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Dear subscribers,
here is number 2 of newsletter/English.
I thank again all who gives me information.
You can see above some of the news at www.safer-world.org/e
in the last month.
When you want to unsubscribe the newsletter, or when you get the newsletter by error,
please send an email with "unsubscribe newsletter/English" in the
subject-line to info@safer-world.org
I wish all that you have a good summertime.
Best greetings form
Ingrid (Scherrmann)
http://www.safer-world.org
info@safer-world.org
==========================================================================
From the EMR Network:
Please forward this action alert to your colleagues who share our concerns
about the health and safety of microwave antennas and broadcast towers!
CITIZENS AND PROFESSIONAL FOR THE RESPONSIBLE USE OF ELECTROMAGNETIC
RADIATION (EMR) P.O. Box 221
Marshfield VT 054658 Tel: (802) 4276-3035 FAX: (802) 426-3030 Web Site:
www.EMRNetwork.org E-Mail: info@EMRNetwork.org
ACTION ALERT JULY 12, 2001, CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING
We need you to extend a personal invitation to the staff members of your two
U.S. Senators as well as your Congressman. Senators Patrick Leahy (D) and James
Jeffords (I) of Vermont and Congressmen Bernard Sanders (I) of Vermont and Thomas
Tancredo ( R) of Colorado are hosting a briefing for congressional staff members
from both Houses on July 12, 2001, at 2:00 PM in room SC 6 in the Capitol.
Wireless Telecommunications - Impacts at the Local Level will be presented by the EMR
Network, Citizens and Professionals for the Responsible Use of Electromagnetic
Radiation (EMR). Refreshments will be provided.
The presentation will give details of three new bills that reaffirm and
strengthen · state and local siting authority for broadcast facilities·
state and local siting authority for personal wireless services facilities cellular
and digital, wireless internet, etc.) and:· funding of a federal research program on
radio frequency/microwave (RF/MW) radiation exposures from all of these sources.
Please call your Congressional staff to give them your name your personal
experience. Tell them what city/town you are from and how wireless siting
issues are affecting your personally. Is there an impact on your home or
business or at the school or day care that your children attend? Share this
message with as many people as possible and ask them to make their own contacts as
well. Print it out and FAX it to those who don’t have e-mail. The more states
contacted, the better.
There are a few steps that you will need to follow. Please repeat your phone
calls once each week from now through the week of July 12. It will be
especially effective if you can make your last call on July 11, or early in
the day on July 12.
Type your ZIP code in the box. Choose your state. Click on submit. This will
take you to your Congressman’s web page, or will ask for a more precise
address and then go to the needed web page.
To find the D.C. phone number of your two Senators, click on this link: http://www.senate.gov/contacting/index_by_state.cfm
1. Find your state and click in turn on each of your two Senators names. Find
the telephone numbers of their D.C. offices. Each Senator has his/her own
design for the web page. You may have to look for and click on a button e.g.
"Contact me" to get to the phone numbers.
2. After you get the phone numbers from the web pages, call the D.C. office and ask
specifically for the name of the staff person who covers telecommunications issues,
and the staff person who covers environmental issues. For each office there may be
one person covering both areas, or two separate people.
3. Ask to speak to that (those) person(s) directly. If he/she is not
available, ask to leave a voice mail message.
4. Here is the message: It is important that you attend the briefing scheduled for July
12th at 2:00 PM in the Capitol Room SC 6. The topic is, "Wireless
Telecommunications: Impacts at the Local Level." The briefing is being
hosted by Senators Leahy (D) and Jeffords (I) of Vermont, Congressman
Sanders (I) of Vermont, and Congressman Tancredo (R ) of Colorado.
Local impacts from wireless telecommunications include:· Health effects of RF/MW
radiation on adults, and especially children. Current U. S. exposure guidelines
recognize heating as the only adverse effect of exposure to RF/MW radiation. Three
decades of research have demonstrates bioeffects from exposures below heating levels
that include weakened immune system, tumors, neurological disorders, learning and
memory problems, sleep disturbances, headaches and skin rashes. Note the recent
Press Release dated June 6, 2001, on the Swedish study on use of cellular and
cordless telephones and the risk for brain tumours.
