Another EMF Question in Gen 3 - Please Help!!!

There was a seminar on the health effects of electromagnetic fields at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco a few years ago. Audio recordings of it are available at The Health Effects of Electromagnetic Fields | Commonwealth Club . The first few files are advocacy pieces by people who believe they've been injured by cell phone radiation. The later ones are mostly overviews by scientists from places like UC Berkeley, Yale, Columbia, Karolinska Institute (Stockholm, Sweden), and Trent University (Canada). Dr. Sam Milham, who wrote "Dirty Electricity: Electrification and the Diseases of Civilization" was particularly interesting. His research indicates that the problems started with electrification, long before the current interest in EMF and cell phones.

The big picture? Electricity and EMF have a negative impact on health. There is no agreement as to which characteristics of EMF are the most important. Both ordinary 60 cycle house power and cell phones have impacts, but they are different. Non-ionizing radiation does cause problems, even though it doesn't damage DNA.

My impression is that EMF is rather like street noise. People who live in noisy environments, such as next to a busy street, have a health burden that people in quiet environments don't have. A "quiet" electrical environment may be as important as quiet in an audio sense.

 

but in a regular car, she won't worry. and the negative effects of worrying can be more harmful than the effects of emf.

 

As we go around the circle, again, the original question and answer remain. Evidence of adverse health effects of EMF exposure is largely absent. The greatest consistency of scientific evidence is an absence of findings of a cancer excess stemming from EMF exposure from cell phones, wifi, power lines and a multitude of other electromagnetic field emitting devices that enrich our daily
lives. Like our ancestors, fear of unseen and unknown demons will continue to spawn questions about what could or might be; the hypotheses are endless. As this debate continues, it is important to remember that, during the contemporary period of unprecedented rise in EMF exposure, Americans have experienced the first declines in age-adjusted risk and risk of death from cancer since reporting began in the early and mid-20th Century.

 

Good point. Entirely silly, but some people are like that.

Tom

 

I would really hate to see the health impact of returning to pre-electric lighting, appliances, and whatever else.

 

Spoken like a true salesman. I doubt that you've examined any of the data presented at that seminar.

The main thing I got from the seminar is that there are credible scientists who are worried about the issues. They have preliminary data that supports further study, and advise caution until that further study has been completed.

Due to the intense commercial interest in the results of such study, I doubt that any negative results could gain much traction.

I find the statistical theater on cancer incidence to be mostly smoke and mirrors. Granted, reduced smoking has reduced lung cancer, and not taking Provera has helped women. A few rare cancers have actually yielded to treatment. The latest improvement in prostate cancer seems to be "watchful waiting", replacing unnecessary damaging treatment.

Clinically significant cancer is the result of insults to your tissues that cannot be managed by your immune system. The only way to prevent cancer is to maintain protective mechanisms at a stronger level than the insults. EMF is apparently an insult, certainly weaker than smoking, but still an insult. Metals such a mercury and lead are insults. Fructose is an insult. Radioactivity is an insult. Sufficient vitamin D is required for a fully functional immune system. Telomere protection supports the immune system, while telomere destruction disables it.

 

Seriously, do some 'due diligence' and find a car that meets your expectations and fit and sell the Prius. It is a lot easier than trying to keep a vehicle that for whatever reason doesn't make you happy.

That is why I sold my Honda Insight after three weeks. . I had difficulty getting in and out of the Insight. No matter what adjustment to the steering column or seat I could not swing my right leg under the steering wheel to get out. The other thing is it has a 1L four with eight valves and works very hard to get up hills

 

The seminar was about 3 hours long. It's not clear which data you are referring to, as there was a lot more than just one study. As for the letters to the editor, they are not subject to peer review. Papers are peer reviewed, and don't get published until the editor and reviewers find that they meet their standards. If all it took to discredit a peer reviewed paper was one letter to the editor, we'd have to discredit a lot more than just the paper you don't like.

Huh? The origin of cancer is DNA damage. Control of cancer consists of causing the cells with DNA damage to die and/or be removed.

Agreed. In fact the superior mileage of the Prius exposes everyone to less pollution than occurs with non-hybrids. Diesel probably causes cancer, hybrid gas less so, and EV even less. Sounds like a topic that could get some grant money...

 

Second call to the moderator. Please move this thread to Fred's House of Pancakes. This does not belong in the General Discussion forum. Thank you.


iPad ?

 

Rather than moving it, how about just locking it down. Please. Then when others come along asking the same question, they can be referred to this discussion.

 

I can see where locking it down would stop further downward spiral. However, I think this should have been moved out when the discussion moved away from the specific question on driving discomfort. This thread about EMF and cancer, and the implied detrimental health effects caused by the Prius, needs to be put in the same category as the thread about toxic cars. Please, put this type of crap into a separate forum. How about "Health"? I don't see this cuurent thread as a general discussion, but one that is instead based on misguided paranoia.

I will continue to beat on this drum:

The single greatest risk associated with the Prius is that it is a car.

People are injured in cars.

All other risks are insignificant compared to the accident risk. People who believe otherwise are misinformed.

- and that's a strain to come up with a happy face on this one.


iPad ?

 

Not about to join the Amish? They seem to be doing much better than the rest of us who participate in modern consumerism.

From The Amish Don't Get Autism but They Do Get Bio-Terrorism :

Maybe a horse drawn carriage is safer than a Prius...

 

Another source claims the Amish life expectancy today is no different than that of the non-Amish. But Amish life expectancy has been unchanged over 300 years, while the non-Amish had much shorter average lives even 100 years ago.

Back then, most of our ancestors were non-Amish, as I would be today if electricity vanished. Dad's rural house didn't get electric service until he was a teenager, and he remembers pre-electric life quite well. For those without gas service, light from candles, oil and kerosene lamps, and acetylene lamps leaves combustion products in the household air. Ice boxes are not as reliable as electric refrigerators, and freezers are absent. Wood cookstoves contribute to serious air pollution.

And my chosen source of livelihood wouldn't exist.

Many horses are easily spooked, so horse related transportation deaths were fairly common before the horseless carriage took over. The emissions in the street weren't very pleasant either.

 

But with all the things the Amish don't do, it seems like they live twice as long.

 

See: http://priuschat.com/threads/prius-emf-radiation-and-toyotas-bold-face.116044/

 

Wrong on both claims. RE: A new electromagnetic exposure metric: high... [Am J Ind Med. 2009] - PubMed - NCBI

 

I think you will also find that all the teachers ate carrots, and conclude that carrots were a contributing cause of their cancer.

 

There was no excess occurrence of cancer among the staff (teachers). Rather there was a claim of "dirty power" and a claim of a cancer excess that was not supported by scientific evidence.

 

Solution: Always wear lead shoes and pants. The EMF issue will go away.

DBCassidy