“A year ago, I was leading a normal, full, active life with no idea of the damage my mobile phone was doing to me. On July 1, 2022, I cancelled my mobile phone service (“cell phone” in the U.S) and turned off the wireless function on my computer as well as the modem. I made these changes at the request of my respected ally and colleague, Arthur Firstenberg. In order to work together I had to experience, first-hand, the shedding of wireless technology, and I had to be willing to “be the change”. It seemed extreme at the time, and as readers may recall, I even cried over the matter before making my final decision. But ten months into this experiment my life is different, and better.
When people ask me if I regret having given up my cell phone, my answer is unequivocally “No”. I don’t miss texting on a phone. I don’t miss GPS. I don’t miss reading news that some news aggregator selected for me. I don’t miss QR codes for this, that and everything else. I do not regret ridding myself of having a cell phone and I would not go back to having one.
I generally feel better… a lot better! Before the wireless purge I was waking up five-six times a night, walking to the bathroom only to urinate minimally and returning to bed; sometimes falling back to sleep, sometimes not. In the weaning off process, I began sleeping better and I now sleep deeply every night and wake up maybe once a night. I also had had chronic stomach aches in the early morning for ten years. Doctors ruled out acid reflux, ulcers, etc. The stomach aches are now gone, entirely. I had frequent nightmares, and I often had headaches upon waking. Those are all gone as well. I wake up happy now instead of lethargic and depressed. Who knew?
My energy level changed noticeably after giving up my phone. I went from long days surrounded by wireless technology which rendered me exhausted, to equally long workdays ending still healthy feeling and still energetic. Now I easily move from the end of the workday to getting on my bicycle or hiking boots and going, rather than languishing due to low energy. This is the primary reason I will not go back to wireless phone or wireless computer. My life, my living is that much better now. I haven’t needed acupuncture for several months. My prana is better. My chi is stronger.
Other things I have noticed: my hair is growing in healthier and I have noticed more new hair growth along my hairline. In my cell phone using days I lost a lot of hair. There was a one-year period, 2016-2017, when I engaged in a lot of high-stress work and carried two cell phones at the time. I lost about one third of the hair on my head during that period and my hair greyed at a rate faster than I had previously seen. At the time I believed that it was simply stress which caused my hair loss. Now, I see it differently. I believe it was the result of having two cellphones near me and in operation at nearly all times. Two cellphones in close proximity produce a tremendous amount of toxic, I call them “slow death”, microwaves, though in truth, for many people they are “fast death” microwaves; those causing cardiac events, for instance. My body reacted to all the radiation. My cells coped, but poorly. I am experiencing a recovery now. My weight has normalized, which would be expected if my cells are now functioning better.
Once I began weaning myself off the cellphone, prior to shutting off my service altogether, I only powered it on rarely. When I began that process, I noticed that when I looked at the screen while powering on the phone, I felt quick and sharp pains in my face. They were subtle, but obvious, something like invisible low-pain darts hitting my face. I had never before felt these pains. I only felt them when I used the phone and only very briefly. I took that as a warning and further reason to get rid of the phone. I have not felt those pains again since except when the Bluetooth was accidentally turned back on in my computer for a few weeks — a few weeks during which my vision deteriorated for no reason that I could fathom until I realized the Bluetooth was on. I turned it off immediately and make sure that it is off every morning when I boot up.
The immediate effects from wireless are not noticed by most of us who have become accustomed to the damage microwave radiation is doing to us. Decreased health and vitality — and increased diseases and demand for medications — is thought of as “normal”. When I was carrying two cell phones I did not “feel” the effects they were having on my body. I didn’t “feel” my mitochondria. I didn’t “feel” cell death. I didn’t relate the deterioration of my body to my use of devices. But that is what was happening. I was aging myself prematurely, unknowingly.
Before I cancelled my service, I spent two months deeply researching the effects of electromagnetic radiation on living beings. I read peer-reviewed studies, books, reports from scientists around the world, and more. I found references to thousands of such studies, both recent and dating back decades. I read Arthur’s book, The Invisible Rainbow, and the compelling history of the dangers of wireless technology as well as electricity, and their deadly effect on living organisms.
I am reminded in this moment that two of the most intelligent, and youthful “senior” (they don’t seem senior) people I know do not own a cellphone and swore them off years and years ago. This cannot be an accident. These are the only other two adults I personally know at the time of this writing who do not own a cell phone, aside from the many kind folks who have contacted me via the Cellular Phone Task Force. They are exceptionally “alive” people.
A few weeks ago I discovered that a dear friend was living in a home riddled with RF radiation. This friend and I watch out for each other. He is almost 80 years of age and was formerly enthusiastic about tech and a big consumer of it. I believed that he had checked his home thoroughly with an RF meter last year and that his home was relatively safe. Just to be sure, I thought I better check.
