In the last 100 years we have adopted thousands of new technologies with little concern for the consequences. If they proved harmful (and many have) we can always stop using them. This philosophy is now being questioned by things like the "precautionary principle" and hundreds of small struggles (pesticides, nuclear energy, Genetic Engineering, etc.) The sad fact is that once a technology is adopted it is very difficult to suppress it.
One of the struggles that keeps popping up involves cell phones. Are they safe? Industry studies are saying they are and other studies are saying they are not. Who should we believe? The latest issue of "The Ecologist" takes the position that we can't trust the industry studies. There is too much money involved here and they will not fund any study that might cause problems. They go on and point out the flaws in the industry studies. They also point out the industry studies are well publicized and most of the contrary studies are ignored. If you were a researcher in need of funds or publicity the easy path is to keep money sources happy. It is that simple and it undermines our search for truth/good science. So.. are cell phones dangerous? Possibly, we can't be sure and that is the bigger problem. jeff
