The Low-Tech Times

The Washington Post’s Rick Weiss reports that hi-tech nanotubes used in electronics may cause cancer, similar to asbestos related illness:

Microscopic, high-tech “nanotubes” that are being made for use in a wide variety of consumer products cause the same kind of damage in the body as asbestos does, according to a study in mice that is raising alarms among workplace safety experts and others.

Within days of being injected into mice, the nanotubes — which are increasingly used in electronic components, sporting goods and dozens of other products — triggered a kind of cellular reaction that over a period of years typically leads to mesothelioma, a fatal form of cancer, researchers said.

Kris De Decker of Low-tech Magazine also covers the issue with a detailed post entitled Is ecotech the new asbestos?

The Low-Tech Times previously covered a story linking cell phone radiation with cancerous brain tumors. Now, some people may have another health reason to limit their own usage and their young children’s usage of mobile phones.

Geoffrey Lean, Environment Editor of The Independent, reports:

Women who use mobile phones when pregnant are more likely to give birth to children with behavioural problems, according to authoritative research.

A giant study, which surveyed more than 13,000 children, found that using the handsets just two or three times a day was enough to raise the risk of their babies developing hyperactivity and difficulties with conduct, emotions and relationships by the time they reached school age. And it adds that the likelihood is even greater if the children themselves used the phones before the age of seven.

The Low-Tech Times previously covered the environmental damage caused by gadget-crazy people buying the latest cell phones. If you choose to own a cell phone, we recommend sticking with a basic model and limiting usage.

After the Low-Tech Times article was published, Dan Frommer from Silicon Alley Insider reports that cell phone sales are down in the first quarter of 2008:

Consumers in the U.S. bought 31 million mobile phones in Q1, spending $2.7 billion, according to data the NPD Group will release tomorrow. The problem: That’s a 22% year-over-year decline in unit shipments and a 7% decline in revenue from Q1 2007 — in an industry that’s still supposed to be growing.