Switzerland: Invest in an Awareness-Raising Campaign to Protect the Population from Electromagnetic Pollution

Doctors are concerned about the eventual increase in
the [emission] strength of mobile phone installations.

Invest in an awareness-raising campaign
by Meris Michaels, readers' mail, 24 heures,
18 April 2016

Re:  "Fighting against mobile phone antennas" ("Montée au front contre les antennes mobiles" - 24 heures, 12 April 2016)

Thank you to the author for her excellent article on mobile antennas which includes the warning by Doctors in Favor of the Environment (MfE) regarding health risks of mobile phones.  The fact that the limit values, based solely on thermal effects (and not biological), are ten times lower in Switzerland compared to other countries in Europe does not make electromagnetic (EM) pollution safer.  In the magazine published in January 2016 by CSS Insurance, the president of MfE, Dr. Peter Kälin, asserts:  "More and more evidence suggests that electromagnetic pollution, even below the limit values, is harmful to health."

The increase in limit values will encourage use of mobile phones and fatten the profits of telecommunications companies.  In fact, isn't the purpose of this action to power the economy?  What about the health of the population?

Polish Government Prepares Act on Electromagnetic Protection

Polish government prepares act on electromagnetic protection
telecompaper.com, 22 April 2016

The Polish Ministry of Digitalisation has announced its preparation of an act on the control of the effects of electromagnetic radiation from radiocommunications devices on human life and health, reports Telko.in. The first consultations are planned for the beginning of May. Discussions on public concerns related to electromagnetic radiation are conducted under the patronage of the President's Office.

After the first round of the discussions, the ministry decided to withdraw the controversial provision on facilitating the placement of radiocommunications devices from the draft amendment of the act to support telecommunications services and network development.

Deadly Combination – Mobile Phones and Amalgam Fillings

Read the following article and abstract of a scientific study on the subject.

Deadly Combination – Mobile Phones and Amalgam Fillings!
happyandsmartlife.com, (posted April 2016)

Do you have amalgam fillings? Do you use a mobile phone? If the answer is yes, then your health is in danger! Moreover, there is an abundance of research which point out to the danger coming from the radio frequent electromagnetic waves emitted by mobile phones. What’s more, there is also a lot of research pointing out to the health risk associated with amalgam fillings. However, what you did not know is that the newest research shows that this two health risks are related!

Switzerland: Doctors Want to Protect Children from Mobile Phone Radiation

Doctors in Favor of the Environment is creating a storm
over these plans:  "Lobbies in Parliament are attempting
to increase the limit values for mobile base stations in
Switzerland."  Fetuses, children, and adolescents are
particularly vulnerable because their bodies and brains
are still developing.

Doctors want to protect children from mobile phone radiation
by Nikolai Thelitz, 20 Minutes, 13 April 2016 (Google translation from German, with grammatical corrections)

In Parliament, the pressure to allow more cell towers is growing. Doctors warn of health effects, particularly in children.

The Swiss mobile network  is reaching its limit due to massive increase in data flow. According to provider information, 6,000 out of a total of around 15,000 mobile base stations are already at the limit of permissible radiation levels. A motion of the telecommunications industry asks for immediate increase in the limit values. The Federal Council recommends adopting the motion. The Parliament must also vote on it.

The association, Doctors in Favor of the Environment (Aefu) is creating a storm over these plans: "Attempts in parliament through lobbying are being made to increase the limit values for mobile base stations in Switzerland," says Aefu Director Martin Forter. He warns of the dangers of cell phone radiation. This could affect brain waves and cerebral blood flow, reduce sperm quality and destabilize genetic information. The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified mobile phone radiation as possibly carcinogenic. Therefore, Forter calls for : "No increase in the limit values for mobile communications equipment." Fetuses, infants, children, and adolescents are particularly vulnerable because their bodies and brains are still developing.

Cultivation of Strawberries

REPOSTED 31 May 2013:  

Image:  Dragonfly Earth Medicine

Imported strawberries are still appearing in supermarkets in Switzerland from February.  It's not certain that working conditions in Spain have improved all that much since this article was written in April 2011.  There is certainly a very serious environmental crisis:  the strawberry fields are sucking dry the area of Spain where most of the "red gold" fruit is cultivated.  Switzerland imports most of its out-of-season strawberries from Spain. This fruit is cultivated in vitro in central Spain then transported south for planting in soil sterilized by a chemical substance which Saddam Hussein used to kill populations in Kurdistan. The plants are grown on plastic which is dispersed into the environment or burned after harvest. The cultivation of strawberries requires enormous amounts of pesticides which contaminate drinking water and fresh water in a natural reserve for migratory birds. Most of the strawberry field workers are women who are poorly paid and live in unsanitary conditions. Many suffer from respiratory diseases and skin infections caused by exposure to the pesticides used to cultivate the strawberries.

Interview with Dominique Belpomme, Oncologist: "70% to 90% of Cancers Linked to the Environment"

View of Mt. Blanc from the heights of the city of Lyon.
Photo:  Konrad K./ Spia

Dominique Belpomme, cancérologue : “70% to 90% of Cancers Thought to be Linked to the Environment”
Interview by Weronika Zarachowicz, telerama.fr, 6 April 2016
(translated from French - see translator's note at end of article)

Cancer, obesity, allergies, behavioral disorders... The increase in these maladies is to a great extent  due to the degradation of our environment, warns the oncologist, Dominique Belpomme.  Staggering, frightening, however possibly reversible.

