How does electromagnetic radiation affect the environment?
1 Answer
One example is the effect of ultraviolet radiation. This type of EM radiation can cause skin cancer, but it is also important for bees to navigate.
Explanation:
The possibility of UV radiation causing cancer is discussed in the answer found using this link.
http://socratic.org/questions/what-are-the-biological-effects-of-uv-radiation?source=search
The Biosphere 2 project in Arizona was an effort to build a completely enclosed ecosystem which would no exchange of any materials (air, water etc.) with the outside world. A major failure of the project was the problems bees had inside the buildings. The roof was all glass, which allowed light in but filtered out UV radiation. The bees were not able to correctly navigate and the bee populations all died. Without natural pollinators, the people living in Biosphere-2 attempted to hand pollinate their food crops.
