Wi-Fi, sweet deliverer of information and porn, may be killing trees. A study by a Dutch university suggests that Wi-Fi radiation causes weird abnormalities in trees. This is disturbing, as we love both Wi-Fi and trees.
Wi-fi networks blanket urban areas around the world, keeping us constantly connected to the internet wherever we may be — however a new European study finds that these networks may have harmful side-effects on the environment. According to a report by Wageningen University, the constant humming of internet data centers and wi-fi networks could have an adverse effect on nearby trees. The article states that the background radiation produced by these beacons of tech could be making trees sick.
The trees in the city of Alphen den Rijn weren’t doing so well, but the usual suspects (viruses and bacterial infections) didn’t have anything to do with the poor health of the trees.
The unlikely culprit turned out to be Wi-Fi. Researchers at Wageningen University discovered that when trees are exposed to Wi-Fi radiation, they don’t grow correctly, the bark bleed, and the leaves die.
Dutch researchers discovered that 70 percent of trees in the Netherlands are affected by Wi-Fi radiation. Five years ago, only 10 percent were.
The scientists studied 20 ash trees and gave them a dose of Wi-Fi radiation for three months. The trees away from the radiation remained healthy, but the trees exposed to the Wi-Fi radiation were sick.
According to the news release, “initial observations suggest a negative effect on the health of the ash… Researchers find it necessary to repeat the experiments before reaching conclusions.”
Ok so if Wi-Fi can make trees bleed, what does it do to us?
The debate over Wi-Fi radiation continues. The Health Protection Agency states “there is no consistent evidence to date that exposure to FR signals from Wi-Fi and WLANs adversely affect the health of the general population.”
