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Man says electromagnetic sensitivity has forced him to live in his car :(UPDATE!:

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There are groups of these folks suing cities and towns to prevent them from installing citywide free wifi for the public.
 
dawks said:
Technically he might have somewhat of a case. One is not allowed to impede on ones ability to enjoy their property. Just like sound waves (from a stereo) or a bad odor can interfere, radio waves could do the same. Her cell phone/wifi might be sending signals that causes this guy grief.

I'm not saying I agree with this, or believe the guy, but its possible that if its a legit medical condition he *MAY* have a case. Depends on what the FCC's rules are.


As suggested this guy should just throw up a faraday cage. If a cell phone causes problems, its just as likely that CB radios, satellite tv/radio, am/fm radio, wimax, cellular (GSM/CDMA), and various other intergalactic radiation causes problems for him too.
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Wrong. If so, we'd have to shut off every electrical device in the entire country... just incase he decided to travel around. He has no case in this instance. That crap ain't affecting him (he's always in range of cell towers, ain't complaining about that just his neighbor). Something is wrong with him. As said before, he needs professional help. He's a nut.
 
So he thinks cell phone signals and WiFI connections can't reach him when he's in his car? Is it a lead lined car or something? What a dumbass.
 
waggy said:
Man says electromagnetic sensitivity has forced him to live in his car

A Santa Fe man who says he suffers from electromagnetic sensitivity is suing his next-door neighbor for refusing to turn off her cell phone and other electronic devices.

Arthur Firstenberg, who has actively opposed the proliferation of wireless systems in public buildings, claims he has been made homeless by Raphaela Monribot's rejection of his requests.

Firstenberg and Monribot, who have homes only 25 feet apart in a west-side neighborhood, both declined to discuss the lawsuit Thursday.

Monribot's actions have effectively ousted Firstenberg from the house he bought last year and forced him to stay with friends or in his car, says a document filed Monday in state District Court by lawyer Lindsay Lovejoy Jr.

Firstenberg "cannot stay in a hotel, because hotels and motels all employ wi-fi connections, which trigger a severe illness," says the request for a preliminary injunction. "If (Firstenberg) cannot obtain preliminary relief, he will be forced to continue to sleep in his car, enduring winter cold and discomfort, until this case can be heard."

The case has been assigned to state District Judge Daniel Sanchez, who has yet to set a hearing.

/sniped because its a long article.


WTF? ok say he is really bothered by wi-fi and someone keeping the phone on. What right does he have to force someone else to stop useing them? if he does not want to be bothered move to a place that is free of people.
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He should probably avoid light waves as well.
 
Haha yeah because if his neighboor turns off his cell, the entire cell tower turns off too. LOL Even if cell waves were a problem, it's not turning off a couple cells that would do the difference. The cell towers are emmiting MW, if GW worth of waves, a phone is a fraction of that.

But yeah I say they put him in a room and turn a phone on/off if he can't tell the difference then dub him as a mentally insane and throw him in MHU.

Actually I remember reading that if you leave near a transformer you have a greater risk of cancer. I don't know if it's true or not though. I'm sure after a certain point electromagnetism can be bad, but it has to be very intense I would think. Ex: don't stand in front of a microwave dish for a day lol.
 
hope no one tells him that light is an electromagnetic wave

actually, that might be a good thing to tell him
 
Before jumping on calling this bs, I have a question:

Isn't it CONCEIVABLY* possible to be sensitive to EM waves at certain frequencies? Just like the photoelectric effect, could waves with a certain frequency mess with the guy's body, which may be unique?

Just putting it out there since I'm giving it some thought. I don't have the knowledge to answer that question, but I know a few people here do.
 
if he thinks magnetic fields from electronics is bad; he should check out the magnetic field generated by the Earth.

He should move to the moon.
 
