Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Mobile phones blamed for sparrow deaths

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 15:44:00 -0500

Mobile phones blamed for sparrow deaths

30,000 birdwatchers to join study into the effect of
electromagnetic waves on Britain's garden favourite

Mark Townsend
Sunday January 12, 2003
The Observer

The remarkable decline of the sparrow remains one of British
wildlife's most enduring mysteries.

Cats, lead-free fuel and even loft insulation have all been blamed
for the disappearance of 10 million house sparrows.

Now scientists seeking to unravel the cause of their
disappearance have identified a new culprit: the mobile phone.

Britain's first 'sparrow tsar' is to investigate whether the
explosion of electromagnetic waves from portable handsets is
wiping out the species. Rosie Cleary, appointed by the British
Trust for Ornithology to investigate the problem, said: 'The
disappearance of the species from large cities correlates with
the introduction of phone masts.

'Studies have warned about the effects of these radiations on
reproduction. Are these interfering with urban sparrow
populations?'

Cleary is leading a major study involving up to 30,000
birdwatchers, which will examine urban sparrow populations
near mobile phone masts, where electromagnetic fields are
most concentrated. London has witnessed the sharpest decline
in the sparrow population - a 75 per cent fall since 1994, which
coincides with the emergence of the mobile phone.

There are an estimated 40 million mobile users in Britain, with
hundreds of masts scattered across England's capital.

The British sparrow population has almost halved in the last 30
years, from 24 million to less than 14 million.

Spanish scientists have found that birds tend to avoid places
with high levels of electromagnetic contamination. Mobile phone
masts are located in high places for maximum coverage, which
could explain a decline in species which tend to nest in roofs.

Scientists said the latest attempt to solve the mystery was a
logical step, but that evidence to support a definitive link was
lacking.

Denis Henshaw, professor of physics at Bristol University,
pointed to tests where the egg-laying ability of chickens had
been affected by electromagnetic waves. Other studies have
pointed to reduced sperm counts in rats.

'It is very difficult to determine the size of the effect. Humans
face an increased cancer risk with long-term exposure, but the
problem is that sparrows may not live long enough for that to be
a factor.'

Henshaw added that electromagnetic waves could affect a
sparrow's ability to navigate. 'Animals navigate by the Earth's
magnetic fields and waves could disturb a bird's ability to find
their way around. Though whether that leads to a decline in
numbers is a matter of speculation.'

Alan Preece, Professor of Medical Physics at the University of
Bristol, who has studied the effect of electromagnetic waves on
humans, said he was sceptical of a link. 'The field of influence
from a mast is quite localised - no more than 60 metres,' he
said. Rewards offered for the first proper scientific explanations
of sparrows' demise in urban areas remain unclaimed.

Among the many previous theories attempting to explain the
decline of house sparrows, attacks by cats has been the most
contentious. One study of a Bedfordshire village revealed that up
to a quarter of its breeding pairs of sparrows may have been
harmed by predatory felines.

The grey squirrel has also been blamed, although critics say
they cannot often reach lofty sparrow nests to cause such a
widespread decline.

Volatile organic compounds within lead-free petrol could,
according to a widely discredited theory, affect bugs that
sparrows feed to their chicks. Other studies have suggested a
correlation between falling sparrow numbers and loft insulation.

The BTO's partly government-funded study will last 18 months,
covering this year's and next year's breeding seasons.

http://www.observer.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,873195,00.html

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From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 16:54:52 -0500

It really makes you wonder where they come up with this info.

> wiping out the species.

 200~600 mw is Explosive?

"Daryl R. Gibson" wrote:

> Marcel wrote:
> That's the way I get rid of birds -- I follow them around, while
> I'm talking on my cell phone......I like the way the RF makes
> them swell up and explode.
>
> > reproduction.
> Well, it's certain that if the sparrows spend all their time
> on the phone, it'll interfere with reproduction.....
>
> ;-)
>
> --
> Daryl R. Gibson
> [email-masked]         http://www.drgibson.com
> Join us for Monday Motivation: http://www.salesstar.com
>
> --

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