Not-So-Earth-Friendly Tech (3)
Cell Phones
A critical ingredient in the manufacture of nearly every cell phone on Earth is tantalum, a heat-resistant metal powder derived from an ore called Columbite-tantalite, or coltan. So what? Unfortunately nearly two-thirds of the world's supply of coltan comes from mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DCR). With demand for cell phones skyrocketing over the last decade, the natural resources of DCR have been absolutely decimated (not to mention the forests and natural habitats of gorillas that exist in the Congo's coltan-mining areas).
And that's not all. Recently implicated as a cause of low sperm counts in men, the low-level radiation emitted by mobile phones might also be leading to the devastation of much of Earth's food supply. A new study out of Germany's Landau University suggests that in areas of heavy mobile phone usage, bees are abandoning their hives at an alarming rate -- a phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Bees, of course, pollinate our crops.
According to the study, 60 percent of the U.S. West Coast commercial bee population has gone M.I.A., while 70 percent of East Coast bees have also vanished. CCD has also been documented in Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece. At this time, however, the link between cell phone usage and declining bee populations has not been proven -- only suggested. But until significant proof is presented, we suggest you go light on your minutes when in the vicinity of any beehives.
A critical ingredient in the manufacture of nearly every cell phone on Earth is tantalum, a heat-resistant metal powder derived from an ore called Columbite-tantalite, or coltan. So what? Unfortunately nearly two-thirds of the world's supply of coltan comes from mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DCR). With demand for cell phones skyrocketing over the last decade, the natural resources of DCR have been absolutely decimated (not to mention the forests and natural habitats of gorillas that exist in the Congo's coltan-mining areas).And that's not all. Recently implicated as a cause of low sperm counts in men, the low-level radiation emitted by mobile phones might also be leading to the devastation of much of Earth's food supply. A new study out of Germany's Landau University suggests that in areas of heavy mobile phone usage, bees are abandoning their hives at an alarming rate -- a phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Bees, of course, pollinate our crops.
According to the study, 60 percent of the U.S. West Coast commercial bee population has gone M.I.A., while 70 percent of East Coast bees have also vanished. CCD has also been documented in Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece. At this time, however, the link between cell phone usage and declining bee populations has not been proven -- only suggested. But until significant proof is presented, we suggest you go light on your minutes when in the vicinity of any beehives.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Peter said 6:47AM on 4-19-2007
"we suggest you go light on your minutes when in the vicinity of any beehives" is the dumbest comment I ever heard. Aren't the cell phone towers radiating bazillion watts of radio frequency energy to keep a connection to the area's cell phones so there's a signal when we ARE using the minutes? Of course!
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rbyowens said 7:25AM on 4-19-2007
I agree with Peter. I believe the cell towers are much more harmful. And there is a link to some forms of leukemia to cell towers and power lines.
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zukoff said 8:05AM on 4-19-2007
Cell towers are static disrupters. Bees map locus and route flyarounds. Cells phones are dynamic disrupters. Signal maps worthless. Bees crash!
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BJ said 8:13AM on 4-19-2007
WELL ANYTHING THAT CUTS OFF THE SPERM SUPPLY IS ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT. THAT'S THE BEST NEWS I'VE HEARD IN A LONG TIME. I HOPE EVERY FUCKING MAN ON THIS PLANET GOES STERILE OR CAN'T PRODUCE. THAT WOULD BE FANTASTIC. THIS WORLD DOESN'T NEED ANY MORE FUCKING PEOPLE. THAT'S THE NUMBER ONE PROBLEM THAT THIS EARTH IS FACED WITH, OVER POPULATION!. THERE IS NOTHING ELSE, INCLUDING CELL PHONES, DVD'S, CAMERA'S, ETC, THAT CAN EVEN COME CLOSE TO THE DESTRUCTION THAT MAN HAS DONE IN THIS WORLD!. ANYTHING THAT CUT'S OFF THE CREATION OF NEW HUMANS IS GREAT BY ME, AND I ONLY HOPE THEY GET MORE POWERFUL TO ENSURE THESE MEN ARE NOT ABLE TO RE-PRODUCE!. YAY!
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KAM said 8:14AM on 4-19-2007
Again, arguing doesn't help anyone, including our children to come yet.
I read this and realized that maybe we could be less quick to upgrade to a new phone so often. Stop being such greedy, thoughtless Americans. Who said we are entitled to this attitude, besides Motorola and At&T?
Less phone buying, less minutes? Again, it's a win/win in your own wallet as well.
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Sal DiGiacomo said 8:35AM on 4-19-2007
To keep the conversation civil and germane, the testing of cell phones around bees has been done by qualified scientists and it seems that 900 MHz - 1800 MHz is the range that confuses the bees.
-Sal DiGiacomo
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judi millikan said 9:30AM on 4-19-2007
Take heed in what scientists are trying so hard to discover, and warn us about! Denial is not a positive approach in solving this important issue. Bees are crucial in mans existence. We cannot survive without them.The people who are researching the decline of bees are not out to trick us. What was is that Einstein predicted about the extinction of bees? He was too smart for me to ignore his findings. We all need to start taking all the earthly issues seriously.
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