Letter to Editor: “Stop Building Cell Towers in Wisconsin”

September 22, 2019: The Cap Times of Madison, Wisconsin published our Letter to the Editor: “Stop Building Cell Towers in Wisconsin” in opposition to the saturation of cell towers across the State, in particular, in the magnificent Driftless Region, known for its beautifully sculpted topography in Southwestern Wisconsin. Here, wildlife and wildflowers abound. Prairies, wetlands, forests and grasslands, too. Many Wisconsinsites choose to live in scenic rural areas away from commercial infrastructure like macro cell towers.

Vernon County has 27 cell towers being proposed and Richland County has 15!

But if Big Telecom has its way, there will be a 200 ft. – 300 ft. macro cell tower every five – seven miles in the Driftless Region!

Wisconsin For Safe Technology’s Letter to the Editor was also printed in the September 17, 2019 La Farge Episcope.

The Richland Observer printed “Stop With The Cell Towers! Enough is Enough” on page 5A of its September 19, 2019 print issue under “Opinion.” They do not have an on-line edition. The full text is below, which will be easier to read.

Other Wisconsinites are also opposed to the massive increase in cell towers in the Driftless Region and are speaking out against these proposed cell towers, including members of the Amish community. Here’s a Letter to the Editor dated September 17, 2019 by Wisconsin’s People For Safe and Sane Technology.

If you live in Southwestern Wisconsin, please watch for Wisconsin For Safe Technology’s letter in your local paper and tell others about it. Thank you.

Stop With The Cell Towers! Enough is Enough!

I hope that Richland, Vernon and Crawford County residents are aware that the counties have issued multiple cell tower permits already this year. In Richland County, seven cell towers permits were issued as of September 5 in Bloom, Akan, Westford, Orion, Henrietta, Marshall and Dayton.

Residents and public officials should take the time to educate themselves about the negative impact that cell towers, 4G/5G-enabled “small” cell antennas, and wireless devices have on health, property values and the environment, especially trees, birds, and pollinators.

Farmers depend on bees and they are in rapid decline. Science proves that the microwave radiation emitted by cellular antennas and other wireless technologies affects bee navigation and reproduction.

Cell towers are an eyesore and ruin the aesthetic beauty of the region Most people choose to live in peaceful, scenic rural areas to get away from 200 foot cell tower monstrosities.

The radiation from cell towers has serious biological effects and those who live closest to cell towers show higher rates of health effects, including cancer.

There are thousands of independent, peer-reviewed and published scientific studies proving harm from wireless technologies, including the premier ten-year, $30 million, FDA-ordered U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP) Study on 2G and 3G wireless technology. The results were released last year showing “clear evidence” of cancer, DNA damage and fetal effects.

The Ramazzini Study, partially funded by the U.S., is the world’s largest study on cell tower radiation and the results confirmed a cancer link at lower levels of radiation exposure than the U.S. NTP study.

Other health effects from wireless radiation include infertility/miscarriage, headaches, tinnitus, heart irregularities, dizziness, nosebleeds, nausea, endocrine (hormonal) effects, lack of concentration, memory and cognitive impairment, anxiety/depression, suicidal ideation and more. Many people across the world suffer from electromagnetic hypersensitivity/microwave sickness because of the electrosmog we live in.

Dr. Martin Pall, a wireless radiation expert, explains that it is not just the power of the signal that has scientists sounding the alarm bells. It is the constant spiked, erratic, digital pulses of radiation that carry the data that are very dangerous.

If you were to ask someone with Big Telecom if a cell tower or cell phone is safe, they will not tell you it is safe. Instead they will tell you it is FCC compliant. That’s the problem! FCC compliance does not equate with safety. So, no, our government is not protecting us. They are protecting Big Telecom.

The FCC is charged with setting wireless radiation exposure guidelines. Current radiation exposure guidelines were set back in the 1990s (by industry engineers, not medical experts) when cell phones were the size of a brick and we did not have WiFi blanketing our schools and cell towers everywhere. The guidelines are not protective of health and do not take into account the unique vulnerability of children, pregnant women, the elderly, the immune-compromised or those with implanted medical devices.

