Winning Hearts and Minds in Santa Cruz County

PG&E CUSTOMERS CALL THE ‘SMART’ METER ‘DELAY’ LINE  877 743 7378

If you witness a smart meter installation occurring in unincorporated Santa Cruz County, or any of the dozen other local jurisdictions who have criminalized ‘smart’ meters, call law enforcement. Santa Cruz County Sheriff is at 831 471 1121

As you probably know if you follow this website, PG&E has begun to install wireless “smart” meters in Santa Cruz County- the home of Stop Smart Meters! , violating our democratic right to decide what technology we allow in our own communities.  This is not a war being waged with guns and bombs, but rather glossy mailers, full page newspaper ads, tv ads saturating the airwaves, and of course- microwave radiation.

Why would PG&E need to advertise a product we’ve supposedly already bought?  A product they claim they have full legal rights to install.  Why are they spending millions of our ratepayer dollars to convince us to accept a device that now 45 California local governments have told them is not wanted?

It’s because they realize that our campaign is having an impact.

The truth has a funny way of getting out there.  A corporation like PG&E can spend millions on a promotional campaign, manipulating mainstream media coverage of an issue but they can’t prevent people from holding up banners on he side of the road, or making copies of the flyers they just received to warn their friends and families about the wolf in sheep’s clothing at their door.   They can’t control the internet, with the thousands of reported ‘smart’ meter caused illnesses and malfunctions.  Grassroots organizing terrifies the corporations.  And so it should.  Particularly right now when PG&E has bungled their ‘smart’ meter installations badly and put the whole ill-conceived “smart” grid at risk.

At the end of the day should we be surprised that people are wise enough to see through the gimmicky ‘smart’ advertising from the utility?  That people care more about their health, their privacy and their safety than the vague promises of being able to “see your power” and unsubstantiated greenhouse gas reduction promises?

How do we know this?  We don’t have high priced market research firms like PG&E- but we do speak to our neighbors, and we’ve noticed that when we hold a banner over the highway that the number of honks and thumbs ups we receive has been increasing while the number of middle fingers has (thankfully) been declining.

Nevertheless, PG&E and Wellington Energy are installing as we speak while people are away at work, sneaking around backyards and forcing the devices onto people’s homes.

So if it is illegal, where is law enforcement?

Democracy and defending the constitution apparently mean very little to Santa Cruz County Sheriff Wowak, who has refused to enforce County ordinance 5084 that makes it a crime to  install a “smart” meter in the county.   When we called his office to report a crime in progress, his officers responded and arrested us for peacefully blocking the illegal installations.   Imagine calling the sheriff to report a burglar in your house.  The sheriff responds, but instead of arresting the burglar, he arrests YOU for getting in the burglar’s way, thus facilitating the theft in progress.  If you have any thoughts about this situation, you might want to share them with Sheriff Wowak at 831 454 2242.

The other day we received an interesting new publication in our mailbox- the “Smart Reader” July edition.  We thought we’d share this with you in case you live outside of Santa Cruz County and didn’t receive one of these fantastic publications.  Independent journalism at its best.

Coming soon: Who ARE these people who allowed PG&E to use their name and image to greenwash a dangerous product to the good people of Santa Cruz County?  And how much did PG&E pay them?  Stop Smart Meters! investigates- coming next week.

This entry was posted in Citizen rebellion, Climate Change, Democracy, PG&E, Police. Bookmark the permalink.

13 Responses to Winning Hearts and Minds in Santa Cruz County

  1. RobertWilliams says:

    PG$E Corporate had people in the community of Hinkley California do and say similar things. And then children and complete families suffered terribly painful organ-removing operations and death.

    This is the same PG$E Corporate that Erin Brockovich (played by Julia Roberts in the movie) revealed the PG$E Corporate lies in that situation. If it wasn’t for Erin Brockovich, we wouldn’t even know what happened in Hinkley.

    Don’t ignore this because not everyone knows about it. That is what the people in Hinkley did.

    • SOS Florida says:

      Mr.Williams,
      I have read several of your very cogent messages on Smart Meters, some in states other than CA. Thank you for spreading the truth! Would you please consider spreading the word via editorials etc. in the Orlando Sentinal, Tampa Tribune, Miami Herald, St.Pete Times, Palm Beach Post etc.? I’m trying but the word is not getting out. WE ARE IN TROUBLE.

      • SOS Florida:
        We just got an email from someone in Florida (Spring Hill) who just learned about how awful smart meters are, then discovered they already had one. I could pass on your info if you’d like. info AT bansmartmeters DOT com

        • SOS Florida says:

          Texas friends,
          Any networking is greatly appreciated. The WORD is just not getting out. It seems that there is a blackout. I did have one front page interview but that seems to be the end of it. God Help Us!!!

          ****BOYCOTT MAKERS OF METERS: GE AND NBC

        • SOS Florida says:

          Texas Ban Smart Meters:
          I have tried to get into your message site – it is just not going to let me! My computer problems are suspect! I used to live in the Spring Hill area and have family also in that area. SPRING HILL: PLEASE SEND YOUR COMPLAINT TO THE PSC, SEN. RUBIO AND THE TRIB. SADLY, GOV. SCOTT IS NO HELP.
          THANK YOU TEXAS.

