France : A study shows a link between electromagnetic waves and the unexplained deaths of cows

Electromagnetism: towards scientific proof of a danger for humans and animals? 

A study showing a link between electromagnetic waves and unexplained deaths of cattle brings water to the mill of a farmer who lost more than 300 cows in four years.
By Rédaction Loudéac, actu.fr, 8 Jan.2021 - English translation

One could have taken this dairy farmer in Allineuc, near Loudéac in the Côtes-d'Armor, for a madman, so much so that what he told seemed surreal. But a recent study, conducted by the scientific committee of a French environmental association, gives solid reasons to believe that Stéphane Le Béchec is not an eccentric.

Photo): Stéphane Le Béchec, here angry in front of a new 4G ++ antenna installed on a farmer's land in Uzel (Côtes-d'Armor), is fighting against the excessive emission of electromagnetic waves in the environment. (©Le Courrier Indépendant)

This study is the brainchild of an independent group, "toxSeek" with a state-of-the-art research laboratory, born of the meeting between a doctor of pharmaco-toxicology, a chemist, a public health specialist and a high-tech entrepreneur.

The Failure of 5G

The failure of 5G
5G was supposed to be a revolution. So far in 2020, it’s not even been a great evolution
By Vlad-Gabriel Anghel, DCPRO, datacenterdynamics.com, 15 December 2020

We are reaching the end of 2020, a tumultuous year that saw us realign our priorities, re-imagine our surroundings and adapt to a new way of living - at least for the duration of the pandemic.

This was supposed to be the year in which 5G hit the big time, with wide rollout, breakneck speeds and huge bandwidth. And while it has appeared in certain instances, it seems that the real world results of 5G are, at best, underwhelming, and at worst offer no improvement over former generations of mobile communications.

Wireless Hazards

"Wireless Hazards" 

by Barbara Koeppel, The Washington Spectator, 28 December 2020

https://washingtonspectator.org/wireless-hazards/

Comment by Dr. Joel Moscowitz, U. California, Berkeley:

Today The Washington Spectator published an extensive exposé about the Telecom industry's decades-long campaign to dismiss the research about the health risks of radio frequency radiation and fool the public into believing that cell phones are safe by co-opting government agencies and the mainstream news media.

This indepth study was conducted by Barbara Koeppel, an investigative reporter who covers social, economic, political, and foreign policy issues. Her 7,000-word article posed two questions:"If you think your cellphone is safe, have you considered why you believe that? Is it a fact or is it based on carefully crafted messages that you’ve read or heard?"

Switzerland: Parliament: 20.5973 QUESTION : 5G. Accompanying measures to inform and raise awareness of the population

20.5973 QUESTION : 5G. Accompanying measures to inform and raise awareness of the population

Submitted by: GRAF-LITSCHER EDITH

Socialist Group - Socialist Party

Filed at the National Council on 7 December 2020

Status of deliberations:
Liquidated

Submitted text

The German government is launching an information campaign on 5G. Last April, the Federal Council also decided to introduce accompanying measures. Some of these measures are intended to improve information to the population, but the content is not known.

- At what stage are they at and when will they be launched?

- Who is responsible for their implementation?

- Is external support planned? If so, what is it?

- How is the reliability of the information, its clarity and wide dissemination ensured?

Switzerland: Geneva: New Association "RUNE" Requests Moratorium on Department of Education's Plan for Use of Digital Technology in Primary School

A new association has recently been established in Geneva: "RUNE" (Reflect on the use of digital technology and screens) whose purpose is to bring together parents of primary school students wanting meticulous analyses to be carried out before deciding to digitize the elementary school. "The digitization of daily life, which has become a public health issue, should not be taken lightly." 
https://runegeneve.wordpress.com/

On 29 October 2020, the group launched a petition to the Geneva government (Grand Conseil) requesting a moratorium on the Department of Education's plan for digital education in primary school:

• Should the State finance the equipment of primary schools with digital tablets, interactive whiteboards and wireless networks when the added value of using this technology in education has not been demonstrated at all?
• What about the economic and ecological cost, and the damage to children's health? 

The group is not technophobic, but believe that a critical distance and a careful analysis of the social, environmental, financial and health costs of the use of digital technology by primary school students is necessary. Digital tools have multiple positive aspects, which should not be denied, but their potentially harmful or simply ineffective aspects must also be taken into account. 

Here is what the group says about the use of screens and children's health.

The Use of Screens and Children's Health (translation)

[Links to documents in English only are provided.]

Several studies and professionals in the fields of health and children have noted that frequent and prolonged exposure to screens of all kinds can affect the physical, psychological and social development of children. Faced with the risks raised by the multiplication of screens in our children's lives, shouldn't school play a protective role?

Effects on vision, risks of screen addiction or psycho-social risks: many concerns have been raised in recent years by health and child health professionals, who believe that overexposure to screens is a major public health issue. 

