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California's "Wireless-Free" Zone 662

Posted by timothy from the you'll-die-by-cancer-if-nothing-else dept.
pangur writes: "In Wired, there's the story about how Arthur Firstenberg changed Mendocino, CA into a 'wireless-free zone' as a safehaven for those deemed 'electrically sensitive'. His critics claim that he is driving away any chance of a significant economy."
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California's "Wireless-Free" Zone More

California's "Wireless-Free" Zone

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  • News flash! (Score:4, Flamebait)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @12:44PM (#2888870)
    Sensitive, luddite granola types spotted in California! Nose cut to spite face! News at 11:00!

  • Microwaving the Planet (Score:5, Funny)

    by rde ( 17364 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @12:45PM (#2888878)
    That book of his sounds interesting. Is there an electronic version available?

  • They already have this. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Heem ( 448667 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @12:45PM (#2888888) Homepage Journal
    There already is an area like this, It's called the Amish Country, Pennsylvania Dutch, etc. Seriously. The article describes being bothered by anything electronic, ranging from radio waves to hairdryers. May as well go back to the horse and buggy.

    • Re:They already have this. (Score:4, Insightful)

      by SComps ( 455760 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @12:51PM (#2888941) Homepage
      Given this whole scenario the gentleman in the article describes himself has having a large "bevy" devices in his possession when he roams to San Franciso. Is he doing this on his horse or is he using his automobile which generates high voltage to make a spark, and lots of EMI from all those sensors talking to the cars computer? Personally I think the guys a whacko and probably would be thrown out of Amish country for being just a tad too conservative and holding them back!
    • Do you have a website I could check out for this place? It sounds like something I would be interested in.


      TIA!

    • There already is an area like this, It's called the Amish Country, Pennsylvania Dutch, etc

      The only problem with "Amish Country" is that it definitely isn't devoid of electronic signals. There are all kinds of radio stations in the area, and almost all of the tourists carry cell phones, so there are plenty of cells spitting out a signal.

      Personally, I think that if this is such a problem for all these people, they should all just get together and go buy an island somewhere so they can leave the rest of the world alone. I really resent some nut who moves into a town and expects the whole town to bow to his every wacked out whim.

  • Oh no! Certain doom! (Score:5, Funny)

    by edremy ( 36408 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @12:47PM (#2888895) Journal
    Has anyone told these folks that they are constantly bathed in microwave radiation from the Big Bang?

    They should move to another universe, provided they aren't already living in one...

    Eric

    • Perhaps they should put up a giant metal sheild over the whole town to block out services like satellite TV and GPS too.....or just lobby the providers of those services to stop them entirely.

      On a slight tangent, is the effect created by microwaving a town wacko about the same as for an AOL CD?

    • The list of symptoms [powerwatch.org.uk] is like a hypochondriacs grab bag: Such vague, common symptoms like "sleep problems", or "tiredness". To be honest it sounds more like depression than anything else.

      Until such a time as they can put someone in a radio isolated room, and test how they feel with and without a transmitter turned on, with a positive correlation, I find this absolutely ridiculous. The symptom list is exactly the same as the sympton list used for dirty vents, bad office air, extended computer use, drinking unfiltered water, having bad feng sheu, etc.

      • Re:Oh no! Certain doom! (Score:5, Informative)

        by Graff ( 532189 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @01:45PM (#2889355)
        Until such a time as they can put someone in a radio isolated room, and test how they feel with and without a transmitter turned on, with a positive correlation

        Another Wired article linked on that page, Wireless Harmless, More or Less? [wired.com], talks about research doing just what you have suggested. I didn't search around for the references to the research, but here is what the article said:

        Swedish researchers found that people who claim they suffer from electrical sensitivity failed to detect the presence of electromagnetic fields in double-blind tests.

        A double-blind test, properly run, should be able to eliminate any psychosomatic effects which would bias the testing of "electronic sensitives".

    • Re:Oh no! Certain doom! (Score:4, Interesting)

      by mizhi ( 186984 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @01:42PM (#2889337)
      I remember in physics class in high school, we figured out the strength of the EM field around a high voltage wire. We calculated that even as close at 50 feet (like wires suspended in the air), the earth's natural field was like 100 times stronger.

      Since then, I've always viewed these claims of EM radiation problems with a skeptical eye. My own suspicions is that this guy had a few too many REMs to the skull from his dental X-Rays and is a candidate for therapy. :-D
      • Frequency is important, too. The earth's natural field takes tens (or is it hundreds?) of millions of years to flip around; the power line's field is changing every 1/60 of a second. There's a reason you can wrap an inductor around the line to get juice, but can't do the same around the equator.

        Don't get me wrong, I strongly doubt there's any detectable biological effects from power lines, but that's something that would have to be proven by double-blind experiment; your calculations aren't enough.

