Presented by Julie MARDIN, Independent Researcher & Advocate (New York, U.S.A.)
Power Point

BACKGROUND:
[LMGlobal.Org] The virtual panel titled “How Can We Prevent Harmful Consequences from ICTs, and Move Towards a Sustainable Future?”  was organized and presented by The Light Millennium Global through diverse multi-disciplined speakers from academia, NGOs/CSOs, experts, activists, private sector, and youth representatives on May 7, 2024. 
The panel has brought up to the surface both existing and potential harms of ICTs, along with recommendations for solutions. 
The concept was initially developed and proposed in connection with the 2024 UN Civil Society Conference‘s Theme #3, “Science, Technology and Innovation and Digital Cooperation“ in particular, with its ‘Technology and Innovation and Digital Cooperation” aspects, along with the theme #4, “Youth and Future Generations” since the youth populations are both the core users, and leaders of tomorrow, and being the leaders of today; shaping most ICT companies and related innovative technologies.
Via this panel and its outcome, LMGlobal.Org supports the #2024UNCSC & #WTISD (May 17).
The below presentation was delivered by Julie Mardin during the above-mentioned virtual panel on May 7, 2024.
PROGRAM & BIOS of the SPEAKERS
DESCRIPTION & CONCEPT

An update from New York: Link5G and How Best to Cross the Digital Divide 

“Many technology experts are saying fiber optic cable is more reliable, more private, there’s no comparison in speed, and it is more energy efficient than having to broadcast all the data through the air.  So why are we not building fiber first?  Is this not the most equitable way to cross the digital divide?”

Thank you so much Bircan.  I am very honored to be with this distinguished panel, and to pick up from where we left off 5 years ago, when we were in Salt Lake City. 

Please click on the above image for Julie Mardin’s full Power Point Presentation.

My perspective is from a bit of a different angle. My motivation comes from the existence of a large body of science that shows that wireless radiation, of the kind we all use for our cell phones, modems, and WiFi and more, in addition to having all these socio-psychological effects, that people are speaking so eloquently about, also has been shown to have biological effects, which can be affecting our public health.  The presentation by Dr. Harari’s fascinating talk regarding his tinnitus and how it disappeared when he was out in the wilderness speaks volumes about the phenomenon of tinnitus and what might really be causing it.  I would ask if he might have heard of the work of Dr. Alan Frey and the phenomenon of microwave hearing.  He found that he and others could hear a radar beam, and it was happening internally, through some kind of electrical phenomenon.  So I think it’s quite possible that the phenomenon of increasing tinnitus in our population is linked to the increase in the electromagnetic environment.

I would hope to get into the details of some of the science but my intention was to first describe a bit of what is going on in New York, and what this wireless densification is playing out in the communities.

Back when we met in Salt Lake City the telecoms were just on the verge of building out the whole system of small cells for 5G.   The importance of being able to get away to heal every now and then is so important, unfortunately the goal seems to be to cover every part of the planet with this technology.

Here in NYC, this is what some of our small cells look like, 32’ foot tall 3 story structures.  These are called Link5G, the answer to public pay phones, and their only restriction is that they be 1 per block.  There are 5 different bays for 5 different types of radio transmitters.  These would be in addition to what we already have.  They are not meant to be replacing anything.

These caused a lot of protest in our communities, with privacy groups saying they will just be creating a wide system of surveillance, historical societies getting into the action, and many more regular folks looking into the issue, because they were just out of scale, and were just appearing overnight right outside people’s windows.  

And this is all happening while many health agencies are refusing to continue with their previous investigations.  For instance in 2017 the WHO’s IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) had classified RF radio frequency radiation as a 2B possible carcinogen.  It was due to resume the “high priority” talks at the beginning of 2024, but quietly revealed that they would not get back to it till at least the middle of next year.  

Dr. Joel Moskowtiz of UC Berkeley, the Director of the Center for Family and Community Health, has said that if it were to reconvene scientists with no conflicts they would likely have to re-classify RF radiation as a probable carcinogen, due to all the science that has been coming out.  For many years studies have been confirming genetic damage single and double strand DNA breaks, which are understood as being a possible precursor to cancer and/or neurological ailments.  Many scientists are focusing on oxidative stress as a the main mechanism of harm.

Here are two slides from one of Dr. Sharon Goldberg’s presentations I highly recommend.  She is such a clear and powerful speaker and thinker and really explains the problems very well.  Here she is talking about a review that looked at 100 peer reviewed studies in RF and oxidative stress and 93 of the studies confirmed RFR induces oxidative effects.

This is important because oxidative stress has been implicated in all diseases that involve inflammation, that we might not ordinarily think are related to this type of radiation.

This is not to say that wireless is the only factor, but should be considered as one of them.  And the IARC and many other regulatory agencies are all pushing this issue further and further down the line, while we are getting more and more invested in these infrastructures.

