Exposure to the electromagnetic spectrum

From BoingBoing:

The president of Canada’s Lakehead University, Fred Gilbert, has banned the use of WiFi on campus because he’s worried that inconclusive studies have failed to show that chronic exposure to radio waves won’t cause long term harm:

“All I’m saying is while the jury’s out on this one, I’m not going to put in place what is potential chronic exposure for our students,” he said. “Admittedly that’s highest around the locations of the antenna sites and the wireless hotspots, but those are the places people tend to gravitate to because they get the best reception.”

Um, how about mobile phones, 2.4GHz walkie-talkies and microwaves, dude?

Actually, I have wondered about that myself. I’m more worried about mobile phones than I am about microwaves, because you use microwaves infrequently while the mobile phone is always on and always right near your person. (When I was growing up I was taught to never stand right next to the microwave while it was cooking.)

I guess I’m a n00b, but how do we know that sending new signals through the electromagnetic spectrum isn’t harmful to humans? Heck, I worry that just being around electronics in general (that generate electromagnetic fields) might be harmful.

It seems to be a pattern for humans to introduce something new into our environment and only later, after society is dependent on it, determine its effect. Is this the way the world will end?

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