      • Re:Oh no! Certain doom! (Score:5, Interesting)

        by Crispin Cowan ( 20238 ) <`crispin' `at' `crispincowan.com'> on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @04:23PM (#2890400) Homepage
        Then you calculated wrong. Experiment: go get a 3 or 4 foot florescent tube light bulb, go stand under a high voltage line at night, and point the bulb at the high voltage line. The bulb will light up. I have personally verified that this works.

        In a related anecdote, some guy (IIRC in the UK) was busted for stealing power from the power company. He did this buy winding a large quantity of copper coil around his garage, which was situated underneith a high voltage line. The garage full of coil was sufficient to induce enough power to run his house. Unfortunately, I can't find a link to the story.

        Caveat: I still think the people trying to shut down the school radio are nuts. I just wanted to point out that short-range EM from high voltage lines is a much different situation than EM from cell towers.

        Crispin
        ----
        Crispin Cowan, Ph.D.
        Chief Scientist, WireX Communications, Inc. [wirex.com]
        Immunix: [immunix.org] Security Hardened Linux Distribution
        Available for purchase [wirex.com]

        • Re:Oh no! Certain doom! (Score:3, Interesting)

          by WNight ( 23683 )
          It's not just the strength of the field that matters (directly), it's the delta in field strength between the ends of the bulb.

          At the same field strength, the larger source is further away and the field delta is lower.

          Thus, the Earth's EM field could be vastly stronger, but still not cause a bulb to glow as brightly as a power line. (Unless the bulb stretched from here to the moon...)

          However, the human body is likely affected in somewhat the same way as a bulb, so it's not totally silly to think that EM from a power line might cause some weird effects.

          The people advocating this would get a lot farther if they didn't seem to be crystal-healing, acupuncture using, ginko-biloba eating freaks without a clue about the scientific method (or any discoveries since the 1920s for that matter.) But try to bring up double-blind studies with them and you'll get a rant about the ego of western science, etc, etc...
        • Since you claim to be a Ph.D...

          If the Earth's magnetic field alternated its polarity 60 times a second, do you think ALL of the flourescent lighting in the world would glow?

          From what I understand, from an article in Discover magazine years back (I know... biased and questionable... but...) which discussed magnetic fields around high-voltage power lines, and also electric blankets, the chief problem is the frequency of the field in question. The article states that the danger from a D.C. current is negligable no matter the voltage, but that 60 (and 50) hz A.C. can cause damage, in theory.

          Me personally, I like electricity. A.C., D.C.... doesn't matter, just as long as my gadgets run.

          Oh, and as far as I am concerned, it's not theft of service to tap inductively into high voltage lines that run over your property... It should be considered payment for the risk of cancer that some people think is there.
      • While I agree the guy is, um, strange ... its not the presence of a EM field thats dangerous ... its more like being exposed to changes in flux thats a problem ... Either by moving *your* body through the field, or the field changing somehow, IE alternatic current :)

        You have to recall the universe is all about motion ... the reason the earths field dosen't bother is us, because relative to us it is stationary.

  • 5 years from now: Studies prove that.. (Score:4, Funny)

    by bugg ( 65930 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @12:47PM (#2888900) Homepage
    Studies show that hypochrondia is being diagnosed in Mendocino, CA at a rate ten times the national average. Reduced levels of electromagnetic exposure is the prime suspect.

    Mendocino had been attracting thousands of people due to their reduced levels of EMF exposure. It now seems that these people may have been actually endangering their mental health.

  • waves (Score:2, Informative)

    by joshuaos ( 243047 )
    Is there no electricity in Mendicino? I mean, I know there are lots of stoners, but is there no radio signals or microwaves? Can I not get any TV channels at all with my antenna there?

    I would certainly be the first to admit that all these waves that we've been sending out and bouncing around for about the last hundred odd years could be harmful. Hell, I'm not even sure that it would surprise me. But I know there are great benefits to wireless networking (not to mention electricity), and good luck getting entirely away from signals and waves. Go to some third world underdeveloped country if you must, cause I don't think you're going to find it here.

    Also, the very important point that what if some others in Mendicino like thier radio waves. I would certainly not want to see this guy's problem inflicted on everyone else in this community.

    Cheers, Joshua

    • More to the point, are they gonna put up a big lead roof over the whole county? Just because there are no cell-phones in town, doesn't mean they aren't getting hammered by signals from sattelites, television stations, radio stations, power lines...

  • Electrically Sensitive? (Score:5, Funny)

    by ThatComputerGuy ( 123712 ) <[amrit] [at] [transamrit.net]> on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @12:48PM (#2888907) Homepage
    I must be electrically sensitive too, because every time I put a fork on the wall socket I also get a "Burning pain" and "Electric shocks".
  • That must take on hell of a large microwave, and what setting would you use? "Half-Baked"

  • tin foil hats - the only solution (Score:3, Funny)

    by ajm ( 9538 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @12:48PM (#2888910)
    It's worked for kooks for many, many years. In fact, you might say it's a "proven" solution to the problems of wireless interference with your brain waves, at least to the same extent that it's been "proven" that wireless hurts your head!

  • Mendocino has a thriving "offline" economy (Score:5, Funny)

    by Infonaut ( 96956 ) <infonaut@gmail.com> on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @12:48PM (#2888914) Homepage Journal
    it's called marijuana. When you're high all the time, who needs wireless acceess?

  • So who is DEEMED electrically sensitive.. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Restil ( 31903 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @12:50PM (#2888920) Homepage
    and how is this accomplished exactly? What credible research shows that one person is more likely to be affected by radio waves then someone else. Does this also mean that there are no TV broadcasts, no radio broadcasts, no police radios, no satellite reception. I mean... if you're going to cut one source of RF, you better cut it all, just to be on the safe side.

    -Restil

    • Re:So who is DEEMED electrically sensitive.. (Score:5, Informative)

      by Algorithm wrangler ( 455855 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @01:11PM (#2889102) Homepage
      At the university I attended the department of telecommunications (!) did a very simple experiment in this field: They found 20 people who (according to themselves) were very plagued by electrical sensitivity - in particular high-voltage power lines. They were then put - one bye one - into a grounded magnetically shielded room where the only source of electrical or magnetic fields was a high-voltage power line running below the ceiling. Then the power (1 kV 50 Hz) was turned randomly on and off, and the participants were then to give a sign through a window when they "felt" the power coming on - after all they were supposed to be sensitive to this. However the study found no correllation between the power going on and off and the signs that the subjects gave. Not even for one single subject. The study concluded that the only problem for these people was a too lively imagination.
  • Some of "the town's 1,000-odd residents" are pretty odd indeed.
  • from the article:
    "People vary in their sensitivity to EMFs, and up to 20% of the population (according to Swedish research) can become electrically sensitive."

    Damn, no TVs, VCRs, video games, Microwaves, phones, powerlines, hair dryers, etc. for 20%!!!!! That's like 1/5th of the population. That would really suck. This sounds to me like a simple ploy. People like this guy are always up to something, and that is usually no good. For what it's worth, you can always find stats to prove what ever you want.

    Call me skeptical, but this is PR BullSh!t.

    Besides, wouldn't they be ok if they wore the static guards used for working on computer equipment?

  • Comment removed (Score:3, Informative)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @12:50PM (#2888928)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • How can one make a zone wireless free? From the article it seems that they are worried about the radio emissions from radio and other devices. Just because they have that small area where no cell phone towers exist, it doesn't mean that there are no radio waves in the area. If humans could see the radio waves it would totally freak us out since there is SO much out there. Just think of how many waves are out there just for your local TV and radio stations.

    • Faraday cages (Score:5, Informative)

      by rcw-work ( 30090 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @01:19PM (#2889153)
      How can one make a zone wireless free?

      If one were really serious (ly-screwed-up IMHO) about this, one could construct their home as a Faraday cage. Just lay chicken wire around the entire frame (through the double-paned windows and attached to the steel doors' frame, and use conductive weatherproofing in the door jambs) and connect it all together (solder/weld/twist all points of all corners together) into one giant grounded box. All RF with wavelengths less than about one-tenth the gap of the chicken wire will be blocked (the same principle is used for the window on your microwave oven, it's also why you can see through some satellite dishes). If you want this home to have power, you'll want to hook the breaker panel to a large iron-core transformer which will act as a low-pass filter. A similar low-pass filter can be used for the phone line.

      Such a home would be unable to recieve TV or radio, DSL or power-line networking would never pass through, cellphones and government-planted transmitter bugs would be dead inside, and you wouldn't have to worry much about lightning strikes either. Of course it would be cheaper to move out into the boonies.

      Pure bliss huh?

      *groan*

  • Hypochondria run amok! I'd be interested in knowing what other "conditions" these people have suffered from in the past.

    Although, this would explain the feeling of dread and nausea I get when cell phone caller ID displays my boss calling.

  • The only thing this guy is missing ... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Daniel Dvorkin ( 106857 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @12:51PM (#2888937) Homepage Journal
    ... is the aluminum-foil-covered hat to keep out the CIA mind control rays. There has never been a single piece of hard evidence for low-intensity radio waves causing the symptoms he and others describe. Considering how long radio-based devices have been in common use (just over a century) it's very hard to believe that this is real.

    In fact, it sounds to me like classic mass hysteria, which (unfortunately) is a well-documented medical phenomenon. If this guy and his buddies are looking for a place to live that will satisfy their needs, may I suggest Salem, Mass.?

    • No, no, no! (Score:5, Funny)

      by joshamania ( 32599 ) <jggramlichNO@SPAMyahoo.com> on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @12:58PM (#2888998) Homepage
      Not the CIA! Major League Baseball with their roving constellations of satellites...

    • It's people like this that define the phrase junk science. (shaking head!)

      Personally, if electricity were causing cancer and other dehabilitating conditions, they would have found out like by 1910, twenty years after electric power generation and power transmission by overhead wires became common in the northeastern USA.

      Another good example is the Three Mile Island accident in 1979. The radioactive release on a per person basis near that plant is the equivalent of getting radiation at altitude from a New York City to Los Angeles jet flight of 5.5 hours.

      Now you know why I dislike the majority of the environmental movement--they don't bother to test their theories before making their conclusions at times.

  • Interference (Score:2, Insightful)

    by kenneth_martens ( 320269 )
    I don't know about effects on one's health, but radio frequency interference can be a real problem. For example, I have a set of cordless headphones that I use so I can roam my room listening to music and not bother anyone else. However, my neighbor's cordless phone uses the same frequency (approximately 900MHz, in case you're interested.) I can tell when he's using the phone because the static interrupts my music. If I tune my headphones carefully, I can even hear his conversation.

    Banning wireless technology entirely (as the article describes them doing in Mendocino) is probably not a good solution, but I think there should be regulations and standards enforced to make ensure better cooperation between wireless devices, to prevent interference.

  • Huh? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by cperciva ( 102828 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @12:51PM (#2888942) Homepage
    "This overexposure to pulsed microwaves has been a personal tragedy for me," Wagner said in an e-mail interview. "I'm left hypersensitive -- even my mouse burns my hand when I use my computer now."

    Am I the only person who doesn't understand this? Why did he give an *email* interview if using computers is so painful to him?

  • did you read this crap? My MOUSE BURNS!!!!! (Score:4, Funny)

    by ruebarb ( 114845 ) <colorache AT hotmail DOT com> on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @12:52PM (#2888949)
    ""This overexposure to pulsed microwaves has been a personal tragedy for me," Wagner said in an e-mail interview. "I'm left hypersensitive -- even my mouse burns my hand when I use my computer now."

    Isn't a mouse a MECHANICAL DEVICE - virtually 99 percent electronics free...there may be a diode or two in there..but it can't be generating an electronic signal - it's probably only getting the barest of electricity from the PS2 port to power the thing. (unless you're using one of those new Infrared mice) -

    If it's burning your hand, then that means it's probably IN YOUR FRIGGEN HEAD!!!!

    Sounds like someone's setting themselves up for another juicy lawsuit. Glad I don't live in California right now or I'd be paying for it.
  • For someone who is "Hypersensitive" wouldn't this be harmful?
    "Nowadays when Firstenberg travels, he lugs along a bevy of devices to detect radio frequencies, including a meter that gauges electrical, magnetic and microwave fields."

  • ES techie issues (Score:2, Interesting)

    by -douggy ( 316782 )
    I am a bit of a geek with a few PCs in my room + lapto + stero equipment like many a slashdot reader has I am sure. However I find that I possitivly cannot sleep if there is anything electrical near my bed. I accidentally left a mobile phone near me the other night and couldn't sleep a wink. Probably caused by too mush slashdotting and irc. My GF is similar she cannot sleeo with her alarm clock by her bed as it gives her nightmares
  • Somebody needs to put straitjackets on these folks and lock them in a padded Faraday Cage.

  • Faraday cage? (Score:4, Funny)

    by elsegundo ( 316028 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @12:55PM (#2888975) Journal
    Why doesn't this guy build himself a Faraday cage, and leave everybody else alone?

    Nope, don't like it. Too simple. Too clear cut...

  • Oh, I love it! (Score:5, Funny)

    by SecurityGuy ( 217807 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @12:57PM (#2888986)
    The guy's electrically sensitive, and yet he carries around sensors to tell him when he's in fields he's sensitive to. :) Funny, I'm thermally sensitive (anything over a couple hundred degrees causes intense burning pains), but I don't carry around a thermometer to tell me when I've stepped in the campfire.

  • Psychosomatic illnesses + zealots = bad news. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Ioldanach ( 88584 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @12:57PM (#2888988)
    The list of symptoms causing 'electrical sensitivity' reads like a laundry list of psychosomatic effects. In the article, one woman says that since the school put up this tower, going to the school makes her ill and even touching her computer mouse burns her. Of course, the article goes on to say that there have been towers on that school for the past 30 years. And the big advocate for this? He carries around a bevy of equipment to detect electrical fields, which I don't expect make him feel any better about the places he visits.


    And I have one all-important question: Have *any* of these people been tested within the confines of an experiment to see if they *really* experience these problems? Try putting them through an experiment in an environment secure & devoid of radio activity (say, a bunker somewhere with a guassian cage around it).

    Such an experiment would entail:

    1. A control group which does not get any sort of exposure, and has no means by which the occupant would see any source of exposure.
    2. A group with appliances inside the gaussian cage that can emit RF, such as computers & microwaves
    3. A group with appliances inside that don't get any juice, and thus *can't* emit
    4. A group in the same environment as the control group but with externally injected RF noise.

    Only with that kind of an experiment can their claims be given any sort of credence. Until then, its all quackery.

    • Doh! I meant Faraday Cage, not Gaussian Cage. (sorry)

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by account_deleted ( 4530225 )
      Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re:Psychosomatic illnesses + zealots = bad news. (Score:4, Interesting)

      by scoove ( 71173 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @01:41PM (#2889329)
      Don't tell Mr. Firstenberg, but Mendocino lists a good dozen hams, and I'd have to believe that Mendocino county hasn't been terribly effective in telling the FCC they're the boss.

      According to the ARRL's callsign lookup [arrl.org] for zipcode 95460, there are 14 hams listed in the community. The town also sports a amateur radio club - Willits Amateur Radio Society [saber.net] (look at their stated objectives for reference to their county).

      And I'd have to bet the local luddites haven't been too effective in shutting off satellite reception, AM, FM and broadcast TV reception, licensed microwave, 800 MHz trunking (e.g. city/county police, fire and roads), etc.

      So I'm terribly curious how this RF allergy is only affected by specific frequency bands - e.g. 900 MHz analog cellular (but not amateur use of 900), PCS around 1.8 GHz, 2.4 GHz ISM and 5.3/5.8 U-NII allocations?

      Even more curious is that I don't see any reference to the pulsed microwaves emitted by microwave ovens - approximately 2.4 GHz devices that often carry 500 watt radios and leak significantly more RF than the receive end of a 2.4 GHz wireless ISP transmission (e.g. -55 to -85 dBm).

      Apparently the energy crisis wasn't enough for these mysticism-led luddites. They probably won't be happy until the state is living in an ag commune...

      *scoove*

      I'd even bet that if we moved service into another frequency assignment, the allergy would follow.

      • Mendocino Death Ray Band Plan (Score:5, Funny)

        by scoove ( 71173 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @02:10PM (#2889543)
        I can't believe I missed this on the county's website - I believe it explains everything:

        Official Mendocino RF Band Plan
        The following band plan has been established to assist Mendocino residents in identifying their illness and subsequently locating the offending service provider. Should you require public assistance in notifying a provider to terminate service and initiate financial repairations for the harm caused, please contact our office at (707) 463-4480, or visit our website [mendocino.ca.us].

        BANDPLAN (Revised January 4, 2002)

        BAND: VLF

        3-10 Hz - heart disease, cancer, diabetes, strange voices, ghosts, UFOs and other unexplained apparations (see this site for scientific proof [earthpulse.com] and to learn about a special device that will protect your home from these evil VLF rays)

        60 Hz - cancer, heart disease, mental illness, colds, flu, hairloss, rashes, psychotic episodes, ebola, gulf war syndrome

        BAND: HF

        26.965-27.405 MHz - Obesity, intestinal gas, intellectual stunting, unexplained cravings for tractor pulls, women with tatoos and very cheap beer

        BAND: VHF/UHF

        400-470 MHz - Uncontrollable sexual urges, strange thoughts, dishonesty, attraction to interns, voices, balding, interest in congressional office

        800-950 MHz - AIDS, Herpes and other SIDs

        BAND: SHF AND ABOVE

        2400-2472 MHz - Cancer, blisters, warts, headaches, nausea

        5300-5850 MHz - Blindness, body odor, night sweats, rashes
        • There are some pretty big holes in this chart.

          Nothing mentioned between 60 Hz and 27 MHz, so all those quacks on the AM band (535 kHz - 1605 kHz) are still able to talk to their gullible audiences about E-M sensitivity.

          Also conveniently lacking are all your VHF TV channels. That gap between 27 MHz and 400 MHz is more than big enough for all channels between 2 and 13 (54 MHz - 88 MHz for channels 2 through 6, and 174 MHz - 215 MHz for 7 through 13). You may be sensitive to other parts of the spectrum, but at least you can still catch your Must See TV with no risk of odd sexual urges!

          FM radio is also OK (88 MHz to 108 MHz), so NPR is still good for me. Thank heaven for little favors...

          But some of you Dawson's Creek fanatics may be out of luck. The UHF TV channels are mostly harmless (470 MHz - 608 MHz for channels 14 to 36, 614 MHz - 806 MHz for 38 to 69), but as we can see, channel 69 may cause AIDS. Check your local listings!

          New customers of satellite radio should be safe (they tend to sit in the S-band, between 2.31 GHz and 2.36 GHz, just under the frequencies for blisters and warts).

          Unfortunately for Cox, Comcast and other cable companies is the way they get their feeds on the C-band (3.6 GHz to 7.025 GHz) Proof positive that too much late-night Cinemax can make you go blind!

          Even worse for them, their competitors in the digital satellite market are sitting pretty in the ku-band (10.7 GHz - 14.5 GHz). Too energetic for any problems listed here.

          On a slightly more serious note, I'm surprised they didn't mention the serious (proven) health risks of more energetic frequencies, like the severe burns that can be caused by EM waves in the 350 THz - 400 THz range, or the relation between skin cancer and frequencies over 750 THz. Hell, if you have too much of anything between 400 THz and 750 THz, you might go blind!
  • The Cabal [kuro5hin.org] is behind it all! Think about it! What do Mozart's Silver Flute, the Defenestration of Prague, Philip K Dick, and Dubya all have in common? Who was it that poisoned Rusty [kuro5hin.org]? And Inoshiro [kuro5hin.org]?
    It's not the Black Helicopters you fool! Those are just a ruse to distract your attention from the Real Truth! [kuro5hin.org] (They're chartreuse helicopters, anyway.) You have been wasting years of your empty life in an obsessive, paranoiac search for the truth! And you can't handle the Truth! The Truth is that there is one, single, true conspiracy! [theonion.com]
  • Isn't there an area in West Virginia, something like 10 miles square, where you can't get radio, TV, or cellular? Started by accident but then the radio astronomers and spooks decided they like the low RF background.

    Residents hate it, and want cable.

  • Afraid of aerial electromagnetic transmissions? (Score:3, Funny)

    by toupsie ( 88295 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @01:01PM (#2889025) Homepage
    Have I got a deal for you! Here at Toupsie Tinfoil Haberdashery, we build the best head protection a crazy nut like you can find. The Toupsie MkIV Cranial Aluminum Wrapper can prevent 99.96% of all satellite transmissions, cell phone calls and Dan Rather's nightly CIA instructions from entering that skull of yours.

    What a f%cking nut job this Firstenberg is. I wouldn't be surprised if this is the nutburger preaching all the multiple chemical sensitivity crap. Its sad to see a local economy being devistated by the lunatic fears of a vocal whackjob.

    Click on my link and read about real science and not this pseudo science cow manure.

  • The guy has a great scam going (Score:3, Insightful)

    by jet_silver ( 27654 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @01:02PM (#2889029)
    Didja see the part where he doesn't disclose his diagnosis, so he can keep collecting disability benefits? His scam goes:

    1) Whine a lot about a man-made phenomenon.
    2) Get good at malingering.
    3) See a doctor, claiming 1) makes you "sick".
    4) Vote for your living from that day forward. (The louder you bitch, the more you cash in!)

    Really, this guy deserves a kick from every Californian, because we are supporting this bullshit with our taxes.

  • Swedish research? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by ptrourke ( 529610 )

    People vary in their sensitivity to EMFs, and up to 20% of the population (according to Swedish research) can become electrically sensitive.

    Anybody notice that this doesn't cite the article, or quote it? Where was it published, the Swedish edition of The Journal of Irreproducible Results [jlr.com]?

  • ...as the idiot with the web site dedicated to eliminating letterboxed movies and television because "the black bars are censoring the movie".

    There was a movie out several years ago called "S.A.F.E" about that chemical sensitivity crap. Please avoid it at all costs, as it is about a nutjob who thinks she's allergic to everything and must live in a clean porcelain box.

    All you nutjobs out there...you don't like electromagnetic radiation? I suggest you bury yourselves deep within the ground in a lead lined box...even that will not stop many cosmic rays from penetrating your soul from time to time.

    • Actually, don't avoid the movie. It's an interesting look at exactly the sort of hypochondria this guy has -- while the character in the movie SEEMS to have intense allergic reactions to everyday chemicals, near the end of the movie it's made... not CLEAR, exactly, but definitely implied as a theme of the film that it's more psychological. The chem-free camp she goes to feels awkwardly wrong, her new lifestyle is so sterile that she's barely alive, etc...

      Not totally off topic. This movie is actually good footage to study the issue. Even if you feel the issue is crackpots and tinfoil hats, it illustrates what can lead to this sort of reaction.

  • excerpt (Score:5, Insightful)

    by schnitzi ( 243781 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @01:03PM (#2889047) Homepage
    Wireless Free Mendocino has been instrumental in defeating attempts to bring cell phone and a high-speed Internet service to the town's 1,000-odd residents.

    That hyphen is entirely superfluous.

  • That most of the RF radiation received on earth comes from space...you know from places like the SUN! I know...Mendocino is going to build a giant aluminumized dome over itself..and become the SUN FREE ZONE! What a pure whacko!

  • Sounds Familiar (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Auckerman ( 223266 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @01:05PM (#2889057)
    There is a communities of people who live wire and wireless free in the US, they are called the Amish. Nice folk, live a simple life. They don't try to remove radio stations from nearby communities.

    Now if someone beleives that the transmissions are giving them trouble, move to Montana or North Dakota, don't stay in Ca and certainly don't try to move everyone backwards with you. There are alternatives, and they are feasable.

  • Guess I'm Sensitive too (Score:3, Funny)

    by stinkydog ( 191778 ) <sd@noSPAM.strangedog.net> on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @01:07PM (#2889071) Homepage
    If I leave my laptop on my lap for more than a few minutes, I develop a burning sensation.

    Bender: (points scanner at Fry)
    Fry: Ouch, My Sperm.
    Bender: (Scans Fry again)
    Fry: Funny, it didn't hurt that time.

    SD

  • Comment removed (Score:4, Funny)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @01:08PM (#2889077)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re:I think i'm electrically sensitive. (Score:4, Funny)

      by zulux ( 112259 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @02:05PM (#2889508) Homepage Journal
      I was wiring a 3 phase 220 outlet and I got hit with 220.

      Jesus - be carefull with this stuff!

      I'm a smart geek - so I figgured that I could wire 220 -- 'just like 110, just with higher voltage.' Woops. Please if any of you fellow geeks get the idea that wiring 220 is just like 110, only stronger - PLEASE CURL UP ONE LATE EVENING WITH A GOOD ELECTRICIAN'S BOOK AND READ IT. I think my genetals are ok now, and the twitching has mostly gone down when I take the pills, but please, don't make Sally Stuthers sad.

  • Wha? (Score:2, Funny)

    by govtcheez ( 524087 )
    English teacher Christy Wagner said her students suddenly became "irritable and easily distracted" and that she herself felt nauseous whenever she was at the school
    Since when have English students not been irritable and easily distracted?

    Teacher: "Billy, what did Shakespeare mean with his use of the term 'ass-backwards' in Sonnet 103?"
    Billy: ::snore::

  • Prove it and make a million bucks (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Daniel Rutter ( 126873 ) <dan@dansdata.com> on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @01:15PM (#2889131) Homepage
    I think James Randi [randi.org] would agree that being able to organically and personally detect "domestic" levels of EMR counts as a paranormal ability.

    Prove a paranormal ability and Randi will give you one million U.S. dollars, baby [randi.org].

    Seriously. A million bucks. No kidding.

    Well, Mr Firstenberg?

    We're waiting.

    We're still waiting.

    We're going to be waiting forever, as usual, aren't we?

    Just to save Mr Firstenberg some time, I'll list a typical collection of objections to the validity of Randi's offer, as proffered by various alleged levitators and mind readers, on Mr Firstenberg's behalf:

    "There is no money. There is too little money. There is too much money. I want to see the money in a pile. Proximity to cash compromises my spiritual enlightenment. Randi is a powerful anti-psi ray emitter. Randi is a cannibal and I am afraid of him. The FBI will forcibly change my gender if I win. I want it in Tongan Pa'angas, not US dollars. Money is an illusion. Property is theft. I'm a teapot! I'm a teapot!"

  • Sensitivity (Score:5, Funny)

    by Rupert ( 28001 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @01:17PM (#2889146) Homepage Journal
    Sensitivity of the emotional kind is called for here.

    The tin-foil hat brigade need places to live, too.

  • Dehydration? Suspicious quote (Score:5, Interesting)

    by morcheeba ( 260908 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @01:27PM (#2889218) Journal
    From the powerwatch [powerwatch.org.uk] website, I noticed this line:

    Drink
    plenty of good clean water (minimum of 2 litres per day for an adult). This is VERY important as we have found that most ES people we have seen are chronically dehydrated.


    Let's just compare the symptoms of the two...
    (Dehydration references: here [medicinegarden.com] and here [thirdage.com].)

    ES: Unusual tiredness, Flu-like symptoms, Weakness
    Dehydration: Weakness, Fatigue and/or loss of energy

    ES: Problems with concentration, dizziness and loss of memory, Sound sensitivity, Sun sensitivity
    Dehydration: dizziness, changes in mental state (disorientation, memory loss), Delirium, Irritability

    ES: Unconsciousness
    Dehydration: Loss of consciousness

    ES: Cardiac palpitations
    Dehydration: Rapid or weak pulse

    ES: Headaches, Teeth and jaw pains, aches in muscles and joints, Burning pain
    Dehydration: Headache or bodyache

    ES: Nausea and digestive problems
    Dehydration: Nausea, vomitting

    ES: Dryness of the upper respiratory tract
    Dehydration: Dry mouth

    ES: Perspiration
    Dehydration: Sweating

    -------------
    Dehydration doesn't account for all the symptoms, but it sure does cover a lot. Makes you wonder if Mendicino just needs a mandatory water consuption policy...

    Police officer: sir, I noticed that your driving seems as if you are unusally tired and/or dizzy. Have you been drinking?
    Guy: No officer, not a drop!
    Police officer: I knew it! I can spot dehydration a mile away! Take this low life and put him in the tank [aqua.org] until he sobers up.

  • Calling all Ham Radio ops... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Temkin ( 112574 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @01:39PM (#2889317)

    Field day for all California Ham's should be held in Mendocino this year. Special emphasis on 23cm moonbounce operation requested. All HF ops with 1500 watt amps should bring their own generators, as an electrical shortage is expected.

