader, a spokesman for the Zigbee Alliance, which provides wireless technology for GE appliances. “Wi-Fi is overkill.”
At the electronics show, the smart appliances received mixed reviews.
“It’s data-intensive,” said Larry Rouse, a convention attendee from Virginia who was checking out LG’s smart appliances. “I have a house full of kids. No way they’d do it.” But he added that smart refrigerators could be great for the elderly and people with special diets.
At the Samsung booth, Diana and Andrés Moreno, who own a computer company in California, liked the smart appliances. The feature on the refrigerator that keeps tabs on when food expires was “awesome,” Mrs. Moreno said.
But would she pay a premium for it? “It depends how much extra,” she said.
Read the full story here.

Chile: Towers Act

BREATHTAKING: After debating this subject for a decade, the Government of Chile has just passed the "Ley de Torres" or the Towers Act. It has been reported that the law, approved by a large majority of members of the Chilean Congress, 1) strictly limits the power of antennas, 2) reduces urban impact of towers through ‘infrastructure sharing’, 3) opens up a process for citizen participation in the approval or denial process for new towers at the local level, effectively requiring prior permission, and terms, from local residents prior to receiving municipal permits; 4) allows property owners to request a reassessment of tax valuation for properties, and for communities, where towers are located, to receive compensation from telecom providers in the form of improvement to neighborhood public spaces (described in one article as an amount representing approximately 30% of tower installation costs); and 5) has a retroactive component in that it establishes mitigation measures in areas that are saturated with antennas, including those close to homes or institutions, such as kindergartens, health centers or schools.  The Act has been signed into law by President Pinera and takes effect this week. Chile’s Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications Pedro Pablo Errazuriz stated, "…in addition to protecting the urban landscape and the goodwill of the neighborhoods, the new law takes care of the most important: the health of people in a precautionary manner as recommended by the World Health Organization, setting strict limits on the powers of the antennas. Chile is setting standards in this regard.” We will follow up with more details as we learn them.

One of the articles--there are many--in Spanish: 
http://noticias.terra.cl/nacional/entra-en-vigencia-ley-que-regula-instalacion-de-torres-para-antenas-celulares,e368f926eccd7310VgnVCM20000099cceb0aRCRD.html 

--Camilla

Thanks to Art KAB in Chile for alerting us to this important development!
emfrefugee@gmail.com

The incidence of primary brain tumors has rapidly increased in recent years


The incidence of primary brain tumors has rapidly increased in recent years

ScienceDirect.com - Hematology/Oncology Clinics of North America - Anaplastic Gliomas: Radiation, Chemotherapy, or Both?

The incidence of primary brain tumors has rapidly increased in recent years. The current standard of care for patients with high-grade malignant glioma is resection followed by radiotherapy. However, the use of adjuvant chemotherapy and the standard of care at first relapse are still under debate for patients with glioblastoma multiforme and anaplastic astrocytoma. Meta-analyses have suggested that adjuvant chemotherapy, specifically with nitrosourea-based regimens, is associated with improved survival. However, no randomized, controlled trial has shown a clear advantage for adjuvant chemotherapy in these patients. Cumulative toxicity associated with both radiotherapy and chemotherapy, as well as resistance to nitrosourea-based regimens related to exposure in the adjuvant setting, prevent the use of radiotherapy and nitrosourea-based regimens at first relapse. The combination of procarbazine, carmustine, and vincristine (PCV) has shown activity at first relapse in patients who have not received adjuvant chemotherapy. Temozolomide (Temodar [US], Temodal [international]; Schering-Plough Corporation, Kenilworth, NJ) has shown activity at both first and second relapse in patients who have received prior nitrosourea-based regimens. The better safety profile of temozolomide suggests that it may be preferred to PCV for treatment of patients with recurrent high-grade malignant glioma. Additional randomized, controlled trials are needed to fully define the best option for first-line chemotherapy in both the adjuvant and recurrent settings in patients with high-grade malignant glioma.

  • Nicholas A. Blondin, MDCorresponding author contact informationE-mail the corresponding author,
  • Kevin P. Becker, MD, PhD
  • Department of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, PO Box 208018, 15 York Street, LCI-9, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889858812000652

FCC to revisit issue of mobile phone safety


FCC to revisit issue of mobile phone safety


For distribution:

The last line is "However, no studies have yet produced evidence that it can cause cancer."

Really?  What about the following evidence:

We have evidence that cell phone use is associated with cancer (even in the flawed INTERPHONE study).  
We have evidence that microwave radiation causes DNA breaks in rat brains and in sperm.
We have evidence that 2.4 GHz (used in some cordless phones and Wi-Fi) causes primary tumours in rats (U.S. Air Force Study 1992)
We have evidence that this radiation increases the permeability of the blood-brain barrier, enabling potentially toxic chemicals to enter the brain.
We have evidence that it is associated with an increase in the enzyme ornithine decarboxylase that is linked to cancer.  
We have evidence that it increases free radicals that can cause cancer.
We have evidence that it increases stress proteins and compromises the immune system.

Indeed, we have epidemiological studies, in vivo studies, and in vitro studies (the three key types of scientific evidence) that microwave radiation below FCC guidelines isassociated with AND causes cancer and that the mechanisms involve some combination of free radical production, increased membrane permeability, DNA fragmentation and a compromised immune system.

We also have evidence that some reporters (see below) do not read the science and make statements that are scientifically incorrect.  

-magda



FCC to revisit issue of mobile phone safety

San Antonio Business Journal by Mike W. Thomas, Reporter

Date: Friday, June 15, 2012, 8:17am CDT

Related:

 Technology
Reporter- San Antonio Business Journal
Email
The question of mobile phone radiation and its effect on people will be the subject of a formal inquiry by the Federal Communications Commission    ,Bloomberg reports.
The FCC has not broached the topic of mobile phone radiation in more than 15 years, but with people now using smartphones for longer and more frequent calls, the agency’s chairman has asked members to review their current policies.
The FCC last updated its guidelines setting maximum radiation exposure from mobile devices in 1996.
South Korea-based Samsung Electronics Co. is currently the world’s biggest vendor of mobile handsets, followed by Finland’s Nokia Oyj    and Cupertino, Calif.- based Apple Inc.   
There were 44 million people using mobile phones in the U.S. in 1996, according to FCC figures. There are now more than 332 million wireless subscribers today. TheNational Cancer Institute    has expressed concerns that radio-frequency energy from phones could affect the brain and other tissues. However, no studies have yet produced evidence that it can cause cancer.