Reducing your wireless footprint
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does not mean sacrificing
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your connection to the digital world.
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Eco-friendly options exist. ​​​​
Ethernet Your Internet​​​​​​
The use of Ethernet cable is a wired alternative to connecting wirelessly. ​
​​​​Routers, streaming devices, smart assistants and other devices are typically powerful enough to reach outdoors into yards, gardens and other natural areas. Most continue emitting even when not in use, meaning that ecosystems surrounding home, apartment or office continue to be exposed, even overnight when many birds, pollinators and other wildlife are active.
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Fortunately, most wireless devices can be adapted to connect via wired Ethernet cable. Some routers even come with a toggle switch to quickly and easily enable Ethernet connection.
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The use of wired Ethernet eliminates radiofrequency (RF) emissions completely, meaning that a cabled system will dramatically reduce the overall wireless exposure to ecosystems outside the walls of the home.
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Cabled connections provide the highest speeds according to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Switching to a cabled connection for high data operations such as streaming, gaming and facetiming can optimize speeds while also reducing wireless emissions to zero.
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Quiet Your Internet​​​​​​
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If you aren't ready or able to switch out your wireless for a cabled connection, there are other ways to achieve Eco-friendly tech use.
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Lower the Volume
Wireless output from most modern routers and streaming devices can be adjusted down dramatically while still achieving far reach and racing speeds. The default settings on most devices allow vastly higher power than is needed or used by most households for connecting their devices. Wireless emissions reaching animals and plants outside the home can be greatly reduced by trimming unnecessary reach and power.
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Lower Nighttime Emissions
Biologists suggest an overnight "quiet time" to include powering down phones and other devices, which tend to continue emitting even when not in use.​​​ For devices that must remain on, be mindful of proximity to natural habitats when deciding where to place them in the home. Ideally leave 20 feet or more between wireless devices and outdoor areas where birds, pollinators, and wildlife may be active at night. This can greatly minimize the emissions being projected outdoors into ecosystems surrounding the home or office.
More responsible tech use
is possible.
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Go Offline When You Enjoy the Outdoors​​​​​​
When listening to podcasts or other streamed content while walking or hiking outdoors, the wireless apps on the phone must connect with nearby cell towers constantly to upload data and content. Birds and wildlife nearby may be in the line of fire of the wireless emissions. Although humans cannot hear or see the radiated wireless frequencies, ongoing transmission is a necessity for communication, streaming, cloud storage, GPS positioning and mapping, locators and other features. Our wireless devices must meet regulatory protections for human safety based on Federal Communications Commission (FCC) guidelines. However, there are no regulations for wildlife exposure. The emitted levels may be harmful to delicate pollinators, birds, and ecosystems around us. Because cell phones emit strongly enough to reach nearby cell towers, the birds and wildlife in a large geographic radius around us become exposed when we bring our cell phones outdoors with us. Similarly, wireless radiation emitted from a cell tower travels outward from the tower in all directions, attempting to connect with all nearby phones and other devices. The traditional tall "macro" cell towers that dot urban and rural landscapes typically emit up to 10 miles (16 kilometers), though with minimal obstructions and a clear line of sight the radiation can reach up to 45 miles. The frequency band used will also affect the range of radiation emissions, with lower frequencies such as GSM traveling farther than higher frequencies such as LTE and 5G. All of this means that the birds and wildlife around us are exposed to cellular emissions traveling from our phones to cell towers and back, across a larger distance than we may realize.
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Three Ways to Unplug​​​​
Listening to downloaded content in Airplane mode can reduce wireless exposure to birds and wildlife nearby.
