The 5G system proposed for New Zealand is a sort of hybrid wireless system in which telecommunications companies want to use microwaves and millimetre wave radiation. (Fibre optic cables may also be used to connect 5G cell sites with other infrastructure.)
Microwave radiation is also suspected to be causing significant damage to urban trees. Popular Science has reported that trees exposed to to urban wi-fi systems (which expose nearby plants and people to microwave radiation) have been “bleeding”. You may read the article at the link below: https://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-11/wi-fi-radiation-killing-trees
Mobile phone base stations are also being linked to tree damage and you can learn more at this link: https://ehtrust.org/tree-damage-caused-mobile-phone-base-stations-observation-guide-helmut-breunig/
However, it appears that the millimetre wave radiation component of 5G systems may pose an even greater risk to trees – a risk of sudden death, in fact.
In March 2018, the British paper The Sun ran a story with the headline: “5G TREE THREAT New 5G phone system could face reception problems from trees with too many LEAVES”. (See: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5838497/5g-phone-system-reception-problems-trees/). The article also states that rain drops may interfere with 5G.
In at least one part of the UK, the local response to the fact that the trees’ leaves could pose a problems for 5G networks, appears to be to be to simply kill the trees.
In the English city of Sheffield there is a massive cull of mature, and in many cases, healthy street trees, going on, despite opposition from many residents (https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/feb/25/for-the-chop-the-battle-to-save-sheffields-trees).
There is speculation that the reason for the planned destruction of almost half of Sheffield’s street trees is to facilitate a planned 5G system – see https://ninanco.com/food/sustainable-local/deforestation-5g-closer-home-might-think/.
There is also concern that the covering of urban trees with nets, such as you can see in the image below (sourced from the Facebook page of Bristol Residents Against 5G Technology) is a prelude to their being felled. Reportedly the reason that these trees (which are somewhere in the UK) have nets on them is to prevent birds from nesting in them. This practice would “release the British government from adhering to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 that prevents the felling of a tree during nesting season (unless the tree is a direct and imminent danger to the public).”
Document on British Government website show trees are considered to be an impediment to 5G
A document bearing the logo of the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport titled “FIFTH GENERATION MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS 5G Planning – Geospatial Considerations: A Guide for Planners and Local Authorities” published online in 2018 shows that trees and other vegetation, are considered to be an impediment to the “millimetre wave”* frequencies planned to be used in 5G networks. Page 37 includes the following statement, which may help to explain the tree massacre going on in Sheffield: “Vegetation wider than 1m will offer significant signal loss, losing over 90% of the power regardless of whether leaves are present or not. ” [Emphasis added]
NB: The authors of the above document use the term “mmwave” (millimetre wave) to refer to 26 GHz radiation. In NZ, Spark has been testing a radiation band of around 27 GHz in the Viaduct Precinct area, which is in downtown Auckland by the waterfront.
The UK is not the only place where healthy street trees are being killed
The image below is from the Italian city of Prato where residents are mourning the massacre of their street trees, which according to the person posting the photo, took place in August 2019. Prato is reportedly a “candidate for 5G experimentation” and the destruction of the healthy trees was reportedly halted during an election campaign.
If you have a look on Facebook you will find similar images of felled trees (or what remains of them) in France and Germany – and perhaps other places as well.
Report from Australia: Trees considered an impediment to driverless cars
A recent report on the website of Don Maisch, PhD discusses various aspects of 5G and makes it clear that trees are considered to be an impediment to driverless cars. This part of the report is based on information from a speaker (Will Oakley of RACT, which is the local equivalent of the NZ Automobile Association) at a recent (June 2019) “Connected Hobart Smart City Forum”.
Quoting from page 9 of Dr. Maisch’s report: “When mentioning barriers still to be solved with the autonomous vehicle network, one was the need to not have trees over 4 metres high by the roadside. When questioned on this, the reason was because high trees may interfere with the necessary wireless signals needed to run the network.41″ [Emphasis added]
Dr. Maisch’s full report may be read at the following link:
https://www.emfacts.com/download/26April_5G_concerns_paper.pdf
Could trees be killed for 5G in New Zealand?
If you think the sort of madness that is causing conflict in Sheffield (and depriving many people in Sheffield and Prato, among other places, of the benefits of living near the mature trees that they loved) couldn’t happen in New Zealand, think again.
A recent article in The NZ Herald reported that a judge had ruled that “undue interference with a wi-fi signal caused by trees could constitute an undue interference with the reasonable use and enjoyment of an applicant’s land for the purposes of s 335(1)(vi) of the [Property Law] Act.”
On this basis, urban trees in NZ that interfere with a telecommunications company’s 5G system might be vulnerable to being trimmed or even felled. (I might add, that for some trees, particularly some NZ native trees, trimming is not as innocuous as it may sound; it can substantially reduce the lifespan of some trees.)
So, do you appreciate the beauty of street trees and the oxygen that they provide for you? If the answer to this question is yes, I hope you’ll think about what you can do to help New Zealand’s campaign against 5G.
UPDATE: If you are on Facebook, please like and follow the new FB page https://www.facebook.com/5GFreeNewZealand/
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