Subject: Forwarded mail....
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1998 134343 -0500 (CDT)
From: "Roy L. Beavers" <rbeavers@llion.org>
To: emfguru@hotmail.com
--------------------------------------------------
.....As suggested by Richard, this is not being circulated to
the full list......Hope you will offer suggestions to Richard if
you think appropriate.....Also, please honor the fact that this
is an advance copy.......Not final version.....guru.......
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1998 11:53:39
From: "Richard W. Woodley"
To: rbeavers@llion.org
Cc: jdevans@sympatico.ca, Hunter.Ian@TBS-SCT.GC.CA
ROY: Perhaps this should just be circulated to the restricted list for
comments. This is a draft of the opening remarks I intend to make at the
Ottawa EMF conference public viewpoints panel. I have two to three minutes
for opening remarks.
The final draft, as presented, will be published on the web site in the
Editorials section.
DRAFT
Remarks to Public Viewpoint Panel Ottawa EMF Conference
The Politics of EMFs
What is the public viewpoint on electromagnetic fields. From my
persepective as an actiivist I see it as one of confusion. Confusion by
reading about study after study pointing to a link between EMFs and health
risks such as cancer and leukemia and seeing contradictory statements from
various agencies saying “there is no definitive proof” of such risks.
Why is the public subjected to this. It is because of the politics of
EMFs. The politics of EMFs that sees reports linking EMFs and health
suppressed by the White House,. The politics of EMFs that sees agencies
releasing reports with press releases that downplay or even contradict the
findings of health links that are contained in the reports.
The latest piece of confusing information the public has been exposed to
is the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences finding that
EMFs are a “possible” human carcinogen. What does that say to the public -
nothing. Bombarded with news stories about studies linking all sorts of
things, including common foods, to cancer the typical public response is
“so what - everything causes cancer these days”.
However, if the truth be known, in my humble opinion, that is not the
message the panel intended to convey. I believe they would not have
examined the massive amount of reports and studies out there, and agonized
over them just to say something as innocuous as that. I believe that they
really want to convey the message that EMFs are PROBABLY, not possibly, a
human carcinogen, but the politics of EMFs prevented them from going that
far.
What the public deserves to hear is the truth. Not everyone exposed to
EMFs is going to get cancer, indeed most won’t. But there is now
overwhelming evidence that those who are exposed have a much greater risk
of cancer, leukemia and other heatlh problems. Indeed the studes indicate
that children, in particular, exposed to higher EMF levels have two to
three times the liklihood of getting cancer or leukemia.
What the public wants to know - is what are we going to do about it. When
are we going to do the research necessary to find out how EMFs are linked
to health problems so we can find out what we need to do to reduce the
risks. And when are we, as a society, going to start taking serious prudent
avoidance measures.
We know we cannot eliminate the risk, just as we cannot elimate the risks
associated with driving automobiles, because no more are we going to ban
electricty than we are going to ban cars. But we can take measures to
reduce it, especially when children are concerned. For example, nobody
would allow a 100 kilometre an hour highway beside a school so why do we
allow high voltage power lines beside schools.
So what is holding us back. It is the politics of EMFs. The public
deserves better than to be subjected to the politics of EMFs.
********************* Richard W. Woodley *********************
woodley@igs.net *********** http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~ab190/
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Archive provided courtesy of WaveGuide, http://www.wave-guide.org
Reprinted with permission of Roy Beavers, http://www.feb.se/EMF-L/EMF-L.html