Re: wireless technologies in schools, homes and
communities.
by Linda Ewart
September 5, 2010
To whom it concerns,
As a recently retired teacher from British Columbia, over the past year I
have been devoting my time and attention to learning about the issues
surrounding wireless technologies, especially as they relate to children and
schools.
In doing so, I have become aware of the highly concerning trend
for educators, and the vast majority of our government leaders, to accept,
adopt and endorse, without due diligence, the short-sighted
recommendations and assurances of the Wireless Industry and Health
Canada.
To enthusiastically use and promote wireless technologies, and,
without realizing the underlying dangers and health ramifications,
incorporate them into educational policy, is folly.
With meetings and professional development, the BCTF has wisely
entered into a discussion and exploration of the issue, and thankfully, with
foresight, the Richmond School District plans to do the same. So must
other community leaders and educators who still mistakenly believe that
the safety of wireless technologies in schools and communities is secure
and therefore of no concern.
Most prefer to rely ever more trustingly onthe technology industry's information, adhering hopefully to the notion that Health Canada is up-to-date in its knowledge, and trusting that Safety Code 6 provides sufficient guidelines and safety levels to ensure that all is well.
All is not well.
Despite assurances from the industry that wireless technology is safe, it
has never been proven so. Electromagnetic fields and radio frequencies
can trigger and aggravate problems in a variety of areas.
Behavioral, neurological, heart and lung problems are on the increase in children.
Mould proliferates in the presence of EMFʼs. Allergies and chemical
sensitivities flare. Immune systems are compromised in their presence,
and the blood-brain barrier is weakened.
Put children in a classroom with a class set of laptops and several wireless routers and access points throughout the school, in addition to other wireless devices now appearing
in the school environment, and the overall level of EMFʼs increases alarmingly. This is not a healthy environment for any child, but itʼsespecially problematic for electro-hypersensitive children, whose numbers are on the rise.
With the intensity of wireless frequencies increasing rapidly in daily life,
school environments need to set an example and provide safe havens for
children and youth to learn and to grow in a healthy space.
The roll-out of wireless technologies in schools, is, because of a lack of awareness on the
part of school boards, administrators, teachers and parents, transforming schools into unsafe environments. This includes the health and safety of adults who also work in these environments.
I am forwarding a letter written by Carol Hughes, Federal MP for Algom-
Manitoulin-Kapuskasing in Ontario. She attended the House of Commons
Standing Committee on Health (HESA) last April and came away with new
insights that she is now sharing in an open letter.
It shows her willingness to speak for what she feels, and knows, is right in the growing environment of misinformation and misguided action in our schools and in our
communities.
Alternatives are not onerous. They involve a logical re-evaluation of
priorities, and the simple continuation of only recently abandoned wired
technologies.
If any of you wish to learn more about the health and safety issues
surrounding the subject of Wi-Fi and other wireless initiatives, or arrange
for speakers or contacts without industry ties to address it with you, please
feel free to contact me and I will do my best to respond.
Yours sincerely,
Linda Ewart
Citizens for Safe Technology Society
'Empowering the public to protect children and youth from unsafe wireless
technologies'.
