http://www.care2.com/greenliving/green-girl-zaps-frying-fridges.html
Green Girl zaps frying fridges
By Lily Berthold-Bond
 |
Ahh, college dorms. Where one fits one’s entire life into one 13-by-15 foot room. Of course, there’s a whole other person also trying to fit their entire life into the same 13-by-15 room. It seems both impossible and cruel. Yet, it must be done. |
In go the two desks, the two computers, the two beds, the two printers, all of the clothes, the rugs, the guitar and keyboard, the posters, the chairs, the laundry bags, the books, the body care products, and, of course, the mini fridge.
Life in college seems impossible without a mini fridge. It holds the wonders of caffeine and snacks for that late night study session, the breakfast foods for that early morning class, the sanitary water to get you through life in your dry dorm room. But where do you put it?
Held back by the strict confines of my small room, along with the locations of the cord outlets, I thought I had found the perfect place: Under my bed.
Quite pleased with myself, I lived in this way for two months, until my mother came to visit. Her face, elated from seeing me for the first time since I had left for college, immediately sunk into an expression of utmost horror and I heard the words, “Lily, is that a refrigerator under your bed?”
Now, this I had not been expecting. Nearly everyone I know has their mini fridge under their bed. Where else are we supposed to put them?
“We have to move it now,” she exclaimed. I have since learned that electrical appliances, including refrigerators, radiate electromagnetic fields (EMFs) over a distance. As the distance increases, the level of EMFs decreases.
So what’s the issue with having EMFs radiating from your mini fridge directly below you while you sleep? Well, at that close of a distance (say, 1-2 feet), EMFs have been found to cause all sorts of issues, such as cancer (in particular leukemia), birth defects, damage to reproductive organs, tumors, stress, miscarriages and heart problems to name a few.
Having dealt with my father’s leukemia, I can say that I certainly do not want to bring that or any other disease upon myself. Learning this, I immediately bought an extension cord and moved my mini fridge as far away from my bed as possible.
Now, my mini fridge rests happily atop my dresser and my ovaries are (hopefully) happily un-fried.
Note to self: Refrigerator right under your reproductive organs, BAD.
Lily Berthold-Bond grew up in a chemical-free zone and has struggled her whole life to understand and accept this non-commercial lifestyle. Now a freshman at Tufts University, she has embraced her green life and hopes to share its possibilities with the rest of her generation.
MORE ADVENTURES OF GREEN GIRL
The Adventures of Green Girl
Splat! Green Girl whacks air fresheners
Green Girl zaps flying fridges
Green Girl’s secret power? Tea
Green Girl: Neti pot conquers congestion
Green Girl waxes the tea kettle electric
Green Girl Quashes Laptop Radiation
Green Girl Creams Facial Cleansers
Green Girl Looks Behind The Masc(ara)
Green Girl Fights Food Coloring
Green Girl Turns Her Nose to Perfume
Green Girl Pans Plastic water Bottles
More on Green Girl Adventures (37 articles available)More from Lily Berthold-Bond (37 articles available)
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6 comments
add your comment »I guess everything was healthier in college in my day (along time ago). Computers didn't exist then. And we were NOT allowed to plug in anything electrical. My roommate and I used to make tea with the hot water directly from the faucet in the bathroom. I was also on the 4th floor in a building with NO elevators. And I think that's called "The Good Old Days". Maybe it was.
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Hey Green Girl, I am a new but huge fan! My roommate and I are also trying to get through college with a minimum amount of toxic chemicals... it's hard, because we are totally broke and we also try not to totally weird out our third roommate, who favors terrifying cleaning products. We all wash our hair with baking soda, though. :)
Anyway, I've never heard anything conclusive about EMF's causing cancer and such... can you point me at any research or whatnot? I'm hesitant to believe that EMFs are so bad, or at least anywhere near as bad as VOCs, carcinogenic additives, and the like. I mean, we are bathed in electromagnetic radiation from the sun and the earth all the time, right? Inform me, please. :)
Love the blog, keep up the great work and good luck in school. Oh yeah and happy valentine's day!
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Hey Green Girl, I am a new but huge fan! My roommate and I are also trying to get through college with a minimum amount of toxic chemicals... it's hard, because we are totally broke and we also try not to totally weird out our third roommate, who favors terrifying cleaning products. We all wash our hair with baking soda, though. :)
Anyway, I've never heard anything conclusive about EMF's causing cancer and such... can you point me at any research or whatnot? I'm hesitant to believe that EMFs are so bad, or at least anywhere near as bad as VOCs, carcinogenic additives, and the like. I mean, we are bathed in electromagnetic radiation from the sun and the earth all the time, right? Inform me, please. :)
Love the blog, keep up the great work and good luck in school. Oh yeah and happy valentine's day!
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Uh...? Have you given any thought to the EMFs produced by wireless computers along with cordless handsets and cell phones. Seems to me there are an inordinate amount of EMFs floating through thousands of 13 x15 foot dorm rooms these days; particularly where every student is perputally connected to their cell phone like it were a feed tube. I wonder how many would take that giant step back to land lines wired computers? Something to think about 'green girls'!
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I Live in a Bus and dont have much room, Everything has a place it fits into and there isnt really any room to start repositioning things, I have a Mini Freezer underneath the bottom end of my Bed and a Normal sized Fridge about a Foot away from the bottom end of the Bed Although that is in a Cupboard (Don't know if that makes any difference or not)
I am also Trying for a Baby at present so will this affect me, and if so what can i do about it is there any sort of Protective material you can wrap around the appliances to minimalise the Radiation
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Thank You! I love these blogs, keep 'em coming!
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