Juddog said:
He should just coat his entire house in tin foil. Problem solved.
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Actually he could paint his wall with lead paint. The hospital I work at did that in the OR and it actually blocks wireless signals. Sounds kinda crazy that just a thin paint would do that.

Can probably get that stuff from china super cheap too.
 
RESmonkey said:
Before jumping on calling this bs, I have a question:

Isn't it CONCEIVABLY* possible to be sensitive to EM waves at certain frequencies? Just like the photoelectric effect, could waves with a certain frequency mess with the guy's body, which may be unique?

Just putting it out there since I'm giving it some thought. I don't have the knowledge to answer that question, but I know a few people here do.
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Conceivably, No, not really. The frequencies of of radiation, and their levels are both very low and out of the range for interaction with humans. Not only that, but this guy would be drowned in a bombardment of radio wave ALL THE TIME. Not just when his neighbor charges her laptop or uses the phone. The radiation from the cell tower is vastly more powerful then that being emitted by an individuals cell phone. Meaning, every time ANYONE in the neighborhood talks on the phone, he would be bombarded with EM radiation.

Now, some parts of your body can pick up EM. It took 1000000's of years of evolution, but they are there, and they only receive a very small portion of the bandwidth. They are called, eyes. The frequencies commonly used to day are nowhere near the frequencies that occur in nature (we don't want interference) hence there would be no reason at all for any creature on the face of the planet to evolve any sort of detector for that wave length.

Lets not forget, he not only claims that her cellphone makes him sick, but that her charging her laptop also makes him sick. That's just BS to the extreme because the EM radiation that is emitted from a charging laptop is at the exact same frequency as the EM radiation that results from running ANY electronic device in the home (No refrigerator for him).

The absolute most that could happen, if by some chance the radiation is at about 2.24 GHz, then he might experience a .000000001* C rise in the temperature in his brain or some other organ. How often do you notice your body temperature change by 0.000000001 * C?
 
waggy said:
... WTF? ok say he is really bothered by wi-fi and someone keeping the phone on. What right does he have to force someone else to stop useing them? if he does not want to be bothered move to a place that is free of people.
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Philosophical Basis
The philosophical principle of Negative and Positive Rights assigns certain rights to each party.

Under the theory of positive and negative rights, a negative right is a right not to be subjected to an action of another person or group. ... A positive right is a right to be subjected to an action of another person or group. In theory, a negative right forbids others from acting against the right holder, while a positive right obligates others to act with respect to the right holder.
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Similarly, a negative right is the right to act peacefully without interference. A positive right is an obligation on some people to provide certain things for others. A positive right is also known as a claim on the obligation for some people to provide certain things for others.

In the current situation, the man has the negative right to live peacefully without interference from his neighbor. The neighbor also has the negative right to live peacefully without interference from the man claiming the electromagnetic (EM) interference bothers him. However, the man is claiming the positive right that his neighbor is obligated not to interfere on his negative rights. The action has been started by the neighbor and the neighbor is imposing their lifestyle on the man claiming the EM interference bothers him.

This issue is similar to a neighbor playing loud music. The neighbor has the negative right to live their life without interference and play music as loud as they want. However, we are all obligated to respect the negative rights of others. Therefore, we may play our music as loud as we want so long as we respect the negative rights of our neighbors not to have to listen to our music.

Philosophy is just thought, often removed from reality. Therefore, we rely on laws to protect the rights of individuals. It is better to create laws on the notion of philosophical rights rather than on personal views about their benefits or how we would like people to behave.


Authenticity of Claim
The man claims the EM radiation makes him sick.

"Within a day of (Monribot) moving in, I began to feel sick when I was in my house," Firstenberg wrote in his affidavit. "(Monribot's) house is located 25 feet from my house. Further, because the two houses at one time were on a single lot, their electrical systems are fed from a single main cable. In fact, the electric meter for my house is mounted on (Monribot's) house. Electromagnetic fields emitted in (Monribot's) house are transmitted by wire directly into my house."

