More Evidence that Microwaves Are Killing the Bees

Below is the translation of an article appearing in a German Newspaper in March 2004 - over three years ago . Obviously proof that this bee collapse disorder has been going on much longer than the recent attention the media has been given it.

Will Some Device Save The Bees from Bee-Colony Collapse Disorder?

Hobbyist bee-keeper Sigfried Vogel from Hüttung, Germany has discovered a way to safely shield his precious little honey makers.



An old truck has been until recently the domicile of a total of seven bee hives. Siegfried Vogel (in picture) has lost four of his bee colonies in the past year - those which were located behind wooden shielding on his truck. His son Reinhold has had better luck: He still owns his three colonies of bees which are located behind and protected by a portion of aluminum shielding on the same truck. Hence, Siegfried Vogel is now advising all beekeepers to protect their colonies of bees from mobile-phone radiation with aluminum shielding.

PHOTOS: Werner ROST

Does this radiation, which is emitted from the mobile phone masts and between microwave relay stations and to which many residents are also exposed, also pose a danger to animals? Siegfried Vogel from the Selbitz area of Hüttung believes the radiation emitted from the multitude of surrounding mobile phone masts is responsible for the loss of his four bee colonies during the past year.

Mr. Vogel is not alone in his assessment. The loss of birds has also been suspected as being caused by the mobile phone radiation. Recently, there have been numerous reports on the Internet concerning the impairment and loss of bees and messenger pigeons. The authors of these articles are attributing this loss to mobile phone mast radiation. The loss of birds is also spurring fears that the whole of nature may be at risk due to the ever-increasing electromagnetic radiation from mobile phones and the like.

HÜTTUNG - most people who enjoy a spread of sweet honey on bread at breakfast probably never think of the immense work bees perform to collect enough nectar from the pollen of plants. During each flight, a bee collects 50 millgrams of nectar - that is equivalent to 50 thousandth of a gram. To produce a kilogram of honey, the small hard working insects must visit between 3 and 5 million flowers and plants.

The bees are however not only important for satisfying the taste buds of honey-loving humans. These insects are also a dire necessity for all of nature, since a multitude of plant species rely on the small creatures for pollination and hence the continuation of their species.

During evolution (the development and change of the entire animal and plant world over millions of years) a partnership of extreme importance developed between the bees and a multitude of plant species.

"Without bees, many plant species would simply face extinction," stresses Siegfried Vogel from Hüttung, who in his early youth gained his first experiences in beekeeping.

After retiring, and now at the age of 76, Mr. Vogel has enjoyed 15 successful years of honey production. He was housing his bee colonies inside an old wooden truck and until a year ago the beekeeper had four bee colonies in hives behind wooden planks on the truck.

This winter Mr. Vogel witnessed the disappearance of all four of his bee hives. The bees had met a tragic and mysterious fate.

Siegfried Vogel believes microwave radiation from mobile phone masts is responsible for the loss of his bees. Vogel explained that the microwave radiation is coming onto his property from four directions. There are three mobile phone masts in Selbitz, three more in Sellanger, and recently a new mast was erected in Leupoldsgrün, adding to an increasing level of ambient background microwave radiation infecting the area.

Our newspaper tested the mobile phone reception in this area and found it to be "good" to "very good."

Vogel offers as evidence - that mobile phone masts have caused the demise of his bee colonies - the fact that his son's colonies, which were placed behind aluminum shielding, have survived. (Aluminum is known to block microwave radiation.)

Since all their bee colonies were equally protected from cold weather with polystyrene insulation in the trailer, Siegfried Vogel concludes that the aluminium surrounding his sons beehives must be shielding them from the radiation from mobile phone masts.

Mr. Vogel, who is a passionate hobbyist and tinkerer, continued to experiment in his workshop towards finding a solution for protecting the bees.

