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City-Provided Wi-Fi Rejected Over "Health Concerns"

Posted by kdawson on from the just-put-on-the-tinfoil-hat-and-it-will-be-all-better dept.

exphose writes "A small, hippie-friendly town in northern California, Sebastopol, had made an agreement with Sonic.net to provide free Wi-Fi across the downtown area. However, not everyone in town was pleased with the arrangement. According to Sebastopol Mayor Craig Litwin, citizens had voiced concerns that 'create enough suspicion that there may be a health hazard' and so they canceled their contract with Sonic.net. Some more details are at the blog of Sonic.net's CEO."

9 of 360 comments (clear)

  1. Take off and nuke the site from orbit. by tgd · · Score: 5, Funny

    Its the only way to be sure.

  2. Lay off the weed, man! by Ngarrang · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's time to lay off the weed, me thinks. WiFi signals are as harmless as any other radio signal. I suppose they may try to get FM and AM radio blocked, as well? I am curious, though, if these same people just happen to be carrying cell phones.

    --
    Bearded Dragon
    1. Re:Lay off the weed, man! by Wellington+Grey · · Score: 5, Funny

      WiFi signals are as harmless as any other radio signal

      It's not the WiFi you should worry about, but the routers...

      --
      Silver Clipboard: Time Management Tips
    2. Re:Lay off the weed, man! by AlecC · · Score: 5, Interesting

      There have been som studies funded by the UK Department of Health which showed no convincing results from cellphones. Now, they migh, of course, be in the pocket of the cellphome manufacturers, like they might be in the pocket of the drug manufacturers. But with a socialised health service, they are the people who are going to end up payiong the first level, purely medical, costs of any ill effects that there may be. Whcih suggests to me that, if they were going to err, they would be likely to err in the direction of overcaution rather than recklessness.

      All the accusations against cellphones have been generally anecdotal i.e. a number of people have been found who were both heavy cellphone users and got brain tumours. But when large scale statistical studues are done, these "clusters" disappear. If you ask averybody with a tumour whether they were a heavy cellphone user, some will say yes. Probably more than really are, becasue moderate users will tend to judge themselves heavier in order to have something to blame for their tragedy - randomness seems much more frightening that a technological accident.

      --
      Consciousness is an illusion caused by an excess of self consciousness.
  3. well, fortunately by nguy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Fortunately, non-free WiFi and non-open WiFi doesn't have the same kinds of health hazards.

  4. More information. by TripMaster+Monkey · · Score: 5, Informative

    Great article on debunking the spurious claims of health risks from Wi-Fi can be found here.

    --
    ____

    ~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey

  5. Re:FM radio? TV? by Swampash · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well hey, lets just get rid of microwave ovens, radio stations, television signals and police radios.

    You're thinking too small.

    Hint: massive thermonuclear reaction taking place above our heads every day, subjecting the Earth and everything on it to almost inconceivably powerful doses of electromagnetic energy.

  6. Self damning by Dan+East · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I find it ironic that the CEO makes a grossly inaccurate statement that actually hurts his cause:

    Compare this to the mobile phone that you keep in your pocket, which is typically three to ten times this power level. When it's at it's highest power level, you hold it next to your head to conduct a conversation. Ever notice that your skin gets warm after a long call? That's the only side effect of RF energy - warming.

    The warmth of a cell phone has nothing to do with RF. It is waste heat generated directly by the transmitter - it is not the result of RF energy being absorbed by the skin and converted to heat. Even low-frequency transmitters get very hot when transmitting. VHF and UHF mobile rigs, like those used by emergency services and amateur radio operators, have huge (relative to the size of the radio) heatsinks on the back to dissipate the heat so the final stage electronics are not fried. My amateur handheld (Yaesu VX-7R quad band) can transmit at 5 watts, and the magnesium case literally gets so hot at that output power that it is difficult to hold. That is transmitting at frequencies vastly lower than cell-phones (144-148 MHz) which pass right through skin. It's not the antenna that gets hot, or my head, it is the case housing the transmitter.

    Also, batteries get warm when generating high amperage, especially really compact batteries like lithium-ion. So that also contributes to the warmth of a transmitting cell phone.

    --
    Better known as 318230.
  7. legal ramifications by publicopinion5 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is there any way Sonic.net could sue these guys for backing out of an agreement for made-up reasons? This seems like someone not paying their bills because a unicorn told them to.