Towards Better Health

French Government Launches Study on Intolerance to Electromagnetic Fields

2012-02-24T20:07:00.003+01:00

The Internet site of the French Government, "Radiofréquences-santé-environnement" announced the launching of the first national clinical study on hypersensitivity to electromagnetic fields (EMF) beginning in February 2012. (See article from French Government site.)

This 44-month « independent » study, financedfrom public funds, will evaluate the psychological and social aspects ofsuffering of electrosensitive persons. The clinic of Professor Dominique Belpomme (leading researcher in thisfield), which receives patients suffering from this syndrome, is not on thelist of the 24 consultation centers which will participate in the study.

New Petition!

2012-02-20T15:21:00.004+01:00

Please sign this petition from Avaaz addressed to the President of Novartis India and CEO Novartis, requesting withdrawal of the Novartis court case against the Government of India in order to allow access to life-saving, affordable medicines for millions of people in the developing world.

FDA Ties to Monsanto Must Cease!

2012-02-20T14:35:00.000+01:00

There are ways in which each one of us can take action against the bigcorporations which are contributing to the decline of our health and theenvironment. A petition addressed toUnited States President Barack Obama drawn up by Frederick Ravid, a financial analystin Atlanta, Georgia, has gathered over 415,000 signatures. When launched at the end of January, itsoriginal goal was 75,000. It opposes President Obama’s 2009 appointment ofMichael Taylor, a former Vice-President and lobbyist for Monsanto, as senior advisor to the commissioner at the U.S. Federal DrugAdministration (FDA) and who promoted genetically modified organisms (GMO’s), allowingthem into the U.S. food supply without testing to determine their safety orrisks.

As the text states, “Articles in over 600 journals … offer scientificevidence that GM foods, hormones, and related pesticides are the root cause forthe increase of many serious diseases in the U.S. Since GM foods wereintroduced, diagnosis of multiple chronic illnesses in the U.S. hasskyrocketed. These illnesses include changes in major organs and in hormonal,immune, digestive, and reproductive systems. These modifications to foods andfood production may also be contributors to colon, breast, lymphatic, andprostate cancers.”

Please sign the petition on the site SignOn to attain the new goal of 420,000signatures.

And read this recent article from the Washington Post about the petition.

Who is Really Guilty?

2012-02-20T14:30:00.000+01:00

This article about the asbestos and mobile phone industries was recently posted in French on the Website of the Swiss electromagnetic advocacy group, ARA (Association Romande Alerte aux Ondes Electromagnétiques) - www.alerte.ch.

Who is really guilty?

The condemnationof the two former directors of Eternit in Turin on 13 February 2012, based ontheir responsibility for the deaths of nearly 2,900 persons in Italy, givescause for reflection.

Accordingto journalists from the RSR (Radio Suisse Romande), this is the first time thata high-level director of an important company has received a criminalconviction by judges in Europe . ProfessorFrançois Iselin of the EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne),relativizes this affair. Interviewed by the RSR, he statedthat the number of victims of asbestos in the world is probably ten timeshigher and that certain countries continue to produce asbestos withimpunity!

What isparticularly troubling about this affair is that the directors of Eternit havebeen aware of the dangers of asbestos during the last 50 years. They denied and minimalized the problemwithout taking sufficient measures to protect their workers. Professor Iselin believes that all potentiallycarcinogenic products should be more strictly regulated. Apparently, industry is not sufficientlyethical to regulate itself. According tothe professor, the issues of nanoparticles, GMOs (genetically modifiedorganisms), radioactivity, mobile phones etc. are similar to that ofasbestos. Who is really guilty?

Mesothelioma - A Personal Testimony

2012-02-20T14:29:00.000+01:00

The recent convictionof two directors of the asbestos company Eternit by a court in Turin has agreat deal of personal meaning.

My companion, Adon,died on 1 April 2009 from mesothelioma (cancer of the pleura) caused by exposureto asbestos. He believed he had been exposed to the substancenearly 40 years ago while working in a factory in Belgium. He was diagnosed with the disease in July2008, after two months of investigations, including invasive procedures. Shortness of breath while climbing stairs led him to consult hisgeneralist in May who mentioned a possible diagnosis of mesothelioma.

At the time of the definitive diagnosis, we felt we could not get through this on our own. We needed friends, family, sound advice, support, and especially the opportunity to share experiences. We were met with aculture of silence from medical personnel and the Swiss Cancer League. Noone could or would put us in touch with others, including family members ofpersons diagnosed with mesothelioma. By the time I started sharing my thoughtson the Internet cancer forum, Adon was within days of dying. Just a fewpersons helped us: the compassionate surgical team; the palliativecare nurse at the Cancer League; and a lady in the United States whosehusband Steve had been diagnosed with the same cancer several months afterAdon’s diagnosis; he died in July 2009 after complications fromradiotherapy. Steve’s father had beenexposed to asbestos in a factory in England. Each evening, he would return home with his clothes covered indust. Both his son, Steve, and his wifewere diagnosed with mesothelioma around the same time, nearly 40 years later.

Erin Brokovich

2012-02-19T13:30:00.000+01:00

Just afterhearing about the environmental activist, Erin Brokovich, being called in toaid in the investigation of illness among girls at a high school in LeRoy, NewYork, I happened upon the first in a series of ecological novels that she iswriting. Erin Brokovich became involvedin the LeRoy investigation to ascertain whether the illness is of environmentalorigin. A train derailment in 1970 whichspilled one ton of cyanide crystals and 30,000 gallons of trichoroethene (TCE),contaminated the ground and water near the school. Contaminated rock, fill and soil were used tobuild the school. Some 15 girls at theschool are exhibiting neurological symptoms such as shaking, facial tics andverbal outbursts. Infections, drug use,food allergies and vaccine reactions (specifically, Gardasil) have been ruledout as causes. Doctors say the symptomsare real and the girls are getting worse. A neurologist has diagnosed them with “conversion disorder”, a physicalmanifestation caused by high stresslevels or conflict. (Ref: “New York School to Review Environmental Tests in Medical Mystery”, by Phil Gast, CNN, 29January 2012.)

Use of Mobile Phones in Schools: Article from Pakistan

2012-02-19T12:54:00.000+01:00

A recentarticle written by Sabir Shah entitled “Use of Mobile Phones in Schools” (full text available here), published online in the The News International, Pakistan, on 6 January 2012, is significantbecause it summarizes a number of important issues concerning use of thistechnology in education. The article wasinspired by the unanimous passing of a resolution by the Punjab Assembly inearly January 2012 which bans the use of mobile phones in schools and colleges. The Assembly did not argue “for a minute onthis serious issue that has ignited heated debates across the planet if thesedevices really interfered with the teaching and learning processes in classesand if the radiation they emitted actually carried any potent health risks.”

"Learning from a Barefoot Movement"

2012-02-18T17:56:00.001+01:00

Here is a19-minute video from “TED”, "Learning from a Barefoot Movement" of a talk given by Sanjit Bunker Roy, who, instead of looking for a lucrative job aftergraduating from university, went to a village in Rajasthan, India, to encourage the knowledge and skillsof the inhabitants to create a "Barefoot College" and subsequently, self-sufficient environments in villages in other parts of the world. The village people built a school andconstructed solar panels to generate electricity. The women of the village share the skill ofsolar panel construction with women of other villages in India, Afghanistan andAfrica, almost uniquely through sign language. In his speech, Bunker Roy talks not only about the age-old practicalskills of a mostly illiterate population, but also about the intelligence andingenuity of women.

Thank youto the “Association spasmophilie entraide” of Geneva and the author and journalist, Sylvie Simon, for signaling out this inspiring film. Explore other video clips from TED. This non-profit group which stands for “Technology, Entertainment,Design” began in 1984 as a conference bringing together inspired thinkers inthese fields. The Website was launchedin 2007, offering free knowledge and especially, inspiration.

Double Victory in Court Rulings: Condemnation of Monsanto (Pesticides) and Eternit (Asbestos)

2012-02-16T22:12:00.001+01:00

Two significant court rulings made on 13 February 2012 are thefirst in Europe to condemn large corporations for their role in harming thehealth of individuals and in the case of Eternit, causing the deaths of several thousand employees.

Paul François

The court in Lyon, France, found the American company Monsantolegally responsible for the poisoning of Paul François, after he inhaled thecorporation’s pesticide Lasso. Monsanto “mustentirely compensate him” stated the court judgment. “In 2004, reports an article from Common Dreams, “Paul François, a cereal farmer in thesouthwestern department of Charente, opened the tank of his pulverizing machine. He inhaled fumes of Lasso, aweedkiller manufactured by Monsanto, and fainted. He was taken to hospital and stopped work foralmost a year, reports radio station France Info. He suffers from memory lossand often feels faint.” (See article from Common Dreams, “Court: Monsanto Found Guilty of Chemical Poisoningin France” and my article, "European Farmers Fight for Recognition of Link Between Serious Handicaps and Pesticides".)

On the same day, the court in Turin, Italy, “convicted inabsentia the former owner of the Swiss group Eternit, Stephan Schmnidheiny, andthe Belgian shareholder of its Italian subsidiary, Jean-Louis de Cartier deMarchienne, to 16 years in prison in Italy for the lasting ecological disasterand lack of safety measures in the workplace. Never before in Europe have asbestos industry bosses been condemned fortheir responsibility towards disease and death of nearly 3,000 employees andinhabitants of cities where Eternit factories were located.” It is unlikelythat an international arrest warrant will be issued against Schmnidheiny, whonow lives in Costa Rica and whose fortune was estimated to be $2.8 billion in2010. (Ref: article “Victoireamère des victims italiennes de l’amiante” in 20 Minutes and Radio Suisse Romande. See also my article, "The Biggest Asbestos-Related Trial in Europe is Soon to Deliver its Verdict".)

Climate Change: DeSmogBlog Releases Internal Documents Detailing Funding of "Climate Denial" Machine

2012-02-16T20:43:00.000+01:00

There continues to be much criticism in the independent media in the United States about the power of corporations in misleading the American public on serious environmental issues including climate change. According to a 2011 poll by the group, physorg.com, only 49% of Americans believed that global warming has begun to impact the planet, down sharply from more than 60% of Americans who five years ago said climate change was already impacting the globe.

The independent news site, "Common Dreams" has signaled out Brendan DeMelle's blog - DeSmogBlog which has long been covering "the impacts of the global warming and fossil fuel industry-backed misinformation campaigns. On 14 February 2012, the blog released internal documents from the Heartland Institute - 'the heart of the climate denial machine' - that discuss 'its current plans, many of its funders and details' confirming years of suspicion and reporting on their goals and machinations. 'The heart of the climate denial machine,' writes Brendan Demelle, 'relies on huge corporate and foundation funding from U.S. businesses including Microsoft, Koch Industries, Altria (parent company of Philip Morris), RJRTobacco and more'." Here is the article in full from Common Dreams, "Documents reveal plans, funders, and goals of 'climate denial' machine."

What is Preventive Medicine?

2012-01-20T19:26:00.000+01:00

Followingis an extract of an article by Ludivine who is a medical resident and future generalist. In her blog, “Prescription or life?” (L’ordonnance ou la vie?), shetransmits the basics about understanding our body and helping us to bettergrasp the logic of the world of medicine. Ludivine expresses very well our responsibility to take measures toremain in good health – true prevention, and not rely on medicine andtreatment. The other aspect ofprevention is to stop the degradation of our planet, because our diseases aretied to the toxicity of our environment. Ludivine has also written an article on this subject, “Taking care ofpeople without taking care of the planet – isn’t this meaningless?” that Iinvite you to read on her blog (which is in French with possibility oftranslation).

What ispreventive medicine?

Preventionis the set of measures that a human being cantake for his/her body to stay healthy as long as possible and avoid disease, orwhen one is already sick, avoid disease complications.

Prevention as seen by doctors

Although prevention is a very respectableapproach, paradoxically, it is not very "popular" among physiciansfor several reasons:

Stop Installation of Wireless Smart Meters!

2012-01-20T09:34:00.000+01:00

On 22 January 2012, the American Academy ofEnvironmental Medicine (www.aaemonline.org) adopteda resolution calling for a halt to wireless smart meters. The full text of the resolution is below. This represents the first physician's group in the United States to lookin-depth at wireless health risks and to advise the public and decision-makersabout preventative public health actions that are necessary.

Smart meters are a dangeroustechnology. Here is why: They infringeon privacy, by recording personal information about our everyday habits andshare this with other corporations and with the government. They expose us and ourneighbors to harmful electromagnetic radiation (classified as possiblycancer-causing by the World Health Organization) and to other health problemssuch as sleeplessness, headaches, nausea, heart arrhythmia. They could lead tofires and other electrical dangers, increase energy consumption and the cost ofutility bills. We must all oppose this technology and choose to keep our analogmeters. See www.stopsmartmeters.org .

Note thatthis technology is also being rolled out in Europe. The European Union is targeting an 80%conversion to smart meters by 2020.

(Thank you to Cindy Sage of Sage Associates andWEEP News Canada for this information.)

Following is the resolution:

Unexplained Increases in Brain Cancer - UPDATED

2012-01-19T21:15:00.000+01:00

This article from November 2011 comes from the German electromagnetic advocacy site, Bürgerwelle, which publishes the latest EMF news in English.