I was shocked to see my RF meter flashing red, meaning “evacuate the area at once”, in his bedroom and in his office where he spends roughly three quarters of his life. The source of the incredibly high levels of radiation? Three cordless phones distributed around the home, a printer with a built-in wireless/Bluetooth connection, a modem which was mistakenly believed to have had the wireless function turned off, a state-of-the-art desktop PC which even though plugged into the Ethernet with the WiFi turned off was emitting like crazy because the Bluetooth was on. He and his three cats were bathed in radiation in their own home, which reminds me to point out that radiation from home devices, and associated illnesses and extinctions, are becoming more insidious, not less, still.
His wife died from complications (a fall) from advanced Parkinson’s disease. There was never an explanation given by any doctor for what caused the progressive Parkinson’s leading to her death. She was heavily irradiated in her home, which was the above scenario, plus two additional cell phones, and two additional PCs using wireless. She could not overcome the dense radiation in her home, where she also worked and taught piano. My friend, a man with obviously strong genes, was barely overcoming it; sleeping with a CPAP machine for sleep apnea while living in the midst of off-the-charts radiation. He was moving around his life in something of a zombie state. I witnessed it. This is when I met him. He often had trouble initiating walking, though he was perfectly able to walk. Often, I observe this semi-zombified state in people around me.
Even his indoor cats seemed neurotic, with patches of hair loss and various acting out of the norm. I look forward to seeing them improve now that the radiation is being brought to below “need to evacuate” levels after 20+ years of increasing radiation. They will all enjoy drastic improvements.
Another experience which reinforced my certainty about what wireless technology is doing to the world was my trip to the COP 27 in Egypt last November, where the entire grounds of the convention center were heavily irradiated at all times. My RF meter flashed red in every nook and cranny of the convention center where numerous cell towers lorded overhead disguised as palm trees. The out-of-doors was equally irradiated and essentially everywhere every person was on a cell phone at almost all times, partly because no conference information was made available on paper, not even maps of the intricate multi-facility conference grounds. It was estimated that over 40,000 people were present.
Sharm El-Sheikh is a modern tourist town where landlines are nowhere an option. The condominium complex where I stayed had wireless connections throughout and my housemates of course had their cell phones. Due to being heavily irradiated, I did not sleep for four nights upon my arrival and was subsequently placed in hospital, very depleted, where I required IV fluids and sedatives. Interestingly, the doctor’s four different sedatives did not work, which I can only attribute to the extremely high level of radiation at the hospital, because normally I am highly sensitive to medication. Again, the “evacuate at once” red flashing light on my RF meter. With some chagrin, when my legs began involuntarily spasming I left the hospital AMA (against medical advice), much to the physician’s displeasure. I did my best to smooth things over and finally slept on the fifth night at the condominium thanks to my kind housemate’s Melatonin and a space in the bedroom I identified with lower radiation.
There was a near total absence of birds at this the southernmost tip of the Sinai Peninsula, even though it was migration season. I saw a few flocks fly past out on the Red Sea, but not more than a dozen birds on shore and inland during the two weeks I was visiting. Birds simply are few there, despite plentiful palm trees and flowering shrubs. There was an unsettling quiet all around. Fortunately, a plentiful array of tropical fish still inhabit the sea there.
It was a tremendous relief to get back to the safety of my home where I resumed my journey to health and vitality again.
I gave up my cell phone and wireless service for a number of reasons, three of those being:
the preservation of my life and health, and that of my pets
the preservation of the creatures that keep this planet, my garden, and the refuges where I hike, lively, abundant and habitable
and concern for the survival of all species.
Removing radiation in the home is like shaking off a debilitating disease. It has made for the restoration of a more beautiful and graceful life, one I thought I had simply lost. I am again feeling well and sleeping well. I am no longer damaging brain cells, destroying my blood brain barrier, or endangering my mitochondria; all things which compromise our wellbeing and what is needed for longevity and happiness.
In addition to being healthier, I am also freer now. My living is less interrupted by alerts and rings, many of which, in retrospect were superfluous. My friends and colleagues still matter to me every bit as much as they did before. Perhaps they matter more as my life has simplified. My time with them today is richer and feels better because I feel better. My social life improved qualitatively. I care for my friends and associates near and far and I sense they still care for me equally. Not carrying a cell phone has not changed that reality nor my ability to access life and love.
Having detached from the news aggregator which I previously used frequently on my phone has also improved my life. The news aggregator was informative, yes, but heavily propagandized like most news today; essentially an echo chamber endlessly looping propaganda at me. I am glad to be free of that. I am no longer bombarded by upsetting and intrusive hyped news all day long. I pick up news here and there. I am less propagandized. I feel less propagandized, and freer.
