I enjoy sharing stories of businesses that are thriving while bucking the current wireless trend. Once such business is Equator Coffee in Mill Valley, California:
Recently, I had the opportunity to spend some time in Mill Valley and noticed that hardly anyone in this very popular cafe was on a laptop. How could this be? In fact, people were sitting and having actual conversations (once they got through the line, which was almost always out the door). It was like 1995, except that this cafe opened in 2014 and has a very modern design:
When I asked the employees about the lack of people glued to computers, they said that the owners didn’t want to have WiFi so that people would actually have conversations and enjoy themselves (they also nodded in agreement when I mentioned the health effects). In other words, they wanted this location to be a center of the community where people preferred to spend time, which it certainly has become. If anything, the lack of WiFi has helped this cafe and the business is a resounding success. In fact, Equator Coffee has been named the 2016 U.S. Small Business Association National Small Business of the Year.
Let’s hope that more businesses soon realize that their customers would rather have real in-person communication, rather than become even more disconnected via unhealthy microwave technologies. Something tells me that the need for real human connection and the growing evidence of wireless health effects will eventually pop the wireless bubble we find ourselves in today. Once that happens, cafes like the one pictured below in San Francisco will become more welcoming and healthier environments.
Do we want our cafes to be community gathering places or wireless office spaces?
This is beautifully written. I hope other cafe’s take note of this one’s success and follow suit.
It is so great to see this?
I recently saw a sign in a café and it said …
“No, we don’t have WiFi. Pretend it’s 1995. Talk to each other.”
Such a wonderful article Jeromy.
No WiFi since their opening in 2014? Regret not knowing of this earlier, and surely appreciate your sharing this, Jeromy!
I think we have gotten to an awareness tipping point – especially with the media:
CNN just aired an episode on toxins that included EMF on prime time (Morgan Spurlock: Inside Man: The Truth About Toxins).
http://www.clearlightventures.com/blog/2016/8/17/cnns-morgan-spurlock-inside-man
Also, a Sundance film from 2016 was just released about the internet that features a segment on electrosensitive people (EHS) that was respectfully done:
http://www.loandbeholdfilm.com/
The documentary “Generation Zapped” is getting ready to submit a cut to Sundance this fall:
http://generationzapped.com/
Keep up all the great work!
This is all great news Peter! Thanks for sharing these films/episodes.
The BBC also recently did a fictional episode on medical doctors slowly figuring out that a patient is electrically sensitive:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4isNRKISDxU
Stunning photos of the Equator Coffee shop full of lively conversation and lifeforce / chi. Contrasted with the lifeless and sterile looking SF scene.
Perhaps there is hope for those of us in the Zombie Apocalypse. 😉
That is fantastic. I hope cafes here in NZ makes a similar decision soon! Not only helping people reconnect face to face, but limiting the harmful exposure to radiation. Love it! Thanks
Amanda,
The first cafes in Arabia were known as ‘schools of the wise’ where men would philosophize and play chess. As they popped up in England, and before tea became patriotic, they were called ‘penny universities’ for a similar reason.
A true cafe is good for human connection, good for human health and good for the mind/fostering wisdom.
May we find ourselves returning to such meeting spots once again.
Jeromy
Thank You Jeromy! Always a pleasure reading about something good on the EMF issues. We are all so beleaguered by all the bad stuff.
Another example of good positivity was just a few days ago. On local TV here in Victoria, a guy said that he and his group, they were Buddhists, were not going to give in to negativity and gloom and doom. He said it was his role to make good things happen. I like that idea. It is our nature to be compassionate and greed and narcissism is a learned behavior coming from a place of fear and shortage. Walt
Wise words Walt. I could not agree more.
Thanks for sharing.
Jeromy
Figured I’d tell this story here about how things are shifting even within the industry…
I saw the AT&T trucks today, the guys were working on the cell towers. I’ve been wanting to talk to them for months but I never get a chance to talk to them.
So I walk over there today and just then a guy comes down and says “Hey”.
So I said “Hey man, do you mind if I ask you some questions about the cell towers?”
He said “Sure thing, go ahead”, real friendly.
I then asked a bunch of technical questions about the design of the towers and stuff, just saying I was fascinated by the technology. He answered them and I learned a bunch of stuff. He mentioned that the round antennas are higher frequency microwaves.
