Posted on 06/19/2008 1:44:33 PM PDT by InvisibleChurch
Purchasers of hybrid vehicles, which are subsidized by the federal government and championed by environmental activists as a way to reduce gasoline consumption, are trading in their vehicles because of health fears concerning electromagnetic fields created by the hybrid batteries, says John Dale Dunn, a policy advisor for the American Council on Science and Health.
As noted in an April 27 article in the New York Times:
Some hybrid vehicle owners are complaining of a variety of health problems allegedly caused by strong electromagnetic currents from the cars' batteries. Reported ailments and concerns include rising blood pressure, drowsiness behind the wheel and higher leukemia risks. Various agencies, including the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute, acknowledge the potential hazards of long-term exposure to a strong electromagnetic field (E.M.F.), and have done studies on the association of cancer risks with living near high-voltage utility lines. Drivers who have given up their hybrids have reportedly documented "dangerously high" electromagnetic fields, leading them to conclude driving the vehicles is not worth risking blood for oil. This issue illustrates the double standard regarding environmental activists, says H. Sterling Burnett, a senior fellow at the National Center for Policy Analysis.
"Environmental activists routinely use the Precautionary Principle as a weapon against technologies and products they do not like," Burnett explains. "They assert that until and unless a product they oppose can be definitively proven to be safe, the product must be banned. Now, however, when consumers and some scientists assert that one of the activists' pet products may be causing serious health harms, the activists act like they have never heard of the Precautionary Principle."
Source: John Dale Dunn, "Hybrid Vehicle Owners Report Adverse Health Effects," Heartland Institute, July 1, 2008; and Jim Motavalli, "Fear, but Few Facts, on Hybrid Risk," New York Times, April 27, 2008.
For text:
http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=23393
For Times text:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/automobiles/27EMF.html
For more on Environment Issues:
http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_Category=31
Yeah, I am seriously intrested in a hybrid for my next car but the savings just aren’t there as far as I can tell. You merely transfer costs.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4930471
And as I always say on these threads, my 1990 Geo Metro gets 52 or 53 MPG at a steady 55, assuming no big hill climbs or head winds!
Laywers - start your engines!
I’d suggest taking out a large life insurance policy on her based on this story.
Just tell her you love her if she asks why.
And use your cell phone in your hybrid and you are just asking for your head to explode instantly.
And how did they experience the symptom of "higher leukemia risks"?
And did they measure their blood pressure while driving? Wouldn't that tend to raise your blood pressure?
Now, if you fell asleep at the wheel, and were looking for an excuse, I guess this one's as good as any. Someone might buy it, even though the measured EM field inside a Prius is not a real issue.
I wonder if any of these drivers has a car compass?
“The way I see it, they haven’t found any adverse health effects from an MRI machine (which has one kickass EMF),”
Are you sure? From what I’ve heard a lot of the people who go into an MRI are found to have some severe health problems.
Only if they are not trained. Otherwise they would know that they cannot get zapped prying the doors open, or frankly get zapped doing anything else with the car, other than unplugging the power cable and sticking metal blades into the plug.
Even if the battery was somehow shorted to the car, it wouldn’t be grounded, and there would be no danger.
Just as current cars have one battery wire connected to the metal frame, but you can’t even get the tiniest little shock touching the car, even though if you short out the battery you can melt through a screwdriver.
But after all of these years and millions of people who ride subways every day that run on around 750VDC, the hybrid cars on 200-300VDC systems are causing the problems. Right.
Yes, if there was any truth to this, there would need to be a warning. There is no warning required.
i know you cannot believe everything in the iNtErNet,but http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/18/automobiles/18HYBRID.html
Compare and contrast this with cel phones, flourescent bulbs in the office, high tension wires overhead, and some etcetera's.
Congress will have to pass a bill demanding insulated seats ... 'cause they damn sure ain't gonna' repeal any laws that squeezes the manufacturers for 'protection' money.
...and what happens if they talk on their cell phones while driving the hybrid? Will their head explode??
pure garbage.
I like the way you think!
See 74—I did not see your post before i posted mine. Swear.
This is a set-up for a lawsuit, nothing more. Obviously, there is no such existing condition that manifests itself as "higher leukemia risks." This is tantamount to me saying, "If I put on some Brut (by Faberge), I have a higher risk of my wife giving me a certain type of job tonight." Not likely, and actually, ridiculous. Chief Complaint: Higher leukemia risks. Call yer frickin' lawyer, not the doctor.
If you have a question, you should ask me.
The answer is easy. We have three children and live at the end of a minimally maintained road on top of a hill in an area that gets frequent snow.
A honda accord would be useless to us. She used to buy over 200 gallons of gasoline a month in her old SUV. She now drives a hybrid SUV that gets over twice the MPG.
You’re right, if you don’t mind driving an econobox, a hybrid does not make sense. We needed 4 wheel drive, room for five plus two dogs and did not want to go broke filling the tank.
Honestly, if you did not believe me, why did you not address your post to me?
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