By holding two electrodes, connected to a voltage meter, into the air and adjusting the meter's sensitivity to 200 millivolts he gets a constantly varying readout. If he then touches the electrodes with each hand, the meter readout suddenly doubles. As Vogel explains, this simple experiment shows that the human body works as an antenna. In another experiment, he holds the two electrodes between two magnets and the voltage meter readout drops back to near zero. According to Vogel, this works with permanents magnets and electromagnets.

Vogel's results: One can protect oneself and one's bees with metal and magnetic shielding. Thus, Vogel imagines appropriate protective screening solutions not only for bee hives but also for human and animals habitats.

"We cannot stand our ground against the monopoly of the mobile telecommunication industry, but in this way perhaps we can protect ourselves," added Siegfried Vogel.

The beekeeper plans to continue working with his son's bee colonies. He also wants to provide aluminum shielding for bees in a nearby orchard. Siegfried Vogel wishes to exchange experiences with other beekeepers in the region. Prospective customers can contact him by telephone.

WERNER ROST"

http://www.laleva.org/eng/2007/04/protecting_bees_from_mobile_phone_radiation.html

Cellular phone uses linked to bee deaths

Cellular phone uses linked to bee deaths
http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/204247

Apr 18, 2007 04:30 AM
Dana Flavelle
Business Reporter
Martin Weatherall isn't surprised that a German researcher has linked cellphone radiation to the mysterious disappearance of millions of bees around the globe.

Weatherall, a retired Toronto police officer who was forced out of his Woodstock, Ont., home after high levels of radio waves from nearby hydro-electric polls and cellphone towers made him electro-hypersensitive, is better able than most to understand the German study, which shows that bees refuse to return to their hive when cellphones are placed nearby.

"I can imagine how it would affect the bee," said Weatherall.

The new research on how cellphone use impacts on bees is gaining popularity among those looking to explain a new apiary phenomenon called colony collapse disorder.

The problem is characterized by the sudden widespread disappearance of commercial bees used to pollinate crops, as if they've flown away from the hive and refused to come back, according to U.S. agricultural analysts.

Some 24 U.S. states have reported massive bee losses, far beyond anything considered normal in the winter die-off.

Beekeepers in parts of British Columbia are the latest to report unusually high winter losses, joining those in Ontario's Niagara Region reporting losses up to 90 per cent in some cases. But it's unclear whether these localized incidents are evidence that Canada is suffering from colony collapse disorder.

"I don't know how we can know for sure that we don't have something when we don't know what it is," said Ed Nowek, president of the Canadian Honey Council, the national industry association. "We've got some cases in the Okanagan where people are suspicious there's a link."

Whatever the cause, Nowek says there's good reason to worry.

"For this spring, we could see shortages of spring bees for pollination," Nowek said. That could lead to crops losses, especially for B.C. blueberries, as well as cranberries and canola seeds in the prairie provinces, he said. In Ontario, bees help pollinate cherries and pears. "The loss, over and above the cost to the beekeeper, can be exponential."

Conventional theories about why the bees are disappearing range from stress to poor nutrition.

Weatherall is among those who believe a report out of Landau University in Koblenz, Germany, that links cellphone radiation to bee behaviour.

Weatherall said that he, too, was forced out of his new home when hydro-electric lines made him hypersensitive to electricity. He said his symptoms included constant ringing in his ears, headaches and nausea and eventually led to a diagnosis of prostate cancer.

"Some people are virtually suicidal they're so upset with the way they feel all the time," said Weatherall.

Despite the new German research, bee researchers remain skeptical of the impact of radio waves on bees. They claim it is just one of several theories that include global warming and genetically modified crops.

"All of these are speculation. They deserve to be investigated. They are good hypotheses, some of them. Others are out of reality, in my opinion," said Ernesto Guzman, associate professor with the University of Guelph's department of environmental biology.

Guzman, a specialist in bee research, says he believes stress is the major factor in the situation south of the border while in Canada a combination of poor weather on fall food supply levels and an influx of mites is the likely cause.

