Here come the Towers and Antennae

This is a map of the United States which shows all the antennas and towers licensed through the Federal Communications Commission and stored in it's data base as of Summer 2001. Each dot can represent many antennas and each antenna can represent many channels. The FCC does not track government sites. Of course, there are many, many more towers and antennas than represented here. New facilities and applications are coming which may not require licensure or permitting. With the advent of 3G wireless, more antenna arrays are being installed and new antennas will be smaller, with the eventual goal of miniature, unregulated antenna systems and wireless applications.

When the EMR Network invited CWTI to come to Washington DC to brief Congressional staff as part of their "Campaign on Public Health and Local Control" during the summer of 2001, we brought this map (source: http://www.mapcruzin.com/rfr_maps/index.html). This map has been widely distributed and shows more than words can express -- that our communities are being ubiquitously studded with these antennas and towers, many in a hidden, stealth-like manner. Citizens call for advice and assistance but typically are unable to address their concerns through federal or state public health agencies. There is no one looking out for the people on this issue. With the rapid deployment of antennas and towers and the emissions level going up 1% or more per year in some of our big cities, like New York and San Francisco, some areas may be reaching saturation level. One community in particular, Lookout Mountain in Golden Colorado, - http://www.c-a-r-e.org, has been living with exposure conditions from broadcast towers which have repeatedly been shown to exceed FCC safety limits, yet community members are unable get the broadcast industry to stay in compliance or move to a less intrusive location.

The Europeans label this level of radiation exposure from various EMR source points as "electrosmog". The general population is now the subject of a massive experiment with no control group on chronic exposure to antennas and towers. One day, it will be known how many what people became ill, were forced to move, became disabled, chronically ill or died as a result of these exposure conditions.

Individuals and communities are learning rapidly about the science, technology and politics of this issue, collecting the local facts, protecting themselves personally, educating their local elected officials and planning staff, writing more protective ordinances, and joining the collective call for public policy change. Doing a map of the antennas and towers that are there and are coming will help identify areas which are more at risk; where harmful exposure conditions have been identified; where sensitive, "no antennas allowed" zones need to be; and, whenever possible, indicate preferred sites.