People are pissed off and we're NOT going to take it anymore!
People are angry. There’s no question about that. And they should be. Look at Syria. Look at Wisconsin. Look at the UK, where riots against corporate supermarket parasite Tesco engulfed the City of Bristol last week. Look no further than California, where a corrupt Public Utilities Commission- led by Michael Peevey- a former Southern California Edison executive who Gov. Brown has allowed to remain chairing the Commission, has failed to rein in the greedy, reckless, and dangerous tendencies of the utility industry. It is no exaggeration to say that this lack of oversight is killing people. Gas explosions, a ‘smart’ meter debacle that is exposing millions to microwave radiation that violates FCC limits, and continued operation of the ticking time bombs- Diablo and San Onofre Nuclear Power Reactors- are just some of the rotten policies that are raising hackles.
Despite the greenwash and the lies, more people are waking up every day and realizing that- as the ‘smart’ meter debacle demonstrates- the people who are running the show don’t know what the hell they are doing and that corporations- like a 2-year-old running through the house with parents out to lunch- are actually very much in charge and monumentally mucking things up. But the wild west is coming to an end, and the people are rising up and demanding a government that actually puts health and safety first (what a novel idea!).
Here are at least two reasons why the utilities and their cronies should be concerned at the latest developments:
1. Partisanship is being set aside as the fight against Health Destroying SpyMeters Spreads South. This Thursday evening, Joshua Hart, our director, is honored to be on the panel at a major smart meter forum sponsored by the Santa Barbara Tea Party and other community advocates. When the Tea Party joins the ‘liberal left’ and a growing number of disaffected Democan/ Republicrat party refugees to demand our inalienable right to health, safety, and privacy, you know that ‘the powers that be’ have gone too far! This will be a large and significant event- potentially sparking a serious Southern California backlash. Event to be held this Thursday, April 28th 7pm at Fess Parker’s resort in Downtown Santa Barbara. Spread the word to friends in So Cal. More info here.
2. Plans are on for a Major Occupation of the Capitol starting May 9th. Stop Smart Meters!, Code Pink, the Teachers Union, and a whole lot of other folks from around California are calling for a GENERAL STRIKE starting on May 9th. There will be protests on May 1st, and a march to Sacramento. You are welcome to join for all or part of the march, but be sure to make plans to come to Sacramento on May 9th, as there will be a hearing of (Huffman’s seriously watered down ‘opt out’ bill) AB37 at the Utilities Committee in the afternoon and it’s time we pack the chambers and VOICE OUR RAGE AGAINST SMART METERS. Bring your tent and sleeping bag and we will build a ‘Smart’ Meter Refugee Camp as part of the larger occupation of the State Capitol. Amtrak runs regular Capitol Corridor service from San Jose and Oakland to Sacramento.
Through these protests, marches, teach-ins and strikes, we will build bridges and stand united in opposing cuts to critical public services, an end to nuclear power, an immediate moratorium on stupid meters, and higher taxes on the wealthiest individuals and corporations in California. Let’s take our power back from Wall Street and demand that our utility companies be placed under public control!
Howard Glasser‘s words that appeared in the Lake County Record- Bee a couple of weeks ago:
“I think it’s high time we stood up with one, large voice and said “NO” in no uncertain terms and if that means marching on Sacramento in numbers that simply can’t be ignored and making news to get the attention of those we put in office, then so be it.”
We’ve all got our work cut out for us- commit to being in Sacramento (or at your local city hall) and spread the word to your friends and family over the next week.
With many ripples we are making large waves.
Study: Utility Smart Meter Costs Far Outweigh Non Existent Benefits to Consumers
Electric Utilities across the United States are rapidly deploying millions of smart meters as part of an industry- wide , federally and consumer funded effort to build an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI).
Many people question the need to spend all of this federal taxpayer stimulus tax money and also the ratepayers money to upgrade the meters that will not do one thing to avoid power failures of the transmission or distribution grid, will not conserve energy in any way, but actually will increase electric load because each meter uses electricity to transmit at least 2 frequencies concurrently and the collector meters transmit 3 frequencies, or help incorporate the new wind and solar power that is rapidly coming online.
The new meters will not do a thing to improve the power grid, but it appears that the utilities will reap large amounts of profit from selling the meters, installing the meters, eliminating meter readers and rate increases.
The Brattle Group prepared for the Edison Foundation’s Institute for Electric Efficiency, the net profits of smart meters could be more than $96 million over a 20-year period for a U.S. utility serving a million residential customers.
In all cases, there would be no benefit at all to customers who participate in smart meter-enabled program offerings. For solar generators and electric vehicle chargers, customers need completely separate meters called E9(b) meters that are not the smart meters being deployed now.
These new E9 meters for vehicle charging are sold separately to consumers, work must be done by the power authorities and cost from $4000 to $6000 each, plus the electrical work to hire an electrician to upgrade the main panel , run a dedicated 30 amp 240 circuit to each new level 2 charger, plus permit and inspection fees. Also an engineering report might need to be done by the power authority to evaluate the transformer to see if it can handle the additional load(s) from the new vehicle chargers.
Also the deployment of millions of new electric meters that use electrical energy to transmit, receive, supervise and repeat data 24/7 will require millions more watts of power to operate the meters alone, and also the data collectors, cell phone repeaters and servers to process all this new data.
It is truly a wonderful scam to make a bunch of work and money for all who are involved in this, and also a way to sell more power and eliminate jobs.