New cases of brain tumors have continuedto grow throughout the past three decades in some Scandinavian countries withlonger term heavier cellphone use, according to analyses conducted byEnvironmental Health Trust scientists based on data provided by the nationalcancer registries of Finland and Norway to the International Agency forResearch on Cancer. InNorway, brain tumor incidence rose in men and women about 1.7 and 2.8 percenteach year for the past decade, with women who use cellphones more having higherrates than men. Similar, but smaller increases were evident in Norway. Deathrates have dropped reflecting improvements in treatment and early detection,but incidence has increasedover the past decade for both men and women.(read more) Cell Phones: Myth orFact?

UPDATE: "Brain Tumor Pandemic" Predicted: A new analysis published by Örjan Hallberg in Sweden and L. Lloyd Morgan in the United States on 20 December 2011 in the journal, Neurology and Neurophysiology, projects a very large increase in brain cancer incidence resulting from widespread mobile phone use, beginning in about 15 years. L. Lloyd Morgan says, "Unless mobile phone usage behavior patterns significantly change, we can reasonably expect a pandemic of brain tumors... Governments, as well as parents, physicians, schools and all citizens, would be well advised to educate all persons under their care or influence about the need to curtail the use of mobile phones and other radiation-emitting consumer devices."

View this recent excellent newsclip from Euronews on safer cell phone use.

Mobile Phone and Tower Alert: Delhi, India

2012-01-19T19:08:00.000+01:00

“The Delhigovernment plans to make it mandatory for all mobile phones sold in thenational capital to prominently display the level of radiation emitted bydifferent brands of mobile phones.” Thisdecision was taken by a meeting in January 2012 of health experts who alsorecommended rules for restrictions on the 5,000 mobile phone towers inDelhi. Most of these towers are legal,however, hundreds of them were erected without approval of the authorities. The towers are causing noise, air pollutionfrom the use of generators for power backup, and are said to be a “constanthealth hazard” due to the high levels of radiation they allegedly emit. One senior official at the meeting commentedthat “basic market economy could impede implementation of ‘strict’ guidelinesfor mobile phone use” and installation of mobile towers. Another reason may be the emission levelsfrom the towers which are “much lower than international safety standards”.

View this recent newsclip from India on mobile phones and towers, posted on "In These New Times" on 15 January 2012.

Toxic Pesticides: Syngenta's Paraquat and Atrazine

2012-01-19T09:31:00.000+01:00

“The campaign ‘Stop Paraquat’,conducted by non-governmental organizations, trade unions and scientists aroundthe world, calls to end the production and ban the use of this highly toxicharmful herbicide”, manufactured and distributed by the Swiss companySyngenta. Although banned in Switzerlandsince 31 December 1989 and in the European Union since 2007, this toxicherbicide is still being marketed by Syngenta to over 100 countries, usuallyunder the brand name “Gramoxone”. It isregularly used on banana, coffee, palm oil, rubber, fruit, and pineappleplantations and also on maize and rice fields.

Acute health effects ofparaquat include eye injury, nosebleed, skin irritation and burns, nausea,vomiting, pain, breathing difficulties. Exposure to very low doses over a longer period of time produces chronichealth problems such as damage to the lungs, nervous system or brain, and mayalso cause potential birth defects and increased risk of developing Parkinson’sdisease.

This request comes from the Berne Declaration and Permanent People's Tribunal: Vote for Syngenta as the Worst Company - just click on "VOTE NOW" in the attached link.

Read more »

News from Geneva: Proliferation of Wi-Fi

2012-01-19T08:39:00.000+01:00

The Swiss are now overcome by the fever of having access to the Internet anywhere, anytime. Public buses and trams in the canton of Basel will soon be equipped with Wi-Fi. Swisscom has launched this pilot project which will run two months. The French-speaking cantons, including Geneva, whose mayor is very much pro-Wi-Fi, will certainly follow this initiative. In the Valais, four postal bus lines offered free Wi-Fi during four months in 2011. From the 1st of April 2012, 1,500 postal vehicles (CarPostal) in Switzerland will be equipped with Wi-Fi. The Swiss Railway (CFF) plans to offer this service on all its trains. Already, 75 "First Class Business" cars have Wi-Fi. The new "Duplex Grandes Lignes" trains will also be equipped with this service in first and second classes from 2014. Most persons are favorable to these initiatives. Few persons are educated about the potential health dangers of Wi-Fi, which emit electromagnetic radiation, classified as a possible carcinogen by the World Health Organization in May 2011. And what do transport employees, who will be exposed to this radiation some 8 hours a day have to say about this? Are they aware of the potential danger? Do they have any say at all in this matter?

What is particularly disturbing is that the city of Geneva, which recently changed most of its bus and tram routes, ending up with a far more inconvenient, chaotic and dangerous (for traffic and inhabitants) system, sets priorities such as installation of Wi-Fi above the health of its residents. Its main bus station does not even have a public toilet, yet the authorities are considering installing Wi-Fi in buses and trams!

(Reference: article in 20 Minutes, 20 January 2012.)

"Smart" Baby Wi-Fi Scale?

2012-01-18T19:20:00.000+01:00

We are hearing more and more about applications for wireless gadgets - shopping, medicine, education ... Here is another: weighing babies on a Wi-Fi Body Scale, plus "as an added bonus" making it easier to "bombard Facebook and Twitter news feeds with baby updates." Here is yet another way to expose these poor defenseless creatures to harmful electromagnetic radiation, just to appease our insatiable appetite for the latest wireless gadgets which, ten, five, even one year ago, we could easily have lived without. (Thank you to WEEP News for sending the following 8 January 2012 article by Scott Schaen on ChipChick.com describing this gadget.):

"Withings Smart Baby WiFi Scale Will Annoy Facebook Friends"

"Withings, a company that lives by their mantra “Smarter Devices,Healthier Lifestyles,” has just announced their internet connected Baby andToddler Scale. The Smart Baby Scale uses bluetooth, WiFi, and even the new lowenergy Bluetooth Smart to connect to your computer, iOS device, and the cloudto monitor and track your child’s growth.

Babies Under the Age of One Recruited for Vaccine Trials

2012-01-18T19:19:00.000+01:00

This is a rather troubling news story about the recruitment of babies by a pharmaceutical company for vaccine trials. In 2007 and 2008, GlaxoSmithKline recruited 15,000 babies under the age of one in Argentina for trials for Synflorix, a bacterial pneumonia and meningitis vaccine. The 28-page consent form was signed by parents who were illiterate or by individuals who did not have legal custody of the babies. Parents who took their children to hospital were pressured into signing by doctors. When babies suffered reactions to the vaccine, doctors conducting the trials did not address the concerns of parents. Fourteen babies died during the trials. None of the deaths were caused by the vaccine according to the investigation which followed.

The Argentine health authorities fined GlaxcoSmithKline and two doctors some $240,000, which is an insignificant sum for a pharmaceutical company to pay in damages. (Click here for the article in full which appeared on Care2 on 8 January 2012 and read this recent comprehensive article from Dr. Mercola about testing dangerous drugs and vaccines on children.

News from Geneva: Massive Lay-Offs - Update Novartis

2012-01-18T18:55:00.000+01:00

Nearly 1,000 persons protested against closure of the Prangins site

The staffof the Novartis site in Nyon-Prangins has won a victory. 320 of the 630 posts which werethreatened will be maintained and the pharmaceutical company will invest in anew production chain for export to the United States. Last October, it was also foreseen to lay off760 persons from the staff of 7,000 in Basle. It has now been decided that the number of lay-offs will be less. The Prangins victory is thanks to concertedaction by its staff: protest andconstructive proposals for saving the site. The Department of Economy of the canton of Vaud, where the site islocated, also supported the staff. Thevictory does not come without concessions. Staff who had previously worked 37.5 hours a week must now work 40 hours. As Novartis will not pay them the extrahours, the entire Prangins staff has agreed to finance this expense which willcome from the 1.5% increase Novartis has granted to all its staff inSwitzerland. Novartis has also beenaccorded fiscal advantages by the canton of Vaud. Construction will be allowed on the 21,000square meter terrain owned by Novartis next to the site. (Reference: article by Daniel Audétat, Tribunede Genève, 18 January 2012.)

There has been some concern over the quality of Novartis products manufactured in the United States. Recently, the company had to recall many of its Excedrin and Bufferin pain reliever bottles and shut down its plant in Lincoln, Nebraska. Some bottles of NoDoz and Gas-X Prevention were also recalled. The bottles may have contained broken or chipped pills, some of which may be products other than those named on the label. The problem of most concern uncovered at the plant could have resulted in powerful prescription pain relievers such as Percocet getting mixed in with some of the over-the-counter drugs. The U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has charged Novartis with failure to investigate properly the more than 200 consumer complaints the company received in 2011. (Reference: People's Pharmacy news, 12 January 2012.)

The Drugging of Our Children

2012-01-17T19:19:00.000+01:00

The 2005film “The Drugging of Our Children”, written and directed by Gary Null (103mn.) is about medicating children in the United States for mental illness,particularly ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). It is very much up-to-date. Just as Robert Whitaker says in his book,“Anatomy of an Epidemic” (mental illness in the United States, see my article), experts testify in this film that there is no proven biological basis forADHD. Functional MRIs showed evidence ofbrain abnormalities in children diagnosed with ADHD, but these were allchildren who were being treated with long-term drug therapy. Medicationdisrupts the neurotransmitter systems in the brain, and with long-term use,eventually changes the brain’s functioning.

ADHD“cases” are often diagnosed by school personnel who pressure parents intohaving their children placed on drugs like Ritalin. Doctors seldom look for the underlying causesof ADHD which may include lead, PCBs, television, sugar, fatty foods, additivesand today, wireless electronic gadgets.

In thefilm, Michael Moore talks about this serious issue, including the 1999 Columbineshootings. Therapeutic levels of thepsychotrope, Luvox, were found in the blood of one of the shooters which someanalysts argue may have contributed to aggressive behavior.

News from Geneva: University Study Reveals Potential Link Between Use of Deodorants Containing Aluminum Salts and Breast Cancer

2012-01-17T19:03:00.000+01:00

On 6January 2012, two researchers at the University of Geneva, Honorary ProfessorStefano Mandriota and Professor André-Pascal Sappino, published a study in the Journal of Applied Toxicology which demonstratesthe toxicity to human breast cells of aluminum salts which are found in 9 outof 10 deodorants. “In premenopausalwomen, mammary glands are more active and thus more sensitive to externalagents,” states Prof. Sappino. Testsrevealed that aluminum salts in amounts from 1,500 to 100,000 times less thancontained in deodorants were found to be toxic to human breast cells. These cells proliferated when in contact withthe aluminum salts which could lead to formation of tumors. The salts induced this effect only on breastcells. They were inoffensive to othertypes of cells.

Breastcancer has been on the rise over the last 40 years. The French-speaking part of Switzerland,which includes Geneva, has one of the highest rates of breast cancer in theworld. Over the last 10 years (2000 –2008) there has been an epidemic of breast cancer in young women less than 40years old. In 2005, the Swiss FederalOffice for Public Health (OFSP) had taken the position that there is noscientific evidence of a link between deodorants containing aluminum salts andbreast cancer. The results of the 2012study have not changed the OFSP’s position. “Scientific epidemiological studies have not proven the link between useof deodorants containing aluminum and increased risk of breast cancer; this has been confirmed by numerous scientific studies.” Noprecautionary measures are envisaged.

(Reference: article by Anne-Muriel Brouet, Tribune de Genève, 12 January 2012.)

European Cancer and Environment Research Institute (ECERI)

2012-01-14T18:13:00.001+01:00

Following is a résumé of an interview about the newly-establishedEuropean Cancer and Environment Research Institute (ECERI) with ProfessorDominique Belpomme, President of ARTAC (Association for Research and Treatmentsagainst Cancer) and of ECERI with Actu-Environnement from October 2011 (full text in French).

The European Cancer and Environment Research Institute (ECERI) wasestablished in Brussels, Belgium, on May 18, 2011. The scientific and administrative councils ofECERI comprise representatives from different European Union MemberStates. Its statutes are comparable tothose of ARTAC’s: a research centerwithout walls, a federative institute in the form of a network. ARTAC is dedicated to researching the linkbetween cancer and the environment. Itsphilosophy is to create a network of research centers which are the best intheir specialty. It works with units ofINSERM (Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale) and the CNRS (Centre national de recherche scientifique) and with other research groups from all over Europe and theUnited States.

Mobile Phone Antennas: Victory (Hempstead, New York) and Defeat (Geneva, Switzerland)

2012-01-14T12:45:00.000+01:00

Hempstead, New York

Are we “willing to accept cancer” and other illnesses, “as the price topay for the ability to communicate with anyone, anywhere, anytime?… Those whoobject to installation of mobile phone antennas and WiMAX (coverageof 3,000 square miles from a singletower), find they have no voice and no choice… Most people remain blissfullyunaware of their proximity to towers and transmitters… We can break ourradiation addiction by giving up wireless internet systems and (unnecessary) cellphone calls. Once knowledge is instilledabout the health consequences of wireless,” especially forchildren, “it may no longer be fun to play wireless games and chatter on thephone.” These words are from an article published in Natural News on 20 April 2009.

In 2007, agroup in Geneva, Switzerland, called “L'Antenne est à vous” courageously launchedan initiative to control the proliferation of mobile phone antennas in thecanton of Geneva (population of 467,000 in 2011). Within four months,the time allotted to them, they had gathered from Swiss citizens living in the canton 3,000 of the 10,000 signaturesrequired to present thisinitiative to the government for approval. The reasons for being unable to collect therequired number of signatures may have been that over 40% of the Geneva population is foreign and therefore not eligible to vote. The initiative called for greatertransparency regarding installation of antennas, guarantee of control of powerlevels, and stricter regulation of authorizations for their construction.