  2. Susan says:

    I agree with Robert. It is essential to educate the public about how dangerous smart meters are. We are getting close to backing down the utilities. If you do NOT yet have a smart meter read these blog items below, from StopSmartMeters.org. Please support this organization with your donation of any amount. See donate button on the website you are now on! 🙂

    “How to Avoid a Smart Meter 101”

    Defend Your Analog Meter (Parts 1, 2, 3)
    Thanks to StopSmartMeters.org, please support them with a donation!

    https://stopsmartmeters.org/2011/03/01/defend-your-analog-meter/

    https://stopsmartmeters.org/2011/04/28/defend-your-analog-meter-part-ii/

    https://stopsmartmeters.org/2011/05/11/defend-your-analog-meter-part-iii/

  3. Anna Logg says:

    What they don’t include in their propaganda:

    Testimonials from real PG&E customers who are so sick from their new “smart” meters that they can’t be in their own homes and are now living in their cars or sleeping in tents. Real PG&E customers who now experience a myriad of ill health effects like headaches, vomiting, rashes, “sun”burns, and skin peeling, sleeplessness, irritability, loss of libido, immune system shutdown, or those who are now so severely disabled that they can no longer function and need help with every day tasks.

    They also neglected to mention that the World Health Organization recently classified non-ionizing radiation as a potential carcinogen, or that “Smart” meters emit *100 times* the cumulative radiation as a cell phone, and living with a “smart” meter is akin to living within *500 feet* of a major cell phone tower.

    And I love how suddenly Rolling Stone magazine is an authority on climate change, rather than Oxford University who found that “smart” meters may even increase our energy consumption. What greenwash this is!

    I’m disgusted. The people on that mailer should be ashamed of themselves. I actually feel sorry for them, to be linked to this deadly and harmful program. If they have any sense at all they’ll recant their assertions and save their reputations and their community by opposing “smart” meters with everything they’ve got.

  4. Mia Nony says:

    To ACT rather than REACT: FOLLOW THE MONEY

    http://www.smartmeters.com/
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    8th-9th November 2011, Crowne Plaza, San Jose

    http://www.smartgridupdate.com/home-energy-management-conference/index.shtml?utm_source=Smart%2BMeters&utm_medium=Bann

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    Appliances manufacturers and HEMS makers are doing their part by offering customer applications that will encourage engagement.
    Smart HEM and Smart Appliances Conference will focus on the two crucial challenges.
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    To be kept up to date on the latest information about the event, reserve your FREE BROCHURE now

    WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT TO LEARN FROM THIS EVENT?

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    • Redi Kilowatt says:

      The Home Area Networks or HAN’s what PG&E calls them are not the power grid, they are stand alone systems that are entirely paid for by the customers should they choose to install them in their homes.
      PG&E is proposing to use 2 different systems, the HomePlug powerline carrier system to control air compressor motors for air conditioning units in multi-family condo-apartment buildings (shared common walls), and the ZigBee radio system for single family detached houses.
      The new radio meters are transmitting a low power radio frequency to facilitate the implementation of this system in PG&E territory in the distant future, but so far the meters are transmitting the 2405 MHz signals (considered microwave by most professionals) for the ZigBee controls for nothing into peoples houses. The system is not ready yet, and most people will not buy it anyway.
      I was down at Home Depot the other day, and I decided to investigate the appliance department. I looked at all these shiny new stainless steel appliances, but not one of them were equipped with the transmitters for the ZigBee system. I talked to a senior sales person, he said that he did not know anything about the system, but he heard that in Sweden they were using it !.
      This whole Home Area Networks program is nothing but a bunch of marketing and sales hype cooked up by the corporately run government. Obama gave $50 million to Whirlpool of our tax money to start installing the chips in their new appliances, but so far, none have been released to the market yet. People who don’t want the system simply will not buy it.
      In these tight economic times, people are going to put off buying new appliances as long as they can, but if they absolutely need a new appliance, they are not going to waste extra money on a useless system of monitoring, all that they have to do is read the rating plate on every manufactured appliance and device to determine the current draw. It’s real simple, even an elementary school student can do it.
      It is great that these people are having these meetings and are trying to educate one another about the HAN’s, but those systems are just a big marketing scam, and those HAN’s will control only motors for air conditioning units compressors, they will leave the fans on so the people will not know that the cooling has been turned off. That is , until the temperature gets to be 90 degrees inside the building.
      Many parts of the country are heavily reliant on air conditioning to be comfortable, and air conditioning is by far the largest electrical load in these hot areas. That is what the HAN’s are all about. Heating can be done with other fuels.
      Don’t fall for the hyperbole.

  5. Mia Nony says:

    Plan now to coordinate large numbers & ways to “attend” the party scheduled above

  6. Anna Logg says:

    Awesome information Mia. Thank you. I live close to San Jose and would love to attend. Time to raise some money to get a group of people there!

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