#76 July/August 2005
The Washington Free Press Washington's Independent Journal of News, Ideas & Culture
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TOP STORIES

Wake-up Call: Can radiation from cell phones damage DNA in our brains? When a UW researcher found disturbing data, funding became tight
by Rob Harrill, reprinted with permission from Columns magazine

Welcome Seafair?: Military recruitment is at the heart of the Seattle summer festival
by Glen Milner

Mined Over Maury: A nice island is getting hauled away, bit by bit
by Hannah Lee

FREE THOUGHTS

How to Have Clean and Complete Voter Rolls
by Rob Richie and Steven Hill

MEDIA BEAT by Norman Solomon
From Watergate to Downing Street

READER MAIL
Police State at US/Canada Border; Everybody Lost in Last Years' Vote

NORTHWEST & BEYOND news shorts compiled by Sharlynn Cobaugh Warm Winter Leaves Columbia Basin Dry; Oregonian's Stop-Loss Battle Lost; Summer Sun and Skin Cancer; CA Nurses Take On Schwarzenegger; Harvard Takes Action Against Genocide in Sudan

MONEY

Searching for Tax Fairness
Lack of regulation on capital-gains tax invites non-compliance
by Gerald E. Scorse

Consumers Overlook Opt-Out: contacts for stopping unwanted credit card solicitations
by Tim Covell

ENVIRONMENT

DOT Bans Stealth Radioactive Shipments
Recent ruling against secret shipments of uranium munitions by the Department of Defense
by Glen Milner

TRASH TALK by Dave and Lillian Brummet
Clean Vacationing: Garbage in its Place

Software Reduces Computer-related CO2 Emissions
press release from Userful

DUSEL Not Welcomed in Leavenworth
by Sharlynn Cobaugh

George W. Bush: EnvironWent
cartoon by George Jartos

WORKPLACE

Legislation Can Reduce Store Homicides
by Kenneth Wayne Yarbrough

Farmworkers Boycott Gallo Wines photo and caption by David Bacon

HEALTH

Cellular Antennas
Facts about the technology and related policies
by Tamara Dyer

NATURE DOC by John F. Ruhland, ND
Cell Phone; Naturopathic IVs

CELL PHONES DAMAGE SPERM
by Doug Collins

Fluoride Damages Bones, Studies Show
from New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation

LAW

Scores of Muslim Men Jailed Without Charge
from the ACLU

BOB'S RANDOM LEGAL WISDOM by Bob Anderton
It's OK to Help: The good samaritan rule

CONTACTS/ACTIVISM

NORTHWEST NEIGHBORS
contact list of subscribers who like to talk with you

DO SOMETHING! CALENDAR
Northwest activist events

POLITICS

Red Meat for the Red States: Democrats don't stand a chance unless they choose more meaningful issues
by Brian King

Mexicans Want Democracy, But More
by David Bacon

WAR & PEACE

Poems for Peace
compiled by Stan Penner

Great Seal of the United States: The Bush revisions
cartoon by Andrew Wahl

MISCELLANEOUS

Just because...
by Styx Mundstock

The Danger of Being Tongue-Tied
The US still lags in multilingualism
by Domenico Maceri

The Wanderings and Thoughts of Kip Kellogg
by Vincent Spada

Cellular Antennas

by Tamara Dyer

Industrial Technology: Cell antennas are an industrial technology. They do not marry well with the character of a residential community.

Health Impacts: Constant long-term exposure to low-level oscillating radiofrequencies causes biological change. Cellular technology emits constant low-level oscillating radiofrequency radiation. If you live or work near a cell antenna you are being subjected to this type of radiation. The more you depend on cell phone technology, the more cell antennas need to be installed in your neighborhood.

Cell Companies Could Cooperate: Cellular providers all choose to act independently. And, they do so for greater financial profit. Unfortunately, because of this, each company has to have its own antennas. That means that in a neighborhood where there might have been one set of antennas shared between 5 providers, there are now 5 sets of antennas, resulting in unsightly and unhealthy "antenna farms" in urban neighborhoods.

Consolidation of the Cell Industry: There will likely continue to be fewer and fewer cellular providers. And, it is widely known that cell companies like to fatten up their portfolios before going on the market. That means getting antennas up anywhere, as fast as possible, as cheaply as possible.

Accountability: Policy needs to be established at the city level to make the cellular industry accountable.

Japanese sign, translated: "Please don't use cellular phones. Think about other people."

Federal Law: In advance of the public outcry that would ensue when public frequencies were sold to the corporate sector in the mid 90s, federal law was quickly established preventing state and local governments from regulating the placement, construction and modification of cellular facilities based on the environmental effects of radiofrequency emissions. However, it is totally within the law for state and local governments to regulate the placement, construction and modification of cellular facilities based on zoning restrictions or any other issue outside of environmental effects of radiofrequency emissions.

Federal Law also mandates that cellular providers be allowed to meet the needs of cellular phone customers. However, antennas are not always installed to meet need. As stated above, there is tremendous financial incentive for cell providers to install more antennas than are required to meet the needs of cell phone users. Furthermore, cellular providers are not currently required to prove need in a manner that is understandable to concerned parties. It is totally within the letter of the law for local governments to mandate that cellular providers demonstrate need in a clear and comprehensible manner. Doing so would make it clear which antenna projects are necessary and which are not.

Current Policy Developed to Accommodate Industry: To our knowledge, an independent consultant versed in the field of RF radiation and cellular technologies has never been involved in the creation of city policy regarding cell antenna siting. All city policy regarding this issue is based upon information supplied by the cellular industry itself. This is in no way objective or responsible. It is, however, reflective of a government interested in accommodating industry over neighborhoods.

Seattle and other urban areas of our state desperately need new cell antenna siting policies.

The proliferation of electronic polllution could be as much of a threat to life on this planet as global warming, but as our economy becomes increasingly based on unlimited electronic access, it's going to take a lot of effort to convince governments to deal with this issue. By simply learning more about the relationship between cell technology and biological health, you have improved the outlook for our future. Please share this information with your family and friends. Your Voice is Needed!

To get involved in local efforts to improve antenna policy please contact the Community Coalition for Environmental Justice at (206) 720-0285. Additionally, the website www.emrnetwork.org is an invaluable resource for information regarding health impacts and cellular technology.


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