Statin Controversy

2012-01-11T11:29:00.000+01:00

We are hearing more and more from health experts about harmful side effects of medications – certain painkillers, anti-inflammatory drugs, statins. This article is being re-issued because there is more and more evidence that, among other serious side effects, statin-type cholersterol-lowering drugs, is associated with increased risk for type 2 diabetes.

We cannot always leave it up to our health providers/
doctors to select medications for us. We must not succumb to the pressures of direct to consumer advertising of drugs such as is allowed in the United States. We should be especially wary of medications taken as measures for preventing disease. I am talking here about statins.

UPDATE (10 January 2012): Today, the People's Pharmacy sent this health alert: "The evidence continues to mount that statin-typecholesterol-lowering drugs prescribed to prevent heart disease may spur theonset of type 2 diabetes. The latest research comes from the Women's HealthInitiative, an enormous study of more than 150,000 postmenopausal women thatbegan in the mid 1990s. In the decade between the start of the study and 2005,more than 10,000 of these women developed diabetes. The researchers calculatethat women taking statin drugs such as atorvastatin (Lipitor), rosuvastatin (Crestor)and simvastatin (Zocor) were 48 percent more likely to be diagnosed with thismetabolic condition." The study was published online on 9 January 2012 in the Archives ofInternal Medicine.

Read more »

The Wireless Industry has Never Said that their Technology is Safe

2012-01-08T18:15:00.003+01:00

Here is anexcellent article from the Safe School Committee, “Warnings from Industry”which says that manufacturers of wireless devices emitting microwave radiation havenever said that this technology is safe. Unfortunately, most governments continue to downplay the risks or tellus that there is no risk at all. Thisarticle cites manufacturers’ manuals (Motorola and Blackberry) which warn about theserious dangers of their devices. See also this article from the Daily Mail, UK, “Hidden Health Risk in Mobiles: Phone Giants Accused of Burying Warnings in Small Print".

It alsoincludes two videoclips. One is thechief spokesperson for cellphone manufacturers (CTIA) saying, "I want to be very clear. Industry has not said once-- not once -- that cell phones are safe. The federal government and variousinteragency working groups have said it is safe." Theother is a brief report from the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) about insurancecompanies. Most of these companiesconsider cell phone technology an incalculable health risk they are not willingto take (see my article “Swiss Re does not Re-insure Mobile Phones for Health Risks").

"Cellphones Replace Smokes as the Addiction of Choice"

2012-01-08T14:14:00.002+01:00

This article, written by Josh Freed and published in the Montreal Gazette on 7 January 2012 is a humorous but very true portrait of the comparison of cellphones to cigarettes. Refer to my more serious commentary on the comparison of the two addictions in Switzerland ("Financial Profits of the Tobacco and Telecoms Industries Count More Than Human Lives").

Iwas in a movie theatre last week when that new warning cartoon came on urgingus not to talk or text. Suddenly I remembered those old no-smoking signs theyhad outside theatres decades ago - and I realized the transformation iscomplete.

Thecellphone has become the cigarette.

Everywhereyou look, people hold phones instead of cigarettes up to their mouths -exhaling words instead of smoke. Meanwhile, the anti-cell lobby is becoming asvisible as the anti-smoking one.

Howelse does the cellphone resemble the cigarette?

-First, cigarettes were an ideal way for fidgety people to do something withtheir hands, whether they were rolling, lighting, twirling, tapping or draggingon them.

Butthe cellphone has just as many rituals to keep fidgeters busy. You check yourmessages, organize your mail, then reorganize it - along with texting, Skyping,surfing, checking the weather for the 42nd time, or just fondling the keys.

Dow AgroSciences Proposes Using an Agent Orange Herbicide on America's Farmland

2012-01-07T13:51:00.000+01:00

Following is a near-verbatim textfrom the 4 January 2012 article by the Cornucopia Institute, “Wholesale Approval of Genetically-Engineered Foods” which appeared on Common Dreams. A new Monsanto GE corn variety has just beenannounced and two other GE crop varieties are being petitioned forapproval: a Monsanto soybean containinghigher levels of omega-3 fatty acids and a Dow AgroSciences corn that willresist the 2,4-D herbicide which was a toxic ingredient of Agent Orange. So, now it looks as if we will be sprayingAmerica’s farmlands with “Agent Orange” which was used for defoliation in VietNam and causes extremely serious health effects.

Why doesPresident Obama appoint former employees of the biotech and pesticide industries to key agriculturalposts? Is this yet another way, alongwith the pharmaceutical, nuclear and other industries, to sicken and kill ourpopulation in order to reduce its numbers? Dow Chemical is one of the corporations condemned by the Permanent People’sTribunal (see my article "World's Six Biggest Agrochemical Companies Found Guilty ... " ) for violation of human rights, including the rightto health. The country where the Dow headquartersis located, the United States, has also been condemned for failure to “adequatelyregulate, monitor and discipline” such companies through national laws andpolicy. The American public and government officials are invited to view the photos of the ravages of Agent Orange by typing into Google: "Dow Agent Orange Photos".

Here is the text:

Just before New Year’s 2012, theUnited States Department of Agriculture announced its approval of a “droughttolerant” strain of genetically engineered (GE) corn developed by Monsanto. Despiteopposition, the Obama administration gave Monsanto the green light to releasethis new corn variety freely into the environment and American food supply,without any governmental oversight or safety tracking.

Fukushima Update - 2

2012-01-05T21:05:00.005+01:00

Late in August2011, Liz Hayes, reporting for « 60 Minutes » on Australia’s TVstation, CBS, exposed the depth of the Fukushima catastrophe (see the 16-minute report here). She travelled to Fukushimaand also went to Chernobyl where people are still suffering the consequences ofthe 1986 nuclear accident. According toHayes, 135,000 Japanese were forced to evacuate. She reported on children suffering the earlystages of radiation sickness – fatigue, diarrhea, nose bleeds. Radiation has been discovered in the thyroidsof around 500 children.

She talksabout the silence of most of the media in the United States regarding the truthabout the extent of the Fukushima catastrophe. “The radiation from Fukushima will impact on all of humanity. The nuclear power industry violation of theright to health is apparent throughout the new Australian report,” said the 25August 2011 article on the program. “Fukushima radiation is now combined in the U.S. with toxic radioactivetritium leaking from three-quarters of United States nuclear power plants, radiationfrom hydraulic fracturing (fracking), and radiation from the 2010 BP Gulf oilcatastrophe.”

Read more »

Electromagnetic Pollution: Risk of Alzheimer's

2012-01-02T13:02:00.000+01:00

Antenna near school

This 24 November 2011 article was published by the Belgian electromagnetic advocacy group, Teslabel (www.teslabel.be). It is a summary of a 4-minute interview with Professor Dominique Belpomme who says, "The public authorities must become aware of the seriousness of the actual situation and no longer have an antenna installed next to a nursery or preschool. This is absolutely inacceptable in terms of public health." (For those of you who understand French, the interview is available here.)

In an interview on France Inter, Professor of cancerology, Dominique Belpomme, teacher at Paris-Descartes University, Director of the European Cancer and Environment Research institute (ECERI) and President of the Association for Research and Therapies against Cancer (ARTAC), says : « It is clear that there is a link between different pathologies and the environment …

“Thereal problem is that there is no longer a controversy at the scientific level on thissubject. There is only a controversy forthe operators who tell us that these persons (intolerant to electro-magneticfields) are not really sick people or that they are crazy.

"Deadly" Practices of Health Insurance Companies

2012-01-01T19:30:00.004+01:00

“Deadly Spin” (2010) is a very revealing book about the health insurance industry,written by an insider who was head of corporate communications for one ofthe largest companies in the United States, CIGNA. Wendell Potter left his six-figure position because he felt he could nolonger serve “in good conscience as a spokesman for an industry whose routinepractices amount to a death sentence for thousands of Americans each year.” He sheds light on the public relations tacticsand practices of the health insurance industry, “an evil system built andsustained on greed.”

Onepractice of health insurance companies is to retroactively cancel the policiesof those who get sick in order to save money. A parent company of Blue Cross cancelled the policies of women diagnosedwith breast cancer. This particularcompany earned more than a $128 million profit from retroactive termination ofpolicies.

Potterexamines the irresponsible practices of other corporations: tobacco, oil, banking, which are similar tothose of the health insurance industry. One sees clearly that this also applies to the telecommunicationsindustry.

Read more »

Swiss Re Does Not Re-insure Mobile Phones for Health Risks

2011-12-30T19:39:00.002+01:00

Swiss Re, one of the largestre-insurance companies in the world, does not re-insure mobile phones for healthrisks. Following are excerpts from its 1997 paper, "Electrosmog, a Phantom Risk", on why it will not take on health claims from cell phones. Countries which deny health risks had better take due note of what insurance companies are saying.

Swiss Re has rated electromagnetic fields (EMF) as the highest risk (27 on a scale from 1 to 33) on its risk table, above agents that are known carcinogens and killers such as meat infected with mad cow disease. In a recent document, it declared, "from a prospective point of view, risk from dangers linked to EMF can be classified as an emergent risk". Silicone implants and asbestos were once considered emergent risks and are now proven risks, costing society millions of dollars in medical expenses and legal actions.

In February 2009, the French telecoms company Bouygues Telecom, was ordered to take down a mobile phone antenna due to uncertainty about its effect on health. Residents in the commune where it was located had sued the company claiming adverse health effects from the radiation emitted by the antenna. The Versailles Court of Appeals stated that, "Considering that while the reality of the risk remains hypothetical, it becomes clear from reading the contributions and scientific publications produced in debate and the divergent legislative positions taken in various countries, that uncertainty over the harmlessness of exposure to the waves emitted by relay antennas persists and can be considered serious and reasonable."

The advocacy organization, People’s Initiative, has provided this information in its very interesting document, “The Legislator’sGuide to Warning Labels on Cell Phones and the Layman’s Guide to the ScienceBehind Non-Thermal Effects from Wireless Devices” which can be viewed by clicking here.

View this CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) video report on cell phones and insurance companies.

Read more »

European Farmers' Fight for Recognition of Link between Serious Handicaps and Pesticides

2011-12-29T17:49:00.000+01:00

Tribute should be paid to the courage of European farmers who havefought for recognition of the link between their serious illnesses and thetoxic chemicals to which they were exposed in the practice of their profession. These two examples are very important indrawing attention of the public and authorities to the effects of pesticides onfarmers’ health. In the wake of thePermanent People’s Tribunal’s judgment of the six largest agrochemicalcompanies producing pesticides for human rights violations including health, itis hoped that more persons will have the courage to pursue their claims. Since the scandals of Mediator and the PIP breastimplants made out of industrial silicone in France, stricter measures will hopefullybe taken against companies which manufacture products that are dangerous to healthand mislead the public about their safety.

World's Six Biggest Agrochemical Companies Found Guilty of Human Rights Violations

2011-12-29T16:50:00.001+01:00

Following is a résumé of various articles on thePermanent People’s Tribunal which recently condemned the world’s six biggest agrochemical industries for human rights violations. One of the articles came from “SOS pour un monde meilleur” by way of the International Society of Doctors for theEnvironment, Italy.

After three days of deliberations in Bangalore, India (3-6 December 2011), the Permanent People’sTribunal (PPT) cited human rights violations of the world’s six largest agrochemicalindustries: Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer,Dow Chemical, DuPont and BASF.

Over 355,000 persons die each year from pesticide poisoning and hundreds of thousands more are made ill. Testimonies of persons who had been harmed by pesticides and biotechnology were presented. The practices of the agrichemical industry, which is valued at $42 billion, affect the environment, food, health, children and future generations.

Birth Defects and Pesticides: the Tomato Fields of Florida

2011-12-29T11:54:00.000+01:00

The basis of this article, which is the chapter “Chemical Warfare” fromthe book, “Tomatoland” by Barry Estabrook, was sent to me by the association, “SOS pour un monde meilleur” which, among other sources, receives information onenvironmental health from Dr. Ernesto Burgio, International Society of Doctorsfor the Environment (ISDE), Italy. Thegroup, “SOS pour un monde meilleur”, located in Geneva, Switzerland, is a schooloffering accredited courses in natural health therapies and a non-profitassociation whose purpose is to contribute to a better world for children andfuture generations through sensitization, information, education,representation, and production.

Migrants working in the tomato fields of Ag-mart inImmokalee, Florida, are exposed to very toxic pesticides. Ag-mart is a tomato harvesting company thatgrows tomatoes in three states. Itemploys about 500 migrant workers to stake, plant and pick tomatoes. Most of the workers are from Mexico andGuatemala and are employed under deplorable conditions (see my article, "Cultivation of Tomatoes").

Among the workers were three women who gave birth in2004 to babies with very serious birth defects. The first baby, Carlitos, was born with spinal and lung deformities andwithout arms and legs. Jesus was bornsix weeks later with a deformation of the jaw which placed him at risk of beingunable to breathe. The third baby,Violeta, survived only 3 days. She wasborn with only one ear and one kidney, without a nose and anus, and with acleft palate.

Cultivation of Tomatoes

2011-12-28T22:30:00.000+01:00

The industrial cultivation of tomatoes has as devastating an environmental and sociological impact as the cultivation of strawberries.

