Britische Brieftaubenzüchter
sehen Probleme durch Mobilfunkmasten

Am Rande des Jahrestreffens ihres Vereins bezeichneten britische
Brieftaubenzüchter die hochfrequenten Emissionen von Mobilfunkmasten mit als die Ursache für den gehäuften Verlust ihrer gefiederten Freunde beim Nachhauseflug.

Die hochfrequenten Emissionen würden das Orientierungsvermögen der
Vögel stören und damit das Auffinden des heimischen Schlags erschweren oder gar verhindern.

Deshalb fordern sie eine verstärkte Forschung auf diesem Gebiet und
fragen auch nach Aufzeichnungsgeräten für die Tiere, um zu
untersuchen, was beim Vorbeiflug an den Sendemasten geschieht.

Dazu aus 'The Guardian' vom 23.01.04:
Phone masts blamed for pigeons' lost art

Vivek Chaudhary, chief sports correspondent

Homing pigeons excel in the art of endurance while using age-old
instincts to make their way home across thousands of miles. But modern technology is being blamed for their demise after claims that mobile phone masts are causing thousands to get lost each year.

According to homing pigeon enthusiasts, powerful electromagnetic
microwave radiation from the masts is destroying the birds' sense of
direction. Many owners have had to change the route their birds take
to fly home, known as the road, to avoid the perils of modern
technology.

The British Royal Pigeon Racing Association (BRPRA) is calling for
research into the impact of the masts.It also wants them fitted with tracking devices to monitor what happens when they pass the masts.

Delegates at the British homing world show of the year in Blackpool,
which took place last week complained that they had lost dozens of
homing pigeons over the past few years because of the masts.

Anne Pitkeathly, from the Isle of Wight, who has been racing pigeons
for the past five years said that the problem with masts had become so severe that she had had to change the road her birds take to fly home.

Ms Pitkeathly said: "The route between Cornwall and the island used to pass through Dorset, where there has been a proliferation of masts. In a season I lost 40 birds and had to switch to the Dover south road which has been much better.

"I would think that it should be possible to fit trackers to birds...
to know exactly if they are put off course by emissions from masts."

Graham Deacon, also from the Isle of Wight, said he would welcome
research into the issue. "On one race from Winchester last year I lost
more than 80 birds," he said.

Peter Bryant, general manager of the BRPRA, said the organisation had been inundated with complaints about pigeons getting lost because of mobile phone masts.

Mr Bryant drew a contrast between the stark dangers faced by pigeons carrying vital messages during the second world war and the risks posed to the birds today.

"Their instincts carried them back through hostile fire and they were
even parachuted to members of the resistance and made their way back from that," he said.

"It would be ironic if they were now the victims of an unseen enemy."

Quelle:
http://www.guardian.co.uk
und
http://www.ralf-woelfle.de/elektrosmog/media/021209brieft.htm

Mobiltelefone auf Platz 1 der am meisten gehassten Erfindungen

Die Amerikaner haben ein gespaltenes Verhältnis zu ihren Handys. 30
Prozent der Erwachsenen, welche die Erfindung nennen sollten, die sie am meisten hassten, ohne die sie aber gleichzeitig nicht leben könnten, nannten das Mobiltelefon.

Dies ist das Ergebnis einer jährlichen Umfrage des Massachusetts
Institue of Technology, bekannt unter der Bezeichnung Lemelson-MIT
Invention Index.

Auf dem zweiten Platz lagen Wecker mit 25 Prozent, gefolgt von
Fernsehgeräten mit 23 Prozent und Rasierapparaten mit 14 Prozent.
Mikrowellengeräte, Computer und Anrufbeantworter wurden ebenfalls auf der Liste der verhassten Technologien genannt.

Originaltext:
Cellular phone tops list of most-hated innovations
BOSTON (AP) - Love it. Hate it. Need it.

Americans are ambivalent about their cell phones, TV sets and the
like. The rely on such everyday technology, but it drives them nuts.

At the top of the list? The cell phone.

An annual Massachusetts Institute of Technology survey, known as the Lemelson-MIT Invention Index, found that among adults asked what invention they hate most but can't live without, 30 percent said the cell phone.

Alarm clocks were a close second, with 25 percent, followed by the
television with 23 percent and razors with 14 percent. Microwave
ovens, computers and answering machines also earned spots as detested technology.

The survey has been conducted for the past eight years to gauge public opinion toward inventions, inventors and technology.

"The interconnectedness you get from the cell phone is a very positive thing, and I think that's one of the most important things, the
bringing together of people. The downside of that is that you sometimes want to be alone," said Lemelson Center Director Merton C. Flemings.

The random telephone survey of 1,023 adults and 500 teenagers was
conducted Nov. 12-19 by Princeton, N.J.-based Taylor Nelson Sofres
Intersearch and was released today.

Ninety-five percent of the adults surveyed felt that inventions had
improved the quality of their lives.

A handy invention - a two-way radio - allowed Bob Dillon, 51, and his
companion Deborah Bleau, 44, to keep tabs on Bleau's 12-year-old
daughter, Kate, and Kate's two friends, as all five strolled through
downtown Boston on a recent visit.

Bleau said it was hard to find fault with the technology keeping her
in constant touch with her daughter, and Dillon did not find much to
criticize about cell phones, other than their pesky habit of going off
in public places.

Dillon said he had a love-hate relationship with television. He ditched his television years ago. Now, he, Bleau, and Bleau's daughter have a TV in their Latham, N.Y., home, but it is used only for watching movies.

"It's not hooked into any kind of broadcast or anything like that,
primarily because it's so invasive, and can take over your life," he
said. "But it's a double-edged sword. I miss the History Channel."

Jaime Wasserman, 26, of Boston, walked through Quincy Market with her cell phone pressed to her ear.

"I love technology. There's really nothing that irritates me. I love
it all. Computers, television," she said. "An alarm clock? You need an
alarm clock. People who hate it are probably lazy people who just
don't feel like getting up in the morning."

Quelle:
http://www.morningsun.net