Richards 1 Evan Richards Mrs. Roy Expository Reading and Writing: Period 4 19 November 2010 A Loaded Gun When Martin Cooper invented the cell phone, he never imagined that it would become as popular as it is today. He also never imagined that he would practically be placing a loaded gun to the head of nearly every American over the age of 13. Since their invention in 1973, cell phones have grown in popularity at an exponential rate. Today over 90% of Americans own at least one cell phone, making them one of the most common technological devices in our society. The use of these mobile phones comes at a price, though. Every time a phone call is made, a cell phone emits electromagnetic radiation similar to, but lower in power than, that in a microwave oven. Holding the phone to the side of the head when making calls allows this radiation to be absorbed into the head and brain. Although it is still unclear what effects this radiation has on the human brain, the possible dangers are enormous. Due to the potential health risks of cell phone radiation, especially for teens and children, the government must rewrite laws regulating the radiation and manufacturers must redesign cell phones to limit and change the radiation. Although recent studies have not found conclusive evidence that cell phone radiation has negative health effects, cell phones have not been around long enough for all health effects to develop, and some may emerge ten to twenty years from now. One of the original studies on cell phone radiation, conducted in 1994, found “no mobile phone/brain cancer link in virtually all respects” (Nordenberg). While the results of this study are clear, its time frame detracts from its validity. The study was conducted in a time period before cell phones became widely used, limiting the sampling size for data. With such a small sampling size, it is likely that any people