Then he said that the US is soon going to 5G, Korea (I think) is already going to 5G and “they’re ahead of us”, but that “lots of countries are holding off on 5G because of environmental concerns and health concerns”.
I said “really?”
He said, “Yeah, and the head of the FCC recently said ‘We’re not going to let research slow us down.'”
I said “Wow, he said that? That’s really bold.”
He said “Yeah I think so.”
So I said, “Are you interested in the health concerns from this stuff?”
“Yeah, I mean…yeah.”
Me: Me too
Him: Really? Lots of us in this line of work are getting leukemia and cancer.
Me: I’ve been interested in it for a while because I work here, so close to two towers.
Him: They used to turn off the transmitters when we worked on them. Now they refuse to turn off the transmitters while we work on them and they don’t let us carry around a RF meter anymore. They’ve got transmitters on top of buildings now. . .
Me: Yeah I’ve seen them!
Him: Yeah! You know the M****** H****** Hotel? I was just up there. And you just walk right up to them.
Me: Really? Man you’re right in front of those things!
Him: Yeah, and they’re not turning them off anymore. I’m just getting blasted.
Me: I’ve got a meter and I get readings at this school of 10-20 mW/cm2 per channel. And a cell tower has like 70 channels right?
Him: You have a RF meter? (He couldn’t believe it).
Me: Yeah! I drive around town and see what the levels are like.
Him: No way, eBay? Amazon?
Me: Amazon.
Him: How much was it?
Me: Like… $190.
Him: No way… Like I said, they forbid us from having them now.
Me: So I just looked up the federal limits on Saturday. It says the federal limit is 10 mW/cm2. On this playground I’ve gotten a reading of 15 mW/cm2 on one channel… but the cell tower puts out 70 something channels, does that mean it’s putting out roughly 15×70 mW/cm2?
Him: Most likely, yeah. Yeah all of us are worried about it. It’s high enough levels to heat things up. My face burns whenever I use a cellphone.
Me: Everybody at the school is always hot, even when the air is cold.
(Note: radiant heat [long wave light] heats up a body without heating up air).
Him: Really? The industry people are actually worried that 5G is going to have a really big, even more noticeable thermal presence because the high frequencies have so much more power in them.
(His phone started ringing).
Me: Great talking to you!
Him: You too! See ya!
Thanks for sharing this story Travis.
I have heard similar stories from other people in the industry.
They are (almost) always interested when I pull out my RF meter to show what is going on.
Travis – your meter can only measure the total power density over the entire range that the meter covers. You cannot measure individual channels as you have described. In fact, a $200 meter is no more than a toy. Measurements from it have no validity whatsoever.
You may want to do some do some additional reading on this topic.
Travis, I have a friend who also works in the industry. Is there a possibility if I send you my email, you would contact me? My email is alpenaunclejohn@yahoo.com. I am fighting smart meters in N. Michigan. Our State Rep. is a co-sponsor of a bill in the Mi. House to allow people to keep their analog meters without any fees. The Chairman of the Mi. House Energy Commission, Aric Nesbit, is refusing the Bill to come to the floor for a vote. His term expires this year. He is going to work for Consumers Energy in Mi. as a lobbyist for them. You can see where his loyalty is, certainly not for the people of Michigan.
John K.
Wonderful!
So encouraging – thanks!
Hi Jeromy. Thank you for bringing us this good news.
There is a man named Alan Candee in the Sacramento area. I know him through the Foothill Storytelling Guild. Besides being a storyteller and a musician, Alan’s business is all about helping families find and do activities which are not related to media screens. I think his business is called ” Mindful Media Management.” His “business card” is his logo printed on a balloon. He’s a nice guy who looks a lot like Cpt. Picard of Star Trek. You can find him on line. I mentioned Alan because what he is doing is exactly the sort of business which should be encouraged.
I have had to withdraw from EMF education in Nevada County, CA. because of increasing health problems. My husband and I still try to educate people about using hard wired technology whenever possible, but it’s a huge uphill battle.