Firstenberg said that when he visited Monribot in her new house, she told him she had purchased a new iPhone and leaves it turned on at all times so family members can reach her. When he asked her if she could use a land line in the house, she "flatly refused without explanation," he said.

"I also observed a computer in use, compact fluorescent lights, dimmer rheostats, and other sources of electromagnetic radiation," he said. Monribot "agreed to phase out the fluorescent lights, but she declined to consider any limitation on her cell phone, or to turn off her computer when not in use, or to replace dimmer switches. In fact, a few days later, (Monribot) installed a wireless network for her computer. All of these devices emitted electromagnetic radiation and triggered my EMS with life-threatening reactions, which included a heart arrhythmia."
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It is known that radiation, in general, has an effect on the body. The extent of affect that electromagnetic radiation has on the body is unknown. It is known that EM radiation consists of electric and magnetic field components. Additionally,
EM radiation carries energy and momentum that may be imparted to matter with which it interacts.
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However, even strong radiation has never (to my knowledge) created heart arrhythmia by overriding the electrical signals within the heart muscles that control the beating rythms of the heart.

Visible light is a form of EM radiation that creates no harmful effect on the human body. We therefore assume that EM radiation in classes with less energy have no effect on the human body. We have discovered that close proximity to a source of EM radiation can be harmful for an extended period of time with little shielding. (The three factors of importance in regards to radiation; time, distance, shielding.) However, we have not yet discovered the precise level of effect EM radiation has on the human body in relation to the EM radiation frequency, wavelength, and energy according to each factor of time, distance, and shielding.

It is possible the neighbor's EM output may be causing the man physical harm. For instance, we have still not determined whether cell phones may be harmful to our brain when talking on the phone or to our reproductive organs when the phone is in our pocket. In these situations, the energy is low but involve prolonged periods of time, minimal distance, and little shielding.

Solution
As mentioned previously, a possible short term solution may be for the man to create a Faraday Cage around his home or body while he sleeps. This could be in form of a tin foil hat or blanket, tin foil or even chicken wire along his walls on the inside of his home and in his attic. Chicken wire may if the gap between metal wires is less than the wavelength of the EM radiation. I believe there would have to be a ground for whatever solution is employed.

The solution for lead paint is interesting.

My Personal View
My personal view is that the man is overreacting out of ignorance. Even if he is being affected by the EM radiation of his neighbor; his claim against her iPod, flourescent lights, cell phone, and her computer left on when not in use are all unsubstantiated. IMO, the only thing creating any arrhythmia in his heart is the mental stress created by his lack of technical understanding, overreaction, and belief in the uneducated propoganda against such technology.

For example, the buildings are separated by 25 feet. The man believes all the neighbor's electrical use feeds back to his place through their connected electrical lines. This is true but would be similarly true if his neighbor was operating a 240 volt dryer or table saw in the garage.

(Edit: The article states the electrical meter is on the neighbor's house, not his. Therefore, he is only receiving the electrical flow that is directed to his own house. I thought the main cable was going through his home. His neighbor's electrical use does not affect him.)

It is possible that longterm exposure with minimal distance to one or more wireless firewalls in the home may have an affect but such affect has yet to be determined and would not result in heart arrhythmia.
 
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Animated&
 
RESmonkey said:
Just like the photoelectric effect, could waves with a certain frequency mess with the guy's body, which may be unique?
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How is it like the photoelectric effect? You lose more electrons by rubbing yourself with a balloon than you ever could from cell phone radiation, even if it was high enough energy to cause the effect.
 
LTC8K6 said:
There are groups of these folks suing cities and towns to prevent them from installing citywide free wifi for the public.
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What those groups don't tell you is that they're actually paid shills for incumbent ISPs, Telco's and Cable companies.
 
So, can the guy tell which way is North with a blindfold on? That could come in handy. Maybe, he is just the next step in the evolution of man.
 
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