Abstract: A group of people in Santa Fe who are sensitive to electrical fields are suing to have Wi-Fi removed from public places. They claim it is discriminatory.
Does this have any legs? It seems to me that courts often side with the ADA for damn near anything. Could courts decide that the benefits of wi-fi are outweighed by the possiblity it could cause someone harm? I’m reminded of the discussion recently about peanut allergies. People could conceivably die from peanuts, and while there isn’t a blanket ban, some schools ban peanuts if an attendee has an issue with them. So, could someone who uses the public library complain and have it removed? Could they sue a Borders bookstore?
I can’t imagine a community taking such a large step backward, technologicaly, but when it comes to the ADA, I wouldn’t bet against it.
One generally has to demonstrate that one possesses a disability to be covered by relevant legislation.
You can’t be “allergic” to Wi-Fi. These people aren’t disabled, they’re delusional, and it’s not a new thing; these are the same folks who previously would claim the government was beaming radio waves into their brains and such.
It doesn’t surprise me one bit that this story originates in Santa Fe.
The guy in the story says cell phones give him the same alergy, is he going to try to get the city to ban cell phones, too? :rolleyes: This just doesn’t make sense to me. There’s got to be some sort of ulterior motive, since I’d WAG that this guy’s neighbor probably has WiFi and he doesn’t even know it. Heck, I pick up 3 to 4 signals from my place depending on the time of day.
Upon preview and after watching the news clip: These guys are even crazier than I thought! They’ve got WiFi trackers and live in “specially shielded homes”? As I alluded to in my paragraph above and the person interviewing stated, “the area is already saturated anyway”. I mean, do these guys get chest pains when they walk through an automatic door, or when a cop checks their speed via radar? Gimme a break!
That’s nothing! I’m launching a lawsuit against the manufacturers of my computer monitor, because it emits potentially harmful EM radiation in the 400-790THz range. It’s a proven fact that overexposure to such radiation can cause blindness!
No. No one is “sensitive” to electric fields of the magnitude found in everyday use. Anyone who claims they are is either delusional or a liar. Not one so-called electric-field sensitive has ever passed scientific scrutiny. None.
Show me the science that says that some people are actually affected by it and then we can start talking about it. Even if it is, do we shut down all WiFi for the benefit of a small minority?
A women came into my library once asking that I type an email up for her because the electric waves from the monitor gave her problems.
I informed her that I couldn’t do that because I am not allowed to get involved in someone’s Internet use like that. It’s been a little over a year since and she’s used the Internet computers multiple times and she hasn’t keeled over yet.
That’s not true. I am sensitive to them, and I know a lot of people who are sensitive to them. I have wi-fi, use a cell phone all that, but I can feel when a CRT is on in a room. These devices fill the room with ambient noise at certain frequencies. A lot of people are much more sensitive to them than others. If cellphones can cause brain cancer, there are people who are sensitive enough to feel the radiation.
Actually, I’m sensitive enough to the static charge a CRT generates that I can sometimes tell if a CRT is on or not from ‘nearby’. It’s the same sense that tells me when I’m near a wall if I’m walking around a dark room with my eyes closed, or feels like it.
I suspect that it’s a matter of air pressure and the fine hairs on my arms for the wall, and static charge and the same fine hairs for the CRT. Depends a lot on how humid it is.
I doubt very much that it can even vaugely cause a problem, though.
No. QED is right on the money; you’re misinterpreting what he said. If you can sense a CRT, it is the noise the components make, not the electromagnetic radiation in play. No person has ever been able to “sense” anything when factors like audible noise are corrected for.
I am talking about noise in the sense that it is filling the room with energy waves. Every single electronic device in your house emits radiation. I’m not talking about actually hearing a tune, but the fact that there is energy physically radiating through the room. I can hear if a CRT is on or not. When I was a kid and my hearing was incredible, I could walk into a classroom with class in session and hear the CRT on when I walked through the door. I’ve since learned to tune it out or blown out that frequency at raves and rock concerts, or some such, but I know that hearing a CRT was quite easy for me for many years.
I don’t talk on my cellphone more than I have to because the radiation irritates my temple.
I can hear CRT monitors and TVs too. Sometimes fluorescent lights and other electronics as well. And when I say “hear”, I mean literally. Many electronics contain high frequency oscillators in their power supplies, which vibrate and emit sound waves that my, or anyone else’s for that matter, ears can pick up. CRTs especially, because of the vibrating flyback transformer. Older CRTs and fluorescent lights can be worse, and sometimes I’ve had to find an alternate monitor because it’s making so much noise.
Again, these are sound waves, not electromagnetic waves.
Right – also, a large enough current and electric field can induce a vibration in its vicinity. (Sort of how high-voltage transmission lines make a low frequency hum if you stand under them)
I don’t think the field-strength of the average WiFi spot is at that level, though, except maybe if you’re standing right next to a high-power router (or in the case of your cellphone if you hold it up to your ear for a long time).