Page 70 - Carbon Capitalism and Communication Confronting Climate Crisis

54 R. MAXWELL AND T. MILLER

7. Greenpeace (nd.). “Green IT at Greenpeace.” http://www.greenpeace.
org/international/en/campaigns/climate-change/cool-it/Green-IT-at-
Greenpeace/. Accessed Jan. 19, 2017.
8. GoodElectronics. http://goodelectronics.org/. Accessed Jan. 19, 2017.
9. See work by Mark Graham and his colleagues on digital labor in Asia and
Africa, for example, at the Oxford Internet Institute. https://www.oii.ox.
ac.uk/research/. Accessed Jan. 18, 2017.
10. Human brains and neurological systems are intimately related to naturally
occurring electromagnetism. The billions of neurons in our brains use
electricity to function and communicate, as do all living cells, DNA, genes,
and the rest of the building blocks of life. Birds and bees navigate by using
the cryptochrome protein in their cells that sense the Earth’s natural
electromagnetic field. Disruption of this ability is said to factor in many
disorders affecting these species. In humans, cryptochromes help set bio-
logical clocks. They tell our bodies when it’s dark and when to sleep, two
important triggers for the pineal gland’s production of the hormone
melatonin, which has important antioxidant properties and forms part of
our immunological system, potentially helping our bodies fight cancer.
Research suggests that cell towers and phones, and all electronics for that
matter, are disrupting this natural biophysical rhythm. The Earth generates
and maintains naturally occurring electromagnetism at frequencies that are
relatively stable within a range of 3–60 Hz, with peaks of intensity at
around 8, 14 and on up to 43.2 Hz. In our most relaxed conscious state,
our brain waves operate in a frequency range of 8–12 Hz—the so-called
Alpha waves—roughly the same fundamental intensity as the Earth’s
electromagnetic field. Our brains have evolved to resonate in very basic
ways with the planet. Theoretical and Computational Biophysics Group,
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (nd.). “Cryptochrome and
Magnetic Sensing.” http://www.ks.uiuc.edu/Research/cryptochrome/.
Accessed Jan. 19, 2017; Mohammad Ali Eghbal, Aziz Eftekhari, Elham
Ahmadian, Yadollah Azarmi, and Alireza Parvizpur (2016) “A Review of
Biological and Pharmacological Actions of Melatonin: Oxidant and
Prooxidant Properties.” J Pharma Reports 1: 106–115 (Eghbal et al.
2016).
11. In one common industry test, mobile phones are placed against a dummy’s
head, or Specific Anthropomorphic Mannequin (SAM), to measure where a
phone can be safely held (you can find guidelines under the legal section in
your phone’s general settings). The SAM skull is modeled on large male
heads, which tend to be bigger than average heads and, more importantly,
thicker than those of vulnerable children and teen cell users. Consumers For
Safe Phones (2011, Nov. 27). “FCC’s Cell Phone Testing Dummy is Larger
Than 97% of All Cell Phone Users.” http://consumers4safephones.com/