Cell phones are bad
From 1983 to 1989, Dr. George Carlo, PhD, headed the telecommunication industry’s research into cell phone safety, with the ultimate goal of proving cell devices safe. The industry funded his project to the tune of $28 million dollars (U.S.) but his findings were so startling that he turned on his employers. Now involved with the non-profit Safe Wireless Dr. Carlo is telling the truth: Information-carrying microwave radiation, such as that used by cell phones, is harmful.
Dr. Carlo was interviewed on May 17th on Ring of Fire radio by Robert Kennedy Jr. Some of the highlights discovered by Dr. Carlo: The radio wave radiation generated from a cell phone creates a “near field plume” around the antenna of the cell phone. This plume is powerful enough to cause a startling array of negative effects on human physiology brought on by a sympathetic reaction to the radiation. There is a significant body of evidence correlating a host of negative health effects with cell phone users.
The body of evidence standing against information carrying wireless is growing. In fact, if not for a twist of fate in 1984, today’s cell phone technology might never have been approved. The FDA authorized an exemption to the cell industry in the 1984, allowing cell phones to explode into the market. Normally, lengthy studies are required to bring a new technology into a market—consider the studies that were conducted on microwave ovens before they were finally approved for consumers. But because of the power, political influence, and financing behind the telecommunications industry this kind of study was never conducted. In fact, according to Dr. Carlo, at the time the military had an extensive program in place to protect soldiers from the impact of information carrying microwaves based on classified studies. Unfortunately, this data was not declassified until the 1990’s when it was already too late.
The bad news is this: Market momentum means there is no easy solution, even although the technology to make wireless safe apparently has existed for some time. There are going to be four billion cell phones in the world by the end of 2008, and of those 300 million will be active in North America. To support this network North America hosts about a million cell towers. Think about it: Even if you don’t use a cell phone, there are practically no metropolitan areas left where wireless transmissions aren’t permeating the air.
For those technology early adopters such as myself, the news is even more disappointing. As a general rule, more advanced, feature-rich cell phones generate more powerful signals so they can pump more information through the airwaves. As a result, high-end handsets such as the iPhone or Blackberry appear to be more likely to cause problems.
The only bit of good news seems to be that the near field plume poses the greatest hazard. Don’t think your bluetooth headset is saving you though; according to Dr. Carlo’s report on Ring of FIre, bluetooth is even worse than a typical cell phone. What you can do is check out Safe Wireless; there are a list of recommendations for limiting exposure. Among them: Get a wire-based headset, and keep your cell phone at least 6-8 inches away from your body. While it’s not a perfect solution, it dramatically reduces radiation exposure.
Europe’s precautionary principles are taking a more conservative tact than here in the U.S. In fact, throughout Europe most countries post precautionary warnings regarding the use of cell devices by children and young people. Unfortunately, the U.S. has no such precautionary principles—our cautionary mechanisms are chiefly oriented toward heat detection, which is not a source of problems in this case—and even that evidence is weakened by the lobbying of the telecom industry. So, get involved, and let the industry know we want safe wireless technology.
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