"Orientation, navigation, and homing are critical traits expressed by organisms ranging from bacteria through higher vertebrates. Sensory systems that aid such behavior have provided key selective advantages to these groups over the past 4 billion years, and are highly evolved; magnetoreception is no exception. Across many species and groups of organisms, compelling evidence exists that the physical basis of this response is tiny crystals of single-domain magnetite (Fe3O4). It is the opinion of the authors that all magnetic field sensitivity in living organisms, including elasmobranch fishes, is the result of a highly evolved, finely-tuned sensory system based on singledomain, ferromagnetic crystals . . .

"On January 11, the EMF Safety Network filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court against the City of Sebastopol, Verizon, and Crown Castle alleging the City's decision to approve a 4G cell tower expansion was in violation of a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). According to the Sebastopol attorney, the city has a "hold harmless" clause in their contract with Verizon which requires Verizon to pay for all litigation costs related to the cell tower.

"Sebastopol is located adjacent to an internationally recognized wetlands preserve, the Laguna De Santa Rosa. The City filed a CEQA exemption for the project stating there would be "negligible or no expansion of use", calling it a "minor alteration." EMF Safety Network lawyer Rose Zoia argued their exemption claims were false. The addition of 3 and 4 G panels to the cell tower will add significant radio frequency (RF) exposure to the downtown area and extend nine miles into the Laguna.

"Sebastopol's Telecommunications Ordinance states, " No telecommunications facility shall be sited such that its presence threatens the health and safety of migratory birds." . . .

If Wi-Fi harms trees, what about children?

"Aspen decline has been reported in North America over the past half century and rapid mortality of aspen clones has been observed in Colorado since 2004 and has become a major concern for environmentalists, scientists, and foresters.

"In one experiment, published February 2010 in The International Journal of Forestry Research, scientists constructed mock-shielded cages and faraday-shielded cages in the forest just outside of Lyons, Colorado. The mock cage shielded aspen seedlings only from direct light - while the faraday cage shielded seedlings from all forms of radio frequency radiation originating from the town of Lyons in the frequency range of 1 MHz to 3 GHz. This includes radio broadcast signals as well as cell phone and WiFi signals.

"The researchers discovered that the tree seedlings growing inside the radio frequency-shielded cages were much larger and healthier than those in both the mock-shielded cages and in the unshielded controls. The authors report that the background levels of radio frequency radiation may be adversely affecting leaf and shoot growth and inhibiting fall production of anthocyanins (these are the pigments associated with leaf senescence in trembling aspen seedlings). These results suggest that exposure to the RF radiation generated by our wireless technology may be an underlying factor in the recent rapid decline of aspen populations . . .

"Since atmosphere "microwave window" allows penetration of cosmicradiation with frequencies ranging within GHz domain, there is always amicrowave component within the environment radiation background. In the modern world, with the use of sophisticated microwave emitting devices for communications in the air, surveillance systems, industry, diagnostic and therapeutic purposes in medicine - the importance of electromagnetic pollution need not be over emphasized.

"There is a rich literature describing the biological influence of low frequency electromagnetic fields upon vegetal organisms. But the responses elicited invarious plant species appear to depend in a complex way on both the physical parameters of the irradiation source (frequency, power density, pulses or continuous waves, duration of exposure etc.) and the condition of the biological material magnetic (vegetation stage, pretreatment, environment etc.); nevertheless different biological parameters may lead to the revealing of different aspects of the interaction between the electromagnetic waves and the irradiated material. Some examples are illustrating the above statement . . .

"Trees are now dying mysteriously from a variety of diseases in urban areas all over Europe and are also showing abnormal photoperiodic responses. In addition, many have cancer-like growths under the bark (phloem nodules) and the bark may also split so that the underlying tissues become infected. All of these can be explained as being a result of weak radio-frequency radiation from mobile phones, their base stations, WiFi and similar sources of weak non-ionising radiation. But first let us look at how living organisms use electric currents that they generate themselves and which perform vital functions in their normal day-to-day metabolism and growth. We will then go on to see how weak electromagnetic fields can disrupt these and bring about many unwanted biological effects... 