Barry Estabrook has written about industrial tomato production in Florida in his 2011 book, “Tomatoland”.

One billion pounds of tomatoes are shipped annually from Florida to other states. Cultivation of tomatoes in Florida is a $500 million per year business.

Most Florida tomatoes are industrially cultivated in fields. Since the plants are grown in nutrient-deprived sandy soil, artificial petroleum-based fertilizers are used to keep them alive. The constantly humid air, which breeds 27 insect species and 29 diseases preying on plants, requires spraying with tons of expensive and toxic herbicides and pesticides. These substances reduce the amounts of calcium, vitamins A and C and add up to 14 more times sodium in tomatoes than the ones our parents consumed. Tomatoes are picked by hand while still green and then gassed with ethylene, which is apparently safe, to turn them prematurely red, removing their taste and giving them a mealy texture.

Global Domination: "Thrive": Film Review

2011-12-28T22:02:00.001+01:00

The film « Thrive » (2011, 132 mn. - available here for free), producedby Foster Gamble, is a convincing exposé of the plan for global domination byan elite. It should be viewed frombeginning to end. After watching it, allseems to have fallen into place: thedegradation of our health and of the environment that I write about here couldbe seen as the expression of a plan of the elite to gain control over the world’spopulation: vaccination, medicines, debt,non-renewable energy, genetically-modified food.

The title of the film is optimistic. Life on this earth should be thriving, but themajority of us and even animals are struggling to survive.

Why?

Gamble takes us on a journey from exploring theconcept of the “Torus” to how the world is being dominated by an elite group. He begins by talking about the inventors ofdevices generating free energy who were consistently and brutally suppressed bythose profiting from existing forms of energy. The reason is that these people threatened the enormous wealth to begained from our energy reserves which are worth $200 trillion. He mentions crop circles and UFO's, but has his feet firmly planted on the ground when he talks about money.

Gamble explores how an elite group has gainedcontrol over every aspect of our lives: money,health, education, energy, food. He endson a note of optimism, talking about ways in which we can createsolutions. We must wake up and takeaction. What can we as individualsdo? We can become informed, speak up,connect with others for there is force in unity. We can buy and invest responsibly. We can advocate for a fair and openInternet. We can support independent mediaand organic, non-GMO food production, advocate for renewable energy, and takepart in critical mass actions.

Gamble believes in the power of the people,that we are on the threshold of mass awakening.
If this is so, there is hope for the world tothrive.

View the movie's excellent Website: www.thrivemovement.com.

E-Reader Safety Tips

2011-12-28T17:11:00.000+01:00

My thanks to the Center for Safer Wireless inWashington DC for the following safety tip regarding E-Readers:

"Wired devices are the safest way to go. For those whogave or received e-readers as Christmas gifts (Nook, Kindle, tablets, iPads,Kobo) you can reduce your exposure to pulsed radiofrequency radiation by simplyturning off the wireless signal on these devices. When you are reading ane-book, newspaper, or magazine, you don't need a wireless connection with thee-reader. To disable the wireless signal, each device is different. Search forphrases such as "turn off wireless signal" or "disable wirelessnetwork connection". Usethe wireless connection only when accessing the Internet (such as whendownloading a book or an application) and turn off the wireless signal when youare finished with the activity. Also, with the wireless disabled, you won'thave to re-charge your e-reader as often.

Mental Illness in the United States: "Anatomy of an Epidemic"

2011-12-26T22:44:00.001+01:00

The authorof “Anatomy of an Epidemic” (2010), Robert Whitaker, explores numerous studies oftreatment outcomes for mental illness both before and since the development ofpsychopharmacology in the 1950’s and ‘60’s. From this, one sees convincing evidence of an epidemic of mental illnesscreated by the prescription of psychiatric medications.

Whitaker examinesstudies for the major mental illnesses: schizophrenia, anxiety, depression, bi-polar, Study after study indicates that in the caseof treatment with psychiatric medications: 1) before the development of psychiatric drugs, a large percentage ofpatients diagnosed with these illnesses tended to get better and stay betterwithout medication; 2) while short-termdrug treatment may be effective, taking medication over the longer termexacerbates mental illness, leading to relapse and often, disability for life.

Read more »

Major Scandal: French-Made Breast Implants

2011-12-26T13:58:00.000+01:00

A major scandal concerning the health risks ofFrench-made breast implants has emerged. This concerns some 30,000 women France and tens of thousands in over 65 countries, principally in Europe and South America. The FrenchHealth Minister, Xavier Bertrand, announced that the implants had an unusuallyhigh risk of rupturing and leaking a “questionable” type of silicone gel intothe body.

The implants were produced by the company Poly ImplantProthèse (PIP) which used cheaper industrial silicone for the implants insteadof medical silicone to save money. PIP is the third largest breast implant company in the world, supplying over 100,000 implants a year. The implants were pulled from the marketlast year and the company is being liquidated.

Interpol has requested the arrest of the founder of PIP, Jean-ClaudeMas. For over 10 years, this corporate CEO - and former seller of cognac and sausage - misled thousands of women by making cheap breast implants in order to increase profits for his company.

"The Myth of Alzheimer's": Book Review

2011-12-26T11:30:00.003+01:00

The authors,Peter Whitehouse, MD, Ph.D, an Alzheimer Disease (AD) clinician and researcher,and Daniel George, Ph.D, Assistant Professor at The Penn State College ofMedicine, write not only about the disease butalso about healthy aging, the power of the pharmaceutical industry and thehealing qualities of alternative and complementary therapies.

The site “Alzheimer Disease Research” says that 5.4 million persons over age 65 in theUnited States have AD. By 2050, this figure could increase to 15 million. Oneperson is diagnosed with AD every 69 seconds. Almost half a million personshave so far been diagnosed with the disease in 2011. It is the sixth leadingcause of death in the U.S. The national cost of care and treatment in 2011 isestimated to be $183 billion and by 2050, could reach $1.1 trillion. 35.6 millionpersons in the world were living with AD in 2010. (see my article "Alzheimer's Disease")

The mainpoint of the authors is that AD is a myth. They explain that it is a normal process of aging of the brain. One could question this since certain typesof environmental pollution such as electromagnetic radiation are now being saidto be a cause of early on-set AD which is becoming more common. Genetics can explainonly about half of these cases.

Modernmedicine is characterized by an emphasis on drug treatment for diseases ofdementia. It does not focus enough onthe individual and the family, nor does it consider non-conventional treatment.

The label“Alzheimer’s” is driven in large part by the pharmaceutical industry and others,including the United States National Alzheimer’s Association, to maximizeresearch, which together with drug marketing, costs $100 billion per year. As with most diseases, we would do better toinvest this money in prevention and care, rather than the search for a cure.

Read more »

Trees

2011-12-13T10:02:00.000+01:00

Trees

I thinkthat I shall never see

A poemlovely as a tree.

Photo by Mark S. Carlson

A treewhose hungry mouth is prest

Against theearth’s sweet flowing breast;

A tree thatlooks at God all day,

And liftsher leafy arms to pray;

A tree thatmay in Summer wear
A nest of robinsin her hair;

Upon whosebosom snow has lain;

Whointimately lives with rain.

Poems aremade by fools like me,
But onlyGod can make a tree.

- JoyceKilmer

As we cometo the end of another year, tribute is paid to those who have made the world abetter place. Whether they are poets,environmentalists, health-givers, all these persons have healed the world insome way.

Climate Change Skepticism

2011-12-11T19:39:00.000+01:00

Following are my comments on Sara Allen’s thoughtfulfinal research paper, “Motivation of Climate Change Skepticism” which she submitted for her writingseminar on environmental ethics. Sara isa student majoring in environmental studies at the University of Pennsylvania.

One of the biggestmotivations for climate change skepticism, I believe, is economic. Corporationscontributing to climate change – oil, agribusiness etc. – do not wish to cutback on production because they would earn less profit. It would be costlier for them to change to other, lesspolluting forms of production. The average individual does not want to give uptheir lifestyle. They do not want to be forced to consume less. They do not takethe time to look beyond the physical discomfort caused by hotter summers to thewider implications of rising temperatures: destruction of species’ habitats,creation of new vectors of disease, melting of the permafrost which willrelease more methane etc. Perhaps the media is contributing to skepticism bynot reporting enough on these implications because it is influenced by powerfulcorporations.

Attention! This Contraceptive Can Harm Your Health

2011-12-09T17:57:00.001+01:00

Perhaps Ishould not be writing about contraceptives, throwing doubt into the minds ofthe tens of thousands of women who are taking Yasmin, Yasminelle and Yaz. I suspect that the persons who look at thissite (I really wish I knew who some of them are) are better informed than those persons who sometimes blindly follow their doctor’s advice.

On 8 December2011, the Swiss TV – Télévision Suisse romande – showed a documentary on thedangers of this contraceptive, “Attention, cette pilule peut nuire à votre santé” (“Attention, this pill can harm your health”).

Effects on Hormone Profiles of Long-Term Exposure to Mobile Phones and Base Stations

2011-12-09T11:10:00.001+01:00

Researchers at the NationalResearch Centre in Cairo, Egypt, recently published the results of a studyon the effects on hormone profiles of long-term exposure to base stations andmobile phones. The study showedsignificant decrease in volunteers’ ACTH, cortisol, thyroid hormones, prolactinfor young females and testosterone levels. The study concluded that "greater commitment from policy makers, health care ofﬁcials and providers is needed to raise public awareness about the hazardous outcomes of long term exposure to RFR (radiofrequency radiation)."

This important study, which became available online on 26 November 2011 may be viewed in its entirety here. (Eskander EF, et al, How does long term exposure to base stations and mobile phones affect human hormone proﬁles?, Clin Biochem (2011), doi:10.1016/j.clinbiochem.2011.11.006)
Thank you to the Citizens for Safer Technology Organization for the following summary:

Article in Press from Clinical Biochemistry Journal Introdction:

"Because of the increase in the usage ofwireless communication devices of mobile phones in recent years, there is ananxious concern on the possible hazardous effects of prolonged exposure toradiofrequency radiation (RFR). In considering the biological effects of RFR,the intensity and frequency of the radiation and exposure duration areimportant determinants of the responses.

Read more »

Important New Russian Research on Cell Phone's Radiation Effect on Cognitive and Other Functions in Children

2011-12-08T19:28:00.001+01:00

The results of two studies undertaken by Russian researchers were recently published showing that mobile phone radiation can affect cognitive and other functions in children, as their bodies are more sensitive to this type of radiation than those of adults. Thank you to the Electromagnetic Health Organization for this description of the two studies published on their site (www.electromagnetichealth.org) on 4 November 2011:

Russian researchers affiliated with the RussianAcademy of Sciences yesterday published two studies in Radiation Biology. RadiationEcology. 2011. Volume 51,No.5, p.611-623 that describe the effects of mobile phone radiation exposure onchildren’s bodies, showing that children’s bodies are more sensitive thanadults, and showing an increased number of phonemic perception disorders,abatement of efficiency, reduced indicators for the arbitrary and semanticmemory, and increased fatigue. A steady decline of the parameters over 4 yearsfrom high values to bottom standards has been found.

Read more »

Has the United States Learned any Lessons from Fukushima?

2011-12-07T19:16:00.001+01:00

Vogtle nuclear power plant, Georgia, USA

Reading an August2010 article on nuclear power in the United States (“Global Warming Heats up a Nuclear Power Renaissance”, written by Chuck McCutcheon, published on 9 August2010 in the Christian Science Monitor), afterthe Fukushima catastrophe, sends shivers down the spine.

The articlebegins in Mineral, Viriginia, epicenter of the August 2011 earthquake. The Dominion Energy Company had plans tobuild a third reactor at the North Anna plant, capable of furnishing power to375,000 homes. The North Anna plant wasshut down immediately after the quake occurred. At the time of publication of Mr. McCuthcheon’s article, Dominion Energywas seeking licenses to build 22 new reactors.

Americans’support of nuclear power (62% according to a March 2010 Gallup Poll) was thehighest since 1994 when Gallup started polling this issue. The environmental consequences of greenhousegases were more of a concern than radiation disasters. For the first time in 30 years, the governmentwas taking steps to build new power plants in addition to its 104 reactors(which generate 25% of the country’s electricity). One United States Senator was calling for 100new reactors by 2030. Here is what the U.S. nuclear industry lobby, the Nuclear Energy Institute, is saying today: "U.S. electricity demand will rise 24 percent by 2035... That means our nation will need hundreds of new power plants to provide electricity for our homes and contiued economic growth... (This) would require building one reactor every year starting in 2016, or 20-25 new units by 2035."

The Biggest Asbestos-Related Trial in Europe is soon to Deliver its Verdict

2011-12-03T22:18:00.001+01:00

Recently, the Europeantelevision station ARTE presented a documentary on the biggest asbestos trialever to be held in Europe: « Poussière mortelle – Le grand procès de l’amiante » (Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, ARTE/SSR, 2010, 84mn - in French). The film includes testimonies offormer employees and members of their families of the fiber cement factoryowned by Eternit in Monferrato Casale in Italy. Most of the employees had died fromillnesses caused by asbestos exposure: asbestosis and mesothelioma (cancer of the pleura). The testimony of one lady was particularlypoignant. Her husband, sister anddaughter had all died of mesothelioma. She said she wished that those found guilty would have the opportunityto witness the terrible suffering of persons diagnosed with mesothelioma, fromthe onset of the illness until death. Eternit, the company which owned the factory in Casale, had not informed employees about the danger of asbestos exposure.

