Adapted from a David Adams Opinion Piece, Oct 1, 2019 | Original "The Union" OpEd in Nevada City, CA here.
The Union’s editorial board wrote on Sept. 21 to “stop knee-jerk reactions to [4G and] 5G". We need to avoid both pro and con “knee-jerk” reactions. It is clear that four of the five City Council members have not done their homework on the science and legalities concerning this issue.
The Nation magazine published a ground-breaking investigative journalism article in the March 19, 2018 issue “How Big Wireless Made Us Think That Cell Phones Are Safe: A Special Investigation", dealing with disinformation campaign and the massive pulsed, data-modulated, Radio-frequency Electromagnetic Microwave Radiation (RF-EMR) exposure increases — behind the 4G + 5G densification rollout. It shows that the Wireless industry has gone to much expense to cover up and obscure health and safety hazards from RF-EMR expoures from Wireless devices and Wireless infrastructure from the public, media and government for decades.
In fact, tens of thousands of scientific studies documenting serious adverse negative health consequences from RF-EMR exposures have been published worldwide. The U.S. military has used such radiation (particularly 5G millimeter frequencies) as a weapon in the Middle East and elsewhere for “crowd dispersal.” I and other local citizens previously sent information and references for many of these published scientific studies to local government officials as well as to The Union. Yet the City and the Newspaper don’t seem to have properly educated themselves. Now they are trying to impose their opinions on the county. Despite statements from industry-captured agencies like the FCC and FDA, the evidence points clearly to this technology being hazardous.
Wireless Telecom companies still try to convince local governments that they cannot reject or regulate local wireless facility applications because their “hands are tied” due to federal regulations of 1996 Telecommunications Act and recent “Orders” issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC Orders 18-111 and 18-133) that are being challenged in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
A landmark August 10, 2019 unanimous decision against the FCC by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit overturned the March 2018 FCC Order (18-30) that eliminated environmental, health, and historic-preservation criteria for local government review of 4G and 5G “small cell” antenna applications. This means that applications should be reviewed based on NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act, including CEQA in California) and NHPA (National Historical Preservation Act) criteria.
Here are some quotes from the judges ruling in that case:
“. . . The [FCC] Commission failed to justify its confidence that small cell deployments pose little to no cognizable religious, cultural, or environmental risk, particularly given the vast number of proposed deployments.”
. . . The FCC also failed to “adequately address possible harms of deregulation and benefits of environmental and historic-preservation review.
. . . The GAO [Government Accountability Office] found in 2012 that the existing [FCC] health and safety regulations are dated and may not reflect current knowledge about the health and safety impacts of RF (radiofrequency) emissions. Because the [FCC] Order relies on these dated standards and stale scientific data . . . the Commission’s action is arbitrary and capricious and unlawful.
. . . The Commission did not adequately address the harms of deregulation or justify its portrayal of those harms as negligible . . . The Commission did not satisfactorily consider the benefits of review . . . failed to address concerns that it was speeding densification without completing its investigation of . . . health effects of low-intensity radiofrequency radiation.”
Here are some quotes from successful plaintiffs in the case:
“There is ample record evidence submitted in this proceeding of negative impacts from the widespread deployment of so-called “small” wireless facilities. This evidence . . . includes references and electronic links to peer-reviewed scientific studies and letters from medical professionals. This documentation points to significant potential harm to the human body and brain functioning from RF radiation.
. . . Growing evidence indicates that wireless radiation and the frequencies used in 5G can seriously impact wildlife. For example, research shows that [4G and] 5G radiofrequency radiation could affect the capacity of bees and other insects to pollinate crops. Studies also indicate that this radiation can alter animal navigation, disturb honeybee colonies, damage trees, and impact other plants.
. . . Published reviews on [4G and] 5G [RF-EMR exposures] — millimeter waves and wireless radiation — have cataloged a host of harmful impacts, including . . . altered gene expression, faster cell growth, inflammatory and metabolic processes, damage to the eyes and cellular stress, memory problems, sperm damage, genetic damage, behavior issues, and brain damage."
Another recent court decision by the California Supreme Court, April 4,2019 T-Mobile v. San Francisco, affirmed that local governments have the authority to regulate utilities, such as wireless services and electric or water “smart meters.” Such local government bodies can restrict uses that would “incommode” the public’s quiet enjoyment of streets. The court defined “incommode” to include “give inconvenience or distress or to disturb,” Including “generate noise, “cause negative health consequences,” and “create safety concerns.”
There are also additional lawsuits currently underway that will likely further limit the attempts of the FCC and wireless industry to force dangerous, dense 5G and 4G installations into our neighborhoods.
Faster, better quality internet and telecommunications technology can be safely and securely supplied through wired fiber-optic connections, modern ADSL and coaxial cable connections.