What is the share of environmental factors in the continued increase in cancer? What is the role of ecology in contemporary medicine? For over ten years, the oncologist Dominique Belpomme, former member of the "Cancer Committee" of public assistance, and now director of ECERI (European Cancer and Environment Research Institute) in Brussels, makes us aware of the links between health and environment. In his new book, published 6 April, How Diseases Are Born (Comment naissent les maladies, ed. Les liens qui libèrent), he broadens even more the scope of his research and calls for a profound change in our health system (and thinking!) . For now, he says, there is no doubt about the environmental causes of most modern diseases, be it cancer, obesity, allergies, behavioral disorders or emerging diseases such as electrohypersensitivity ...

Why I’m Not a Fitbit Fan

Fitbit = unnecessary exposure to electromagnetic radiation. 

Why I’m Not a Fitbit Fan

by Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist

A Fitbit is a type of electronic device used for personal activity tracking. These wireless-enabled, wearable devices measure data such as the number of steps walked, quality of sleep, and other personal metrics.

The Fitbit was developed by the company of the same name founded and managed by James Park and Eric Friedman.

Since then, a proliferation of various styles and models have taken the workout world by storm with Fitbits and similar knock off devices crafted for every personality and need.

The very simple Fitbit Zip, which is about the size of a quarter, tracks only steps taken, distance traveled, and calories burned. The sophisticated Fitbit Flex, which is worn 24 hours a day even while showering and swimming, tracks all its wearer’s movement including sleep patterns.

There are Fitbit apps for the iPhone and Android too which allow fans to log their food, activities, water intake, and weight, as well as track their fitness goals throughout the day even while offline.
While the Fitbit and devices like them may seem like a very helpful tool to keep people motivated and moving toward exercise goals, I don’t personally use one nor do I recommend them to folks that ask me about them. Here are my reasons.

Beware the Perils of 'Oculus Face': VR Headset Leaves Embarrassing Red Marks and Can Cause Wearers to Feel 'Seasick'

Oculus and Sony both posted health and safety warnings
outside their booths on the GDC show floor, cautioning
attendees trying the Rift and PlayStation VR that they may
feel motion sickness, nausea, disorientation and blurred
vision.  Sony's headset is shown above.

Beware the perils of 'Oculus face': VR headset leaves embarrassing red marks and can cause wearers to feel 'seasick'

by Sarah Griffiths for MailOnline

31 March 2016

- Journslists testing the Oculus Rift have reported red marks on their faces
- Temporary marks have been dubbed 'Oculus face' and 'Rift rash'
- $599 (£417) gadget started shipping to buyers and requires high-end PC
- Some users have also reported feeling nauseous and woozy

The first gamers to get their hands on the full Oculus Rift have noticed embarrassing side-effects to wearing Facebook's virtual reality headset.

While the $599 (£417) gadget may immerse them in realistic fantasy scenes, it has left some users with red-faced - literally.

The awkward marks have been dubbed 'Oculus face' or 'Rift rash' and are part of the perils of the innovative technology.

Woman Complains of 'Unbearable Pain' Caused by Her Fitbit As Other Users Claim They Have Been Left with Burns

'According to our consulting dermatologists, [the rashes] are
likely from wearing the band too tight', Fitbit said in a
statement to Dailymail.com.  Pictured is a rash from its
Force wristband, which has also caused problems.

View this 2-minute videoclip demonstrating the emission of harmful pulsed microwave radiation from the Fitbit device.  

Woman complains of 'unbearable pain' caused by her Fitbit as other users claim they have been left with BURNS

by Martha Azzi and Ellie Zolfagharifard for Mailonline, 18 March 2016 

- Fitbit is swamped by complaints that the device is leaving red marks
- The Fitbit Charge HR valued at around $200 measures a person's fitness
- One Sydney customer said the company refused to refund the product
- Fitbit reportedly sent her a written letter asking her to first destroy it
- A customer from Adelaide also requested the company recall the product

Fitness company Fitbit has received an onslaught of customer complaints from users who found themselves with 'uncomfortable deep tissue pain' after wearing the device on their wrists.

A customer from Adelaide, Emma Schouten, said she was receiving unbearable pain from wearing the wristband.

Geneva: Electrosensitive Persons at the University Hospital (HUG)

Reading this comment, you will see that there are no special provisions being made at HUG for treating electrohypersensitive persons.  In fact, improvements probably need to be made to provide better care for persons with other disabilities.  Following this comment is the introduction to a 2011 report on electrohypersensitivity, a summary of which can be found on the Website of the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (BAFU).  

Professor Arnaud Perrier and Séverine Lalive Raemy
believe that part of being attentive to the needs of all
patients includes providing better care for handicapped
persons.

Electrosensitive persons at Geneva's university hospital (HUG)

Comment on "They want to 'promote proper care' at HUG"

by Meris Michaels, Readers' Mail, Tribune de Genève, 2 April 2016

If one wants to "promote care" of handicapped persons at HUG, places free of electromagnetic (EM) waves should be created to treat electrosensitive persons (estimated to be 5% of the population). These persons, sensitive to the radiation emitted by Wi-Fi and other wireless technologies, cannot be treated at hospitals because this type of radiation saturates treatment rooms and even patient rooms. Everyone could become electrosensitive.

In the January 2016 magazine published by CSS Insurance, the president of Doctors for the Protection of the Environment, Dr. Peter Källin, states: "More and more evidence suggests that electromagnetic pollution, even below the limit values, is harmful to health." Dr. Källin criticizes the fact that the population is often insufficiently informed about the way to use these new means of communication in order to reduce electromagnetic pollution.