UPDATE: (extract of article from the Swiss newspaper Le Matin 18 December 2011):

Asbestos/Eternit Trial : Indemnisation offer accepted : « The commune of Casale Monferrato,where one of the factories of Eternit SPA, Genoa is located, has accepted theindemnisation offer of 18.3 million Euros from the Swiss billionaire StéphaneSchmidheiny. In exchange, the communewill withdraw from the list of plaintiffs in the trial of asbestosvictims. The communal council of thiscity in the Piedmont has taken this decision at the close of a 6 and ahalf-hour session during the night of Friday-Saturday. The session had to be suspended on 4occasions due to citizen protests. Hundreds of persons attended thedebates. The money will be used tosanitize the asbestos, for medical research and support to the victims."

Testimony: Mobile Phone Antennas - Geneva

2011-12-02T16:47:00.001+01:00

This disturbingtestimony comes from Jean-Luc, who suffered numerous health problems afterinstallation of a mobile phone antenna on the rooftop of his apartment buildingin Geneva. The testimony merits translationof the full text into English:

"My name is Jean Luc ad I was born in 1968. I have been living in an apartment building since 1998, with antennas installed in 1999.

My recollection of events:

Following a motorcycle accident in 1999, the scaphoid bone of my right wrist was injured. Two operations, marrow graft and a screw,plaster. Recovery in general lasts 6months. In my case, I was on invalidityfrom 1999 to 2004 following a necrosis of the bone, the reason for which thedoctors could not understand.

In 2000, I suffered more and more frominsomnia, became nervous and anxious. Headaches started to develop when I spententire days at home.

From 2002-2003, I started to experience fallsin blood pressure, dizziness and depression. In 2003, my 3-year-old dog suffered an attack. Following this, I took a second dog which diedat age 3. It was a pedigreed dog, withouthealth problems.

Is Radiation from Wi-Fi Connected Laptops Nuking Sperm?

2011-12-01T08:43:00.001+01:00

According to a recent study, published in the Journal of Sterility and Fertility, Argentine and American researchers found that use of an Internet-connectedlaptop by Wi-Fi decreased sperm motility and induced DNA fragmentation by anon-thermal effect. After four-hour exposure,25 per cent of sperm were no longer swimming and 9 per cent showed DNAdamage. Keeping a portable computer onthe lap exposes the male reproductive organs to electromagnetic radiationemitted during wireless communication. It is not clear to the researchers whether “this effect is induced byall laptop computers connected by Wi-Fi to the Internet or what use conditionsheighten this effect.”

Infertilityaffects nearly 70 million couples worldwide. One in six couples in the United States has difficulty conceiving andhalf the time, the problem is attributed to men. Dr. Robert Oates, President of the Societyfor Male Reproduction and Urology, commented that he doesn’t “know how many keeptheir laptops on their laps.” Here isone person who should rethink promotion of the special benches in Geneva’sparks for using laptops on their laps (or even holding smartphones and iPadsnear the lap) connected to Wi-Fi: theMayor of Geneva.

One could add that thisis one (small) way to keep the population from reaching 9 billion.

See variousarticles on the study:

- Reuters: “Wi-Fi laptop said to nuke sperm, but caveatsabound”

- ABCNews: “Can Wi-Fi kill your sperm?”
- DailyMail: “Radiation from Wi-Fi connectionscan reduce sperm activity ..."

Growing Rebellion Against Wi-Fi in Schools

2011-11-29T19:45:00.000+01:00

Recently parents in the region of York, Ontario, inCanada have been lobbying to remove Wi-Fi from elementary schools and threatento pull their children out of class and protest if they do not see action. “My child is in there for 5 days a week, 6hours a day being pulsed with microwaves,” says one concerned parent.

Ontario school board officials maintain that Wi-Fi inschools is safe. “The spectre ofinvisible harmful waves is hard to dismiss in the age of man-made radioactivedisaster – Fukushima, for example – and earlier this month, when Health Canadaissued a warning that children under 18 should limit their cell phone use,concern grew”, says a recent article in the Toronto Star (“Most authorities areOK with wifi but there is a growing rebellion”, by Stephanie Findlay, 23October 2011). Elsewhere in Canada,health complaints are being taken seriously. A lady in British Columbia is receiving several hundred dollars indisability benefits for Wi-Fi-related maladies.

There has been a call from parents for Wi-Fi-freeWednesdays in the York region in order to give students a respite from exposureto microwaves in schools. The YorkRegion Parent Coalition, formed to raise awareness of this concern, staged aprotest on 23 November 2011 which they hope will attract attention of otherparent groups in Canada and worldwide. The group recommends engaging in a consultative process with electedtrustees, regular measuring/monitoring of radiofrequency (RF) levels inclassrooms, disclosure of RF levels to parents and the community, andacceptance of liability for present/future harm to students and staff by the SchoolBoard and Ministry of Education.

Bees Perturbed by Cell Phones

2011-11-28T18:58:00.001+01:00

A biologist and beekeeper from cantonVaud in Switzerland, Dr. Daniel Favre, is about to show that the many telephone exchanges atthe end of the year perturb bees in their hives. This article, "Bees Detest the New Year" by Michel Perret appeared in theSwiss newspaper Le Matin on 14November 2011.

Bees detest the New Year! Biologist and beekeeper Daniel Favre has proven this. Exchanges of New Year's wishes, an electromagnetic tempest of 130 million SMS's and innumerable phone calls batter the beehives during the passage to the New Year.

"The result? The bees are all perturbed and produce at this period an abnormally loud sound, whereas before and after the New Year, they are calm. My experiments thus support the hypothesis that the waves from mobile phone technology do not allow them toprosper.”

Read more »

Electromagnetic Radiation Education in Schools

2011-11-28T17:36:00.000+01:00

This information comesfrom Israel. It describes theestablishment of an electromagnetic radiation education program in Israelischools. In mid-July 2011, 15 speakersgathered at the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, in connection with the “lobbyfor reasonable cell phone use”. The aimof the lobby is to “push for better cell phone regulations and laws, create anddevelop public awareness of the dangers of exposure to radiofrequency/cellphone radiation, limit the use of cell phones by children, include warningabout possible health risks on cell phones, make cell phone companies send dailySMS messages with radiation warnings, limit the way in which cell phonecompanies advertise their products, and develop ways to limit public dangerfrom cell phone radiation.”

Electromagnetic radiation issues being discussed in the Knesset, July 2011

The personwho reported on this gathering, editor of the “No Radiation for You” Blog, delivered apresentation on electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS). It was the first time that an EHS personappeared in the Israeli Parliament and that the issue of EHS was addressed.

Other nations shouldhold such gatherings in parliament with a view to raising awareness ofgovernment authorities of the safer use of cell phones.

"Is the Phone Industry Spinning While Rome Burns?"

2011-11-28T17:13:00.001+01:00

This article by "tom" was published on the MobileWise site on 11 November 2011. It describes the reaction of the British telecoms industry and WHO to their recent report, "Mobile Phone Health Risks: the Case for Action to Protect Children": a "heads in the sand" attitude. The conclusion of the article says it all: "If only phone companies were as modern about their approach to health as they are in developing their products. It's supposed to be the age of corporate responsibility, after all."

Poisoned for Profit: How Toxins are Making our Children Chronically Ill (Book Review)

2011-11-27T19:17:00.001+01:00

Poisoned for Profit by Philip and Alice Shabecoff, 2010 (www.poisonedforprofit.net):

Everyparent should read this very informative book which describes the effects thatenvironmental degradation is having on children’s health in the United States. One inthree American children (some 21 million) now suffers a chronic illness. The health effects of environmental pollutionbegin in the embryonic and fetal stages of life when critical windows of vulnerabilitycause the developing child to be more susceptible to the toxic actions ofchemicals.

Diseasesare seeded in fetal life. This includes suchconditions as obesity which can be caused by changes in gene expression triggeredby hormone disruption. Experiments inpregnant mother rats fed hormone-disrupting pesticides, of which there are over60, caused changes in their babies’ metabolism. Obesity and diabetes are more than just a failure to eat well andexercise. This epidemic is linked topollution of the fetal hormone system.

Medicare Decisions Influenced by Pharmaceutical Companies

2011-11-27T09:56:00.001+01:00

We question the very high costs of Medicare, but fewof us realize what is behind this. Hereis one example where the pharmaceutical company influences Medicare decisionsregarding reimbursement of drug costs: the breast cancer drug Avastin. The recent concerns about this drug also raise issues regarding the roleof the media which sometimes disseminates conflicting information. For instance, when major media reported lastSeptember on the HPV vaccination campaign for boys from 11 years old, it said thatthese vaccines, one of which is Gardasil, were safe. (See my article, "HPV Vaccine Gardasil: A Warning"). The Avastin controversy also makes us reflecton the drug approval process.

On 15 November 2011, the United States Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) revoked the use of Avastin as a treatment for breastcancer after clinical trials showed that the drug was neither effective nor safe. Clinical studies demonstrated that the drug neithersignificantly controls breast cancer tumors nor extends life. In addition, it produces serious sideeffects.

The European Union has just approved Avastin as a treatment for ovarian cancer. Was this thanks to the powerful lobbying of its manufacturer, the Swiss company Roche?

A Message to Parents: Do not Buy Cell Phones for Your Small Children!

2011-11-22T11:29:00.001+01:00

As weapproach the biggest shopping day of the year in the United States (25November, the day after Thanksgiving), parents, please take note of this. Mobile devices are a dangeroustechnology. Parents should not buy theseitems for their small children.

See this excellent article from MobileWise, UK, "Is the Phone Industry Spinning While Rome Burns?" which is a plea for precautionary measures to be applied to children's use of cell phones.

Toys “R” Usstores, one of biggest toy stores in the United States, are encouraging kids to try cellphones and tablet computers.

World-side mobile sales rose 16.5% in thefirst part of 2011 with 1.5 billion cell phones expected to be sold thisyear.

Youngchildren, 8 and 9-year-olds crave these new “toys”, especially an iPod or cellphone. An estimated 52% of children inthe United States under age 8 have access to mobile devices. 10% under age one have already used a smartphone, iPod or iPad or other tablet to play games, watch videos or use a mobileapplication. According to one researchgroup, kids ages 2 to 5 are the fastest-growing category of video game players,which are being played more and more on mobile devices or computers, many ofwhich contain wireless components.

New Mobile Phone Radiation Guidelines for India

2011-11-21T12:28:00.000+01:00

TheGovernment of India is issuing new radiation guidelines for mobile phones andantennas (see article in the Economic Timesof India published on 19 November 2011). It will be mandatory for mobile phone emissionlevels to be displayed at retail outlets and on phones sold in India. Hands-free devices must also be sold with each mobile phone, along with a booklet mentioning safety precautions, as the government believes the use of these devices willsignificantly reduce the risk of exposure from electromagnetic fields.

In a country where it is estimated that therewill be 1.159 billion cell phones by the year 2013, this could be the onlysolution to reduce the health risks of this technology.

Here is a recent news report on the subject, including about cell phone antennas, from India, that was posted 15 January 2012 on "In These New Times".

Fukushima Update

2011-11-20T18:57:00.001+01:00

The latestupdate mentioned in my last post ("Fukushima Radiation Alarms Doctors") was about the 360,000 Japanese childrenundergoing thyroid testing at their mothers’ insistence. The thyroids of some 500 children have been found to be contaminated with iodine 131, condemning many to thyroid cancer years from now.

Crippled upper part of Fukushima Daichi No.3 reactor building
(photo taken on 12 November 2011 - Reuters/Kyodo)

At thebeginning of November, signs of a possible nuclear fission (leakage of theradioactive gas, xenon) were detected at the Fukushima power plant, raisingfears of further radiation leaks. Officials said the quantities were very small.

Around 40of Japan’s 54 reactors, which were generating 30% of Japan’s electricity, remainedshut down for testing, with anti-nuclear sentiment spreading across thecountry.

Japaneseand international reporters, wearing full protective gear, were allowed tovisit the damaged power plant for the first time since the explosion lastMarch. The Japanese government predictsthat it will take 30 years to safely remove the nuclear fuel and decontaminatethe plant and probably decades, before residents can return to the area. The cost to clean up contamination has been estimated at $13 billion.

"Nature is the 99% Too"

2011-11-19T21:52:00.001+01:00

MayorBloomberg has asked the « occupiers of Wallstreet » - the 99 per cent– to leave Zuccotti Park, and rightly, they have protested. Here is an excellent article by Chip Ward, anactivist who writes for TomDispatch.com, a site which “seeks a deeperunderstanding of our post-9/11 world and a clear sense of how our imperialglobe actually works.” His article, “OccupyEarth: Nature is the 99%, Too", talksabout the degradation of the earth going “hand in hand with the accumulation ofwealth, power, and control by that corrupt and greedy 1% we are hearing aboutfrom Zuccotti Park”.

Read more »

Cell Phone Towers: A Human and Environmental Disaster in the Waiting?

2011-11-17T19:45:00.001+01:00

Concerns regarding the health effects of electromagnetic radiation emitted by wireless technology are being expressed by scientists and doctors from all over the world. This article about cell phone towers and cancer was written by Prof. M.S. Khuroo, Director, Digestive Diseases Centre, Srinagar, India. By 2013, India is expected to have 1.159 billion cell phone subscribers.