Beekeeping practices in the U.S. have diverged from those in Canada in the last 10 to 15 years as competition from cheap honey in China forced more American beekeepers to rent out their bees for crop pollination, Guzman said.

Many beekeepers move their colonies frequently to new fields, where too many bees compete for too little food. They die in overheated trucks, or get left behind.

Moving Swiftly and Intelligently Towards a Better, Less Wireless World.

http://commonground.ca/iss/0612185/cg185_cellphone.shtml

Cell phones Invisible hazards of the wireless age

by Amanda Brown PhD

Few people would be surprised to hear that cell phones are unhealthy. But how many of us actually know the degree of damage they cause, the extent of the cover-up by the industry, or that there is a viable solution? Dr. George Carlo, a mobile phone industry whistleblower, recently presented a talk in Vancouver about how electropollution from wireless technology can cause brain damage, cancer and an array of mental illnesses.

I checked his facts against recent, peer-reviewed scientific papers and the results were startling. Dr. Carlo explained why the industry's user manuals don't warn of these health hazards: currently, there are pending class action lawsuits against them, which threaten to expose the entire industry, similar to the cases brought against "Big Tobacco", and the asbestos and silicone breast implant industries. But what really shone brightly in Dr. Carlo's message were his realistic solutions. One option is to have fibre-optic cables running underground to our curbs to shorten the distance and power necessary for the wireless signals. According to Dr. Carlo, this option requires an ongoing search for the diamond politician or activist who will take the lead.

It's important to get the facts straight. Dr. Carlo, a scientist hired by the cell phone industry in the '90s, now believes cell phones are the greatest health hazard of our time. In his view, there is no question that mobile phones cause terrible health consequences. It seemed prudent to independently check the recent, peer-reviewed scientific literature to see if his mid-1990s results are supported today. A quick search revealed five excellent studies from 2006 that provide strong evidence of serious problems from electromagnetic signals from cell phones.

In contrast, several review studies that pooled results from 10 to 20 other studies suggested the evidence isn't conclusive either way. However, these reviews may have been diluted by the inclusion of some studies with ties to telecommunication industry funders. One author cited in these studies is affiliated with on Australian institute that has an FAQ web page full of suspicious PR (see www.acrbr.org.au/FAQ.htm). The website states this group of scientists has agreed, by committee, on the science they want to do: essentially, that which shows cell phones are harmless, and they will focus their research accordingly. Very revealing PR. Dr. Carlo also found that among more than 300 studies completed over the past six years, those funded by the industry are more than six times more likely to find "nothing wrong" than studies that are funded independently.

Dr. Carlo explained in detail his theory of how cell phones cause brain damage. It begins with the wave. The signals use carrier waves of around 1,900 megahertz (MHz), which are so high in frequency that they pass right through us, and our houses, unnoticed. But harmful information-carrying waves are packed into the carrier waves. These information waves, which carry signals that can be decoded by our computers and mobile phones, are low-frequency waves in the range of one hertz (Hz). That's slow. So slow that our cells can feel them as an aggravating, physical jolt at their surfaces. Within 30 seconds or so of bombardment, our cells temporarily shut down their surface transport and intercellular communication functions, to resist further damage from threatening invaders.
Normally, small threats to cells cause them to send out chemical signals to neighbouring cells that tell them to protect themselves from invaders, and they signal for help from our immune system's T-cells. But bombardment from mobile phone waves causes whole areas of cells and tissues to shut down their surfaces, stopping the active transport of good and bad stuff in and out of the cell, without time to signal a warning to other cells. Further, the shut down of gap junction communication pathways compromises tissue and organ functions, including the immune system.

