Update 3:  Listen now:

Or download directly: mp3 file  

Update 2: Barry will appear tonight (Monday March 23rd) at or after 8:30.

Update:  They bumped him due to a scheduling mishap.  Looks like it will be rescheduled next week.  Will keep you posted. 

As many of you know, Ottawa Skeptics conducted an investigation into the installation of EMF Balancers at two schools in the CEPEO - spearheaded by Barry Green.  As a result the Ottawa Skeptics issued a press release yesterday on the subject (see below).  

Barry will appear sometime at or after 8:15 this evening on 580 CFRA with Ron Corbett.   Listen in.

March 19, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SKEPTICAL WATCHDOG GROUP DEBUNKS PSEUDOSCIENCE IN LOCAL SCHOOLS
Ottawa Skeptics organization challenges installation of EMF Balancers
at two schools in the CEPEO

(Ottawa, ON) - Recently, local skeptical watchdogs Ottawa Skeptics
(OS), have followed up on the claim that two local schools had
installed EMF Balancers on their premises.  The schools, Louis Riel
Secondary School and Trillium Elementary School, are both under the
same board of education - Le conseil des écoles publiques de l'Est
de l'Ontario (CEPEO).

In October 2008, two members of the OS attended an EMF Balancer
presentation by local company Laurentia who sell "electro-magnetic
balancer units".  On the company's website, they purport these
devices "reduce the adverse effects of electro-magnetic fields"
and "harmonize natural and man-made electro-magnetic energies".
These devices are PVC tubes filled with layers of calcium carbonate,
kelp, and clay from two different US states.  Though no scientific
basis could be found to support the company's product claims, what
concerned Ottawa Skeptics most was learning that two local public
schools had procured and installed the devices.

Ottawa Skeptics received confirmation from CEPEO Director of
Technical Services that at least one school had installed the devices,
while a testimonial from the principal of a second local school is
cited in Laurentia's promotional material.  Spearheaded by member
Barry Green, a number of e-mails were sent on behalf of OS to senior
staff at the CEPEO requesting they investigate the matter.  Writes
Green "I accept that the administrators who procured these devices
for their schools likely did so for the sake of the students and with
the best of intentions.  However, from what I understand in
researching this subject, I can only conclude that CEPEO has likely
spent close to $2,000.00 on nearly a dozen inert canisters of dirt."
In addition, two articles* were written by Green and posted on the OS
website.

This week, Ottawa Skeptics received a letter from the CEPEO advising
that the units have been removed from the schools and returned to the
local distributor. OS have written a third article** applauding the
CEPEO for making the correct decision and supporting science education
for their students.

"We are very proud of this recent accomplishment," says Ottawa
Skeptics president, Jonathan Abrams. "We hope this will serve as an
example to encourage schools to think twice about buying
scientifically dubious products.  We believe that public funds should
not be spent on products or services that require the discarding of
well established scientific laws, without the requisite evidence."

Ottawa Skeptics encourages all consumers to question the claims made
by local salesmen of products that sound too good to be true.  Adds
Abrams, "Our goal at Ottawa Skeptics is to make a difference in our
local community, and the community at large, by promoting critical
thinking and the scientific method. There is no better time to use
critical thinking skills than when analyzing product claims."

*It's Unbelievable What a Tub of Soil Can Do
http://www.ottawaskeptics.org/topics/alternative-medicine/48-alt-med/148-it-is-unbelievable-what-a-tub-of-soil-can-do

*CEPEO to investigate EMF balancers in local schools
http://www.ottawaskeptics.org/topics/alternative-medicine/151-cepeo-to-investigate-emf-balancers-in-local-schools

**CEPEO School Board Rejects EMF Balancers
http://www.ottawaskeptics.org/local-investigations/201-cepeo-school-board-rejects-emf-balancers


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About Ottawa Skeptics

Ottawa Skeptics is a local, not-for-profit group founded in 2007 to
promote the use of sound scientific methods, critical thinking and
rational thought in our community.  Ottawa Skeptics acts as a
community watchdog, challenging extraordinary claims while maintaining
that science is the best method for determining objective truth. The
group challenges claims, especially those related to pseudoscience,
conspiracy theories and the paranormal, by demanding evidence to
support such claims.  Ottawa Skeptics promotes science education and
supports high standards of scientific integrity and the free exchange
of ideas.  The group produces a weekly podcast
(www.ottawaskeptics.org/realitycheck) and is available as a resource
to the community to investigate claims, products or services, or to
provide reliable and unbiased information about claims, products or
services already investigated.  For further information, visit
www.ottawaskeptics.org