Conclusion: This study showed an increased risk for brain tumours among users
of analogue cellular telephones. No clear association was found with use of
digital cellular telephones or cordless telephones, but it is necessary with a
longer observation time to rule out an increased risk for these telephone
types. This study was presented at the conference Mobile Telephones and Health
The Latest Developments, London June 6-7, 2001.
· Litigation - The Telecommunications Act (TCA) of 1996 violates the Tenth
Amendment by preempting local and state authority to base transmitter
siting decisions on the environmental effects of RF/MW emissions.
Municipalities across the country have had to devote much needed tax dollars
to defend against challenges from wireless providers that permit denials violate the
TCA of 1996.
· Property devaluation Tower and base station sites in residential zones and
near schools, day care centers, and nursing homes, greatly decreasethe
desirability to own property or live near these installations The briefing
will be presented by the EMR Network and will discuss new legislation to reaffirm
and strengthen local and state authority for:·
the siting of broadcast facilities
· the siting of personal wireless facilities and:
· funding for a federal research program on RF/MW radiation exposures from
all of these wireless technologies. Refreshments will be served.
Speakers include:
· Janet Newton, Executive Officer, EMR Network, Citizens and Professional or the
Responsible Use of Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR), a national organization based in
Vermont
· Deb Carney, attorney representing Canyon Area Residents for the Environment
(CARE), a party to current permit proceedings for HDTV transmitters on Lookout
Mountain, CO, outside of Denver
· Libby Kelley, Executive Director, Council on Wireless Technology Impacts,
Citizens and Professional concerned about safe uses of electromagnetic
radiation, based in California
· James Hobson, attorney with Miller and Van Eaton of Washington D.C., a firm that
represents municipalities and citizens in personal wireless siting cases
· Dr. Theodore Litovitz, Ph.D., Professor, Catholic University of America,
Washington, D.C.; bioelectromagnetics researcher 8. If you have contacted your in-state
Congressional offices about your concerns with wireless base stations, give them a
call as well and informthem about the briefing. Ask them to encourage the D.C. staff
members to attend.
9. IMPORTANT HELP FOR THE EMR NETWORK
Send us back an e-mail message after you have made contact with congressional
staff members. E-mail it to: macwti@aol.com In the subject line put:
Congressional contact info In the message include the following information:
Your name and state Name of your Congressman and district number if applicable Name
and phone numbers of the staff members you contacted Name of each of your
Senators Name and phone numbers - separately - of each of these staff members
that you contacted
For more information call: Until June 25 - Janet Newton (802) 426-3035
After June 25 Libby Kelley (415) 891-1863 Deb Carney (303)526-9666
_______
Libby Kelley, Executive Director, Council on Wireless Technology Impacts , 415 892-1863
(voice) 415 892-3108 (fax) http://www.energyfields.org
(web site)
===================================================================================
From PANNA: :P A N U P S, Pesticide Action Network Updates Service:
Thousands of Field Tests of GE Crops Across the U.S.
June 16, 2001
Nearly 29,000 field tests of genetically engineered organisms were authorized by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) between 1987 and 2000 despite serious environmental
threats and inadequate regulations in place to monitor their impacts, according to a new
report released by the State Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) and Genetically
Engineered Food Alert.
When the science of genetic engineering began in the 1970s, the National Institutes of
Health (NIH) said experiments that released genetically engineered organisms into the
environment were too hazardous and should not be performed. Despite these early calls for
caution, a booming agriculture biotechnology industry has developed. The report, Raising
Risk: Field Testing of Genetically Engineered Crops in the U.S., documents the extent of
field testing of genetically engineered crops in the U.S. and highlights the potential
risks associated with release of genetically engineered organisms into the environment. If
field experiments are not properly monitored, genetic pollution may result, putting
farmers' livelihoods and the environment at risk.
Key findings of the report include:
* USDA has approved nearly 29,000 field tests through the year 2000.
