Is 5G Here to Stay?

I had the opportunity to sit in on the Santa Barbara County supervisors meeting on February 4 and listen to over an hour of high-level bureaucratic discussion by a 5G company that will be putting up cell towers throughout Santa Barbara County in the coming years.

The Board of Supervisors, chaired by Laura Capps, listened to the county deputy director of Planning and Development discuss elements of installing and maintaining these towers over time. It was quite daunting to hear the scope of the many components needed to plan for installation of what may be thousands of towers in the Santa Barbara and outlining areas.

Had I had the opportunity to get to the microphone, I would have taken a different tack than most of the opposers — I would have confronted the board with the following questions:
(1) Will the manufacturers and the Country of Santa Barbara declare eminent domain on any piece of land owned by a corporation or a private residence as you prepare to install these towers?
(2) The County of Santa Barbara (or any governmental agency) has the right to refuse a contract based on public health and safety issues. So, has the 5G manufacturing company ever had any fire problems, sparking or energy pulses throughout any of their systems that are already installed which may fall into this safety category?
(3) Has the 5G manufacturer ever been involved in any previous litigation with any other municipality that they have contracted to install their towers?

The board did a masterful job of deflecting concerns based on previous codes, mandates, and contracts. What they did not do was discuss any element of concern for public health regarding RF emissions from 5G towers — which are known to impact biological health and may increase the risk of health issues over time (Scientific Reports, July 2012; Oncology Letters, July 2020).

Of course, it seemed that the county supervisors would vote “yes” on the proposal from the outset, which they did. One of the community members stated that if anything does go wrong, it would be over 30 years before any contractual changes could be made, based on previous agreements with communities such as Malibu.

One of the other community comments was on legal liability. If anything does go south (and it probably will) lawsuits will certainly ensue. The resident stated correctly that while there may not be any direct liability to the county, each member bears personal liability, and of course a savvy law firm would certainly exploit the personal Notice of Liability here. Just food for thought.