Nurse Activism Blog

More than 4 billion people around the world use cell phones (ITU 2009). Because cell phone technology has been around for just two decades, scientists do not yet fully understand long-term health risks from cell phone radiation. But recent research has prompted serious concerns about exposure to wireless emissions.

Recent studies link cell phone radiation to:

Brain cancer: Two research groups independently analyzed all data from 25 original studies of cell phone users, and identified a 50 to 90 percent increase in risk for two types of brain tumors: glioma and acoustic neuroma (Hardell 2009, Kundi 2009).

Salivary gland tumors: An Israeli study found an increased risk of 50 to 60 percent for salivary gland tumors among people with highest cell phone use (Sadetzki 2008).

Behavioral problems: A study of 13,159 Danish children showed 80 percent elevated risk for emotional and hyperactivity problems among young children who use cell phones and whose mothers also used cell phones during pregnancy (Divan 2008).

Migraines and vertigo: A study of 420,095 Danish adults showed that long-term cell phone users were 10 to 20 percent more likely to be hospitalized for migraines and vertigo than people who took up cell phones more recently. (Schuz 2009).



READ ENTIRE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: http://www.ewg.org/cellphoneradiation/executivesummary

READ FULL REPORT: http://www.ewg.org/cellphoneradiation/fullreport

Aboriginal Leader Phil Fontaine was interviewed by the Globe and Mail on September 25th.

VIEW VIDEO: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/the-rules/phil-fontaine/article1300157/

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/the-rules/find-your-true-potential/article1297088/



“People are angry for a reason,” says Phil Fontaine, 64, the former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations. “Poverty is an onerous burden.”

Recent examples of what triggers that anger are easily found, such as Health Canada's shipment of dozens of body bags to remote Manitoba reserves hit by swine flu earlier this year. Native leaders had requested funding to organize their fight against H1N1 and to ensure preventive kits and medicine were at hand.

“Regardless of the inclusion of body bags sent to first nation communities and whether they may be part of normal medical supplies sent to nursing stations, the fact is that more effective planning is required. The minister has known for months that first nation peoples are at high risk due to unacceptable levels of poverty. First nations require full and immediate disclosure of the pandemic plan as this will reassure our people that our communities will be prepared to combat H1N1 this flu season,” Mr. Fontaine says.

Impoverished conditions and lack of opportunity continue to exist in many of the 663 aboriginal communities, he adds.

“The anger and frustration are most evident in our young people,” Mr. Fontaine says. “We have a young population – 50 per cent of our population is under the age of 25 – so we're looking at an incredible resource here with huge potential. The responsibility that we have together with government and the private sector is to harness this incredible energy into something positive.”

However, despite the latest controversy over body bags, Mr. Fontaine is encouraged by what he's witnessed in the past five years. He says that whenever native people have been given a fair chance to make a life for themselves, the results have been impressive, so he's optimistic that higher education will bring about change.

“Fifty years ago we might have had, at most, 10 first nations students in university in all of Canada. Today there are close to 30,000,” Mr. Fontaine says. “That speaks to the incredible talent, intelligence and genius that exists in our communities. It's important that they take every opportunity to make a life for themselves free from the burdens of poverty. It's a big challenge – not just for first nations youth but for all young people.”

The Global Wake-Up Call Is here!

On 21 September 2009, at more than 2600 events in 135 countries across the globe, we joined together to issue a deafening wake-up call to world leaders on climate change. The breadth and creativity of events is breathtaking, and our message broke through to leaders and international media. Watch the video of highlights, then post a comment to the live blog below!




READ MORE AT: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/sept21_hub/?cl=333759839&v=4112