I read recently
about a malady called electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS). Some claim five
percent of the U.S. population (that is 313,914,040 x
.05 or about 16 million of us) suffers from this affliction. To avoid
electromagnetic energy, some sufferers have constructed special living spaces
in their homes.
Sufferers
allege that they suffer “facial flushing, twitchy muscles, burning or itchy
skin, chest pain, headaches, sleep problems, mental for, rapid heartbeat,
ringing in the ears or hearing problems, nerve or muscle pain, nausea, and
chronic fatigue.” You can decide for yourself if you buy into the malady,
its prevalence, etc.
One
solution though, and this is the real point of this blog, is to avoid the
energy. That seems a little unrealistic in America, at first blush. We live in
a society surrounded by cell phones, WiFi hotspots, television, and more. But,
the cited article notes that there is an oasis in West Virginia. They describe
an area called the U.S. National Radio Quiet Zone. This is described as a
13,000 square mile area where electronic signals are all outlawed. See, there
is a radio telescope and a military facility of some kind there, and the
electromagnetic signals from all of our conveniences is thought to be
potentially troublesome to these facilities. So the law has created or
preserved this electromagnetic energy oasis.
This
has people with EHS moving to Green Banks, West Virginia, a town with a
population of 147 souls and no electromagnetic energy. Whether you
believe in the malady or not, though, would this not be a great place for a
resort? Imagine getting away to a place with no television, cell phones, or
other distractions. I sometimes daydream of the day that I can stand on a pier
somewhere and try to skip my cell phone on the calm waters of some secluded
lake!
Don’t
get me wrong, I am a technology believer, you all know. I see many
advantages to the leveraging of technology, to save attorneys and the whole
workers’ compensation system time and money. But wouldn’t it be nice once in a
while to be able to get away from the pressure. In building a convenient world,
we have made ourselves so accessible and so connected, that we have trouble
detaching ourselves. Yesterday, I exchanged emails from 35,000 feet as I flew around
Florida. Most of us respond to emails from home or work interchangeably, seven
days a week. I know few lawyers today that do not carry their internet and
email around on their belt or in their purse.
By
doing so, are we creating too much stress? Are we allowing ourselves the chance
to unwind and relax, so that we can attack the next day with some well deserved
rest?
A
quote I once heard attributed to Justice Potter Stewart (for which I cannot
find any authoritative support today) went something like “I could never get my
work done in twelve months a year, but never had trouble getting it done in
eleven.” The point being, whoever said this, is that rest and detachment from
work can reinvigorate us for the next task.
Perhaps
Green Banks would be an ideal location for a resort where we could go to escape
the distraction or attraction of all this technology once in a while. Somewhere
we could be free of the temptation to check our email constantly.
Or,
perhaps we need to just learn to ignore the email and phone once in a while.
For me, not having time to travel to Green Banks, I am going to try turning the
iphone off once in a while.