Free radicals build up inside the cells so they eventually die and spill toxins and fragmented DNA into the space between cells. There, micronuclei form as a result of membranes becoming organized around broken bits of DNA. These micronuclei wreak havoc, disrupting cell function and allowing cancers to form. That is how, as Dr. Carlo explains, both benign and malignant tumours are caused by wireless signals. He suggests a similar process occurs at the blood-brain barrier that protects our delicate neurons and their tiny sophisticated chemical signals from contaminants in our blood. Once cells in the barrier are shut down by mobile phone waves, all kinds of big, toxic molecules enter our neural spaces where they can cause many problems, among them "autism spectrum disorders," which include some types of anxiety attacks, hyperactivity, ADD, problems with focussing, mild and severe autism, hyper-irritability and others.

Based on levels of adult cell phone use in the '90s, Dr. Carlo predicts 40,000 to 50,000 new cases of brain and eye cancer caused by mobile phones each year worldwide. By 2010, he estimates the number to be near a half million cases. Given that Dr. Carlo's prediction derives from conditions in the '90s – average use of 500 to 1,000 minutes per month, with little or no wireless background signal – the numbers are bound to be higher. Increasingly, we are blasted by wireless signals all day long, both at home and at work. In certain closed spaces, such as cars or buses, the signals are intensely amplified as they bounce around, trapped. Data, so far, suggest there is no safe level, only a probable safe duration of exposure. Our cells may not be damaged until after about 30 seconds of bombardment from wireless phone signals.

Dr. Carlo also suggests our cells can be imprinted so they remember the disruption and pass it down to future cells. This may be why some people seem to have heightened sensitivity, experienced as sudden unexplained anxiety when walking past a wireless hotspot. While peer-reviewed studies have not yet been done to directly address this claim, most of us have experienced the effects of an information-carrying signal that disrupts sensitive objects around us, like the car stereo. Although additional research is required, our instincts are probably right; these signals have an effect and it is unnerving.

So why don't our cell phones and wireless cards come with a "Use at your own risk" label and a warning that there is evidence they may be harmful? The crux of the problem is historical. Mobile phones were exempted from pre-market safety testing in the '80s because they were presented as merely "low-powered" devices, taking the onus off the industry to prove their safety. This was a problem for advocates and opponents alike.

Industry found it necessary to prove they were safe to defend against claims such as the cell phone related brain cancer death of Deborah Reynard in 1993. Reynard's cancer was unusual, growing from the outside to the inside of her head, at the precise location of her mobile phone antenna. Following that case, the industry began to fund its own researchers to study the health effects of cell phones, but it struck a deal with the regulating bodies that stipulated they would only research the damaging effects of cell phones as long as they could remain unregulated until all the research was done. That's when the industry hired Dr. Carlo.

Even before Dr. Carlo's group's research was published, the industry began to file for patents on devices to make them safe, but these depended on proof that cell phones posed a danger. It was a classic Catch-22, leading to a cascade of hypocritical acts by the industry as it sought safer technologies, while at the same time printing users' manuals stating that cell phones were not harmful.
The industry was obviously aware that Dr. Carlo was a threat; since his findings, he has been threatened, physically attacked, defamed and his house mysteriously burned down. By 1998, his group's research showed that the nearfield electromagnetic plume of seven or eight inches around the antenna of the cell phone caused leakage in the blood brain barrier, as well as rare neural-epithelial cancers and double to triple the risk of benign and malignant brain tumours.

Then there's the story of Milt Bowling, Canada's most outspoken mobile phone critic and head of the Electromagnetic Radiation Task Force (ERTFC). In the '90s, Bowling was catapulted into an all-consuming battle with the industry when it attempted to erect a cell tower on the roof of his son's school. It became outrageous when one company implanted a mobile phone transmitter inside a church cross and donated it to the church across from the school.

Bowling's story appeared on the Fifth Estate in 1997 and made waves around the world. His chief concern now is that our safety regulations are ridiculously outdated, only requiring limits for radiation high enough to heat body tissue by one degree celsius within six minutes. He says this is like saying "if it doesn't cook you, there's no problem." Clearly, science shows problems prior to the tissue heating.

