Mobile Phones: It's not just about Brain Tumors!

Cell Phone Trees

In order to service increasing numbers of users, cells have to be made smaller. These smaller cells are called "microcells" compared with traditional cell towers that covered a 10 mile cell. Microcells today are often less than one mile, depending on the local population density. In northern San Diego County, I have counted three cell phone towers in the span of one mile.

Not only are we exposed to cell phone EM when we use the phone, we are irradiated by the cell phone towers which are often less than a mile apart!

What a great technology! OMG!

reply to post by EagleTalonZ


You can function just fine without it. I think that cell phones are by definition a trade off between privacy and autonomy on the one hand and convenience on the other. Why should someone feel that they can reach out and contact you when ever they want? I think its a bunch of bs myself. Clearly the convenience is there and I think that texting is a far better and more concise method of communicating than conversations.

About 25 years ago, my grandmother would as a rule not answer her phone other than just after 3M when the 80+year old woman down the street would call her and they would recap that day's General Hospital. If she wanted to make a call, she made it,but she would not answer the phone. This was in the 70's so pre answering machines. When we asked her how to get a hold of her in the event of someone became seriously ill or died, she would say "well if they're sick, I'm no doctor and if they're dead, they'll be dead when you come over here and tell me about it the next day" Pretty refreshing, actually.

Honestly, I just don't buy the entire model where people think that they have things so important to tell you that they can pick up their phone and call you. Seriously, 99.99% of the content of cell calls is rubbish and 80% of the calls are made by folks who are bored and want to shoot the breeze.

Carry it for a week but never answer the phone. Use it to make calls and check the voicemail twice a day. You'll be surprised how much that improves your life

reply to post by dolphinfan


I'll set myself as an example for this one. I am a freelance software developer. I have to find my own clients or I'll starve. I chose the path of freelancing because I hate corporations, I prefer to work as an individual. When I get a big software project, I hire other freelancers to work with me, but I am not their boss, I am usually team leader so we have some coordination going on. But they have no long term contract other than for one job at a time.

During work days, I have an incoming call at least once every one hour, from another developer in one of the teams or from a customer, etc. Since my office is my home, I don't want to be there all day long to receive phone calls, I like moving around, going outside for coffee etc. That way, work doesn't seem like work, but as if it is an everyday thing I do, like brushing my teeth or putting on some clothes. It has become an activity that I describe as a hobby, it brings good money in, and I feel like I'm not working. It's great!

But guess what, if I didn't own a mobile phone, it would be much harder to do this. On my mobile I can check my emails, receive and make important job phone calls, and I can view progress and bug reports from the development teams while sipping some coffee at a local cafeteria.

I am not saying I wouldn't survive without a mobile phone, but it certainly does change your life in some ways. Many times in bad ways, many times in good ways.

According to this article cell phones might actually be good for some people Can Cell Phones Help Fight Alzheimer's?

One thing it seems to be true that cell phone emissions do effect our brains.

By Bill Hendrick WebMD

Jan. 6, 2010 -- Cell phone exposure may be helpful in the fight against Alzheimer's disease, a new study shows. The study, involving mice, provides evidence that long-term exposure to electromagnetic waves associated with cell phone use may protect against, and even reverse, Alzheimer's disease.

[edit on 9-1-2010 by verylowfrequency]

reply to post by Alasian

While cell-phones have the potentials to give cancer, I don't think it is possible to stop using them. I mean,

No one will stop using their cellphones myself included but..isn't there a better technology out there somewhere?? something that uses for instance satellites and RF rather than microwaves and millions of those ugly towers all over? It's a technology burdened with problems and we all walk around like this is the coolest thing why would we want anything better, excuse me, I need to answer my cellphone and fry my brain!

reply to post by plumranch


Yes, better technology is definitely possible, but I don't think anyone is really doing much research into making it work.

Instead of lower-frequency EM radio waves, use light. Instead of "electricity," use photons of light. Both are EM energy and travel just the same, except light has less mass and travels much more easily and causes less radiation.

Fiber optic cables already use light for transmission, but only through conducting wires that are insulated. If we can find a way to do the same thing through open air without attenuating the signal, then yeah, there is definitely better technology available to us.

reply to post by bsbray11


The problem with using light is that we know very little about transmitting with light, apart from fiber-optics. But we need something like fiber-optics with out the fiber, we need wireless technology