Prof. Khuroo says it is impossible to protect the general public from the radiofrequency (RF) exposure from cell towers erected in crowded residential areas on roof tops, schools, hospitals, trees, church steeples ... Industry tells us that RF exposure is "negligible", well below the safety limit and therefore, cell towers are not a potential health hazard to nearby residents. This is exactly what the Geneva department for non-ionizing radiation told me concerning mobile phone antennas.

Experts say that some people suffer short-term effects from cell tower RF exposure such as "headaches, sleep disorders, poor memory, mental excitation, confusion, anxiety, depression, appetite disturbance and listlessness".

"A German study on 1,000 residents living within 400 meters of cell towers for over 10 years found prevalence of cancer 3 times higher than the control group. Breast cancer topped the list, but cancers of the prostate, pancreas, bowel, skin melanoma, lung and blood cancer were all increased."

"Current (RF exposure) limits have been influenced more by economic and political imperatives than by research into health and safety."

You may read Prof. Khuroo's article in full here.

European Electrosmog Protest

2011-11-17T12:34:00.001+01:00

A European Electrosmog Protest took place in Brussels on 16 November 2011. The protest was organized by 7 EMF advocacy groups in 4 different countries on the occasion of the European Union Conference on Electromagnetic Fields and Health (November 16-17). No scientist whose research has proven there are harmful health effects of pulsed microwave radiation (below current limits) was invited. (Thank you to Steven Boone for this information. See www.petition-electrosmog.be and to sign petition "Less Electrosmog".)

The protest was attended by 50 persons from Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The protesters handed a document to every person present at the conference (around 300 persons) containing information on the protest and its demands.

The group made the following 5 demands, based on the precautionary principle to be applied urgently in all European countries:

Read more »

Financial profits of the tobacco and telecoms industries count more than human lives

2011-11-17T09:51:00.001+01:00

Profit or Public Health?

In Switzerland, there is a lack of “political will” concerningtobacco. Switzerland has not ratifiedthe World Health Organization’s Convention which asks its signatories to adoptmeasures against smoking. Why? Several large tobacco companies are locatedin Switzerland and have representatives in the Parliament. The same is true for the telecommunicationsindustry. The Swiss Confederation holdsa majority of shares in Swisscom. The twoindustries are not concerned about our health. Neither are our politicians. Thetobacco industry is seducing more and more young persons with its aggressivepublicity. Mobile phone industryadvertising is inciting young persons to buy the latest Smartphone and iPadmodels... The radiofrequencies emitted by the wirelesstechnology are potentially harmful, especially to very young persons. But our politicians ignore the declarationsof authorities such as the Council of Europe, of which Switzerland is a member,concerning the potential danger for humans of the radiation emitted by thistechnology and the enforcement of precautionary measures to take in its utilization. What is worth more? Financial profits or human lives?

Commentary by Meris Michaels published in the Tribune de Genève 17 November 2011

Effects of Wireless Technology

2011-11-16T23:07:00.001+01:00

This commentary was published by the Tribune de Genève on 1st November 2010 as "Letter of the Day" in its column, "Readers' Mail". It is the first in a series of commentaries published by this newspaper on wireless technology, of which I am the author. Seven other published commentaries on this subject appear on this site. (The photos which accompany these commentaries are not those selected by the newspaper.)

Effects of wireless telecommunications devices

On 26 October the Tribune devoted anarticle to the quality of the telecommunications network in Switzerland. People are demanding an improvement in thequality of the network without taking into account the dangers to their healththat is implicated. Scientific studieshave proven a link between electromagnetic fields and all kinds of healthproblems, including cancers and neuro-degenerative diseases. The utilization by children and adolescentsof cell phones and computers equipped with WiFi is particularly disastrous becausechildren absorb more radiation than adults. This can cause hyperactivity, aggressivity and memory and concentrationproblems. Four billion persons in theworld are hooked on this technology which to date has earned almost onetrillion dollars for the industry. Thisis why the telecommunications industry tries to cover up the truth about healtheffects. It is thus the responsibilityof consumers (parents, employers and educators) to inform themselves in orderto protect others from the harmful effects of this technology. It is up to them to raise awareness,especially of legislators to impose stricter rules such as banning the use ofcell phones in children under 14 years and computers equipped with WiFi inschools.

Commentary by Meris Michaels, published as Letter of the Day in the Tribune de Genève - 1st November 2010

Wi-Fi in Geneva: Is it an Amenity?

2011-11-16T09:54:00.000+01:00

Wi-Fi: An Amenity?

Pierre Maudet, Mayor of Geneva

The Mayor of Geneva is presentingfree Wi-Fi, an amenity for the Genevois. Wi-Fi causes health problems for certain persons who are sensitive tothe electromagnetic waves that they emit. WHO has declared that these waves are possibly carcinogenic. This demonstrates a lack of responsibility onthe part of our authorities, especially to have installed a Wi-Fi network inmuseums and libraries which are more frequented by children. Children are more sensitive to suchpollution. I would like to draw themayor’s attention to the recent resolution of the Council of Europe, of whichSwitzerland is a member, on the “potential danger of electromagnetic fields andtheir effects on the environment”. Itsuggests the creation of “white zones” not covered by wireless networks for“electrosensitive” persons and the determination of places to erect all newantennas: Wi-Fi, WiMax, UTMS, GMS inagreement not only with the area authorities, but also with the inhabitantsconcerned.

Commentary by Meris Michaels published in the Tribune de Genève 15 July 2011

News from Geneva: Swiss - American Friendship Concert

2011-11-15T22:06:00.001+01:00

On 15 November 2011, a rather unique event took place in the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations Office at Geneva: a concert given by the Medical Muscial Group, "Healing for the Nations". The orchestra, composed of doctors, dentists, and other health professionals from the United States, performs all over the world with local choirs and soloists. Its mission is to present music with a message of inspiration, healing and national unity. The founder and conductor of the orchestra is Dr. Victor Wahby, who studied with Joseph E-Sissi, the Vienna-trained conductor of the Cairo Symphony Orchestra. While at the Mayo Clinic, Dr. Wahbi conducted its orchestra and chorale, and while a member of the Yale Faculty of Medicine, he led the Yale Medical Musical Group, which is the forerunner of the current national musical group. The Geneva concert repertoire ranged from Italian and Ukrainian opera to the spiritual hymn, "How Great Thou Art" and classical music (the "William Tell" and "1812" Ouvertures) to well-known American music including a rousing "Stars and Stripes" wth audience participation. The concert was a truly uplifting and healing experience.

Musical Medical Group's 2004 Fort Lauderdale concert, "Where Eagles Dare"

Tech Industry Insiders Warn of Wireless Health Risks - by Joshua Hart

2011-11-15T16:10:00.001+01:00

The following excellent article is about an employee of a well-known Silicon Valleycorporation who is sensitive to wireless transmissions. He is unable to discuss this with hisco-workers because his career could be damaged by talking about ‘the conspiracyof silence’ around the unacknowledged harm of wireless technologies. The article, appearing in the Santa Cruz Indymedia IMC (Independent Media Center) publication on 9 November 2011, was written byJoshua Hart, Director of Stop Smart Meters (www.stopsmartmeters.org).

The article raises a number of issues: radiofrequencyengineers already voicing their concerns some 15 years ago about the power oftransmissions of certain technologies; the disregard forhealth concerns of this technology; the mandatoryplacing of smart meters on homes without people being aware of its seriousconsequences to health and privacy; thelack of investigative reporting on the subject; people’s apathy regarding the harmful effectsof this technology; the addiction to wireless gadgets which renders life lessmeaningful.

Following is the article in its near-entirety.

640 wireless office cubes

“‘WilliamBoyd’ has worked in tech media for twenty years, even stretching back to thevery beginnings of the current wireless age. He’s a few years shy of the usualretirement age, employed at a well-known Silicon Valley corporation, and veryclear that he cannot be known to support Stop Smart Meters!—or anyone elsequestioning the health and safety of the wireless hegemony.

Bipolar Disorder without Medication - 3

2011-11-15T14:09:00.001+01:00

A Long Roadto Success

It was along road to success after my decision to come off of the medication. I firsttried to

do so inAugust of 2001, two and a half years after I had been diagnosed with bipolardisorder

andprescribed Lithium Carbonate. While I was successful for some time in stayingoff of

themedication, I was somewhat depressed during most of the first ten months, and Ibegan

to havepsychotic symptoms at the end of the ten months. The psychotic symptoms were so

scary, thatfor the following three and a half years, I was convinced that I needed to stayon

themedication for fear that I would return to the scary place that my mind hadtaken me at that time.

Bipolar Disorder without Medication - 2

2011-11-14T12:55:00.001+01:00

TheDecision to Come Off of Medication and the Benefits it has Reaped

I decidedto come off of the medication for a number of reasons. Mostly, I intuitivelybelieved

that takingmedication was the wrong path. My intuition was connected with how I perceived

mysurroundings on and off of the drugs. On the medication, things appeared veryone-

dimensional,seeming only to possess a physical dimension. Off of the medication, things

more oftentook on a spiritual dimension in addition to the physical. For example, when Iread spiritualliterature such as the Bible while on the medication, it did not speak to me inthe

sameprofound way it did while I was off of the medication.

Bipolar Disorder without Medication

2011-11-13T17:39:00.001+01:00

Mynephew, David, has written this testimony, in several parts, of living witha diagnosis of bipolar disorder and coming off the medication to treat it. He issharing this testimony with a sincere desire to "help others learn how totap into who they truly are without having to suppress their true selves withmedication." David and his wife, Jade, would appreciate hearing fromyou. They may be contacted through me byposting comments at the end of the articles.

Bipolar Disorder without Medication

My name isDavid. I am 34 years old, living with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. For many years, I was prescribed Lithium Carbonate, as well as other psychotropic medications,and was told by my doctors that I must take some sort of medication for therest of my life.However, I have not taken any medication for bipolar disorder for over two and a halfyears, since April 13 of 2009. I am writing in the hope of reaching those whosuffer with mentalillness or diagnoses of mental illness and are trying to get off of medication and also those who aresupporting someonetrying to live with mental illness without medication.

News from Geneva: Massive lay-offs

2011-11-12T20:34:00.001+01:00

Recently, several companies incanton Vaud and factories in Geneva, as well as the World Health Organization(WHO) announced the reduction or elimination of numerous posts. These measures of austerity are tied to theactual state of the world economy: collapse of the euro and dollar, together with the overvaluation of theSwiss franc.

According to the 7 November 2011 edition of the newspaper, 20 Minutes, 14,642 jobs in Swiss companies were eliminated over the last 100 days, including 5,047 located in Switzerland.

Novartis, the Swiss pharmaceuticalgiant, announced the massive elimination of 2,000 posts at the end of October,including 1,100 posts in Switzerland, of which 320 are in the Geneva region(Nyon-Prangins). 300 other posts at thisproduction site will be relocated. Novartis will close the site and create 700 new posts in “low-cost”countries. The elimination of the 320posts in Nyon will save the company 20 million Swiss francs (24 milliondollars), which was the salary of its ex-CEO Daniel Vasella in 2010. Novartis announced a profit of 2.2 billionfrancs (2.49 billion dollars) in the third quarter of 2011.

A Geneva physician, Dr. BertrandBuchs, has called for a boycott of Novartis. He is no longer prescribing medicines with theNovartis Sandoz brand to his patients. 74 other Geneva doctors say they will support his action.

UPDATE on Novartis (17 December 2011): Employee representatives presented suggestions to the company directors for making the plant viable. These include: selling land adjacent to the factory and using the money from the sale to remodel the factory to include other production stages; "repatriating" the production of certain medicines from other parts of Europe and increasing output. Management will take a decision regarding these and other proposals in mid-January.

Read more »

Film Review: "Rachel Carson Silent Spring"

2011-11-10T16:08:00.000+01:00

“RachelCarson Silent Spring” – PBS Documentary, Neil Goodman, 2007, available in 6parts on YouTube, 60 mn. Click here for film.

This is aninspiring documentary of Rachel Carson’s life, education, career and thelasting contribution she made to environmental health.

As early as1945, as a member of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Rachel Carson beganinvestigating the effects of insecticides (DDT) on wildlife. A bird sanctuary in Massachusetts was sprayedwith DDT producing “a spring silent of birdsong”, from whence came the title ofthe book which was to make her famous.

When shefirst began writing articles about the toxic effects of insecticides, she wasmet with pervasiveness on the part of government agencies which refused toprovide her with information, and with media hostility. Suburbs were being sprayed with DDT,afterwards with dieldrin, 40 times more toxic than DDT. One million acres of land was treated withdieldrin in the first year of its use to rid the area of fire ants. Everything died.

Suffering from Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields

2011-11-07T19:17:00.002+01:00

There has been a lot of recent media attention given to the two women living in a cave in France due to their hypersensivity to the electromagnetic radiation emitted by waves from wireless communication.

(Read one of many media articles here.)

I can sympathize with their suffering. Only recently have I become aware of my own intolerance of exposure to electro-magnetic fields. Across the street from the apartment building where I live in Geneva, two rooftop mobile phone antennas were installed in late 2009, and one, two buildings down the street in 2005 - both are GSM and UMTS antennas. For the last several years, I have been suffering from insomnia and other health problems which diminish and eventually disappear when I am away from Geneva.

In the town of Rojales in Spain, since 2003 at least 24 persons living in the vicinity of two mobile phone antennas placed on the rooftop of a building have been affected by diseases including breast cancer, abortions, premature births, malformations, chronic renal failure. Among the 17 families living in the building adjacent to that where the antenna is located, 8 cases of breast cancer have been reported as well as other diseases. (Refer to this article from Next-Up, translated from Spanish.)