Why The Race To 5G Is A Mirage

Why The Race To 5G Is A Mirage
by Dr. Devra Davis, ibtimes.com, 13 December 2020

KEY POINTS

• Former national finance minister, Lou Jiwei warned last month that existing 5G technology in China is immature and quite expensive.
• The next stimulus package should contain billions of dollars to produce, distribute, install, build out, maintain and monitor municipal fiber-optic broadband cable around the nation.
• Until and unless a much safer, more cost-effective and less-energy intensive system can be produced, we should revise plans for continued expansion of the 5G albatross.

You may have heard that we are locked in a technology battle with China over commercializing 5G. That conflict turns out to be more hype than happening, designed to whet American appetites for competition and pave the way for more subsidies to the global multi-trillion dollar telecom industry. 

Former national finance minister, Lou Jiwei warned last month that existing 5G technology in China is immature and quite expensive. Increased electricity costs to fuel 5G in 2019, he recently warned look to be 10 times the profit of China Telecom -- one of three state telecom companies of China.

New Review Study Finds Cell Phone Radiation Increases Breast Cancer Risk

New Review Study finds that Radiofrequency Radiation from Cellphones and Computers Increases Breast Cancer Risk
Environmental Health Trust, December 5, 2020

A systematic review and meta-analysis supported by the Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology investigated the association between exposure to radiofrequency radiation and the risk of breast cancer and found a significant association between radiofrequency radiation exposure and breast cancer risk.

The study ” Exposure to radiofrequency radiation increases the risk of breast cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis” published in the journal Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine performed a quantitative analysis and is what the authors state is “the first meta-analysis” aiming to evaluate and obtain more precise and comprehensive estimates of the association between radiofrequency radiation exposure and the risk of breast cancer.

“It was concluded that radiofrequency radiation exposure significantly increased the risk of breast cancer, especially in women aged ≥50 years and in individuals who used electric appliances, such as mobile phones and computers.” While breast cancer risk doubled for women ≥50 yrs old, no significant increase was seen among younger women, nor among those occupational exposed or those living near RF transmitters.

Smartphone Overuse and Visual Impairment in Children and Young Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Smartphone Overuse and Visual Impairment in Children and Young Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
by Jian Wang1, MSc,  Mei Li2, MD, PhD, Daqiao Zhu1, PhD, Yang Cao3, PhD

Published on 08.12.20 in Vol 22, No 12 (2020): December
J Med Internet Res 2020;22(12):e21923

Conclusions: Longer smartphone use may increase the likelihood of ocular symptoms, including myopia, asthenopia, and ocular surface disease, especially in children. Thus, regulating use time and restricting the prolonged use of smartphones may prevent ocular and visual symptoms. Further research on the patterns of use, with longer follow up on the longitudinal associations, will help to inform detailed guidelines and recommendations for smartphone use in children and young adults.

doi:10.2196/21923

https://www.jmir.org/2020/12/e21923/?fbclid=IwAR3Am7F2ZJ8Ljx7FU34dTTDyzohWLwiAw6K466i4r1bPux6zXaDrPTYqnf0

Is the Increasing Incidence of Thyroid Cancer in the Nordic Countries Caused by Use of Mobile Phones?

NEW PAPER: Is the Increasing Incidence of Thyroid Cancer in the Nordic Countries Caused by Use of Mobile Phones? Open access.
By Michael Carlberg, Tarmo Koppel, Lena K. Hedendahl, and Lennart Hardell

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(23), 9129; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17239129
Received: 29 October 2020 / Revised: 3 December 2020 / Accepted: 5 December 2020 / Published: 7 December 2020

Figure 1 shows the increasing incidence in women from 1999. Note, 

especially from 2010, a steep increasing curve.

Abstract

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) at the World Health Organization (WHO) categorized in 2011 radiofrequency (RF) as a possible human carcinogen, Group 2B. During use of the handheld wireless phone, especially the smartphone, the thyroid gland is a target organ. During the 21st century, the incidence of thyroid cancer is increasing in many countries. 

Questions sent to ICNIRP Chairman Dr. Rodney Croft in Fall of 2020

Questions sent to ICNIRP Chairman Dr. Rodney Croft include those regarding the effects of radiofrequency to trees, plants, birds;  research linking thyroid cancer to cell phone radiation; exposure to pregnant women and children and many more.

Questions sent to ICNIRP Chairman Dr. Rodney Croft in Fall of 2020
Environmental Health Trust, 29 November 2020

In response to the below questions send in November 2020, Croft stated, “In terms of the questions that you sent before, as I advised before, I do not have time to address these within my University of Wollongong capacity. However, if you would like to request that ICNIRP comment on your questions that is fine. The best thing would be to submit the questions via the website (https://www.icnirp.org/en/contact/contact/index.html), or if you feel that you cannot restrict your questions to the required format, to contact the ICNIRP secretariat (info@icnirp.org). I would note though that some of the questions have been asked in a way that, in order to address them, would require a journal publication (or equivalent piece) to outline how science works and how the literature is put together to arrive at a conclusion, whereas others are of a form that would allow simple answers. As the former type would take a substantial amount of time to provide (if ICNIRP decided that it was sufficiently important to dedicate its resources to do so), given your timeline, you might like to consider asking questions that would make it possible for ICNIRP to answer quickly.”