Our Wi-Fi took a hit last summer. Lightning struck very close to our home with a near-simultaneous crack of the thunder beings. When the maelstrom passed it smelled like ozone, and our Wi-Fi was Wi-Fried. Permanently.
That storm did us a favour, making the decision to go Wi-Fi free for us. It was a decision we should have made sooner. Instead of buying a new wireless router we went back to a wired connection and carried on as if nothing happened. We don't miss it.
With all the wireless devices in our lives one would think that the radiation responsible for the transfer of data would be safe. One would be wrong. There is ample evidence to show that wireless radiation is not good for human health. Especially children. Plants, too.
While there is a mountain of data showing radiation to be harmful, one of the most interesting and grass roots efforts was conducted by a group of inquisitive junior high school students. The group of girls tested to see how radiation affected plant growth. After 12 days the plants placed near a wireless router were either stunted or dead.
Wi-Fi radiation has been shown to be associated with a long list of negative health outcomes including:
- increase risk of cancer
- stresses the adrenals
- breaks down the blood-brain-barrier
- cells less able to absorb nutrients
- headaches, insomnia, fatigue
Some say that Wi-Fi radiation is the asbestos of the 21st century. Other say it is nothing to worry about since the whole thing is based on bad science. I am just glad that the storm last summer made the decision for us.
Even though we are all soaking in wireless radiation, it can't hurt to minimize our exposure. Wi-Fi in the home is convenient, but it is hardly critical.
Protect Yourself
- use speaker phone instead of holding your cellphone to your skull
- keep your cell phone turned off except when using it
- turn off Wi-Fi routers when not in use, especially at night
- distance matters, so try to put a little (or a lot) of distance between you and any radiation-emitting devices.
- keep any electrical device at least 6 feet away from your head while in bed
- unplug electrical devices when not in use, a power bar can make this easier and can shut off multiple things at one time
- spend time in wilderness areas free of cell towers and Wi-Fi zones
- take a regular holiday from wireless devices
Greg, thank you for drawing attention to this important issue. The people making big bucks from technology certainly don't want us to think about this.
ReplyDeleteAfter we switched to wireless the peace lilies on the other side of the wall from the router started dying off. I bought more - same thing, the leaves went brown and died. My dogs sleep about 3 metres from the wifi - one of the dogs startles suddenly and jumps in and out of her basket when the wi fi is on. Needless to say it is on as little as possible and I will be converting back to wired.
A friend of mine has a meter which measures microwave radiation, and I was shocked at how high the level were in my home and also how many metres from the source the radiation was still high. Same thing goes for EMFs. I borrowed a gauss metre from the electricity company and was surprised to find that the levels directly in front of my stove and dishwasher were way above the acceptable levels for exposure. The good news is the levels drop off quite dramatically when you move just a little away from these appliances. Before doing the reading I would often be standing in front of the dishwasher preparing food! For different reasons I have decided to get rid of the dishwasher, so that will no longer be a concern at least.
Madeleine.x
Wow. That is crazy that you have experienced first hand the bit about plants being affected by this radiation. You are lucky to have someone with a device so you can see the amount of radiation in your home. These should be available, perhaps in every public library to be checked out so people can see for themselves if it is a problem in their homes.
DeleteI removed all electronics and electrical devices from my bedroom a few years back ( there is one lamp and a battery clock). I'd not thought about wireless connection being such a problem. Maybe going wired again is something I need to consider.
ReplyDeleteGetting rid of Wi-Fi is something to consider if it is possible to do away with it. In our case we miss the convenience sometimes, but overall have found we can live without it. That also meant we did not have to spend money replacing the unit that the storm fried.
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