" . . . Even a skeptical thinker can be briefly entranced by the notion that researchers may have simply failed, so far, to uncover a real disease--as Carl Sagan was fond of saying, "the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence." It's especially tempting when talking to someone like Nicols Fox, who reported for the Economist on food safety issues for more than a decade and wrote three books before moving to the nearby town of Renick, W.V., in 2008 in an attempt to control her EHS. A science-minded person who probably would have once scoffed at the idea of hypersensitivity, she gradually came to believe that her shooting pains, unpredictably plunging heart rates, and difficulty speaking were a result of years in front of a computer. "I got more and more sensitive, and eventually there was a day when my body just screamed when I touched the keyboard," she said.

"Now, she lives simply in a little two-bedroom house on a forested ridge and does her writing on a typewriter (she's working on a novel), mirroring the Luddite tradition she once wrote a book about. At night, she wears a shirt woven with silver fibers to reduce her radio frequency exposure, and though her house has electricity, she shuts it off and uses gas lamps whenever possible. During our conversation, her voice would occasionally get cracked and raspy if I got too close with my audio recorder. In the five years since she's moved to the Radio Quiet Zone, she hasn't left once. 

Against the Machine: The Hidden Luddite Tradition in Literature, Art and Individual Lives by Nicols Fox

Part 1


Part 2

The BBC covered the impact of electromagnetic radiation, wi-fi, and mobile phones on health and the prevalence of electrosensitivity (ES) or electrohypersensitivity (EHS). The program features former electronics expert and now EMF Refugee, Phil Inkley. ES-UK Trustees, Professor Denis Henshaw, and medical doctor Andrew Tresidder help viewers understand aspects of EHS--the possible source of problems including headaches, tinnitus, sleeplessness, and heart rhythm variability.

"Nanaimo author Kim Goldberg has been awarded a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts to write a book about people who are physically sickened by their exposure to wireless technology.

"I was thrilled to learn that this project will be supported," says Goldberg, who holds a degree in biology and has no wireless devices in her own home. "It will require a huge amount of time and work because the problem is literally global in scope." . . .

Interview with Kim Goldberg

This documentary follows Lisa and Linn and the changes they make in their lives during three years.

During three years we followed two young women afflicted by EHS. They both have families with young children.

Lisa has left town and her economy studies and concentrates on getting stronger and healthier.

Linn is a computer engineer and she eventually moves away from the capital to a new job and a new kind of life in the countryside.

Full length film: 45 min.  For info and dvd please contact info@feb.se
FEB - The Swedish Association for the ElectroHyperSensitive www.feb.se

Brenda Hawk is a handicapped woman with a pacemaker and breathing issues. For this reason, she did not want the electric company coming onto her property to replace her analog electric meter with a "smart meter."  

One of the reasons was that it is an RFM (radio frequency meter), and would interfere with her pacemaker. Due to her refusal, her utility company turned off the power to her home at the electric pole, despite the freezing temperatures of an Ohio winter.

"Hawk asked the officer and the power company reps how they could turn off the power to a home in the winter when it directly violates an Ohio law preventing elderly and disabled people from being without heat during winter months. They asked to be shown the law. Hawk quoted Ohio's public utility law Chapter 4933: Companies - Gas. Electric; Water; Others. 

UPDATE from The Blaze:

Shortly after this story was posted, a representative from Governor John Kasich's office called The Blaze, asking for any additional background and contact information for Brenda Hawk.

Less than an hour after the first call from the governor's office, we were again contacted and told that "something should be done soon."

We are pleased to report that less than three hours after we reported on this story, a utility crew returned to Ms. Hawk's home and reestablished her electrical power. In a phone conversation with the very happy homeowner, we learned that many Blaze readers had also reached out and tried to help her by contacting various government agencies. Apparently, switchboards at the state Capitol and senior service agencies were flooded with calls on her behalf. Brenda very modestly asked that we thank everyone "who wasted their Saturday on me."

"Former TV producer, Sarah Dacre, 53, had a successful career in London, but, in 1994, she suddenly began suffering from a pattern of mysterious symptoms.

"When finally diagnosed with electro-hypersensitivity, her illness forced her to leave both her job and her home. Divorced, with a grown-up son at university, she now lives in Kent. Here she recalls what happened . . .

"Gaetane Boucher has lost everything: her family, her home, her job. While living in Granby, Quebec, the former industrial designer constantly suffered from severe headaches, numbness, dizziness, blurry vision and memory loss she related to electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure. "As a child, I lived in a house with radiant electric heating in the ceiling and I played regularly under power lines - feet in the water to boot! - for ten summers. I later acquired my electrosensitivity symptoms after working on a computer 8-10 hours a day for many years . . .

"There is no proof that EMFs cause EHS, said the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2005. Nevertheless, this syndrome, which surveys have shown affects up to 10% of Europeans, is recognized by the Austrian Medical Association and Scandinavian countries. In 2000, the Nordic Council of Ministers of these countries including Denmark recognized that symptoms of electromagnetic intolerance "disappear in non-electrical environments." EHS is difficult to diagnose, because people can react to different frequencies and the manifestation of symptoms is often delayed. Sweden recognizes EHS as a functional impairment entitling those who are affected to a suitable environment where EMF levels are low.

"This is what millions of people who have become intolerant to EMFs are demanding. A class action suit filed by some sixty British Columbians will be heard in 2013 by their provincial Human Rights Tribunal. They say they are harmed by the new digital meters that emit thousands of brief microwave pulses daily. This type of microwave radiofrequency (RF) was classified as "possibly carcinogenic" by the WHO in 2011 . . .

"Is the Quebec government responsive to such testimonies and demands from its citizens? The office of the Minister of Health, Rejean Hebert, did not return our calls. "We are investigating the case," said in an interview Laurie Comtois, press officer of the Minister of Natural Resources, Martine Ouellet. The Minister, confirmed Ms. Comtois, has received "several letters and emails" about it, "from everywhere in Quebec."

California, New Mexico and Arizona residents share their experiences with Smart Meters.

http://stopsmartmeters.org/ 

"Velma Lyrae, 51, says she can't use a mobile phone, satnav or Wi-Fi, or even use a hair dryer to blow dry her hair. Instead she spends her days reading books, doing artwork and writing letters, all from the comfort of her Faraday cage.  She suffers from electromagnetic hypersensitivity syndrome (EHS), which means she cannot stand to be near electromagnetic fields.

"Velma's condition emerged with the arrival of 3G mobile phones, although she believes a previous electric shock made her more susceptible. As a teenager Velma suffered a shock when she touched the switch of an electric fire in her bathroom. At first the symptoms were barely noticeable but they have become progressively worse over time . . .

(Includes interview)