Describes declining insect and bat abundance after a communications tower was introduced in a remote coas…

Smart Bugs? During 2007-09, I worked outdoors building a house in a very remote area along Northern California’s Lost Coast, the longest stretch of undeveloped coastline in the continental United States. The environment was an entomologist’s dream! Insects of every color, shape, size were abundant. Bats also were plentiful, given the availability of food. Prior to this time, no cellular service was available for miles in any direction. Progress finally caught up with this underserved area, and a communications tower was erected on a high hill overlooking forest, coastline, and sea. Known amongst locals as “The Evil Red Eye,” the tower was topped with red lights to alert small planes to its location. Over time, the availability of cellular service improved. Somewhat. But as connectivity became more common, the beautiful abundance of insects became less so. The bugs started disappearing—not the pesky ones, but the flashy flying exotic varieties became scarce before finally disappearing. As their food source retreated, the bats likewise became less common. The only environmental modification that could have caused these changes was the introduction of heretofore absent radio frequencies emanating from the tower. Are we to believe that—on a cellular level—these electromagnetic frequencies are any safer for us than they were for the bugs?