* More than 60% of all field tests conducted in the last year contain genes classified as
"Confidential Business Information."
* Between 1987&endash;2000, Monsanto (or a now wholly-owned subsidiary) applied to
conduct the greatest number of field tests every year, totaling nearly 2,000 applications.
* Since 1995, seven of the top 10 companies seeking to conduct field tests have merged
into two companies: Monsanto and DuPont.
* As of January 2001, the ten states and territories that have hosted the greatest number
of field test sites are: Hawaii (3,275), Illinois (2,832), Iowa (2,820), Puerto Rico
(2,296), California (1,435), Idaho (1,060), Minnesota (1,055), Nebraska (971), Wisconsin
(918), and Indiana (886).
These experimental genetically engineered crops are grown in the open environment to test
the outcome and environmental impact of certain gene combinations. The groups charged that
field testing genetically engineered crops in such a widespread way poses serious threats
to neighboring farms and the environment.
"Any new technology must be tested, but there are important scientific issues that
must be addressed before genetically engineered foods can be released into the
environment," said Richard Caplan, U.S. PIRG. "To conduct field tests before
this has been done is both premature and hazardous; it is like carrying out clinical
trials of a drug before the laboratory tests are complete."
A goal of the field tests is to obtain information about potential ecological risks
associated with genetically engineered organisms. However, independent reviews of the data
collected by the Department of Agriculture demonstrate that little data has been
collected. As a result, despite the large number of field experiments that have occurred,
fundamental questions about their impact remain unanswered, including long-term impacts on
the soil and non-target species.
Genetically Engineered Food Alert supports the removal of genetically engineered
ingredients from grocery store shelves unless they are adequately safety tested and
labeled. Genetically Engineered Food Alert founding members include: Center for Food
Safety, Friends of the Earth, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, National
Environmental Trust, Organic Consumers Association, Pesticide Action Network North
America, and the State Public Interest Research Groups. The campaign is endorsed by more
than 200 scientists, religious leaders, doctors, chefs, environmental and health leaders,
as well as farm groups. Find out more about the campaign at http://www.gefoodalert.org .
Source: Raising Risk: Field Testing of Genetically Engineered Crops in the U.S., is
available at http://www.gefoodalert.org
.
Contact: Richard Caplan, U.S. PIRG, 218 D Street SE, Washington DC 20003; phone
202-546-9707; email rcaplan@pirg.org .
PANUPS is a weekly email news service providing resource guides and reporting on pesticide
issues that don't always get coverage by the mainstream media. It's produced by Pesticide
Action Network North America, a non-profit and non-governmental organization working to
advance sustainable alternatives to pesticides worldwide.
You can join our efforts! We gladly accept donations for our work and all contributions
are tax deductible in the United States. Visit our extensive web site at http://www.panna.org to learn more
about getting involved.
==============================================================================
What is Anoxia/Hypoxia?
Specifically, anoxia is a condition in which there is an absence of oxygen supply to an
organ's tissues although there is adequate blood flow to the tissue. Hypoxia is a
condition in which there is a decrease of oxygen to the tissue in spite of adequate blood
flow to the tissue. Anoxia and hypoxia, however, are often used interchangeably ? without
regard to their specific meanings ? to describe a condition that occurs in an organ when
there is a diminished supply of oxygen to the organ's tissues.
Anoxia and hypoxia may be caused by a number of events, such as Vasospasm, systemic
Vasculitis, heart attack, severe asthma, multiple and ubiquitous smoke or carbon monoxide
inhalation, high altitude exposure, strangulation, anesthetic accidents, or poisoning. In
severe cases of anoxia and hypoxia, from any cause, the patient is often stuperous or
comatose (in a state of unconsciousness) for periods ranging from hours to days, weeks, or
months.
Seizures, myoclonic jerks (muscle spasms or twitches), and neck stiffness may occur ..