Level 1: Airplane Mode Download content ahead of time and then switch to Airplane Mode while outdoors. The streaming of movies and podcasts is particularly high-emitting due to the large amounts of data involved. Watching pre-loaded content while in Airplane Mode substantially reduces cell phone emissions. Level 2: Bluetooth Considerations Many people monitor their health or track steps with the use of Bluetooth or other apps on phones or smart watches. There often are options for maintaining this monitoring even while offline. For example, most phones by default will keep Bluetooth turned ON while in Airplane Mode. Using Airplane Mode is a great way to dramatically reduce emissions while still keeping Bluetooth enabled. On the other hand, if you need other apps but not Bluetooth, most phone Settings have a separate ON/OFF toggle for Bluetooth so that it can be temporarily turned off without disabling Wi-Fi or cellular antennas, including any 5G capabilities the phone is equipped with. Level 3: Power Down When exploring protected habitats or wilderness areas, the cleanest option is to leave phones and other smart devices at home or in the car, if feasible. An alternative is to carry the phone or device but power down for the duration of the outdoor activity. Unless powered down completely, smart phones emit even when not actively in use. They scan continually for the presence of 5G, 4G and 3G range sources, as well as running background applications and GPS/navigation calculations to maintain mapping and location capabilities. Even Airplane mode allows for diverse background activities and applications to continue running, meaning that wireless frequencies continue emitting. Smart watches and other smart devices work in a similar manner requiring ongoing wireless emissions.
Protect Domestic Pets​​​
Negative Physiological Effects to Canids
In March 2024, biologists in the academic journal
Frontiers in Veterinary Medicine published a ground-breaking scientific paper describing the negative health effects of wireless tracking and other wireless technologies on wildlife and domestic pets. ​The authors characterized tracking and other wireless device emissions as “radiation pollution” and described “negative physiological effects” to animals including canids.
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Urging "more caution in the wildlife and veterinarian communities before such technologies are used," the study authors stated that radio-frequency radiation from cell towers and cell phones caused harm in every animal model studied.​​ View the full study here.
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The study followed on an accumulating body of research showing harmful effects in diverse wildlife species. In 2023 an expert panel of biologists gathered to report on the harmful Ecosystem and Environmental Impacts of Cell Towers on animals including small mammals.
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Growth in Exposure
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Since our pets live alongside us, their exposure to wireless radiation has grown dramatically in the past two decades as wireless streaming has replaced cabled television and as virtual assistant use and wireless gaming have exploded. Tracking collars, smart phones, wireless laptops, streaming devices, wireless security monitoring, smart meters and smart appliances are all sources of man-made wireless exposure in the home that felines and canines did not encounter in their evolution. Even most domesticated pets never encountered these exposures until the late 20th century when home computing and cell phones became mainstream. With the exponential accumulation of wireless sources in the home, the radiation emissions regularly reach the living spaces of our pets.
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Today's wireless and cellular devices rely on a vast network of transmission towers and other infrastructure outside the home which also emit radio frequency radiation. As the density of cell towers continues to increase, their greater proximity to residential homes adds to the total wireless burden on our pets. ​​​​​​​​
FCC Guidelines Do Not Address Safety Limits for Small Animals​​​​​​
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FCC Guidelines: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) guidelines are for human exposure to radiofrequency (RF) fields, and were adopted in 1996 based on the recommendations of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP). These recommendations described suggested Maximum Permissible Exposure limits for field strength and power density for transmitters operating at frequencies of 300 kHz to 100 GHz. Missing, however, are recommendations regarding exposures to animals including domestic pets.
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SAR Limits: For devices operating within close proximity to the human body, the FCC also adopted SAR (specific absorption rate) limits as specified within the guidelines of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE). Again these are human exposure limits; there are no SAR limits for animals. The human SAR limits are based on an adult human male model and are not intended to address absorption tolerance in smaller mammals. See Report and Order, FCC 96-326.
Tips for Minimizing Pet Exposure​
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Closer proximity to wireless devices has been correlated with higher risk of negative health effects in a wide range of species including canids. This means that allowing your pet some distance from wireless devices is important for reducing their risk for negative impacts.​​​
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Since wireless emissions diminish exponentially with distance, small changes to placement or configuration of household devices can improve a pet’s electromagnetic environment, with minimal inconvenience to humans.
