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{{Short description|American author and activist (born 1950)}}
'''Arthur Robert Firstenberg''' (born May 28, 1950)<ref>''U.S. Public Records Index'' Vol 2 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010.</ref> is an American author and activist on the subject of [[Wireless device radiation and health|electromagnetic radiation and health]].<ref name="sfchronicle">
'''Arthur Robert Firstenberg''' (born May 28, 1950)<ref>''U.S. Public Records Index'' Vol 2 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010.</ref> is an American author and activist on the subject of [[Wireless device radiation and health|electromagnetic radiation and health]].<ref name="sfchronicle">
{{Citation
{{Citation
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| url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/01/14/INGGENGN9T1.DTL
| url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/01/14/INGGENGN9T1.DTL
| access-date = 2010-02-28
| access-date = 2010-02-28
| publisher = [[San Francisco Chronicle]]}}</ref> He is the founder of the independent campaign group the Cellular Phone Task Force.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cell Phone Task Force |url=https://www.cellphonetaskforce.org/ |access-date=4 January 2022}}</ref> His 1997 book ''Microwaving Our Planet: The Environmental Impact of the Wireless Revolution'' was published by the group. He is the author of ''The Invisible Rainbow: A History of Electricity and Life'' (AGB Press 2017).<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Invisible Rainbow: A History of Electricity and Life|last=Firstenberg|first=Arthur|publisher=AGB Press|year=2017|isbn=978-0-692-68301-9|location=Santa Fe, NM}}</ref>
| publisher = [[San Francisco Chronicle]]}}</ref> He is the founder of the independent campaign group the Cellular Phone Task Force.[https://www.cellphonetaskforce.org] He is the author of ''Microwaving Our Planet: The Environmental Impact of the Wireless Revolution'' (Cellular Phone Task Force 1997) and ''The Invisible Rainbow: A History of Electricity and Life'' (Chelsea Green 2020).


==Education==
==Education==
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| first = Julia
| first = Julia
| title = Mendocino, CA: Microwave Hot Seat
| title = Mendocino, CA: Microwave Hot Seat
| journal = Wired
| magazine = Wired
| date = January 22, 2002
| date = January 22, 2002
| url = https://www.wired.com/gadgets/wireless/news/2002/01/49841?currentPage=all
| url = https://www.wired.com/gadgets/wireless/news/2002/01/49841?currentPage=all
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==Campaign against microwave technology==
==Campaign against microwave technology==


Since 1996, Firstenberg has argued in numerous publications that wireless technology is dangerous, and "the telecommunications industry has suppressed damaging evidence about its technology since at least 1927."{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}
Firstenberg has argued in numerous publications that wireless technology is dangerous.


In 1997, the Cellular Phone Taskforce was the lead petitioner in a challenge to the [[Federal Communications Commission]]'s RF radiation exposure limits, which was joined by dozens of other parties including the Ad Hoc Association of Parties Concerned About the Federal Communications Commission Radio Frequency Health and Safety Rules ("AHA").<ref>[http://openjurist.org/205/f3d/82 OpenJurist] 205 F3d 82 Cellular Phone Taskforce v. Federal Communication</ref> The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled for the FCC. An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, which was supported by an [[amicus curiae]] brief written by Senators [[Patrick Leahy]] and [[Jim Jeffords]], was denied.<ref name="environmentalaffairs2003">{{Citation
In 1997, the Cellular Phone Taskforce was the lead petitioner in a challenge to the [[Federal Communications Commission]]'s RF radiation exposure limits, which was joined by dozens of other parties including the Ad Hoc Association of Parties Concerned About the Federal Communications Commission Radio Frequency Health and Safety Rules ("AHA").<ref>[http://openjurist.org/205/f3d/82 OpenJurist] 205 F3d 82 Cellular Phone Taskforce v. Federal Communication</ref> The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled for the FCC. An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, which was supported by an [[amicus curiae]] brief written by Senators [[Patrick Leahy]] and [[Jim Jeffords]], was denied.<ref name="environmentalaffairs2003">{{Citation
Line 34: Line 35:
| access-date = March 2, 2010
| access-date = March 2, 2010
| issue = 2
| issue = 2
}}</ref>
}}</ref>


