WiMax on the Brain: Is "WiFi on Steroids" Safe?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02. 4.08
I laughed when I first saw TreeHugger Jasmin's Hulger phone, but they say it reduces the exposure to microwave radiation by 95%. TreeHugger has covered the issue of the dangers of cellphones and WiFi before, usually not taking it very seriously, as when we wrote about the university without WiFi or in our survey about microwave ovens, where a typical comment might be "I'm simply too occupied with life and real concerns to take-up fictitious ones as a hobby."
Others are not so sanguine.
Mark Anslow at the Ecologist takes it very seriously and says that there has been little real research. "If you are a drug company marketing a new drug, you have to go through years of testing to prove your product is safe. If you are a WiFi developer using the 2.4 Gz spectrum, you don't have to prove anything."
But if WiFi was a problem, what about WiMax, "WiFi on Steroids," with more powerful broadcasting and with WiMax laptops that put out twice the power of your basic WiFi unit? In the UK, Health Protection Agency is studying the issue of the health of WiFi and has not even started considering the issue of WiMax, but already more than 150 million Americans are now in range of it, with inconsistent and contradictory research about the effects of being surrounded by it.
The German government advises its citizens to limit their exposure to WiFi wherever possible, and to use wired connections. The local government in Salzburg sets limits thousands of times below international standards. The Australian government has rejected the industry guidelines on microwave exposure as inadequate.
And in the UK and North America? Anslow writes "the final decision on which powerful new Wi-Fi technologies are allowed into our homes, schools, offices and towns well rest with a powerful coalition of IT developers, internet service providers and lame duck regulators."::Ecologist
The precautionary principle indicates that "When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically." Learn what steps you might take at ::Planet Green.
While we're on the topic, it might be valuable to remember that our cherished compact-fluorescent light bulbs emit no small amount of electro-magnetic radiation from the ballast.
My girlfriend is really concerned with all this stuff. I'm more in the "too occupied with life and real concerns" camp myself, but I will admit that we've seen similar sorts of concerns in the past that turned out to be justified.
sounds like how my mom said "don't sit too close to the tv or you will get radiation!".
Analog mobile phones (yes those old brick kind), put out much more microwave emissions than the current digital mobiles (more power required = more output), so if there was a causal link between their output and health risks, we would have seen it in society at large by now, since they were in wide use 10 years before the digital ones were, over 20 years total now. And those using the analog ones would have been the earliest adopters of the digital tech as time went on, so they'd be the most susceptible. Once we see Donald Trump et al with big lumps above their ears is when we will have some evidence, otherwise its not even a conversation....
If life were based on silicon instead of carbon, I'd be worried about RF emissions.
A Danish study followed tracked a large group of cellphone users for 10 years, alongside those that did not use cellphones. After 10 years of research, it was found that the cancer rate amoungst those that used cellphones were no greater than the national average.
I was looking to get an amatuer radio licence, and you have to learn about safety regarding RF hazards. Between 30-300mhz the human body more easily absorbs RF energy, and at high power it can cause burns. Above and below these frequencies, RF energy must be much higher to cause problems. Normal RF is often referred to as "Radiation" by many... perhaps a scaremongering tactic, I do not know. RF is a form of electromagnetic radiation, but it is far from the spectrum of ionizing radiation that we'd see from a nuclear reactor or other radioactive source.
People have been exposed to RF from the Sun, 60hz from the household wiring, 570khz-1600khz transmissions from AM radio; is there any research that shows the effects of these?
I do believe that WiFi and cellular output should be regulated... RF burns can happen at high wattage. I'd be more worried about going in an aircraft, where I'd get an actual dose of radiation. Blaming all sorts of technology for cancer only shifts perspective from where it needs to be; everything we dump into the environment and our food that's contributing to it!
Hey Dan,
not trying to have a discussion with you at all - but here's a nice link for you to investigate:
www.wave-guide.org
Have fun!!
There is a significant difference between the side-effects of the RF and health concerns. It is highly likely that if these devices were causing brain tumors that we would have some serious evidence by now. However, there are studies that prove that having a cell phone next to your bed does disturb your sleep patterns. So, while it might not be causing bodily harm, it is not completely benign.
Studies should continue on the subject, but I am relatively certain that they will be given a clean bill of health. I am more interested in what the real side-effects are, and suggestions to mitigate them.
Did you know there is a new cool and intimate new sushi place in Rome which offers high quality Japanese foods for eating or take-away, and offers great hand-made cakes and free wifi to all customers? http://naoko-sushi-roma.blogspot.com/
I have a suggestion. Try to unplug yourself from all your wonder technology for even 30 minutes. If you don't begin to regain some sensitivity in your body and mind you would deserve to be the subject of a research study. These devices, while cool and convenient actually numb us out! Not to mention they are highly addictive! If you take a break and gain back some clarity you have a chance to realize human beings are much more than what science tells us. Look for yourself...how does your body feel after you've been on the computer for hours on end, or your cell phone? How does your food taste when it's cooked or warmed in a microwave oven. Stop hot-wiring your brain for a little while and detox by grounding out all that excess current...take a walk in the woods and see how you begin to feel. Then let's talk about collateral damage from all these marvelous, UNREGULATED, UNPROVEN technologies and how they actually effect us, other beings, and our environment at large. There are many people who do not share your enthusiasm for seeing places like Taiwan become national WiMax test sites without the permission of the people who live there. Wake up, there is a bigger picture than just our small selves!