During our meetings at community boards we were constantly getting reassurances that we have been using these devices for so long now, no problem, cancer in fact is going down.  

But then we get headlines like this, “a tidal wave of tumors” from the American Cancer Society, which tries to explain it by saying it’s because people are living longer.  But other reports talking about younger people getting cancer are telling a different story.  So it’s a very confusing situation.

Also it’s not just cancer but neurological diseases that have been on the rise for many years, 

This scientist went on to hypothesize whether the rises in Electro-Magnetic Field in our environment was creating the tipping point for the increases in neurological deaths.

A 2019 Blue Cross Blue Shield report is telling us about the health of millennials in their system. This was the first generation to grow up with cell phones, and in classrooms with strong WiFi.  Could this be a factor in why their health seems to take a downturn at age 27, according to these Blue Cross statistics? 

It’s important to know if there’s an environmental toxin that we haven’t acknowledged yet, and to take steps to protect ourselves and to make technology safer.  I have full confidence in today’s engineers to be able to do so.

So, what they’re telling us about the Link5G poles is that they will help cross the digital divide.  And I spent some time advocating against these poles.  And it’s not a comfortable position to be in, because nobody wants to be advocating against crossing the digital divide, which is a very real problem.  But if the wireless industry’s solution is going to be raising the risk to health, as well as to privacy, is it really such a gift to the community?  And besides that, this problem was created by the wireless industry itself.

How they did that is a bit of a long and fascinating story.  But I’ll just point you to a group called the Irregulators, which lays out the history of how Verizon, in NY, carried this all out, but this was going on throughout the country.  It has to do with their partial build out of a fiberoptic system, which they stopped building as soon as they completed their backhaul for their cell phone operations.

The wireless industry is now trying to convince us that wireless equals broadband, because it is more profitable for them.  But as Dr. Timothy Schoechle points out, fiber broadband is unmatched in speed and performance and reliability: 1 GB symmetrical (up and down) at a minimum and should be considered a basic public utility, and should be owned and controlled by the community or the city, not by private companies, because thy have no financial incentive to fix the problem.

Why should the less affluent parts of town not be getting fiber first?  If we really cared about the digital divide we should be bridging it with truly equitable service, and without these unnecessary health and privacy risks.

Many technology experts are saying fiber optic cable is more reliable, more private, there’s no comparison in speed, and it is more energy efficient than having to broadcast all the data through the air.  So why are we not building fiber first?  Is this not the most equitable way to cross the digital divide?

Thank you so much.

Power Point

HEALTH STUDIES: Directories & More Information
• The Bioinitiative Report bioinitiative.org
• Dr. Joel Moskowitz, www.saferemr.com 
• Environmental Health Trust ehtrust.org/science/  
• Physicians for Safe Technology mdsafetech.org/5g-telecommunications-science/ 
www.americansforresponsibletech.org/science 
• New Hampshire Commission to Study the Environmental and Health Effects of Evolving 5G Technology
https://gencourt.state.nh.us/statstudcomm/committees/1474/reports/5G%20final%20report.pdf
• David Rosen, with Bruce Kushnick, “Diss-Connect: How America’s Big Telecoms Stole Millions from the Public and Created the Digital Divide,” https://irregulators.net/ 
• Blue Cross/Blue Shield, “The Health of Millennials,” April 24, 2019, https://www.bcbs.com/the-health-of-america/reports/the-health-of-millennials 
• Dr. Sharon Goldberg’s presentation, Seminar on 5G: An Undeniable Risk, October 25, 2023, https://www.americansforresponsibletech.org/_files/ugd/2cea04_8dfc808b4c324980b610fdd8e79df8d6.pdf, Full webinar: https://www.americansforresponsibletech.org/5gwebinar     
• Colin Pritchard, Anne Silk, Lars Hansen, Are rises in Electro-Magnetic Field in the human environment, interacting with multiple environmental pollutions, the tipping point for increases in neurological deaths in the Western World?, Medical Hypotheses, Volume 127, 2019, Pages 76-83, ISSN 0306-9877, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2019.03.018. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306987719300040) 
• Dr. Timothy Schoechle, ““Re-Inventing Wires: The Future of Landlines and Networks,” the National Institute for Science, Law & Public Policy (NISLAPP), May 2019, https://gettingsmarteraboutthesmartgrid.org/wires.html. 

#2024UNCSC, #WTISD, #SOTF, #JulieMardin, #Link5G, #DigitalDivide, #ICTsForCooperation, #ICTsForHumanAdvancement, #ICTsForHumanRights, #ICTsForInclusion, #ICTsForPeace, #ICTsForSustainableFuture, #InnovateForProsperity, #lightmillennium, #LMGlobalOrg, #UNWithCivilSociety,

2024, The Light Millennium Global – www.lmglobal.org | www.lightmillennium.org