The FCC is not a health agency and is run by former telecom reps. The head of the FCC, Ajit Pai, is a former Verizon attorney. The FCC has been described by Harvard University’s Center for Ethics writer, Norm Alster, as “the most captured agency in DC,” acting more as an industry cheerleader than regulator.

Also, U.S. radiation exposure guidelines are much higher than most other countries. Our limits are 100 times higher than Italy, Switzerland, Poland, Russia and China and do not address the much lower non-thermal impacts that come with chronic use of today’s wireless devices, and daily exposure to WiFi and cellular antennas.

Government agencies, scientists, doctors, and the American Academy of Pediatrics have asked the FCC to reassess the outdated guidelines and nothing has been done. Are they waiting to roll out 5G first?

Have you heard about 5G? Most people have no idea what’s barreling toward us because the mainstream media is hesitant to report the truth about 5G in fear of losing big advertising dollars from the telecom industry.

I am not talking about the 5G you see on your cell phone or WiFi router, which is 5 GHz. That is NOT the same as actual 5G which means “Fifth Generation.” 5G (Fifth Generation) uses much higher frequencies, in the 25 GHz to 90 GHz range.

5G technology requires “small” cell antennas installed on utility and light poles, buildings and bus stops, spaced 2-10 homes apart for non-essential perks like driverless cars, faster video downloads and the Internet of Things which means virtually everything you own and buy will have a microchip or antenna and will connect wirelessly, from appliances to milk cartons, toothbrushes and even diapers. Massive amounts of data will be collected about us for marketing and surveillance. There’s a big difference between voluntary and involuntary exposure. The roll out of “small” cells in neighborhoods will result in involuntary exposure to a proven health hazard. You can’t opt out. You can’t turn it off.

5G is being deployed without proof of safety. On February 6, 2019, at a Senate Commerce Committee Hearing, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal asked the wireless industry if it has conducted independent studies on the health effects of 5G and the industry conceded it has done no research.

In July, Governor Tony Evers signed the 5G Bill (Act 14) so Wisconsin wouldn’t fall behind other Midwest states, despite opposition by citizens across the State and letters written to him by scientists, doctors and other experts. In his email to Governor Evers dated July 3, 2019,Dr. Ronald M. Powell, a retired U.S. Government career scientist/Applied Physics, said: “We in the scientific community have every reason to believe that the radiofrequency radiation produced by 5G will harm human health.” Governor Evers should have taken his time to study the health and environmental impact of 5G like the State of New Hampshire is going to do.

5G won’t magically bring broadband to rural areas of Wisconsin; fiber optic cable is still required to do that. During the public hearings in Madison in May, the industry said they would focus on deploying 5G in the urban areas of Wisconsin. In an interview with Wisconsin Public Radio on June 20, 2019, Tom Still of the Wisconsin Technology Council said that 5G would “not immediately” bring broadband to rural Wisconsin “because of the investment that will be required.” Even FCC Commissioner Rosenworcel said of the September 26, 2018 FCC Order to streamline 5G deployment: “Not one wireless carrier has said that this action will result in a change in its capital expenditures in rural areas.”

So what can residents do? First, do not get lured by money from a cell tower lease! Get educated. Ask local government officials to be forthcoming about future cell tower applications. Under Wisconsin’s Open Records Laws, you can request copies of public records concerning cell towers. You have a right to know about proposed cell towers in your neighborhood. Attend public meetings to voice your concerns. Telecom companies have been known to take their business elsewhere if there is too much opposition.

Contact your state representatives and U.S. Members of Congress and demand that control over telecom infrastructure be returned to local government. Remind them that fiber optics all the way to the premises is faster, safer and more cyber secure.

Don’t give up your landline. It’s more reliable in an emergency or extreme weather conditions.

Read, sign and share the International Appeal to Stop 5G on Earth and in Space which has already been signed by over 142,000 organizations, scientists, doctors, environmental groups, engineers, beekeepers, etc. from 207 nations. Find it at www.5GSpaceAppeal.org.

Please visit www.WisconsinSafeTech.com for more action items and for wireless safety tips for you and your loved ones. You can turn off your cell phone. You cannot turn off a cell tower.

Wisconsin For Safe Technology (www.WisconsinSafeTech.com) is part of Americans For Responsible Technology, a national coalition of over 100 organizations across the U.S. opposed to 5G that support safe technology like fiber optic lines all the way to the premises.

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