Read more »

Do Not Carry Your Cell Phone Close to Your Body

2011-11-06T19:33:00.000+01:00

Do notcarry your cell phone in your pocket.

Thisincludes pants and shirt pockets. Cellphones should not be carried on your body. They emit harmful electromagneticradiation, even when switched off. Thelength of daily exposure to a cell phone can have an impact on the quantity andquality of human male sperm and can even damage it. A cell phone kept in a woman’s bra can increasethe risk of breast cancer. Texting with a phone held near your lap may also be damaging to fertility and reproduction. San Francisco’sDepartment of Environment has just established an ordinance which obligesstores selling cell phones to put up posters and distribute fact sheets whichexplain the measures to be taken in order to reduce exposure to microwaveradiation emitted by these devices, for one, “Use belt clips and purses to keepdistance between your phone and body.”. Thistip is also printed in the safety manual of iPhones. (See my recent post on the San Francisco ordinance and two articles : cell phones and sperm count and cell phones in bras.)

Watch this excellent 4-minute news broadcast from My Fox, Tampa Bay, Florida, "Concern over kids , cell phones and radiation", 2 November 2011 which gives advice for safer cell phone use and expresses concern over children's use of cell phones.

12-Year-Old Severn Suzuki Asks the United Nations to Save the World at the 1992 Earth Summit

2011-11-04T20:16:00.000+01:00

On 31 October 2011, Care2 posted the video presentation of SevernSuzuki, who at age 12 delivered a speech before the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio deJaneiro. She talks about environmentaldegradation, war, greed, poverty, vanishing species. Her words are even more relevant today. It iscause for reflection: has the worldchanged for the better since then? Viewthe video presentation here.

Transcript of Severn Suzuki’s speech:

“Hello, I’m Severn Suzuki speaking for E.C.O. – The EnvironmentalChildren’s Organisation.

We are a group of twelve andthirteen-year-olds from Canada trying to make a difference:
Vanessa Suttie, Morgan Geisler, Michelle Quigg and me. We raised all the moneyourselves to come six thousand miles to tell you adults you must change yourways. Coming here today, I have no hidden agenda. I am fighting for my future.

Losing my future is not likelosing an election or a few points on the stock market. I am here to speak forall generations to come.

I am here to speak on behalf ofthe starving children around the world whose cries go unheard.

I am here to speak for thecountless animals dying across this planet because they have nowhere left togo. We cannot afford to be not heard.

I am afraid to go out in the sunnow because of the holes in the ozone. I am afraid to breathe the air because Idon’t know what chemicals are in it.

I used to go fishing in Vancouverwith my dad until just a few years ago we found the fish full of cancers. Andnow we hear about animals and plants going exinct every day — vanishingforever.

In my life, I have dreamt ofseeing the great herds of wild animals, jungles and rainforests full of birdsand butterflies, but now I wonder if they will even exist for my children tosee.

Read more »

Film Review: "The Economics of Happiness"

2011-11-02T21:15:00.000+01:00

"The Economics of Happiness" – 2011, produced by the International Society for Ecology andCulture, Helena Norberg-Hodge, Steven Gorelick, John Page, USA, 2011, 108 mn.

Thisexcellent documentary about the world-wide movement for localization has beenshown at film festivals throughout the world. The film begins in Ladakh, Tibet where the producer, Helena Norberg-Hodge,has spent 35 years of her life. She haswitnessed the transition from a sustainable and joyous way of life to aWestern-style consumerist culture with all its problems: loss of contact with community and nature,depletion of and competition for resources, focus on profit, rampantconsumerism, division among people of different religions who before lived inharmony with one another. The filmexamines the issues of globalization and ends optimistically with solutions forlocalization. Vandana Shiva and otherswho care about the earth are featured. Thereis much contrast of images – from the ugliness of today’s modern society to thebeauty of diverse cultures and landscapes. The film invites reflection on how weare living our lives. The solution seemsto be to return to local food, energy, culture which restores community and aspiritual connection to life.

Cell Phones and Risk of Cancer

2011-10-31T10:12:00.000+01:00

Cell Phones and Risk of Cancer

A recent Danish study, published by the British Medical Journal (BMJ), shows that prolonged use of cell phones does not increase the risk of brain cancer. This study, which is probably going to draw the attention of the media worldwide, gives false assurance to the public on the safety of cell phone use. It weakens the warnings of authorities who establish precautionary measures to take when using cell phones and who thus protect us from its risks, especially children. Many scientists say that the study results are false for reasons explained in the Tribune de Genève's article of 22-23 October. This study represents the extension of an investigation, stopped in 2002, financed in part by the Danish telecommunications industry. Scientists from the International Epidemiology Institute (IEI) contributed to this investigation. This institute has aided the telecommunications industry in its defense against lawsuits brought by persons afflicted with cancer related to cell phone use. Even the credibility of the BMJ Journal is questioned due to its ties with the pharmaceutical industry.

Commentary by Meris Michaels published in the Tribune de Genève on 31 October 2011

See this comprehensive critique of the Danish study, published on 20 October 2011 by "Safer Phone Zone" / Ênvironmental Health Trust.

Lawyers Warn about Cell Phones

2011-10-30T18:52:00.001+01:00

The San Francisco Chronicle published this article, "Berstein Liebhard LLD Reports on Study Faulting Cell Phone Radiation Testing" on 17 October 2011. Existing cell phone radiation testing greatly underestimates radiation exposure. A New York lawyer, Bernstein Liebhard, provides consumer information concerning cell phone radiation damage on his firm's website. He writes, "If you or a loved one experienced any problems as a result of cell phone radiation exposure, you may be entitled to compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages and other injuries."

I'm not advertising this paricular lawyer, just drawing attention to the fact that lawyers in the United States are willing to file cell phone radiation damage lawsuits. Manufacturers of wireless technology and telecommunications companies should take notice and research ways to mitigate the harmful effects of this technology. Cell phone companies and health and government authorities should not continue to deny these effects, but rather, educate the public by ensuring clear, visible warnings on their products.

Click here for the article.

Bisphenol A: When Will Other States and Countries ban this Toxic Substance? UPDATED

2011-10-30T13:47:00.000+01:00

On 12 October 2011, the French National Assembly (lower house of Parliament) voted unanimously to ban the manufacture and sale of all food containers with Bisphenol A (BPA) destined for infants less than 3 years old from 2013, and from 2014, for everyone. The French Senate (upper house) is expected to vote on this towards the end of the year. BPA is a potent endocrine disrupter that can cause a host of serious health problems. Denmark banned BPA in food-contact materials for children under 3 in July 2010.

This endocrine disruptor, which is suspected to favor diabetes, breast and testicular cancers, infertility, asthma, thyroid dysfunction, and behavorial and immunological dysfunction as well as developmental troubles including obesity, has not been banned in any product in Switzerland.

Read more »

Wi-Fi removed from Canadian School - UPDATED

2011-10-30T13:12:00.000+01:00

This communication from Dr. Magda Havas (www.magdahavas.com), the leading Canadian expert and advocate on the health effects of wireless technology, says that several private schools in Canada are either not installing Wi-Fi or removing it. This trend should extend to public schools and to countries throughout the world in order to protect our children's health.

UPDATE (30 October 2011): Watch this video on Wi Fi in schools presented by Dr. Havas and her other videos (Effects of Live Blood and Electrosmog, Diabetes and Electrosensitivity etc.) on YouTube. Adolescent cardiac arrest is becoming a growing phenomenon. There have been incidences of children as young as 10 years old going into cardiac arrest in schools where Wi Fi has recently been installed. The situation has become so common that children are going to school wearing heart monitors. The reaction of most schools has been to suppress the complaints of children who suffer from the health effects of Wi Fi. (Refer to article, "Parents Raise Concerns about Wireless Technology in Schools", published in "Mobile Technology, suite 101", 26 octobre 2011)

Wi Fi Removed from Ontario School

A private school in Collingwood, Ontario, has removed Wi-Fi and has installed wired technology. This is excellent news. I wish other schools would follow their lead. I understand that the teachers in the school are grateful as are the parents that their children are NOT going to be exposed to microwave radiation, a possible carcinogen.

I find it fascinating that the public school system is promoting Wi-Fi, refuses to listen to parents, silences teachers, ignores the research, and can't get Wi-Fi installed fast enough, even though many of these schools already have a wired system, so the Wi-Fi is redundant. It seems that they were allotted money for this (money that can't be used for anything else) and every school is following like sheep to the slaughter.

Several private schools, in contrast, are either not installing Wi-Fi or are removing it because of health concerns. I certainly know which school I would want my children to attend. It is a no brainer. I expect these private schools are also teaching their students to think independently, to question authority, to believe in their own convictions and not be led down the garden path. If public schools are teaching independent thinking, they are certainly not walking their talk.

Dr. Magda Havas

Here is the news article from CTV Toronto, published on 8 September 2011:

HPV Vaccine Gardasil - A Warning! - UPDATED

2011-10-29T13:21:00.000+02:00

Making the HPV vaccine (Gardasiland Cervarix) free for all young women under 26 years of age in Switzerland isencouraging unsuspecting, ill-informed persons to accept this vaccine -particularly Gardasil - when it has been called "dangerous" bycredible scientists.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers forDisease Control (and Prevention (CDC) has just advised that boys aged 11 and 12and even as young as 9, and young men receive the HPV vaccine to protect themfrom throat or anal cancers resulting from sexual activity. The CDC has been recommending that adolescentgirls be vaccinated since 2006, the date of the Federal Drug Administration’sapproval of the vaccine. The vaccine is supposed to protect youngwomen against cervical cancer, a cancer that presents a very low risk for womenin developed countries.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), whomwe have seen in the previous article (“Is America Ruining the Health of itsChildren?”) recommends practices which are potentially harmful to children,says the HPV vaccine has “an excellent safety record.” The AAP has ties to industry, including the companywhich manufactures the Gardasil vaccine, Merck. According to a 2008 CBS news article, the same year that the AAPendorsed Gardasil, it received a US$443,000 contribution from Merck.

Gardasil is one of the 77 medicines which has been placed under extended surveillance by the French health agency Afssaps (Agence française de sécurité sanitaire des produits de santé) following the scandal of the drug, Médiator, which has been blamed for 500 to 2,000 deaths.

Read more »

Is the United States Ruining the Health of its Children?

2011-10-29T11:58:00.000+02:00

Thisweek, Care2 published three articles on very young children in the UnitedStates. These articles show verydisturbing trends related to their health. There has been a 17% increase in the numbers of 2 to 5-year-old childrenwho are playing video games. TheAmerican Academy of Pediatricians (AAP) recommends that 2-year-olds limitTV-watching and exposure to computers and iPads. TheAAP is also recommending that doctors screen children as young as age 4 forattention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Computersand iPads contain wireless components which emit harmful radiofrequencies(electromagnetic radiation). This cancause hyperactivity, along with other health problems, in children. Childrenare at greater risk from exposure because they do not have a developed immunesystem and their cells are dividing rapidly. The newAAP recommendations do not say that 2-year-olds should NOT be exposed to TV, computersand iPads. It recommends LIMITING exposure. One might speculate that the AAP is beinginfluenced by both the telecommunications and pharmaceutical industries. Nowonder kids "require" drugs like Ritalin. Children should not be prescribed such drugsat all, let alone 4-year-olds, and should be kept away from wireless technology,including cell phones. They should also limittheir consumption of sodas and other foods containing artificial additives thatcan cause hyperactivity.

Sustainability Bloggers: Bonnie Lane Webber

2011-10-28T23:31:00.000+02:00

Bonnie received her Master’s inNutrition from Columbia Teachers College in 1978. After graduating, she didnutrition counseling and ran a school lunch program, cooking food "fromscratch" with as many ingredients as possible bought from local farmers'markets. During this time, she wrote "Bonnie's NutritionBasics."

In the late '80s Bonnie accepted thechallenge of the NYC Department of Sanitation to design and carry out anexperimental source separation recycling program in her upper eastsideneighborhood. That experience led her to being part of the team writing NYC's Recycling Local Law 19. She helped initiate the law as oneof the Sanitation Department's Community Educators on Manhattan's Upper EastSide and was a member of the Solid Waste Advisory Board for many years.

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Sustainability Bloggers: Jeffrey Davis - Eco-Snobbery-Sucks

2011-10-28T23:26:00.006+02:00

Jeffrey Davis - Eco-Snobbery-Sucks

Jeffrey Davis is a blogger, writer,speaker, personal trainer, and web designer. In January 2007 he helped kick-start(and remains senior editor of) The Fun Times Guide to Living Green. In addition to being an avidTwitterer, he is the Green Tech and Green Business editor at Greenwala.com andwrites for Mother Nature Network. He has also had work appear onForbes.com. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of Eco-Snobbery-Sucks.

Sustainability Bloggers: Jessica Reeder - Love and Trash

2011-10-28T23:22:00.001+02:00

JessicaReeder - Love and Trash

Jessica Reeder, also known as The Hun, is ablogger, DIYer, gardener, artist, and sustainability advocate. In 2008 she quither job, got rid of most of her possessions, and backpacked across the UnitedStates to meet and work alongside farmers, sustainable builders andbike-wielding anarchists. When she returned from her two-year journey, Jessicafounded LoveandTrash.com with acadre of compatriots. Love and Trash's mission is to provide positiveinspiration and ideas for people who want to change their lives in even the smallestof ways. Love and Trashies believe that every action is a step to creating abetter world, and that there's no right way to create change.