Dr.med.Gernot Schwinger, Preventive Medicine, Germany, Suisse, contact: dr@schwinger.com
================================================================================
From P A N U P S Pesticide Action Network Updates Service
POPs Treaty Signed, NGOs Call for Early Ratification
June 8, 2001
The new and long anticipated international treaty on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
was signed into formal legal existence on May 23 in Stockholm, Sweden by 91 countries and
the European Commission. PAN groups and other NGOs attending the Stockholm meeting from
around the world welcomed the treaty as an important step toward eliminating chemical
pollutants from the global environment, and called for rapid ratification and
implementation.
The POPs treaty, which will be known as the Stockholm Convention, targets 12 POPs
chemicals for elimination. POPs are a class of chemicals which are toxic, persist in the
environment, accumulate in the body fat of humans and animals, concentrate up the food
chain, and can be transported across the globe. Nine of the initial 12 chemicals targeted
by the Convention are pesticides. PAN International has been calling for the global
elimination of these pesticides since 1985 through its Dirty Dozen campaign. The other
chemicals on the initial list are the industrial chemicals PCBs and industrial
by-products, dioxins and furans.
The Convention will go into effect as soon as it is ratified by 50 countries. Canada has
already submitted its ratification to the UN Environment Programme, and the United States
has indicated that the Convention will be submitted to the U.S. Senate for ratification in
late 2001 or early 2002.
NGOs and some governments are calling for 50 ratifications and entry into force of the
Convention by September 2002, when the World Summit on Sustainable Development ("Rio
+10") will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa. PAN and other NGOs involved in the
International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN) are also calling for the same schedule of
ratification for the related Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent, and are
working to make this rapid schedule a reality. Additional POPs chemicals can be added to
the initial list of 12 once the Convention goes into effect. At the Stockholm meeting, the
European Union pressed for immediate establishment of a Scientific Review Committee, which
would be responsible for considering new chemicals to come under the Convention. Some of
these chemicals, such as the pesticides lindane and endosulfan, are still in widespread
use in both industrialized and developing nations.
In the weeks leading up to the Stockholm meeting, PAN North America delivered more than
400 letters from PANNA affiliates and supporters to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell
in support of the immediate establishment of the Review Committee. Despite strong
grassroots support in the U.S. and the EU's valiant efforts in Stockholm, immediate
establishment of this Committee was blocked by the delegations from the U.S., China and
many developing countries.
In his closing remarks at the Stockholm meeting, the Prime Minister of Sweden Goran
Persson recognized the importance of the Convention and called on the international
community to go further. "Dangerous substances must be replaced by harmless ones step
by step," said Persson. "If there is the least suspicion that new chemicals have
dangerous characteristics it is better to reject them." Sweden currently holds the
presidency of the European Union. Sources: PANNA, IISD Linkage http://www.iisd.ca/linkages/chemical/popsd/index.html
)
For more information: http://www.ipen.org ,
http://www.wwfus.org/toxics .
Also see PANNA's POPs campaign page at http://www.panna.org/campaigns/pops.html .
PANUPS is a weekly email news service providing resource guides and reporting on pesticide
issues that don't always get coverage by the mainstream media. It's produced by Pesticide
Action Network North America, a non-profit and non-governmental organization working to
advance sustainable alternatives to pesticides worldwide.
To subscribe, send a blank message to:
panups-subscribe@igc.topica.com
Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA), 49 Powell St., Suite 500, San Francisco,
CA 94102 USA Phone: (415) 981-1771, Fax: (415) 981-1991 Email: panna@panna.org Web: http://www.panna.org
==================================================================================
EATING TAINTED FISH CURBS ADULT LEARNING AND MEMORY
CHAMPAIGN, Illinois, June 6, 2001 (ENS) - Adults who eat PCB laden fish from Lake Michigan
can be affected just as much as young children, researchers have learned. Many of the
former big eaters of sport caught fish now have high levels of (PCBs) polychlorinated
biphenyls in their blood and problems with learning and memory.
