California Alert: Tell the CPUC and FCC – ‘Smart’ Kills!

NOTE REVISED INFO ON WHEELER BAY AREA VISIT – Mtn. View and Oakland Events/ Protests listed below (as of 12/30)

What do these two grumpy old men have in common?   Unfortunately they are in positions of power within the California and US governments that allow them to oversee the greatest historical increase in the population’s exposure to wireless- a Class 2B cancer causing toxin.  While they’re at it, they’re busy shredding the 4th Amendment that guarantees people the right to keep their private affairs private.   What else do they have in common? They both have histories working with the industries that they now “regulate.”

It’s become something of a pattern, and we’re not amused.

Michael Peevey, on the left, was Chair of Southern CA Edison (SCE).  Now he is the President of the CA Public Utilities Commission.

Thomas Wheeler, on the right was Chief Lobbyist for the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA).  Now he’s the Chair of the Federal Communications Commission.

Why do we bring up these two grinches, just as you are trying to have a nice happy holiday season?  Well in addition to Santa, they are coming to town and they have a whole lot of microwave radiation and privacy invasion to force down your chimney.

Unless we put a stop to it.

Californians: Three important dates to put on your calendar:

Thursday January 9th, 2014– Tom Wheeler is coming to the Bay Area!  He will be speaking at a Commonwealth Club event at the Tech Museum in Mountain View at Noon.   More information here.  Tickets are free, and available to the general public.  A protest will be held outside the museum starting at 11am at 1401 N. Shoreline Blvd. in Mountain View.  Wear Black.

Wheeler is also scheduled to speak in Oakland that evening along with Catherine Sandoval of the CPUC and others.  Tickets are now sold out- more information about the event here. Even if you don’t have a ticket, you can still attend the protest that is being planned outside the event, starting at 6pm.  Event is at 1233 Preservation Park Way in Oakland.  Wear black.

When former FCC chair Genachowski came to town in April 2011, Stop Smart Meters! protesters were escorted out of the room after making a “disturbance.”

Thursday January 16th, 2014 9:30am– The CA Public Utilities Commission will hold their regular business meeting at 505 Van Ness (at McAllister) in San Francisco on Jan. 16th- it may be their last before making a decision on the ‘opt out’ proceeding (after delaying for 2 months) because as the CPUC put it “the issues are complex and (we) need more time.” (Download pdf of statement).

Still up for a decision in California is:

• whether the Americans with Disabilities Act and state utility codes  prohibit the utilities’ extortionate ‘opt out’ fees altogether

•  if they are permitted to charge a fee, how much

• whether entire communities can opt out

Tuesday, January 28th 12-3pm The High (?) Road to a True Smart Grid Event at the Commonwealth Club featuring Timothy Schoechle, Ph.D. author of Getting Smarter about the Smart Grid.  Info and tickets available here.

The CPUC meeting on the 16th will possibly be your last chance to speak to Commissioners directly regarding the ‘smart’ meter ‘opt out’ policy.  Many of the new commissioners have not heard the chorus of public outrage about this topic and it would be a shame to deprive them of that perspective before making their decision.

Anyone can speak for 1-3 minutes during public comment time, even if you have spoken before.  New voices encouraged- don’t be shy.

We don’t expect that we will change these curmudgeons’ minds- however we do want to demonstrate the depth of opposition to these disastrous policies, and make the status quo more difficult to uphold.

And the status quo is grim.

If FCC Chair Wheeler gets his way, in ten years:

• The landline phone network will have been ripped apart and its copper wires used for new cell towers (costing us billions and risking our security and health)

• Mobile use will be allowed on all airlines, creating a cacophony of jabber as well as RF exposure

• Powerful wi-fi radiation will blanket the country, causing illness

• The smart grid will be mandatory and every structure will have a ‘smart’ meter that is used not only to spy on your home activities but also ramp up beyond current radiation levels, offering wi-fi, cable, broadband and telephone services

• Wi-fi and iPads will be mandatory in all classrooms, risking the health of future generations for the sake of corporate profit

• Every movement, every word, everything you do at home, online, in public, at school, at work will be monitored and recorded in vast NSA databases.

If you are opposed to such a future, speak out now– if not for the benefit of these grinches, then at least in solidarity with the millions whose rights are being eroded at the hands of this tech firm/ govt. collusion.

See you there!  And please- spread the word.