Apparently our office printers release toxic particulate matter equivalent to the amount of pollution produced by a cigarette smoker. And, we are being inundated with electromagnetic radiation from our "cordless phones, cell phones, wireless computer networks, baby alarms, and microwaves." According to a company that markets an Electrosmog Detector, "a vulnerable minority of sensitive individuals" may be in for a range of symptoms including "sleep disruption, nosebleeds, headaches, migraines, lethargy, increased blood pressure, skin problems, the triggering of epileptic attacks and electrical hypersensitivity."
Of course, there's no escaping pollution. Even if we decided to retreat to some kind of remote rural area and raise our own yaks, we'd probably still be subject to methane. (Do yaks produce as much methane as cows?)
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2 comments:
now if only we could super-size that mug and put one in every time-zone across the planet...
It's funny--this reminds me of a book talk I went to a few years ago. The author was a Chinese immigrant who was writing about his experiences under Mao. He requested that the bookstore owner turn off all of the electronic items near the podium (printer, computer, maybe even the phone). And then he whipped out a bamboo flute and began playing and when he was done he explained that there is so much background noise with all this electronic equipment on--and that you can't really hear what the world sounds like anymore because of the constant hum of electricity.
Although I thought the bamboo flute was a bit much (he was also dressed in Chinese peasant clothing, and although perhaps I could think of his talk as a self-conscious performance of orientalism designed to sell books, it was hard not to wonder at others' reactions) the sound of room right after they unplugged the computer and printer was really silent. I don't think we can get away from pollution, but even at the low level of noise, sometimes I wish I could unplug all the electronic items in my house--refrigerator, printer, internet hub, television, etc...and see if I felt the same way I did at that book reading.
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