In 2021, Firstenberg was one of the petitioners in another case brought before the U.S. Supreme Court (Santa Fe Alliance for Public Health and Safety et al. v. City of Santa Fe et al., Case No. 21-629. Section 704 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 prohibits states and local governments from regulating cell towers on the basis of the environmental effects of radio frequency radiation. The questions brought to the Supreme Court were (1) whether Section 704 violates the First Amendment right of access to courts, and (2) whether "environmental effects" means "health effects" in Section 704. On March 4, 2022, the Supreme Court denied certiorari, again refusing to hear the issue.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2021 - Supreme Court |url=https://cellphonetaskforce.org/petition-filed-in-u-s-supreme-court/ |website=Cellular Phone Task Force}}</ref>
In May 2008, Firstenberg and other groups accused the city of [[Santa Fe, New Mexico]], of discrimination against those allergic to EM radiation for having free [[wireless network]]s in city buildings.<ref>{{Citation
| last = Schwartz
| first = Gadi
| last2 = Panas
| first2 = Joshua
| title = Group wants Wi-Fi banned from public buildings
| date = 2008-05-20
| url = http://kob.com/article/stories/S451152.shtml?cat=517
| access-date = 2008-05-24}}</ref><ref name="reporter2009">{{Citation
| last = Pein
| first = corey
| title = Tuned Out
| journal = Santa Fe Reporter
| volume = 36
| issue = 25
| date = June 24, 2009
| url = http://www.sfreporter.com/stories/tuned_out/4736/
| access-date = June 25, 2009
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090628140408/http://www.sfreporter.com/stories/tuned_out/4736/
| archive-date = June 28, 2009
| url-status = dead
}}</ref> The case was dismissed in 2011.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ARTHUR FIRSTENBERG v. CITY OF SANTA FE, 11-CV-08 JAP/WDS {{!}} Casetext Search + Citator |url=https://casetext.com/case/arthur-firstenberg-v-city-of-santa-fe |access-date=2021-04-30 |website=casetext.com}}</ref>

In January 2010, Firstenberg filed a lawsuit against his neighbor, seeking damages of $530,000,<ref name="register2010">{{Citation
| last = Ray
| first = Bill
| title = Santa Fe man demands half a mill for being near iPhone
| journal = The Register
| date = January 11, 2010
| url = https://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/01/11/iphone_health/
}}</ref> for "refusing to turn off her cell phone and other electronic devices."<ref name="newmexican2010">{{Citation
| last = Sharpe
| first = Tom
| title = Wi-Fi foe sues neighbor for using electronics
| journal = The New Mexican
| date = January 7, 2010
| url = http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/Wi-Fi-foe-sues-neighbor-for-using-electronics
}}</ref> He claimed that because of shared wiring, electromagnetic fields from his neighbor's electronic devices were keeping him up at night and destroying his health.<ref name="register2010" /> He stated that he was made homeless as a result.<ref name="newmexican2010" /> The First District Court of New Mexico dismissed the case in September 2012, citing lack of sufficient supporting evidence.<ref name="newmexican2011">{{cite web
| title = Anti-Wireless Activist Loses Lawsuit Claiming Wi-Fi Signals Made Him Homeless
| journal = cellular-news
| date = September 19, 2012
| url = http://www.cellular-news.com/story/56464.php}}</ref> Firstenberg filed an appeal of the dismissal in the District Court in December 2012.<ref name=ABQ-appeal>{{cite web|last=Hay|first=Kiera|title=Anti-WiFi Activist Firstenberg Back With Challenge to Hotel Cell Tower|url=http://www.abqjournal.com/main/157265/abqnewsseeker/anti-wifi-activist-firstenberg-back-with-challenge-to-hotel-cell-tower.html|work=ABQ Journal|access-date=15 July 2013}}</ref> On March 9, 2015, the [[New Mexico Court of Appeals]] upheld the dismissal by the district court.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.abqjournal.com/552362/news/decision-against-santa-fe-anti-wifi-suit-upheld-by-state-appeals-court.html |author= <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title= Decision against Santa Fe anti-WiFi suit upheld by state appeals court|newspaper= [[Albuquerque Journal]]|date= 2015-03-09|access-date= 2015-03-11}}</ref>