Desperately, my colleagues and I want the extinction of species to stop. I am thrilled by the birds and insects that make this planet productive. I have already envisioned a planet with the numbers of birds and insects returned. It is suspected that radiation is responsible for “half or more” of the species lost in the Seventh Mass Extinction which is ongoing. My garden is visited by relatively few birds and even fewer butterflies; just a few moth species. I saw some juvenile praying mantises last spring but never saw a single adult. Even worms are few. Climate change, pesticides and deforestation are factors, but radiation is a larger, more destructive factor, not smaller. Most of the world is downplaying, ignoring and even suppressing the destructive role of radiation as regards extinction.
Thanks to insights from the researcher Diana Kordas on the Greek island of Samos, I have come to understand that while I make choices around my personal use of deadly wireless technology, beyond my little bubble are all the creatures who have no say in a matter which is about life and death. Quite possibly their entire species are being irradiated to extinction by man-made wireless technology. I have a choice; they do not. Like on Samos, there are distressingly few signs of living animal creatures in my local mountains. There are increasingly fewer places to which they can escape from cell towers, cell phones and the like, and in many instances, no place at all. Hence extinction.
Tonight is a cool spring night in the high desert of the southwest U.S. It is quiet outside. The city where I live is not a typical bustling wealthy American city and I suspect most people are at home, perhaps at rest. Home, generally the place to which we go for safety and warmth. I wonder, as we are nestled here in our respective retreats, “Is home a place of safety anymore? Has home become as dangerous or more than the streets of a high-crime city?”. Consider nearly every home and public place in developed countries and beyond has at least one modem emitting deadly EMFs day and night, and one or more cell phones. Add to that a smart meter (wireless utility meters affixed to homes), perhaps a baby monitor, and all other sorts of other wireless gadgets.
My house is a haven and I am safer here, as are my pets. I fear for their well-being but know that they are protected here, at least. Even my dear neighbor’s new cat has chosen my home, which measures as far safer than the home where he is meant to be living. At least I can provide a haven for these few and for myself. I am much relieved that my pets are more safe, not less in my home.
A month after my return from Egypt, the subject line for one of the world’s most circulated newspapers, a popular U.S. publication, read: “The Morning: a happier new year, develop stronger relationships in 2023”. The first paragraph: “For over 80 years, researchers at Harvard have studied what makes for a good life. They found one surefire, scientifically proven predictor of happiness: developing warmer relationships.” The publication went on to say, “What emerged is that a crucial element of happiness is relationships.” One might question, what about those of us who have highly developed, ongoing warm relationships and relative happiness? What would be the challenge for us in 2023?
I am a big fan of warm relationships. If I am going to fry I would prefer to do so in the arms of a beloved. But let’s be clear, in the current dire state of what we, the living beings on Earth, are faced with, love is not enough. Warm relationships cannot reverse utter cell destruction and death from radiation. We here at the Cellular Phone Task Force will be much more optimistic on January 1 of next year if a headline were to read, “The Morning: a happier new year, cell towers being removed worldwide in 2024 as cell phone ownership declines and world leaders declare microwave radiation destroying the health of all species”.
There is no lasting happiness without health, according to the ancient medical system of Ayurveda. And health is becoming more and more elusive on this planet as every day a web of deadly radiation more densely blankets our planet; our home, Earth. There are scientists studying the effects of electromagnetic fields and radiation who predict humanity will only survive two more years on the planet due to radiation. There are many more scientists flagrantly ignoring this possibility altogether.
It is not unreasonable to conclude that in this current world of destructive microwave radiation “safety” is no longer a reality anywhere. I have relatively low electromagnetic frequencies in my home because of the precautions I have taken and I have walls built of mud bricks, which helps. But my home is not entirely safe and won’t be as long as wireless technology dominates and destroys our planet. We at the Cellular Phone Task Force encourage you and your families to join us by “being the change”.
Here is a short list of our top reasons to ditch your cell phone and other wireless devices:
Protect your health and happiness, including your brain, and minimize your need for medical intervention.
Protect your children’s happiness and their development, especially their brains.
Preserve your youth.
Protect your pets.
Protect your surroundings and gardens; pollinators, soils, plants, neighbors, wildlife.
Preserve species from extinction.
Preserve life on the planet.
Kathleen Burke is the executive assistant to Arthur Firstenberg, celebrated American scientist, anti-wireless activist, and author of the internationally acclaimed The Invisible Rainbow: A History of Electricity and Life (AGB Press 2017; Chelsea Green Publishing 2020) published in ten languages, as well as Microwaving Our Planet: The Environmental Impact of the Wireless Revolution (Cellular Phone Task Force 1996 and 1997) and president of the Cellular Phone Task Force. She authored the paper “How to Break Up with Your Cell Phone” (Cellular Phone Task Force 2022).
Kathleen is a gardener, hiker, and practitioner of Ayurveda in the US desert Southwest where she resides. She holds a certificate in Ayurvedic Medicine from the Ayurvedic Institute, Dr. Vasant Lad, BAMS. For reasons of personal health and the environment, Kathleen permanently gave up her mobile phone and ended her use of wireless devices in June, 2022 and has never regretted it. She can be reached at kathleenmariaburke@yahoo.com.