Given the threat of public opposition roused by activists such as Dr. Carlo, and Bowling here in Vancouver, why don't our governments establish more restrictions? Vested interests are a huge problem. Governments know they can only charge a tiny fee for licensing alternatives, such as fibre-optics, whereas they can charge a fortune for wireless bandwiths, totalling several billion dollars in the US. So governments have taken the path-most-paying. As an example, to pay for initial, expensive, wireless infrastructure (towers), industry made agreements with regulators ( e.g. the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC in the US) that the big companies could pay 10 percent down and leave the cell phone users to pay off the remainder. This may be the reason for the aggressive marketing of mobile phone plans to teens; there's a big debt to pay off.

The industry's need to cover-up the hazards of wireless technology has been fuelled not only by fear of lost profits, but also by fear of bankruptcy. Insurance companies gradually withdrew all coverage for claims relating to health problems from cell phones following the first studies showing they were dangerous. Today, there are seven pending class action suits against the mobile phone industry; one successful lawsuit alone could bankrupt a company by setting a precedent for other pending lawsuits. It took just one such lawsuit each to bring down the silicone breast implant and asbestos industries.

A more frightening side of all of this is that the cell/wireless industries represent such an enormous portion of the stock market. If they caved in suddenly, the ripples could be catastrophic. We all need to be sensible. Expose the truth, plan for changes and move swiftly and intelligently towards a better, less wireless world.
This article was inspired by a recent talk by Dr. George Carlo, a scientist and cell phone industry whistleblower. Visit (www.safewireless.org) for more information about Dr. Carlo's work. His visit to Vancouver was sponsored by the Health Action Network Society (www.hans.org).

Dr. Carlo offers solutions at three levels:
1) primary solutions that prevent damage;
2) secondary solutions that reduce the effects of the damage;
3) tertiary solutions that repair the damage.

Primary solutions include using a hands-free headset to keep the phone away from your body. However, this doesn't reduce your background exposure to wireless hotspots, and even worse, wire-antenna and Bluetooth headsets may act as antennas to attract ambient or background wireless signals to your head. Dr. Carlo suggests using "air-based" head sets, although they won't prevent second-hand electropollution.

The best solution is to reduce background radiation by moving to an older, but better, technology: fibre-optic cables that transport the signal to the curbsides of our schools, cafes, offices and homes, after which we can either plug-in to the signals or use short distance or air-based wireless. It's expensive in that it involves digging trenches to keep the cables straight and protected, but the technology is ready to go and the insulation around them is very effective; the radiation is almost nil.

Dr. Carlo suggests combining primary solutions with secondary and tertiary solutions. Secondary solutions include working with the subtle energies of our cells, which have their own natural electromagnetic fields. Tertiary solutions include enhancing people's overall health to foster the repair of cell membranes. Boosting our health by improving the immune system's ability to stimulate cellular repair may help with both of these solutions. However, in our cities with widespread, blanket wireless systems, as in Toronto where background radiation is already 500,000 times higher than it was five years ago, it's hard to imagine that merely boosting our immune systems could completely counter the harmful effects.

Lastly, Dr. Carlo talked about abstinence. He confessed that while abstinence works, it is not really practical. Try getting teens off their cell phones! One study showed that 91 percent of 12 year olds use cell phones, and in Buffalo teens were clocking in 2,600 to 7,000 minutes per month on their phones.

With cheap packages going for as little as $150 for 5,000 minutes, it's unlikely teens will abstain any time soon. Among males, there's even the belief that carrying their phone in their front pocket, where it is known to reduce sperm count, is the greatest thing ever, good birth control! Abstinence doesn't work for cell phones any more than it works for teens and sex. In fact, Dr. Carlo himself uses a cell phone, albeit, with an air-based headset.

Marketing campaigns for mobile phones and wireless technology capitalize on our need to fill the empty spaces in our urban landscape. They are irresistible because they facilitate community. Despite the damage they cause, we like the feeling of the grassroots empowerment and interconnectedness they provide.

If this connection is real, let's harness it now to spread the truth about these hazards and work together on solutions.