Arthur also is a member of an organization in Santa Fe, New Mexico, called "Once a Forest",<ref name="newmexican2015">{{Citation
Firstenberg also is a member of an organization in Santa Fe, New Mexico, called "Once a Forest",<ref name="newmexican2015">{{Citation
| last = Firstenberg
| last = Firstenberg
| first = Arthur
| first = Arthur
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* "Cellular Phone Task Force" [http://www.cellphonetaskforce.org/ Website].
* "Cellular Phone Task Force" [http://www.cellphonetaskforce.org/ Website].
* "Radio Wave Packet" (2001), [http://www.goodhealthinfo.net/radiation/radio_wave_packet.pdf Article by Firstenberg].
* "Radio Wave Packet" (2001), [http://www.goodhealthinfo.net/radiation/radio_wave_packet.pdf Article by Firstenberg].
* "Electromagnetic Fields (EMF): Killing Fields" by A. Firstenberg "[http://www.theecologist.org/investigations/science_and_technology/268600/killing_fields_electromagnetic_radiation.html The Ecologist v.34, n.5, 1 jun 2004]"
* "Electromagnetic Fields (EMF): Killing Fields" by A. Firstenberg, [http://www.theecologist.org/investigations/science_and_technology/268600/killing_fields_electromagnetic_radiation.html ''The Ecologist'' v.34, n.5, 1 Jun 2004]


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:Cornell University alumni]]
[[Category:Cornell University alumni]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American conspiracy theorists]]

Latest revision as of 17:15, 4 August 2024

Arthur Robert Firstenberg (born May 28, 1950)[1] is an American author and activist on the subject of electromagnetic radiation and health.[2] He is the founder of the independent campaign group the Cellular Phone Task Force.[1] He is the author of Microwaving Our Planet: The Environmental Impact of the Wireless Revolution (Cellular Phone Task Force 1997) and The Invisible Rainbow: A History of Electricity and Life (Chelsea Green 2020).

Education

[edit]

Born May 28, 1950, in Brooklyn, New York, Firstenberg was a Westinghouse scholar who received a BA in mathematics from Cornell University in 1971 and continued into medical school from 1978 to 1982. Firstenberg did not complete medical school due to illness, which he attributes to electromagnetic hypersensitivity brought on by receiving over 40 diagnostic dental x-rays.[3]

Campaign against microwave technology

[edit]

Firstenberg has argued in numerous publications that wireless technology is dangerous.

In 1997, the Cellular Phone Taskforce was the lead petitioner in a challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's RF radiation exposure limits, which was joined by dozens of other parties including the Ad Hoc Association of Parties Concerned About the Federal Communications Commission Radio Frequency Health and Safety Rules ("AHA").[4] The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled for the FCC. An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, which was supported by an amicus curiae brief written by Senators Patrick Leahy and Jim Jeffords, was denied.[5]

In 2021, Firstenberg was one of the petitioners in another case brought before the U.S. Supreme Court (Santa Fe Alliance for Public Health and Safety et al. v. City of Santa Fe et al., Case No. 21-629. Section 704 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 prohibits states and local governments from regulating cell towers on the basis of the environmental effects of radio frequency radiation. The questions brought to the Supreme Court were (1) whether Section 704 violates the First Amendment right of access to courts, and (2) whether "environmental effects" means "health effects" in Section 704. On March 4, 2022, the Supreme Court denied certiorari, again refusing to hear the issue.[6]

Firstenberg also is a member of an organization in Santa Fe, New Mexico, called "Once a Forest",[7] which promotes fire suppression on public lands. The group opposes forest management policies such as thinning and prescribed fire. Their views are controversial.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ U.S. Public Records Index Vol 2 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010.
  2. ^ Curiel, Jonathan (2007-01-14), Worries cell phones could damage your cells, San Francisco Chronicle, retrieved 2010-02-28
  3. ^ Scheeres, Julia (January 22, 2002), "Mendocino, CA: Microwave Hot Seat", Wired
  4. ^ OpenJurist 205 F3d 82 Cellular Phone Taskforce v. Federal Communication
  5. ^ O'Connor, Jared (2003), "National League of Cities Rising: How the Telecommunications Act of 1996 could expandTenth Amendment jurisprudence", Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review, 30 (2): 275–314, retrieved March 2, 2010
  6. ^ "2021 - Supreme Court". Cellular Phone Task Force.
  7. ^ Firstenberg, Arthur (July 25, 2015), "Deforestation: A Crime of the Highest Order", The New Mexican
[edit]
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