The Hazards of Cell Phone Use and Sound Science Essay Example for Free

The Hazards of Cell Phone Use and Sound Science Essay An ecosystem pertains to the living organisms in a particular area of the earth along with the physical aspects of their environment. Between these nonliving and living constituents, there exists a natural interchange of so-called goods and services that make up an ecosystem’s natural capital, and which ultimately defines the sustainability of that ecosystem. In other words, natural capital is like the nature’s stock of goods (like food) and services (like waste disposal) in order to sustain its living constituents (Costanza et al. 1997, p. 254). A more specific example of ecosystem services are the pollination services provided for by the bees, among other insect species, which are important to the flowers, and thus to all organisms whose food requirements have to do with flowering plants, and so on. A certain study found that bees preferred specific flowers—that is, tubular flowers, instead of open ones so that the pollination of these kinds of flowers are done primarily by the bees. In other words, bees play an important role in the sustainability of the particular plant species’ posterity, as no other pollinator insect species seemed to prefer the same kind of flowers (Public Library of Science, 2006). In the ecosystem, every movement, every input and output of whatever natural constituent is accounted for, and has its consequences. All the more if there is an extra or unwarranted input, such as what is going on in concordance with the advent of technology. We are literally swimming in a sea of electromagnetic radiation brought about by various electronic appliances, most notable of all the portable celphone. It has been speculated that bees are disappearing due to the electromagnetic radiation continuously emitted by these portable phones. But again, this is mere speculation. What is certain, however, is that bees are disappearing—studies in Britain and the Netherlands have shown that over the last 25 years approximately, the bee population has been declining, and with it, those of certain flowers (University of Leeds, 2006). But the same studies are inconclusive about the cause for this decline, proposing only possible causes such as changes in the agricultural chemicals being used; the way the land is taken cared of; and also climate changes. Further studies are still being undertaken to prove which is the real cause for this disappearance of bees, but scientists have not pinpointed celphone use as a probable reason. Therefore, the allegations against cellphones lack sound science, and still have to be scientifically tested if this seeming unlikelihood is worth investigating. Certainly, we are enjoying and maximizing the advantages of having celphones. However, it is possible that harmful effects of celphone radiation do exist. A study by Danish epidemiologist and medical scientist has revealed that celphone radiation caused DNA damage among other things (Korvach, 2007). This means that it is possible to breed dysfunctional offspring. Other effects have been found to be linked to brain tumor development, but findings of the study were not enough to lead to this conclusion. However, we are still talking about possibilities. Every scientific observation must be reproducible, or proven by a number of other scientific laboratories before it can be fully accepted and established as a scientific fact. It is possible that the bees are disappearing because of increasing electromagnetic radiation in the surroundings. It is possible that some people have died of brain cancer brought about by celphone use. As of the moment, I however, believe that these possibilities are insubstantial. I do not think that celphones have enough radiation to cause such negative effects. For me, what is likely is that their radiation may add to an individual’s susceptibility to such diseases. What can be done, then, as of the moment since there seems to be a lack of sound science to prove or disprove anything, as I have said earlier, is to be careful, to perhaps minimize the use of celphones and other electronics all at one time, and let the scientists do their work.