Switzerland: Published Comments on Electrosmog - 1

For the past six years, the Editor of this blog has had opinion pieces on the issue of electrosmog published in two major Swiss newspapers, the Tribune de Genève and 24 heures.  Comments must be related to articles published in these newspapers and limited to 1400 - 1700 characters.  We have been able to stretch our imagination and write about many aspects of the E-smog issue in Switzerland.  Most of these have never appeared in the mainstream media here.  The editors of these columns have been favorable to publishing nearly all of them.  Readers are invited to share these with others and use them for awareness-raising.    We have had very few reactions, but believe, that if the awareness of risks of electromagnetic radiation of just one or two persons is raised, then this exercise is not in vain.

All comments were originally written in French.

Breast Against Cell Phone: Danger
Tribune de Genève, 19-20 October 2013

Breast cancer in young women is increasing in Geneva. This trend has been confirmed by studies in other parts of Europe. Could one of the reasons be the habit of young women of keeping their cell phone tucked in their bra? The makers of cell phones warn users to avoid direct contact with the skin. The manual of Apple, for example, advises keeping one’s iPhone at a distance of 5/8 of an inch from the body, since these devices emit electromagnetic radiation, classified as a possible human carcinogen by the World Health Organization. In the United States, doctors are seeing more and more breast cancer in women aged 21 to 39, who have no genetic predisposition to cancer but who, for several years, have been carrying their cell phone in their bra for part of the day. These tumors are sometimes aggressive and, in spite of a mastectomy, the cancer metastasizes. Keeping a cell phone in the bra is more common than one would think among young women: during jogging, driving a car, hiding it at school and at work… Raising awareness of young women of the risks of this practice must now be a part of campaigns for the prevention of breast cancer.

Swiss TV Program from 2009 on Electrosensitivity

Swiss TV program : « A bon entendeur », 3 March 2009, Radio TV Suisse Romande on electromagnetic fields and electrohypersensitivity

 The film is excellent. An electrosensitive person explains her symptoms to an informed physician, member of Parliament and ecologist, Dr. Yvonne Gilli.  Charles Cavanaugh, electrosensitive, had to quit his job as analyst in a big bank and learn how to live with his symptoms. In Stockholm, at the prestigious Karolinska Institute, Professor Olle Johansson has been interested in electrohypersensitivity for at least 40 years.

The text of the film follows as an excellent portrait of electrohypersensitivity in Switzerland and in Sweden.    Philippe Hug, electrosensitive, President of ARA (Association romande alerte aux ondes électromagnétiques - www.alerte.ch )  is also in the film.  He died in 2010 at the age of 54, a victim of electromagnetic waves.   

It seems that Switzerland’s understanding of electrosmog and electrosensitivty has regressed since the film was produced in 2009. 

The film is available here in French : Ondes : vous êtes cernés ! - 32 min. - 3 March 2009

Waves in the spotlight (translated from French)

EHS - MCS 5th Paris Appeal Congress - Video of Press Conference - Brussels, 18 May 2015

This press conference should be viewed by everyone. It particularly focuses on the plight of children, who will be - already are - the innocent victims of exposure to wireless technologies. Please share as widely as possible.

EHS - MCS 5th Paris Appeal Congress (18 min. - in English with French subtitles)

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO.

Published on Jun 7, 2015

A focus on ElectroHyperSensitivity (EHS) and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS)

- Conférence de Presse 5ème Colloque de l’Appel de Paris
Au sujet de l’Electro Hyper Sensibilité (EHS) et de la Sensibilité Chimique Multiple (MCS)
- Dominique Belpomme, Director European Cancer and Environment Research institute, Professor in medical Oncology Paris V University Hospital, France
- Cindy Sage, MA Co-Editor, BioInitiative Reports, USA.
- David Carpenter, Director, Institute for Health and the Environment University of Albany, Professor, Environmental Health Sciences, USA.
- Olle Johansson, Neuroscientist, Professor in Experimental Dermatology, Department of Neurosciences, Karolinska Institute, Sweden.
- Lennart Hardell, Epidemiologist, Professor at Orebro University Hospital in Orebro, Sweden.
- Michael Kundi, Professor, Medical University Vienna, Center for Public Health, Institute of Environmental Health, Austria.
- Magda Havas, Associate Prof of Environmental and Resource Studies at Trent University, Canada.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTFAMlCKUBM

