[AT] Garden tractor???/Now RF hazard

[Mike Sloane]

I will neither defend nor support the concerns of the parents. But their 
stated objection was having the kids' developing brains subjected to 
continuous RF emissions all day long, 5 days a week, right next to their 
classrooms. I presume that they felt that, if teens/adults want to fry 
their brains with Blue Tooth and other transceivers, that is one thing, 
but the little kids wouldn't have a choice. Again, whether their 
argument has merit or not, that was their position. I suppose that the 
school could have erected Faraday cages around the classrooms, but that 
probably would have probably defeated the value of the income from the 
tower. I presume that the school board chose to err on the side of 
caution in dropping the plan.

In another news item, a nearby elementary school was almost closed when 
the local board and parents realized that it was only a few yards from a 
high tension electrical line. 
<http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/09/students_at_fredon_school_may.html>

Mike

Don Bowen wrote:
> Mike Sloane wrote:
>> Our local school board thought they could help the budget out by renting 
>> some space to a cellphone company for a tower right next to the 
>> elementary school. As you might imagine, after a couple of very stormy 
>> meetings attended by many concerned parents, the plan was dropped.
>>   
> One of the problems with language is that the same term can have 
> multiple meanings.  It is unfortunate that radiation refers to nuclear 
> as well as electromagnetic.  Thus many people confuse the use and are 
> afraid of radio emissions.
> 
> Why are they afraid of cell phone towers when they stick a blue tooth 
> thing in their ear (blue tooth is RF), when most everyone now days 
> carries a cell phone, most homes have cordless phones, many homes have 
> WiFi, garage door openers, the list goes on. 
> 
> Such is the very poor state of science education.
>