Sustainability Bloggers: Brendan Seale - The Interconnectedness of Things

2011-10-28T23:13:00.000+02:00

Brendan Seale - TheInterconnectedness of Things

Brendan specializes in strategicplanning for sustainability, project management, communications design anddelivery, group process facilitation, and learning design. He draws from eachof these areas to lead organizations and groups to enact positive change towarda sustainable future. He has delivered customized lectures, workshops and shortcourses in Canada, Sweden and the Netherlands, and has led sustainabilityplanning processes for a variety of organizations.

Brendan earned a Masters degree in StrategicLeadership towards Sustainability (MSLS) from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden, authoring his thesis on educational design for thedevelopment of an interconnected worldview. He also holds a Combined HonoursBachelor’s degree in Communication Studies and Multimedia from McMasterUniversity in Canada, where he specialized in culture change studies. Brendanhas previously worked in corporate communications at a multinational miningcompany, and founded and operated a communications consultancy.

Sustainability Bloggers: Edward Hall - LightSource

2011-10-28T21:43:00.002+02:00

Edward Hall - LightSource

EdwardHall is the Next Generation 2011 artist of the year, TEDxGotham speaker, and co-founder/CEOof LightSource. LightSource's vision is to"innovate the process by which we innovate." They do this by"transparently-engaging", "recursively-focusing",and"holistically-uniting" the core tools, practices and approaches thathelp people lead fulfilled and sustainable lives. Through the LightSourcevision they built LightSource Co.; the openly-developed structure to supportLightSourcing sustainable, creative, and practical collaboration. LightSourceCo. Is a holistic, evolving, and open company that develops methods ofLightSourcing positive human capabilities - focusing on sustainable, creative,and practical collaborations. They are building technical, social, and legalstructures to support such collaborations.

Sustainability Bloggers: Shane Shirley-Smith - Environmental Booty

2011-10-28T21:10:00.001+02:00

ShaneShirley-Smith - Environmental Booty

"I have a B.A. in Communicationsfrom MSU and my professional background is in business development, socialmedia and medical sales. I have been married for almost 20 years and have threedaughter ages 5, 10 and 14. After the birth of my first daughter, I foundfulfillment in raising my family & volunteering. I was settled in life'sdaily routine. Then I experienced a life-threatening health crisis due to areaction to aspartame. During my journey to wellness, I began searching forways to provide myself and my family with safe consumables and began spreadingthe word to others. Through my website, Environmental Booty, I offer consumer information,products and creative partnerships for a greener life and world. My goal is tohelp consumers and companies become aware of how their choices impact ourhealth and the health of our environment. By providing a forum for opendialogue with consumers and suppliers, I believe that we are all creating agreener tomorrow."

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Sustainability Bloggers: Jin Kong - The Green Elephant

2011-10-27T23:06:00.000+02:00

It is thanks to TheGreen blog that I became interestedin sustainability. One day last spring,I was surfing through the environmental bloggers and discovered Sara Allan’s blog. After sending her the flyer of the Green FilmFestival organized by Greenpeace, I was invited along with six other bloggers toparticipate in her project on sustainability which generated a dialogue about thisissue around a set of questions she asked us. These may be viewed in their entirety on TheQuora.

Through aseries of posts, I will introduce each of the bloggers.

JinKong - The Green Elephant

Jin was born in Lanzhou, a city on the Silk Road. Hemoved to Beijing at age five, then to Cincinnati, Ohio, at age eleven. Aftercollege, he served a tour in Iraq as a combat medic. Upon his honorabledischarge from the US Army, he sought to continue his oath to protect anddefend the United States. He founded iCube to further his dreams of becoming asocial entrepreneur.

Jin is a certified: Six Sigma Black Belt, PADIRescue SCUBA Diver, Emergency Medical Tech (EMT). He is currently an eveninglaw student at Indiana University. He and his fiancee, Lauren, with the help oftheir friends from around the world, launched The Green Elephant hopingto help make the world a little more sustainable. Jin is the founder, currentpublisher and editor of The Green Elephant. The blog is about “health,economics, human rights, justice, and everything that composes the totality ofthe situation of our Sustainability Crisis”.

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Film Review: "The End of Poverty?"

2011-10-26T18:23:00.000+02:00

"THE END OF POVERTY?" ( Philippe Diaz, 2008, 104 mn, available on YouTube) - The filmexplains the causes of poverty of the 2.7 billion persons in the world who liveon less than $2 per day as wealthy nations exploiting poorer nations. 25% ofthe world's population consumes 80% of the planet's resources and creates 70%of its pollution. It would require some $20 billion to cut world poverty byhalf. This sum represents 4 per cent of the USA's military budget.

Wealthy nations are also taking advantage of poorer countries through exportingpollution: pesticides, the genetically-modified cultivation and intensiveproduction of agribusiness, waste, even its unhealthy lifestyle (over-nutrtion/obesityis a greater problem in the world today than under-nutrition). If we wish toend poverty, we must learn to live with less, use less resources and change thesystem to allow poorer nations to have a fair share of these resources. The poorshould insist on justice, not charity. Will our children continue to live andthink as we have done, in terms of the rich exploiting the poor?

Book Review: "Genetic Roulette"

2011-10-26T18:02:00.000+02:00

Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods by Jeffrey M. Smith

(This book summary was provided by the Organic Consumers' Association. It is the main source of information for my article on genetically modified food and agriculture.)

"The biotech industry's claim that genetically modified (GM) foods are safe is shattered in this groundbreaking book. Nearly forty health risks of the foods that Americans eat every day are presented in easy-to-read two-page spreads. The left page is designed for the quick scanning reader; it includes bullets, illustrations, and quotes. The right side offers fully referenced text, describing both research studies and theoretical risks. It is presented in the clear, accessible style that made Jeffrey Smith's Seeds of Deception the world's best-selling book on genetically engineered foods.

Film Review: "Pig Business"

2011-10-25T16:04:00.000+02:00

"PIG BUSINESS" (Tracy-Louise Ward, 2009, 56 mn.) The film shows the environmental and social impact of Smithfield'staking over small family pig farms in Poland. Smithfield, one of the UnitedStates's biggest food companies, processes 27 million pigs a year for an annualsales total of $12 billion. The corporation has expanded into 15 countries,including Poland, where environmental regulations are lax and labor is cheap.Not only do factory farm workers suffer from respiratory diseases such asbronchitis and asthma, but also persons living close to the farms. Toxicsubstances are released into the air and water. Pigs are treated withantibiotics and fed soy, much of which comes from Brazil where forests aredestroyed to cultivate this crop. Corporations such as Smithfield arecontributing to the degradation of the environment and of our health. There isspeculation that the unsanitary conditions of the factory pig farms in Mexicoled to the H1N1 flu outbreak that caused such a panic in 2009.

Film Review: "FLOW (For Love of Water)"

2011-10-25T15:56:00.000+02:00

"FLOW (For Love of Water)" (Irina Salena, 2008, 83 mn. (See film here.)

This documentary explores water issues inthe United States, India, South Africa, Lesotho and Bolivia. The privatizationof water by three European companies has resulted in charging people for thecost of this vital resource. Since poor people cannot afford to pay for cleanwater, they drink and use dirty water. Every day, 30,000 persons die fromwater-borne diseases while companies such as these earn profits for theirinvestors.

Film Review: "Homo Toxicus"

2011-10-25T15:16:00.000+02:00

We are swimming in a sea of toxic substances

"HOMO TOXICUS" (Carole Poliquin and Isaac Isitan, 2008, Canada, 87 mn) : This excellent documentary on thehealth effects of environmental pollution takes us from school children inMontreal to the Inuit populations of northern Canada to Native Americans livingnear an industrial complex in Ontario. The film begins with the blood analysisof the producer, which reveals the presence of 110 toxic substances. To learnhow these substances are affecting our health, she travels first to northernCanada.

Backlash from the Telecommunications Industry?

2011-10-23T17:00:00.002+02:00

The results of a Danish study, recentlypublished on-line in the BMJ Journal (British Medical Journal) shows that use of cellphones does not increase the risk of brain cancer. The study, which will draw theattention of media world-wide, gives false assurance to the public on thesafety of cell phone use. It is already drawing media headlinessuch as; “Cell phone cancer risk is merely a myth.” (See ABC News commentary.)

The largest study of its kind,involving 358,403 persons, mostly male cell phone subscribers, was conducted overan 18-year period, from 1990 to 2007. Itfound that subscribers of 13 years or more faced the same cancer risk as non-subscribers. Dr. Devra Davis, cancer epidemiologist andPresident of the Environment Health Trust, comments why the study is flawed: “In order for any study of arelatively rare disease like brain tumors to find a change in risk, millionsmust be followed for decades.” (Certainbrain cancers can take decades to appear.) By extending an earlieranalysis on the same group of cellphone users, this new report … uses no directinformation on cell phone use, fails to consider the recent and rapidlychanging nature and exposure to microwave radiation from cellphones, cordlessphones and other growing sources, and excludes those who would have been theheaviest users—namely more than 300,000 business people in the 1990s who areknown to have used phones four times as much as those in this study… ”

Towards Better Health

French Government Launches Study on Intolerance to Electromagnetic Fields

New Petition!

FDA Ties to Monsanto Must Cease!

Who is Really Guilty?

Mesothelioma - A Personal Testimony

Erin Brokovich

Use of Mobile Phones in Schools: Article from Pakistan

"Learning from a Barefoot Movement"

Double Victory in Court Rulings: Condemnation of Monsanto (Pesticides) and Eternit (Asbestos)

Climate Change: DeSmogBlog Releases Internal Documents Detailing Funding of "Climate Denial" Machine

What is Preventive Medicine?

Prevention as seen by doctors

Stop Installation of Wireless Smart Meters!

Unexplained Increases in Brain Cancer - UPDATED

Mobile Phone and Tower Alert: Delhi, India

Toxic Pesticides: Syngenta's Paraquat and Atrazine

News from Geneva: Proliferation of Wi-Fi

"Smart" Baby Wi-Fi Scale?

Babies Under the Age of One Recruited for Vaccine Trials

News from Geneva: Massive Lay-Offs - Update Novartis

The Drugging of Our Children

News from Geneva: University Study Reveals Potential Link Between Use of Deodorants Containing Aluminum Salts and Breast Cancer

European Cancer and Environment Research Institute (ECERI)

Mobile Phone Antennas: Victory (Hempstead, New York) and Defeat (Geneva, Switzerland)

Statin Controversy

The Wireless Industry has Never Said that their Technology is Safe

"Cellphones Replace Smokes as the Addiction of Choice"

Dow AgroSciences Proposes Using an Agent Orange Herbicide on America's Farmland

Fukushima Update - 2

Electromagnetic Pollution: Risk of Alzheimer's

"Deadly" Practices of Health Insurance Companies

Swiss Re Does Not Re-insure Mobile Phones for Health Risks

European Farmers' Fight for Recognition of Link between Serious Handicaps and Pesticides

World's Six Biggest Agrochemical Companies Found Guilty of Human Rights Violations

Birth Defects and Pesticides: the Tomato Fields of Florida

Cultivation of Tomatoes

Global Domination: "Thrive": Film Review

E-Reader Safety Tips

Mental Illness in the United States: "Anatomy of an Epidemic"

Major Scandal: French-Made Breast Implants

"The Myth of Alzheimer's": Book Review

Trees

Climate Change Skepticism

Attention! This Contraceptive Can Harm Your Health

Effects on Hormone Profiles of Long-Term Exposure to Mobile Phones and Base Stations

Important New Russian Research on Cell Phone's Radiation Effect on Cognitive and Other Functions in Children

Has the United States Learned any Lessons from Fukushima?

The Biggest Asbestos-Related Trial in Europe is soon to Deliver its Verdict

Testimony: Mobile Phone Antennas - Geneva

Is Radiation from Wi-Fi Connected Laptops Nuking Sperm?

Growing Rebellion Against Wi-Fi in Schools

Bees Perturbed by Cell Phones

Electromagnetic Radiation Education in Schools

"Is the Phone Industry Spinning While Rome Burns?"

Poisoned for Profit: How Toxins are Making our Children Chronically Ill (Book Review)

Medicare Decisions Influenced by Pharmaceutical Companies

A Message to Parents: Do not Buy Cell Phones for Your Small Children!

New Mobile Phone Radiation Guidelines for India

Fukushima Update

"Nature is the 99% Too"

Cell Phone Towers: A Human and Environmental Disaster in the Waiting?

European Electrosmog Protest

Financial profits of the tobacco and telecoms industries count more than human lives

Effects of Wireless Technology

Wi-Fi in Geneva: Is it an Amenity?

News from Geneva: Swiss - American Friendship Concert

Tech Industry Insiders Warn of Wireless Health Risks - by Joshua Hart

Bipolar Disorder without Medication - 3

Bipolar Disorder without Medication - 2

Bipolar Disorder without Medication

News from Geneva: Massive lay-offs

More than 200 Academic Studies Link Mobile Phone Use with Serious Illnesses

Film Review: "Rachel Carson Silent Spring"

Suffering from Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields

Do Not Carry Your Cell Phone Close to Your Body

12-Year-Old Severn Suzuki Asks the United Nations to Save the World at the 1992 Earth Summit

Film Review: "The Economics of Happiness"

Cell Phones and Risk of Cancer

Lawyers Warn about Cell Phones