On the one hand, those of us in the printing and paper industry should seize on this news story:

Radiation from Wi-Fi networks is harmful to trees, causing significant variations in growth, as well as bleeding and fissures in the bark, according to a recent study in the Netherlands. All deciduous trees in the Western world are affected, according to the study by Wageningen University. The city of Alphen aan den Rijn ordered the study five years ago after officials found unexplained abnormalities on trees that couldn't be ascribed to a virus or bacterial infection.

Please consider the environment before commenting on this post or sending an e-mail! Oh, I don’t know. Call me skeptical, but this sounds more than a bit dodgy to me, or at least like a desperate plea for tenure. Do WiFi networks put out enough radiation to have any effect on anything? After all, people have been making spurious claims about cellphones and brain cancer for years, despite the fact that a cellphone physically can't put out enough radiation. There is no link to the actual study, so I’d be curious to check out their methodology and data. There are, after all, a million other things that could be causing growth variations in trees. To get to the root of the matter, I think they’re barking up the wrong tree. Yeah, I know: birch, birch, birch... I suppose that means I should take my Airport Base Station out of the oak tree in the backyard. It’s looking a little piquèd. Although, I have found that I can kill a maple tree at 10 paces by aiming my TV remote at it. Zap! (h/t Dr. Joe)