The Risks Of Electromagnetic Fields
from the we're-all-gonna-die dept
Here's an optimistic article for you today. SF Gate is running an article detailing the likely dangers of electromagnetic fields, and pointing out that you've probably been frying important parts of your body every day. Meanwhile, of course, the power companies continue to insist (a la the tobacco companies) that there's simply no evidence whatsoever that EMFs are even remotely harmful to anyone.
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Counter-argument
There is a good counter-argument available at
http://www.quackwatch.org/cgi-bin/mfs/24/home/sbinfo/public_html/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/emf.html?4# mfs
"In experiments on animals, mice have lived for several generations in 60 Hz magnetic fields as high as 10,000 milliGauss, thousands of times higher typical power line fields, without any adverse effects.
...
During the last few decades, the use of electric power and electric appliances has increased the 60 Hz powerline magnetic fields to which we Americans are exposed by roughly a factor of twenty. If power line fields were a significant cause of leukemia, there should have been a dramatic rise in leukemia. Leukemia rates, however, have slowly decreased. "
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No Subject Given
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Here's a greater danger...
Worrying about everything around you and its ability to kill you WILL shorten your life (unless you're Hollywood. Then you sue everything and live forever.) What good is a long life if you have to life if you have to live in fear? I don't care where you life or what you eat. YOU WILL DIE! Take a deep breath (of chemically saturated air) and try to enjoy yourself (as the free radicals rampage your already weakened body.)
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Re: Counter-argument
Fact: there's no definitive mechanism for how exposure to EMF can effect any chemical change in the body - hence, no possible way for EMF fields to cause you damage!
That article was another example of reporters picking up a "hot" press release without fully exploring the results, or touching on that fact that's one study where many others have found nothing.
Also: not one single case regarding EMF causing cancer has ever been successfully prosecuted.
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Re: Counter-argument
The "hygiene hypothesis" of immunology states that the dramatic rise in allergies, asthma, or other autoimmune disorders over the past half century is due to the excessive hygiene in our lives. The immune system is not properly stimulated by the "normal" enemies of bacteria or parasites, therefore it keeps itself busy by attacking inappropriate stimuli such as pollen or the body's own organs.
Another disease that is undergoing dramatic increases is autism; both Britain and California have reported a tripling of cases in the past decade. It could be that our computerized lifestyle that favors logical thinking, less socializing, or less physical activity is triggering autism in people who would otherwise not have developed it.
Here's an article about California's case:
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/4311559.htm
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