The Massachusetts ballot committee Safer Tech at LastTreeLaws.com is leading a newly certified, statewide petition initiative for a law to establish an advisory “Office of Research and Technology Optimization” (ORTO). This independent office would examine technology’s best use or non-use to meet the commonwealth’s need for safer technology that serves public interests, with a focus only upon non-ionizing radiation (NIR).
By demonstrating the best and worst case scenarios for NIR technology use or non-use honestly, expertly, and clearly, ORTO would stimulate a safer, better technological path, stimulating industry, federal government, and individuals to adopt proposed solutions.
Why not study solutions for all technology? That would be nice.
However, Massachusetts requires that initiative petitions be single subject, to allow voters to fairly vote yes or no on a proposed law on the state ballot. Since the office has a wide-ranging research lens and knowledge-sharing task to fulfill its purpose, the focus must be narrow to meet the state’s single subject rule. Non-ionizing radiation should be sufficiently narrow to meet this rule, but including all technology probably would be construed as too broad.
What is and why make the single focus non-ionizing radiation from technology?
NIR is an electric and magnetic field surrounding electricity, transmitted by antennas, or visible as light. NIR from technology includes wireless transmissions, power line fields, and computer screen light.
NIR is the single subject because it strips many people of health and the ability to function well, and this undermines our ability to protect our democracy, liberties and life.
Even if I lack scientific credentials, I can see that non-ionizing radiation is harmful as implemented today. Every day I negotiate to avoid NIR because it deflates my energy and health: I trust my senses and observations, especially with confirmation from others around me. As a decade-plus advocate on this issue, I have seen and heard other personal, sad stories of how the need to avoid NIR developed suddenly and unexpectedly, wreaking havoc on housing, relationships, and finances.
The science that industry has called controversial is quite the opposite. Ample concrete evidence demonstrates that even the bees, birds, and other life forms suffer, whether becoming lost in flight, physically sick, or failing to reproduce, with the latter ability worsening with each generation. Humans suffer similar effects.
To say such effects are impossible, when concrete evidence shows effects are possible, may be spin, ignorance, hubris, or cognitive dissonance. While true that non-ionizing radiation does not readily “ionize” (i.e, removing an electron from an atom or molecule) like nuclear radiation, many other mechanisms cause biological harm besides direct ionization. PFAS, for example, does not directly cause ionization, and yet causes harm through other biological paths.
Because health is fundamental to protecting all aspects of our community, NIR is the focus.
Is this petition only about impacts on public and environmental health?
No, this is an “Office of Research and Technology Optimization” with a framework to examine technology, educate, and make recommendations to our government and the public including but beyond health.
ORTO research may examine how NIR technologies impact liberties or infrastructure stability, recommending best practices to mitigate harm and serve community interests. AI vulnerabilities, real-time data collection, labor losses, and the “Internet of Bodies” are examples of subjects within ORTO’s investigative NIR purview.
These and other subjects fall under ORTO purview because NIR is emitted by electrical infrastructure and utilized in many modern technologies. For example, NIR results from or serves connectivity for robotics, networked health devices, micro-current weapons, directed energy weapons, surveillance, communications, utility meters, and artificial intelligence mobility.
What is the plan and how can I help?
We are building our ground operation, public awareness, and gathering feedback this fall of 2026. We especially seek permanent locations for our petitions to be located for community access, because many of our supporters have difficulty with the physical nature of gathering signatures.
Although we are building operations this fall, we expect to resubmit and gather signatures again next year in 2027, allowing a refined submission based on feedback.
We are looking creatively at how to integrate volunteers to help raise awareness, build support, or assist with signature gathering logistics. We expect to continue updating our website as well to reflect new ideas and updates. Please visit our site, LastTreeLaws.com, to see updates, donate, or join our community.
Kirstin Beatty, chair of the ballot committee, lives in Holyoke.