IssueS of Concern...

Is Wi-Fi Radiation Making Trees Sick?

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.

According to the report, trees in urban areas of the Netherlands have shown an increasing number of damage such as cracks, bumps, discoloration and various forms of tissue damage. There have also been significant variations in growth, as well as bleeding and fissures in the bark.

The Wageningen University report was ordered by the city of Alphen aan den Rijn five years ago after officials found unexplained abnormalities on trees that couldn't be ascribed to a virus or bacterial infection. According to the study, 70 percent of all trees in urban areas in the Netherlands have shown the same symptoms, compared with only 10 percent five years ago. Meanwhile, trees in densely forested areas have hardly been affected. Further study has also showed that the disease has similarities affecting trees throughout the Western hemisphere.