Scientists Petition United Nations for Better Radiation Exposure Standards

Cindy Sage, co-author of
the BioInitiative Report

"Our cancer institutes have colluded with the industry to downplay the sharp rise in brain tumours and other cancers since the introduction of these technologies, especially in those under age 40. According to Eileen O’Connor of Powerwatch UK, one study has shown over a 700 percent increase in brain tumours in young adults compared to other cancers. At the Belgian press conference, Trent University’s Dr. Magda Havas warned: 'There are really three issues here: the cancers, the reproductive problems and the symptoms of electro-hypersensitivity, which are all influenced by our exposure to electromagnetic radiation.' "

Scientists petition UN for better radiation exposure standards
chameleonfire1.com,  7 June 2015

Cindy Sage, co-author of Bioinitiatives Report.
Do you use a cell phone? Wifi? An iPad? Do you have a ‘smart’ meter on your home? A baby monitor or DECT (cordless) phone? You should be aware these are all serious health hazards that have been covered up by the multi-billion dollar telecommunications industry. Scientists who have been raising warnings about exposure to microwave frequency radiation (the spectrum used by wireless devices) have been marginalized, and in some cases their careers ruined by telecom corporations. Now they are raising the alarm with the UN and World Health Organization (WHO). “The health effects (of electromagnetic exposure) are now inarguable,” said Cindy Sage, co-author of the Bioinitiative Report on electromagnetic radiation (EMR) research. “What we need—now—are biologically-based standards for public health.”

Beau Biden Brain Cancer: Which Type Matters

A scar is visible on the side of Delaware Attornet General
Beau Biden's head at the State of the State address on
Jan. 23.  Photo:  Jason Minto, The (Wilmington, Del.)
News Journal

"Given that approximately 700,000 people in the U.S. are living with brain tumors or cancers, the decision to continue to not name the specific type that took Beau Biden’s life is puzzling. There may be privacy reasons which mattered while he was battling the disease, but even the political ones no longer matter. Which type of brain cancer took Biden’s life could potentially matter, however, to a lot of other people."  This article suggests that the cause of Beau Biden's brain cancer may have been exposure to the open air burn pits at Camp Victory where Captain Biden was stationed in Iraq. 

Beau Biden Brain Cancer: Which Type Matters
by Denise Williams, chicagonow.com, 6 June 2015

Beau Biden, the son of Vice President Joe Biden passed away last week after battling brain cancer. There are no words to express the sorrow a parent feels at the loss of a child, regardless of the child’s age. The fact that Vice President Biden has experienced this loss before does not make it any easier.

Beau Biden, from all accounts was a good, decent man, a loving and involved father and husband. He was elected to the office of Attorney General of Delaware in 2006 and reelected in 2010. He had declined to run for a third time, instead announcing his intention to run for the Governor of Delaware in 2016. Beau Biden was also a retired Major in the Delaware National Guard.

Pediatric Occupational Therapist Cris Rowan's Open Letter to Schools who Use Wireless Radiation

Pediatric Occupational Therapist Cris Rowan's Open Letter to Schools who Use Wireless Radiation
Safe Tech for Schools Maryland, posted 6 June 2015

April 1, 2015 Open letter to all daycares, preschools, and schools who continue to use wireless radiation.

To All Principals, Staff, School Boards, Education Government, and Health officials,

In my capacity as a pediatric occupational therapist, biologist, speaker, and author on the subject of the impact of technology on child development and learning, I’m writing to you on behalf of students, teachers, and parents requesting the urgent removal of wireless radiation from all school environments. I ask that you please take into consideration the following guiding principles regarding wireless radiation, and make the decision to revert to Ethernet cabled only devices to ensure immediate and ongoing safety for your students and staff.