"New Delhi, Nov 28 (IBNS): The Indian Environment Ministry is examining a report by an expert committee that has studied the possible impacts of cell phone towers on wildlife including birds and bees. In a written reply to a question posed by lawmakers, Natarajan said that the Ministry had formed the expert committee on Aug 30 under the chairmanship of Dr Asad Rahmani, Director, Bombay Natural History Society.

"Media reports have said that the environment and forests' ministry study has blamed electromagnetic radiation (EMR) from communication towers for the declining numbers of sparrows and bees.

"The study titled 'A possible impact of communication tower on wildlife birds and bees' said the radiation decreases egg production in the bees.

"It also added that in the case of honey bees, the group observed that high radiation resulted in an unusual phenomenon known as 'colony collapse disorder' which is characterized by sudden disappearance of a hive's inhabitants, leaving only queens, eggs and a few immature workers behind.

"The vanished bees were never found. Also, the navigational skills of the bees were affected by high-tension lines . . ."

"India is one of the fastest growing mobile telephony industries in the world. It is estimated that by 2013, 1 billion plus people will be having cell phone connection in India. To support this growth of cell phone subscriber in the country, there has also been a tremendous growth of infrastructure in the form of mobile phone towers. Today, in absence of any policy on infrastructure development and location of cell phone towers, large numbers of mobile phone towers are being installed in a haphazard manner across urban and rural areas including other sparsely populated areas in India . . ."

The study Rahmani Study says that radiation from mobile towers affects the reproductive and nervous system of sparrows and bees. The Electro Magnetic Radiation (EMR) from mobile towers acts as an irritant, making them shy away from mating. The babies are often born with deformities due to the EMR interfering with their biological system.

"The issue of 'disappearing birds and bees' was raised in the Lok Sabha in August last year, following which the expert committee was asked to study the 'possible impacts of mobile towers on wildlife including birds and bees'.

"Although, sparrows are tough birds, in Mumbai they have been subjected to an unholy combination of challenges that has broken their hardy backs. "Where have all the sparrows gone?

"Sparrows are now making their winged presence felt in the city's list of endangered species.

"The disappearance of the highly adaptable sparrow is the first warning signal for humans," says Rahmani, the director of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS). Sparrows being very sensitive to the environment are one of the most preferred indicators of the urban ecosystem. A declining population of the bird is a clear indicator that something is wrong with the water you drink and the air you breathe . . ."  

"Numerous incidents of aspen decline have been recorded in North America over the past half century, and incidents of very rapid mortality of aspen clones have been observed in Colorado since 2004. The radio frequency (RF) environment of the earth has undergone major changes in the past two centuries due to the development and use of electricity in power and communications applications, and the anthropogenic RF background continues to increase in intensity and complexity.

"This study suggests that the RF background may have strong adverse effects on growth rate and fall anthocyanin production in aspen, and may be an underlying factor in aspen decline."

"Mobile phone towers could have an adverse long-term impact on birds, bees and other species. An expert panel headed by Asad Rahmani, Director of Bombay Natural History Museum, has suggested steps to minimise the impact. Among them are curbing installation of mobile phone towers in the vicinity of wildlife protected areas, bird sanctuaries, Ramsar sites, turtle breeding areas, bee colonies and zoos, apart from constructing towers on a platform which can be relocated, writes Kalyan Ray.

"As cell phone networks grow exponentially connecting every corner of the country, researchers and environmentalists are jittery about the impact of electromagnetic radiation on birds, bees and other animals.

"While there is no conclusive scientific evidence on how it works, a large volume of scientific literature shows that the electromagnetic field does have an adverse long-term impact on the biological and behavioural systems, though the causal mechanism remains unknown . . ."

"All is not well in the semi arid, warming oil sands of Alberta -- the second largest hydrocarbon reserves in the world; only Saudi Arabia has more. To get at the oil sands and supply the Keystone XL pipeline, its leaving Canada with a colossal carbon footprint, which has increased by 120 percent since 1990. Of all the industrial nations, Canada footprint has increased the most during this time.

"An overheating climate has enabled mountain pine beetles -- nature's emissary of massive ecological change to march north and east like never before in modern or prehistoric times . . ."