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Focusing on sleeping or nighttime areas first can be helpful since quality sleep supports pets' immune health and biological repair mechanisms. If a pet’s bed or sleeping space is in the same room as a wireless router or streaming device, for example, moving the bed or moving the device to a different area of the house can reduce the pet's wireless radiation exposure dramatically.​ ​
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Small Changes, Big Impacts
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Pull the Plug: Give your pet's body a break, particularly during critical sleep time, by physically unplugging routers from the wall, or attaching automatic timers. This is especially important if your signal at home tends to be weak, because devices emit higher levels of radiofrequency radiation if they have to search to get a good connection. Most modern devices will continue searching all night, even when not in use.
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Access to Lo-Fi: Create a safe space for your pets by keeping streaming devices and routers in a different room from their sleeping space or favorite napping place. Does your dog or cat like to watch movies with you? Try uploading first and then putting streaming or gaming devices on Airplane mode. Turn off your cell phone overnight, put it in Airplane mode, or move it away from pets.
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Wire Up: Eliminating wireless emissions is becoming easier as more devices come equipped with wired or cabled options such as on/off Ethernet connections. For high data activities near your pet, such as streaming and video conferencing, switching to Ethernet eliminates RF emissions entirely. Alternatively content can be uploaded while at a safe distance from your pet (10-20 feet), and then viewed while in Airplane mode. ​
Envisioning a world where wireless technology no longer threatens birds and wildlife
Small changes in cell tower location can dramatically reduce wildlife exposure to harmful cell tower emissions. ​
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Humane regulation is needed in sensitive regions where wildlife can be harmed by exposure to wireless infrastructure. Some of the greatest success stories involve communities coming together to protect the wildlife and ecosystems in their areas.
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Inappropriate cell tower placement near parks, wildlife refuges, and migratory bird routes can be effectively prevented or relocated through legal challenges and community-level political challenges.​
Protect your community's ecosystems and wildlife by opposing the placement of cell towers in its parks and natural wildlife habitats.
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The story of Amazon Creek in Eugene, Oregon demonstrates the power that neighbors in a small community can have in protecting threatened and endangered species from the placement of unwanted wireless infrastructure.
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Amazon Creek is a protected nature area that had already been designated by the City of Eugene for habitat protection and the conservation of biodiversity. Residents expressed their opposition to plans for installation of a new 75-foot cell tower next to the protected area.
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Neighbors residing within 500 feet of the proposed tower organized local meetings and petitions, and ultimately succeeded in blocking placement of the new tower.
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The community hired a wildlife expert who provided written testimony about the potential adverse effects of cell towers on migratory birds in the area. This was particularly important because of the creek’s proximity to the protected nature area.
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Other key actions included the hiring of a sound engineer who found discrepancies regarding ambient noise measurements; local media coverage of a balloon float demonstrating the proposed tower height, and concerns about potential adverse impacts on underground water flow. Hundreds of residents signed petitions opposing the tower on aesthetic grounds. ​​
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Oppose Cell Tower Placement in Parks and Natural Habitats
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Contact Congressional Representatives
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Let your Congressional representatives know that you believe local environmental harms should be considered when opposing new cell tower placement.
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According to current federal law, any state and local regulation of cell tower placement is expressly prohibited on the basis of environmental concerns.
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For protection of birds and ecosystems, no cell towers should be erected within 500 feet of local and state parks, protected lands, habitats and sanctuaries.
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The current regulatory statute in the U.S. Code prohibits state and local consideration of the environmental impact when placing new cell towers, as long as the towers meet federal FCC compliance.
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"No State or local government or instrumentality thereof
may regulate the placement, construction, and modification of personal wireless service facilities on the basis of the environmental effects
of radio frequency emissions to the extent that such facilities comply with the [Federal Communications] Commission's regulations concerning such emissions."
47 U.S. Code § 332(c)(7)(B))(iv)
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