03.16.07
Update on Old Cell Phone Post
The article below was written by my oldest son for his college newspaper. I thought it appropriate to post on my blog because it is a follow-up to a post I made not long after I started to get into this blogging thing.
Cellular Hoax and Hazard, by Andrew Brown
It was in May of 2006 that a story circulated on the web telling how it was possible to thoroughly cook an egg using two closely placed cell phones. The article was a shocker for many who read it, but the whole thing was quickly exposed as a fraud when people actually began testing it for themselves. The incident was another little chapter in the ongoing dispute between cell phone companies and health activists. However, speedy brain fryers aren’t all cell phones have been accused of being, as many will know.
Johnnie Cochran is amongst those used as an example of correlations between the phones and brain cancer. The lawyer, who died in 2005, was rarely seen with the device apart from his left ear, the side on which his cancer developed. Anti-cell phone advocates state this correlation is backed by numerous other examples and is far from mere coincidence. And even while it seems prolonged usage is the cause of these tragedies, such does not mean that shorter durations of exposure to the microwave radiation is all okay. Cancer is merely the most visible symptom. Spanish studies have concluded that a child exposed for even two minutes has a disruption of natural electrical brain activity of upwards to an hour. Swedish scientists have also revealed that the moment cell phone radiation comes in contact, the blood-brain barrier, which separates brain tissue from circulating blood, is compromised. This allows elements in the blood that are toxic to brain cells to interact with sensitive nerves. Of course, government studies have apparently shown that cell phone usage is safe to a reasonable degree. Even so, every study, whether resulting in information for or against mobile phones, should ideally be checked for hidden motives.
Anti-phoners certainly have their agenda, but government researchers can easily be influenced by corporate pressures. The difficult thing about microwave emissions is that, unlike the egg example, the average person does not have the equipment nor the time to check it out himself. Immediate effects require being able to see inside the body, while the ultimate effects can take years to manifest. Yet in the meantime, how much does the average person actually have to be on the line? What is gained by jabbering on the phone with someone every ten minutes, every half hour, or even every hour? Even if one doesn’t believe that a little radiation won’t be cause for harm, cell phone usage is exploding. Practically everyone now has a mobile phone, and the effects easily compound. Businesses, schools, and even homes are becoming microwave soups. To keep up with the ever expanding market, telecommunications companies erect more receiver antennas, each of which give off many times as much radiation as the single phone unit. Whenever you dial, it’s not just you who’s receiving emissions, it’s everyone around you and everyone between you and your call. What’s an alternative to calls? Perhaps text messaging is a step up. It seems reasonable that the smaller amount of data would result in less going through the air, and one doesn’t have to hold the thing up to the head. As added bonuses, it allows the user to think a bit before speaking, and is also less of a distraction for everyone else around.