Guiding principles for the decision to remove wireless radiation from school environments:

1.  Minimize Risk and Maximize Safety.

Our Responsibility Towards Mother Earth and Mankind

Chief Arvol Looking Horse

REPOSTED, AS OUR CONTRIBUTION TO WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY - 5 JUNE:

In 2001, I attended a talk given by Chief Arvol Looking Horse , 19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Pipe of the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Great Sioux Nation. During the talk, he said, “Many of you dreamed about the white buffalo in 1994.” The words stunned me, for I had had such a dream that year. I was standing on the edge of a very wide, deep pit, torn out of the earth by a huge machine. Looking into the distance, I saw a white buffalo on a hill. I took this to mean that we are desecrating the earth. The white buffalo appeared to us as a warning. The following from the “Native American” site tells the story of the white buffalo. The birth of one in 1994 had a very significant meaning for the native peoples. It signified “a time of profound change upon the planet and a new level of responsibility for mankind.”   

This is my message for the New Year.  Each and every one of us has a responsibility to care for Mother Earth and humankind.

Chief Arvol Looking Horse reminds us of our responsibility towards the earth and mankind:

Electromagnetic Radiation: Pollution in Disguise - and "Very Harmful for Human Health"

Electromagnetic radiation impact on health
(Image selected by "Towards Better Health") 

Pollution in disguise
by Pranav Poddar, financialexpress.com,

3 June 2015

Electromagnetic radiation emitted from most of the electronic devices we use —mobile phones, laptops, computers, tablets—is very harmful for human health

Since the industrial revolution, human life has become much faster and efficient. Steam engine was the start of the revolution, and look where we are now. Within a span of two centuries, technology has changed a lot and it is changing at a much faster rate. This change is quick, easy, smooth and inevitable. We believe that technology has made our lives much easier, but in this process we have foregone a lot more than our eyes can see.

Beau Biden's Brain Cancer Death: Part of an Epidemic Fostered by Mobile Phones?

Beau Biden, son of Joseph Biden, speaks at 2012 Democratic
Convention.  Photo:  Alex Wong/ Getty Images

"There are many studies which seem to confirm there is a strong link between cell phone use and risk of brain cancer. When independent studies are examined rather than wireless communication industry sponsored research, the evidence appears even stronger. With the most common form of brain cancer, regular use of these phones was associated with triple the rate of this cancer."

Beau Biden's brain cancer death: Part of an epidemic fostered by mobile phones?
by Jed Shlackman - Miami Holistic Health Examiner, 31 May 2015

This weekend news of the death of Beau Biden, the son of current U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden, has brought attention to the increasing incidence of brain cancers among the population. Beau Biden was a rising star in Delaware politics, expected to run a successful campaign in 2016 for Governor of the state. However, he was diagnosed in 2013 with a brain tumor and went through treatments that included surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. The cancer appeared to have gone away following the treatments in 2013, however it was found to recur this year in 2015 and Biden returned for aggressive treatments. Many cancer researchers have pointed out that radiation and chemotherapy are associated with a high risk for future malignancies and more aggressive forms of cancer. Biden received these conventional cancer treatments, and the return of the cancer in an aggressive form is not surprising.

Brain Cancers Like Beau Biden's Kill About 15,000 Adults Each Year

"Brain tumors are a particularly common form of cancer in children. About 4,300 children and teens will be diagnosed with malignant tumors this year, more than half of them younger than 15."

Brain cancers like Beau Biden’s kill about 15,000 adults each year
by Lenny Bernstein, The Washington Post, 31 May 2015

CHICAGO — A variety of malignant brain and central nervous system tumors kill about 15,000 people in the United States each year, often after difficult courses of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, according to experts and data from various cancer organizations.

Officials have not disclosed the type of brain cancer that killed Vice President Biden's son Joseph Robinette "Beau" Biden III at age 46 on Saturday night. But assuming he suffered from a primary cancer — not one that spread from another part of the body — the most likely is a glioblastoma, an aggressive cancer of the brain's supportive tissue, two experts said.