“How Green is 5G?” Published in Envirotech Magazine on Environmental Impacts of 5G Deployment

“How Green is 5G?” published in Envirotech Magazine by Sally Beare

“How Green is 5G?” was published in Envirotech Magazine by Sally Beare. In her article Beare documents the energy consumption issues and environmental risks of 5G and the accompanying densification of 4G “small” cell wireless facilities. 

“Telcos also seemingly ignore Jevon’s paradox, a real-life ‘rebound effect’ in which increased efficiency leads to increased use (see: LED lightbulbs). Mobile industry organisation GSMA warns: ‘The concept of ‘Bit drives Watt’ means that mobile data traffic growth of up to 50% drives an increase in power consumption, despite 5G being more power-efficient on a per-bit basis.’20 And analysts predict that energy efficiency will be outstripped by an expanding market.” 

“Notably absent from telecoms companies’ reports is mention of the effects of wireless radiation on wildlife. A growing body of studies make a persuasive case for a link between increasing levels of non-native RF radiation from 4G and 3G and harm to wildlife, including vital pollinators such as bees” 

“A 2021 piece in the British Medical Journal calls for a halt to the 5G rollout and outlines a compendium of risks from RFR: reproductive, oncological, neuropsychiatric, and immunological, in addition to DNA alteration, and gene expression and antibiotic resistance risks. RF scientists have lobbied the World Health Organisation to categorise RFR as a Class 1 carcinogen. “

“It is interesting to note that governments and industry rely on guidelines recommended by ICNIRP, a non-accountable body recently ruled biased by two EU courts and the object of an investigation by two MEPs.  In August 2021, judges ruled in a US court case that the Federal Communications Commission has ignored evidence of harm.^“

Read the full article  “How Green is 5G?” Envirotech Magazine,  By Sally Beare at https://envirotecmagazine.com/2021/11/08/how-green-is-5g/

Download EHT’s 2 pager on climate impacts of 5G here. 

Where can I find more resources on climate impacts from 5G?

https://ehtrust.org/how-green-is-5g-published-in-envirotech-magazine-on-environmental-impacts-of-5g-deployment/ Source: Environmental Health Trust