As an activity which was an alternative to wireless entertainment, last year I helped produce the first annual Auburn Winter Storytelling Fest. We will be providing this one day mini storytelling festival free to the public again on Saturday, January 28, 2017. This family friendly event will include a morning children’s program, open storytelling and a liar’s contest ( tall tales ) in the afternoon, and an evening showcase of experienced storytellers, with meal breaks built in to the day’s schedule. It will once again be held at the General Gomez Arts and Events Center in downtown Auburn, CA. ( Placer County ), located at 808 High Street. There will be more information closer to the time of this very fun event.
Thanks for sharing this Darlene. Keep up the great work!
Jeromy
Absolutely brilliant that they don’t have WiFi, but there would likely still be cell phone coverage in the area. And are the patrons asked to disable their WiFi or turn off devices when in the cafe? If not their devices will be emitting radiation just the same, or more, looking for a wireless connection. Long for the day when when wireless-free is like smoke-free in accommodation facilities as well as libraries, other public facilities and bars, restaurants, shops etc.
I still remember the old days when people still talked in a cafe. Without smartphone or laptop in front of their faces.
We recently opened our ‘Honey Bee Rose Cabin’ for rent as a vacation cabin with Ethernet wired connections instead of WiFi. We encourage our guests to turn off their cell phones when not in use and especially at night. We have had good reports from our guests sleeping well and feeling rested. One guest even stated that she was an insomniac and she reported sleeping well all 3 nights she was here.
Thanks for sharing Mary. it’s usually the first time people put the dots together that EMFs may be affecting them when they have the opportunity to spend a few nights in a healthy spot.
It’s great that you have created this environment. I found it on airbnb:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/14027696
Jeromy
This is fantastic! A coffee shop where creative minds can flourish.
Thanks Jeromy for all you do. It’s nice to be able to read your info and know someone who understands the serious dilemma we are facing everyday. It is nice to have someone who does not mock the people who are very sensitive to EMFs.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a community without all of this?
Cheryl
This is a good start in the right direction. It took 100 years for humanity to completely disconnect from Nature. While it took 10 years only to disconnect from each other even over a cup of coffee.
I prefer to take my cup of coffee in Starbucks Coffee Shop, NOT in Starbucks Internet Cafe!
Francis
AKL, NZ
I always thought it would be so cool if a bunch of people got together and bought land, and built apartments making sure it is WITHOUT wi-fi…so the people that live there have only wired, with only analog meters. Built with non-toxic material and eco-friendly paint and lots of beautiful plants, without toxic chemicals used.
While I am at my dream building, have these apartments so there are noise level rules, such as no loud music, so people can live a healthy lifestyle in an apartment to sleep well. I don’t live in an apartment but used to and remember all the issues that go along with it.
A non-smoking building…and the people living there would have ample space indoors and outdoors for a garden with veggies and herbs, and they clean with only things like white vinegar, baking soda, etc.
Danielle,
Such places are starting to exist. Here is one in Switzerland:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/switzerland/10748109/The-Swiss-flats-where-smoking-painting-and-mobile-phones-are-banned.html
Jeromy
Hi Danielle, There is a small community in the Dallas area for people with EHS and MCS. Houses rent for $120/night, $2600/month.
They are booked forever in advance.
There is a huge market for more communities like this: http://www.safehousingdallas.com/index.html
Thanks for sharing Ellie.
There is also a potential property opening up in Northwestern Colorado. We will know more about this in the coming years.
Jeromy
Wonderful to see this healthy cafe. Reminds me how far from a normal healthy society we have been driven since the 80’s.
Hopefully we can turn the tides from now on.
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What an inspiring article…thank you Jeromy for sharing this real life example. I wish more places were WiFi free.
Thanks Susan. Hopefully this is just the beginning.
Thanks for the post Jeromy. Folks may wish to check out Werner Herzog’s new movie, Lo & Behold. It’s about the pros and cons of technology, including a visit to EMF free Greenbank, West Virginia.
Indeed, I am looking forward to seeing it. Here is the trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zc1tZ8JsZvg
The trend continues. . . Here is a location that bans WiFi and, of all things, actually encourages people to read books!
http://fox8.com/2016/11/15/bookstore-bans-wi-fi-wants-customers-to-actually-read/
The trend continues. . . . here is a location that has turned off the WiFi so that people will read actual books!
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/11/15/health/bookstore-no-wi-fi-trnd/index.html