Since 1992, researchers led by Susan Schantz of the University of Illinois College of
Veterinary Medicine, have studied Lake Michigan fish eaters, many of whom had eaten more
than 24 pounds of sport caught fish a year. The researchers' latest findings show that the
heavy eaters who are now over age 49 have problems learning and remembering new verbal
information. Fish eaters with high blood PCB levels had difficulties recalling a story´
told just 30 minutes earlier. They also were less likely than their less exposed peers to
cluster words into categories based on their meaning to boost recall, said Schantz, a
professor of toxicology in the department of veterinary biosciences.
"This study suggests, for the first time, that PCB body burdens in adulthood may be
associated with impairments in certain aspects of memory and learning," Schantz said.
"The focus has been almost exclusively on increased health risks of exposure to
children and pregnant women. It had been assumed that mature adults are less susceptible
than are developing fetuses. This may not be the case."
Until they were banned in the late 1970s, PCBs were used as electrical insulators and
lubricants and as extenders in paints and varnishes. The chemicals are slow to decompose,
and large quantities remain in older electrical equipment still in use. In the Great
Lakes, PCBs make their way up the food chain and accumulate at increasing levels in fatty
tissue. The new study by researchers at four institutions appears in the June issue of
"Environmental
==================================================================================
From: International Solidarity Committee for the National CAP of Water:
Stop water privatisation in Ghana!
WATER IS NOT A COMMODITY!
WATER IS LIFE AND LIFE IS FOR ALL!
May 31, 2001
Dear Sisters and Brothers around the World:
We call upon organizations and individuals around the world to express their international
solidarity with the struggle of the Ghanaian people to stop the privatisation of their
water services. World Bank policies require the Government of Ghana to privatise water in
order to gain access to external assistance and soft loans. Five multinational
corporations have bid for the urban water service in Accra, most of them with annual sales
larger than the GDP of Ghana, and all of them with proven records of socially
irresponsible practices.
The National Forum on Water Privatisation took place in Accra, Ghana during May 16-19,
2001. At the end of four days of vigorous and exciting debate, the participants in the
Forum founded the Ghana National Coalition Against the Privatisation of Water, called the
"Ghana National CAP of Water" and drafted the Accra Declaration, attached below.
Express your solidarity! Show your support for the struggle to stop the worldwide attempt
to commodify water for the profit and benefit of a few. Forward this message to others and
then please take the following actions:
· Sign-on to the Accra Declaration. Send your name and organizational affiliation to global.challenge@juno.com
· Write, fax or e-mail messages to the following people and tell them to: Please stop the
process toward privatisation of water services until the people of Ghana have an
opportunity to debate and discuss a wide range of water management options, including
community/public partnerships.
1. His Excellency Mr. J.A. Kufuor, Office of the President of Ghana, Tel.: 233-21-676923/4
ext. 110, Fax: 233-21-676934 , 233-21-666528
2. Honorable Mr. Kwamena Bartel, Minister of Works and Housing, Address: Ministry of Works
and Housing, P. O. Box M27 – Ministries, Accra, Tel: 233-21-665323, Fax:
233-21-663268 Email: mwh@ighmail.com
3. Mr. Peter Harrold, World Bank Resident Representative, Ghana, P. O. Box M27 –
Ministries, Accra, Tel: 233-724/22037, Fax: 233-72-227887 Email: pharrold@worldbank.org
4. Trade Union Congress (TUC), Secretary General, P. O. Box 701, Accra, Tel: 233-21-62568
or 669675, Fax: 233-21-763920, Email: tuc@ighmail.com
5. Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) Old Parliament House,
Accra, Tel: 233-21-662568 or 669675, Fax: 233-21-667161
6. Speaker of the Parliament, The Speaker, Parliament House, Accra, Tel. 233-21-668514.
Email: parclerk@ghana.com
Thank you very much and please send a copy of all your messages to the Ghana National
Coalition Against the Privatisation of Water (National CAP of Water) at: Integrated Social
Development Centre (ISODEC), P.O. Box 19452, Accra North, Ghana Email: isodec@ghana.com or ramenga@isodec.org.gh , Fax: 233/21 311687,
Tel: 233/21 30606
Sincerely,
International Solidarity Committee for the National CAP of Water
=====================================================
end of newsletter/English/2
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