May 10 Hearing for Moratorium on Cellular Antennas in SF

THURSDAY, MAY 10TH
10:00 AM
CITY HALL
Board of Supervisors' Housing, Transportation and Land Use Committee

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THE HEARING
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The committee will be hearing testimony to consider a one-year
moratorium on cellular base station antennas in San Francisco. This
would be the first step in legislating greater City oversight and
restrictions on wireless antennas. Concerned about their health (PLEASE
SEE BELOW), people in neighborhoods all over the city have been fighting
wireless antennas on a case by case basis for years, but the industry
has been too powerful and the local government unresponsive. Under
Willie Brown, the Planning Department’s regulations for siting have been
extremely lax, and the Planning Commission has yet to deny the Wireless
Industry anything in its stampede to put antennas all over the city.

Berkeley and Sausalito already have moratoria in effect, as do many
other cities around the country. This hearing is ESSENTIAL in getting
the SF Board of Supervisors to institute one here.

For that, we need to have AS MANY PEOPLE AT THE HEARING AS POSSIBLE.

It's been a long struggle to get this far. Let's all turn out and show
the Supervisors that the public support for a moratorium is out there!

The wireless antenna moratorium is supported by the Coalition for SF
Neighborhoods, the largest neighborhood organization in the city. It
was introduced to committee by Supervisor Tom Ammiano, and lobbied for
by the San Francisco Neighborhood Antenna-Free Union (SNAFU), which will
be holding a press conference after the hearing.


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BACKGROUND
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Numerous international studies have suggested that long-term exposure to
microwave radiation can lead to serious health problems, including
cancer.

http://www.msu.edu/user/rolinsk1/physics.html
http://www.theneteconomy.com/article.asp?section=5&article_id=030501_mark_1
http://www.fortune.com/broadband/site/stories/ideas/que_09/que_adey.htm

Most of this research has come from outside the U.S., because of Federal
preemption of research by all but the Wireless Industry itself.
Nevertheless, the former chairman of the Wireless Technology Research
group, Dr. George Carlo, a notorious industry shill, is on record as saying:

"Indications are that some segments of the industry have ignored the
scientific findings suggesting potential health effects, have repeatedly
and falsely claimed that wireless phones are safe … and have created an
illusion of responsible follow up by calling for and supporting more research."

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0786708182/ref=ase_re/002-0022856-3088007

Meanwhile, U.S. Federal government standards for cell phone antenna
radiation levels are among some of the most lenient in the entire world.
A conference of scientists held in Salzburg in 2000, citing potential
negative health effects, recommended a radiation level well below what a
typical cell phone antenna emits in this country.

http://www.land-sbg.gv.at/celltower/english/start_e.html

The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to hear a case (the amicus for
which was signed by numerous legislators across the country, including
SF Supervisor Ammiano) contesting the Federal Government’s preemption of
state’s rights in setting radiation levels. However, there is a lot that
San Francisco could still do to limit antennas in the city, and a
moratorium would be the first necessary step in the process of reigning
the industry in, and involving the public in a discussion that has
heretofore been closed.

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT! COME TO THE HEARING! IF THE COMMITTEE DOES NOT SEE
PUBLIC SUPPORT, THEN THEY WILL NOT SUBMIT THE MORATORIUM TO THE FULL
BOARD, THE MEASURE WILL DIE, AND THE INDUSTRY WILL CONTINUE TO RUN RAMPANT.