Doc Meek

Wednesday, January 26, 2011. I am grateful that someone made me aware, at the last minute, that the Edmonton Public School Board was addressing a “WiFi Motion” at their meeting last evening, January 25, 2011. Thanks to the Board Secretary, I was able to forward to the Trustees a quickly-drafted “one-pager” brief on the subject of reliance on Health Canada and the World Health Organization for safety standards relative to WiFi (WiFi is a trademark of the WiFi Alliance).

The WiFi Alliance Sponsor Companies

For a complete and lengthy list of member companies of the WiFi Alliance, see: http://www.wi-fi.org/our_members.php#sponsor

		All company images above from: http://www.wi-fi.org/our_members.php#sponsor

WiFi Motion at Edmonton Public School Board Meeting, Jan 25, 2011

(A “one-pager” brief similar to the following was emailed to the Trustees the day before their Jan 25th meeting)

“A brief introduction: I am a learning specialist, not a medical specialist. I have been in private practice for many years, encouraging students, parents, teachers and educational administrators to utilize strategies that help to overcome learning difficulties.

“The Board’s WiFi motion (WiFi is a trademark of the WiFi Alliance) proposes to rely upon Health Canada and the World Health Organization for safety standards relative to the installation of wireless devices in schools. Trustees should consider broadening this WiFi motion, slightly and vitally. It would be prudent, I think, to include in the motion reference to other solid research data, in addition to that adduced by Health Canada and the World Health Organization (WHO). Published standards by such large organizations have a tendency to lag behind solid research.

“Further, much of the well-publicized research upon which Health Canada and WHO rely is industry-funded research, and there is a tendency for such studies to find no harm in the devices which industry produces. This is a natural sequence of events. No organization wants to undermine its own means of existence and we can’t fault them on that.

“What we can do is protect the health of students by the inclusion in the WiFi motion of reference to additional independent solid and reliable research.

“Many of you may recall that decades ago a very convenient and useful technology was introduced into shoe stores. People could place their feet in a slot at the bottom of the machine and see their toes wriggling in a pair of new shoes, to see for certain if the fit of the shoe was good. This seemed to be a great and convenient technological aid, at the time.

“Experts assured us that these fluoroscopy machines were perfectly safe. The subsequent rise in cancer rates came as an unpleasant surprise, because it was not generally perceived, at that time, that such ionizing radiation presented a serious health hazard.

“Independent and reliable research is now cautioning us that even non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation (EMR), such as that emitted by numerous wireless devices now in common use in homes, schools and workplaces, presents serious health hazards.

“One man wryly noted that they don’t call WiFi “hot spots” for nothing.

“We need to pay attention to this vital knowledge, ahead of time, not after the fact.

“Central nervous system disturbances caused by non-ionizing EMR (electromagnetic radiation) have been documented, in addition to other kinds of human cellular damage.

“In other words, EMR (electromagnetic radiation) impacts the child’s brain cells negatively.

“In my many years of working as a learning specialist with children with learning difficulties, I have learned that non-ionizing EMR (electromagnetic radiation) damages the brain’s capacity for learning.

“Would it not be the height of irony for schools to install great and convenient technological learning aids that damage the child’s capacity to learn?”

–  J. Collins Meek, Ph.D.

Email: docmeek@gmail.com; Website: https://docmeek.com

The Trustees voted 6 to 3 to continue to rely on Health Canada and WHO for safety standards for students, thus guaranteeing that students in schools where WiFi is installed will be bathed all day in health-hazardous non-ionizing EMR (electromagnetic radiation).

Not prudent, in my view.

Doc Meek, Wednesday, January 26, 2011, Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA