The Leucadia Blog has been covering the unwelcome Sprint/Clearwire WiMax antennas coming to the Cabo Grill.
Today the Coast News has a story on Dr. Dan Harper, who tried to speak out against the antennas but was told the city's hands were tied by federal law:
Dr. Dan Harper, M.D., was among the first to arrive at the Encinitas City Council meeting the evening of July 21. Carrying a 12-inch stack of medical journal articles about the health risks of electromagnetic field, or EMF, radiation, he was there to speak on behalf of his patient, Michael Schwaebe.
Schwaebe was appealing the placement of WiMAX towers on the site of the former Cabo Grill at Coast Highway 101 and La Costa Avenue. WiMAX is often referred to as “a cell tower on steroids.” [...]
Harper said he was frustrated, but not surprised, that he was unable to complete his presentation.
It would have been illegal.
The wireless industry is protected by Article 704 of the Telecommunications Act signed by President Clinton in 1996 which prohibits arguments of potential health risks from communications towers to be made at public hearings, even if they are legitimate.
I don't know about the science behind the dangers of WiMax, but given the choice, I probably wouldn't live next to a WiMax tower.
Permit me to make an ideological point, though. This is what you get when you vote for Senators and Congresscritters who don't believe in limited government: you get heavy-handed orders from Washington saying locals have no control over what goes on in their towns, in their states, or in their private lives.
Read the Constitution. Pay special attention to the Bill of Rights. Then go vote for someone who has read it too.
First, it wasn't that the city's hands were tied. The WiMAX is new technology involving the internet not just cell phones. The WiMAX wireless will be transmitting 24/7 with a radius of 30 miles. The Council could have voted for a moratorium on the installation of WiMAX rather than use the old tired excuse that they couldn't do anything.
ReplyDeleteThe Council should be writing letters to the Federal Government adamantly opposing the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Instead, the Council shirks its responsibility to the citizens of Encinitas and puts the burden on residents.
Ahhh...why weren't you leading the charge against dirty government back in 1996? Or, maybe the public's level of wasteful consumption just isn't news worthy unless we point fingers at people other than ourselves?
ReplyDelete