    Temkin

  • personal experience (Score:4, Troll)

    by carambola5 ( 456983 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @01:49PM (#2889400) Homepage
    After reading all the posts at my threshold, I was appalled to see a significant lack of 'interesting' or 'informative' comments. This is a serious problem for certain people, and just because you don't experience it yourself doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
    My grandmother suffers from a psychosomatic disease that makes her very ill when around certain things (i.e. televisions, CRTs, anything with a strong or synthetic odor, etc.). She has been unable for many years now to watch an entire 30 minute TV show without turning the set off during commercials. But like I said, it's purely psychosomatic... in her head.
    For example, a few years ago, our family bought her a computer for Christmas. Very slow, very lacking of features, but it allows for email, word processing, and checking of stocks, which is all she needs or ever will need. Problem was, it had a CRT, so she never used it. Ever. So as the LCD screens began coming out, I thought a change of monitors would let her use the computer. Prefacing the purchase of the LCD with information about how the screen doesn't emit the "harmful electrons" that TVs use, she agreed that it might be worth a try. Making sure that a return policy was in effect for the purchase, I bought the LCD and installed it at her house for a test run. She was able to use it without any problems and did not feel sick at all. "Sick," by the way, does not mean feeling a simple headache. We're talking shaking of extremities, loss of strength, vomiting. Even though it has been assumed (and probably proven) that electron emission has no harmful effects, my grandma doesn't care. As long as she thinks it's emitting stuff at her, she will get sick. Tell her it works like a LCD (my explanation to her: thousands of tiny light bulbs arranged in a pattern. just miniature versions of the ones that light your house), and she's completely fine.
    So please, take this seriously. Our family has had to deal with it for years now. Say what you will about the author of the article, but people do suffer from the so-called electro-pollution. Even though it may be all in their minds.

  • The only answer to these nuts... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by gnovos ( 447128 ) <gnovos.chipped@net> on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @02:19PM (#2889606) Homepage Journal
    is by faking them out. Put them in a room with a fake transmitter and tell them that everytime the green light goes on, they are going to get zapped and you will watch thier reactions. Except, in reality, you actually zap them when the light is OFF. Then after they finish having thier seizures or whatever when the EMF radation is off and they seem to recover when it's on, go publish your report saying that too little radiation is bad for people's health.

  • A Lesson To Be Learned (Score:4, Informative)

    by Arandir ( 19206 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @02:58PM (#2889923) Homepage Journal
    Mendocino, the entire country, is an object lesson for every Californian. Humbolt the city, and the rest of the country, was once staunchly conservative with a thriving economy in lumber. Than Cal State Humbolt set up shop. Thousands of students with empty heads showed up. Ivory tower professors showed up to fill their heads with ivory tower thoughts. Then the students started voting. Humbolt became a liberal mecca. The cancer spread throughout the county. Now Humbolt's economy is based on lawsuits and welfare checks.

    Don't let this happen to your community. It happened to Santa Cruz. It happened to La Jolla. It happened even to Berkeley and Palo Alto, both conservative havens in the liberal bay area...until the voting age was lowered to toddlerhood. It's going to happen to Merced with the new UC. The only place this hasn't happened is when the university is in a big city. The old saying goes "if you're not liberal at 18 you have no heart, if you're not conservative at 68 you have no brain." Well, move a major university to a small town and you suddenly get more heart than brains.

    I'm sure the guy in this story has his heart in the right place, but he certainly has no brain!

  • bad ions (Score:4, Funny)

    by Barbarian ( 9467 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @03:10PM (#2889984)
    Stories like this remind me of when my mother's friend's son got a cable modem in his room a few years ago, and suddenly was unable to get up at any reasonable time in the morning to go to school. Since they thought I was a computer expert, I was quizzed if the cable modem could be emitting "bad ions" that were damaging his health. I didn't have the heart to say that it wasn't bad ions, just staying up late downloading porn and playing Quake that was the problem.

  • whats really crazy.. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Suppafly ( 179830 ) <slashdot AT suppafly DOT net> on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @03:57PM (#2890278)
    This guy is quoted in the article as saying he can't even hold his computer mouse anymore without pain.. whats he think is happening to him? magical ray eminating from the mouse are microwaving his hand.. out of all the computer equipment most people use, surely the mouse is the least dangerous..

    Its like the one guy in the article said.. "you can't argue with zealots"

    It disturbs me that this crazy person can collect disability for the fact that he thinks electronics harm him..

  • Onion article describes cure for RF sensitivity (Score:4, Funny)

    by Yet Another Smith ( 42377 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @03:58PM (#2890287)
    The Onion [theonion.com] describes new technology that is bound to cure [theonion.com] electrical sensitivity. Approved for your use by men in very white coats.

    Why am I tempted to move to Mendocino and start a HAM radio hobby?

  • Radio Free Zone already exists in W.Virginia (Score:5, Informative)

    by Chris Y Taylor ( 455585 ) on Wednesday January 23, 2002 @04:46PM (#2890543) Homepage
    There already exists a "Radio Free Zone" in the United States that is far more free of stray electromagnetic fields than Mendocino could ever hope to be. It is a very large area around the Greenbank Radio Telescope facility (and some military facilities) in West Virginia called the National Radio Quiet Zone.

    If these kooks really want to be "free" from the EM spectrum then they should stop trying to take over the politics of Mendocino and force the locals to give up their technology so these "sensitives" can all move there. Instead they should just move to the 13,000 square miles of land already covered by the National Radio Quiet Zone. That way the people of Mendocino can enjoy their wireless technology and cell phones and the "sensitives" can live as sheltered an existence as they could ever hope to have.

    http://astrosun.tn.cornell.edu/faculty/haynes/as at /nrqz.html

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