Harish Palaniappan's

Everyone knows its bad to use CRT computer monitors since constantly seeing the monitor harms the eye, ..but still they sell it. Constant use of Mobile phones subjects the brain and our most sensitive organs in the head, to constant high frequency wave bombardment. ..they will still sell it.

... This list could go on... into everything that we have. And we thought we are living better than the 1970's, just because technology has grown so good.

"There are these small small things that are bad, but still we are living better", says our conscience already ..before we think of complaining.

Are we living better really? Are these health hazards small issues that we can ignore?

Asbestos is bad for health: We returned a French ship which tried to get dismantled in India, but if you want to buy asbestos products, we have lots here.
When indian newspapers were hot with the arrival of a French carrier said to have around 500 tonnes of asbestos, the asbestos market here took a dip. The nation-wide association of asbestos dealers made advertisements in leading newspapers that what they sell is not harmful.. their justification-"Asbestos comes in many forms, the form that is harmful is '...', while we don't make that in India, we make only '...' form of asbestos which is well below the limits of hazard".
Two weeks later, one newspaper (which also carried the earlier mentioned Ad), had an article that said whatever the form, asbestos is proven to be a hazard, quoting public experiments and technical papers. It had one line which mentioned that although we know some technologies or products are bad, we are unable to ban things because a big market would already be established and thinking otherwise.

That's business for you.

The big Sale
"What is making money, can't be bad to health"... and even if it is, so what, "I will have the money to take care". So, it ends up like a compensation for accepting the issue.

Would you bother if somebody said, Air conditioners actually spoil your health.. but.. its true. You still don't bother switching off.

Everyone knows that cola drinks are better cleaning agents for our toilets, than cooling agents for our body. And that they are packaged with lots of carbon-di-oxide gas. Who bothers. Coca-Cola is said to be the most recognized brand the world over.

The world works on events...like in programming. As long as nobody is said to have died drinking a bottle of coca-cola once in a while, then its ok to be sold. (Even if they would die, I am sure cola people would market it as coolest poison with the same spirit).

"India is our fastest growing export market".. said the American President Bush when he visited india in March 2006. Now, he should have definitely said that to every country he visited with a change.. replace country name with the current country. That's how marketing works.. Bush is not the only one who does that.
Every marketing person does that.. and in every industry.. be it good or bad.

There is a democratic and polite way of marketing something.... even if its know to be bad.
Very good examples are cola, tobacco, alchohol, ... and very importantly missed in such hazards, 'weapons'.

They could sell weapons that kill lots of people between two democratic countries, because of the sincerety they have in growing.. and nobody questions...because the marketing say its in the country's defence interests.
That's the world today.

Harm's distance
Is all this happening only today, or was there health hazardous technology way back also. Why are we blaming it on the growth we have today, is it just because we want to quickly point at things and close the issue.

It could be said that Technology hazards were actually more in earlier days, since those days there weren't much protection options or proper treatment for the hazards. We were growing and we had to take it.

We could say something like Harm's distance. This distance was there in old days. But today, small children use computers, starting to harm themself quite early... and its bad because they didn't choose it, we force it.

I read an article a long time back somewhere, which clearly stated how children getting to learn computers are indirectly having to waste lot of time knowing about things like computer virus, restarts, using the mouse..., and all those things that they won't use and quite unneccessary until they are adults.
So true. Why the hell should a four year old kid be so eagerly encouraged to learning Microsoft Windows.. more than watching butterflies in the backyard...When will he watch them, when he is 18?

In my first employment I had the chance of working with a school principal for some time. The lady used to say so very often that children should not be forced to studies or technology stuff, because kids are there only for seeing colors, playing with objects, being curious with butterflies trying to catch them, etc.,

Keep the distance
Firstly, May children be children and they don't need to start having symptoms of carpal-tunnel syndrome in their wrists because of too much use of keyboards, and stuff like that. Dont be so eager to see your kid be the youngest one to clear a Microsoft certification.

Second, when you are at home, consider yourself a normal human being and give yourself the pleasure of being that.. 'Away' ..from your office, your technology gadgets like mobile phones, and if possible wear a soft thick glove before you put your hand into the microwave. Take care like somebody in the hospital would...because if you land up there, you will not have TV, microwave, or mobile phones in the hospital, so when you have them use them only when needed.

Third, We cannot avoid health hazards...unless you makeup to be a buddist monk or dalai lama.
Live with it. just like you can't do anything to stop that email Spam.

Keep selling / buying hazardous Technology, but do make attempts to discourage yourself and others from using it.... atleast Future would be sensible then.