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2007 Update
Activities of The EMR Policy in 2007 continue to challenge current US policy for human and wildlife exposure to radiofrequency (RF) radiation and to educate the public on the inadequacy of US RF safety policy. Current US policy does not protect humans and wildlife from long-term, low-intensity exposure to antenna radiation. Given here is a listing of the major EMR Policy Institute activities carried out throughout 2007 to address these problems. These are the activities that your donations are supporting.

Congressional Staff Briefing
On May 10, 2007, with the assistance of the staff of Vermont Congressman Peter Welch, The EMR Policy Institute presented an educational briefing for Congressional staff entitled: “Wireless and Broadcast Radiation Pollution - A U.S. Regulatory Health Issue and What To Do About It.” We have made 4 additional trips to DC throughout 2007 to follow up on this initiative.

Each speaker’s PowerPoint presentation is posted here for you to down load and/or print out free of charge:

Intro and Speakers
Introductory Power Point presentation that presents the speakers and gives an overview of US federal policy on radiofrequency radiation and the need to address it as a public health issue.

Slides prepared by Cindy Sage, MS, EMR Environmental Consultant since 1982. Ms. Sage is the author of numerous articles and books on electromagnetic fields, health effects and public policy. She is a regular presenter at international conferences on the science and public policy issues related to EMR exposure. Her slides compare international radiofrequency radiation exposures standards and illustrate The Precautionary Principle for public health policy. See also: www.bioinitiative.org

PowerPoint presentation of Deb Carney, JD, Vice President of The EMR Policy Institute and attorney for Canyon Area Residents for the Environment, Golden, Colorado.
See also: www.c-a-r-e.org EMF Tower Facts link and www.hdtvhonestly.com/

PowerPoint presentation of Martin Blank PhD, Professor - Columbia University Department of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics. Dr. Blank is one of the world’s most published scientists in bioelectromagnetics with 38 chapters in books; 175 professional papers in peer-reviewed journals; and over 27 reviews of books related to his field of expertise.

PowerPoint presentation of Albert Manville, PhD, Senior Wildlife Biologist at the US Fish and Wildlife Service. He is the nationwide lead on anthropocentric impacts on migratory birds for the Service. Dr. Manville has been Chairman of the federal Working Group on Avian Mortality and Communications Towers since 1999.
See: www.fws.gov/birds/

PowerPoint presentation of Whitney North Seymour, Jr., JD who was Co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council in 1969. Mr. Seymour’s career has included two terms as State Senator in New York State and a term as federal prosecutor in New York. His private legal practice has included pro bono counsel for three petitions to the U.S. Supreme Court challenging U.S. federal RF safety policy.

PowerPoint presentation of B. Blake Levitt, who is a Medical/Science Journalist and former New York Times writer. Ms. Levitt is the author of Electromagnetic Fields: A Consumer’s Guide to the Issues and How to Protect Ourselves (Harcourt Brace, 1995) and editor of Cell Towers: Wireless Convenience? Or Environmental Hazard? (Safe Goods/ New Century, 2001). For information on her books see: www.blakelevitt.com

You can participate again in this initiative by contacting your members of Congress and asking them to join with Congressman Welch to support "revitalization" of the federal Radiofrequency Interagency Work Group (RFIAWG). Americans need the RFIAWG to take the lead on getting the US federal health agencies to protect Americans from adverse health effects of RF radiation through research, analysis and recommendations. Visit our Action Alert page for all the information you need to participate.

Support of the BioInitiative Report
The EMR Policy Institute provided staff support to publicize the release of the report of the BioInitiative Working Group in August 2007. This is a landmark educational document on the science of EMR bioeffects that we emphasize in our visits to Congressional offices and in our interactions with other public health organizations.

Be sure to visit www.bioinitiative.org to read the full report – The BioInitiative Report: A Rationale for a Biologically-based Public Exposure Standard for Electromagnetic Fields (ELF and RF). The press release that announced the report describes its importance this way:

The report provides detailed scientific information on health impacts when people are exposed to electromagnetic radiation hundreds or even thousands of times below limits currently established by the Federal Communications Commission (US FCC) and International Commission for Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection in Europe (ICNIRP). The authors reviewed more than 2000 scientific studies and reviews, and concluded that the existing public safety limits are inadequate to protect public health. From a public health policy standpoint, new public safety limits and limits on further deployment of risky technologies are warranted based on the total weight of evidence.

Public Education Forum
The EMR Policy Institute assisted in organizing and cosponsored the April 2007 Sheffield, Massachusetts public education forum on Cell Towers and Wireless Technology with Citizens Concerned About Wireless Technology (CCAWT) of Egremont, MA. Co-Sponsors were: The Berkshire Litchfield Environmental Council, Housatonic Environmental Action League, Housatonic River Initiative and The Berkshire Natural Resources Council.

After the forum author B. Blake Levitt collaborated withTheresa Morrow, the activist who was the inspiration for the forum, to write an article on environmental radiation issues. Sadly Ms. Morrow died of breast cancer in May '07 shortly after the forum. Their article entitled “ElectroSmog – What Price Convenience?” appeared in the July issue of West View, a new newspaper published in the West Village of New York City. Comments can be sent to the Executive Editor, George Capsis, at GeorgeC101@aol.com

Our challenge to the permit issued for a cell tower on Beebe Hill in Falls Village, CT continues.
Our appeal to the Connecticut Supreme Court has been accepted. Linked here is the brief for Case No. A.C. No. 29086 Carl Borneman, M.D., and EMR Policy Institute, Inc. vs. Connecticut Siting Council, and Nextel Communications, Inc. Pro Bono legal services have been provided by Whitney North Seymour, Jr, and Gabriel North Seymour. The arguments include:
• Whether the Connecticut Siting Council’s implementing regulations, along with related statutes and regulations, are unconstitutional on their face and as applied to the facts of this case?
• Whether the Siting Council error in blindly accepting the telecommunication company’s claim of no adverse environmental effect was a shocking dereliction of its public responsibility.

Challenge to Earthlink/Google San Franciso Plan for City-wide WiFi
The EMR Policy Institute continues to support the efforts of SNAFU (San Francisco Neighborhood Antenna Free Union – www.antennafreeunion.org ) to file a formal challenge to the Earthlink/Google proposal for citywide WiFi in San Francisco. Doug Loranger has led the efforts in San Francisco for responsible wireless siting for more than 10 years. The EMR Policy Institute has assisted by:
• Providing funds for legal representation
• Providing referrals for expert statements on RF biological effects and RF levels of proposed WiFi system
• Providing on-line resources for SNAFU fundraising efforts

Earthlink/Google withdrew its proposal in September. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom then put a non-binding resolution for city-wide WiFi on the November ballot. It won approval.

The Associated Press published the following report on San Franciso WiFi on Jaunary 4, 2008:
Meraki Networks, a Silicon Valley startup, promised Friday to blanket San Francisco with free wireless Internet service, reviving EarthLink and Google’s scrapped plans to build a high-speed network. Meraki hopes to complete the project within the year by persuadingSan Franciscans to set up free radio repeaters on their roofs and in their homes.

Here are links to the pertinent documents:
Fiscal Feasibiliy Analysis of a Municipally-Owned Citywide Wireless Broadband Network. Prepared for the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco by the San Francisco Budget Analyst, January 11, 2007

Wall Street Journal article – August 16, 2007, B1 by Amol Sharma: Wireless -- With Strings Attached. Cities Building Wi-Fi Networks Are Running Into Hurdles, Including Mounting Costs

SNAFU Appeal of Planning Department Determination of CEQA Categorical Exemption for EarthLink WiFi Proposal, File No. 070077, Case No. 2007.0097E

Expert Comment of Magda Havas, PhD: Analysis of Health and Environmental Effects of Proposed San Francisco Earthlink Wi-Fi Network

Report of Mitch Maifield, BSEE, Professional Engineer: Earthlink-Proposed San Francisco-Wide Wi-Fi Network: Observations and Calculations for Relation to Exposure Limits.

Guest Editorial: Citywide Broadband -- Time to Start Anew by Doug Loranger, BeyondChron, Oct. 26, 2007

UK Register and San Francisco Chronicle articles on citywide WiFi Proposals

Participation in National Academy of Sciences RF Research Project: Identifying Research Needs Relating to Potential Biological or Adverse Health Effects of Wireless Communications Devices
The EMR Policy Institute joined with The Center for Science in the Public Interest and Louis Slesin, PhD, in opposing the composition of the expert panel chosen by the NAS to carry out this project. Our opposition is based on lack of diversity with respect to both expertise and outlook of the panel members as well as too heavy a reliance on ICNIRP, the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection, for composition of the panel.

The letters of opposition are linked here:
June 14, 2007 letter of opposition submitted to the NAS by The EMR Policy Institute

June 8, 2007 letter of opposition filed by The Center for Science in the Public Interest

June 8, 2007 letter filed by Louis Slesin, PhD, editor and publisher of Microwave News

Public Comment at NAS Wireless Research Workshop
The EMR Policy Institute sent two representatives to Washington, DC to attend and to provide comment from the public at the NAS Project Workshop August 7-9, 2007: "Workshop to Identify Research Needs Relating to Potential Biological or Adverse Health Effects of Wireless Communications Devices.

Links to written comments on this project:
Comment of The EMR Policy Institute

Comment of Richard Albanese, MD

Comment of B. Blake Levitt, medical/science journalist and author.

Comment of William J. Bruno Ph.D., working in theoretical biology and biophysics at Los Alamos National Laboratory since 1990.

Attendance at national environmental conferences
The EMR Policy Institute sent representatives to attend these conferences and distributed handouts on EMR/RF Radiation health and environment effects on the literature tables at these events.

October 19, 2007 Heinz Foundation 11th Annual Conference on Women’s Health and the Environment
The attendance was approximately 1,500. See the agenda and list of speakers at: www.heinzfamilyphilanthropies.org/pdfs/WHE%202007%20Boston.pdf


December 4 & 5, 2007 Annual meeting of the Coalition for Healthier Schools hosted by The Healthy Schools Network.
This year’s topic is Building Healthy Schools from the Ground Up. See the agenda at: www.healthyschools.org/documents/CHS_2007_AgendaTravel.pdf

Read The Healthy Schools Network’s position on wireless technology in schools in their Supreme Court amicus brief at: www.emrpolicy.org/litigation/case_law/docs/5sep06_amicus_hsn.pdf

The EMR Policy Institute provided these articles for distribution on the literature tables as these conferences:
Dirty Electricity: An invisible pollutant in schools. Magda Havas, PhD, Trent University, Ontario.

Electrosmog – What Price Convenience? By B. Blake Levitt and Theresa Morrow.

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