A Labor Day Tribute to Utility Workers

Posted on September 5, 2011 by Josh Hart

Utility workers are caught between a totalitarian management and an increasingly angry public

Yes that’s right.   It’s Labor Day, and we would like to take this opportunity to appreciate the utility workers who keep the lights on for us, who brave difficult and dangerous conditions, and are often caught between authoritarian executives out of touch with reality and an increasingly hostile public who associates them with a ‘smart’ meter program gone horribly wrong.   Of course it’s not the guy up a pole who is making decisions about what level or radiation is safe for your children- those are the utility executives whose broken moral compasses apparently all point straight to the bank.

We’ve met a good many utility workers- meter readers, operators, maintenance workers- who are becoming alarmed at the way their companies are behaving.  The coming of the ‘smart’ meter means the loss of thousands and thousands of meter reader and support positions at a time when that’s the last thing we (or they) need.  Workers are losing their jobs now because utilities are trying to cut every expense and direct these funds to shareholder bank accounts.  That is where blame for this forced deployment should be directed- not at the guys in the blue trucks.

Having said all that, anyone who is employed to install ‘smart’ meters needs to check their conscience, given the harm that has been documented.    There are ‘smart’ meter installers who are undoubtedly good people and just don’t realize what they are doing, or haven’t researched the truth for themselves, believing what their bosses tell them.  In spite of that, the word is getting out.    Utilities are being forced to pay $50/ hr to installers in CA-  and they have to pay that because no one wants the work- no one wants to be yelled at and run out of a neighborhood and to try and sleep at night knowing you are radiating entire neighborhoods.  There are reports of truly gestapo type intimidation tactics on the part of installers, particularly in Texas, where reports of assault and forced installations have been reported (more to come on this).   However, the fact that utility executives and compliant legislators deserve more of the blame for these despicable tactics does not entirely excuse the individuals who were “just following orders.”

The following was sent by Toby and Ellen Cecil, who manage a 70 unit apartment complex in Marina, CA which they have been bravely defending from the ‘smart’ meter deployment.   The other day they had an illuminating conversation with a PG&E employee, and they wrote the following:

“The power company employees are–in our experience and for the most part–intelligent, hardworking people who have problems and needs just like you and we do.  They are working to put food on the table, gas in the tank and to make mortgage/rental payments just like the rest of us.

From our personal encounters over the past 6 months, we have learned that the PG&E employees are in meetings with the higher-ups where they are being fed disinformation in spades whilst being desensitized to the civil rights of others.

PG&E is committing, in our humble opinion, the “sin of omission” by NOT telling the whole story to their employees.

PG&E employees have the right to know the truth so they can search their consciences to see if they can live with themselves–hitting the pillow at night without guilt–knowing full well that they are bringing harm to their neighbors and their own families.

Another technician/field worker who came to our complex six months ago told us that in a big, important PG&E meeting, the employees were told, “Oh, well, if a house or two catches fire from a Smart Meter then that’s too bad.  That’s only a couple of houses.”

But what if that is YOUR house?

The PG&E employee we spoke with today knew nothing about the HAN (Home Area Network) and possible household rewiring due to the potential overload and subsequent fire hazards; the suspicious fires; health consequences of  RF; quadrupled plus bills; the fact that microwave is a military weapon and that these digital monstrosities are being called “Spy Meters” because that is what they are and that is what they do, i.e.,
SPY on you.

The employee told us he thought  it was reasonable for executives to make ten times that of a meter reader, but a hundred times his salary or more?  He said he felt that was unjust.

This man, we believe, expressed a sense of business ethics which is sorely lacking in the corporate world.  Surely there are many others like him.”

So today on Labor Day, let us appreciate the linemen and other employees of utility companies, the ones who DO care about your safety, who DO still have a sense of corporate ethics, and simply want to serve the community.  The ones hoping that they will be able to keep their jobs and continue to provide for their families.   Let’s join with them- with truth and justice on our side- and demand that we close this ugly chapter in our history- where utilities are forcibly blanketing a Class 2B Carcinogen throughout our communities, hurting vulnerable people.  Let’s unite with the utility workers, put a stop to this madness and make sure something like this never happens again.

Posted in Citizen rebellion, Class Issues and Social Equality, PG&E, Privacy | 12 Comments

Comparing Cell Phone and Smart Meter Radiation

Posted on September 4, 2011 by Josh Hart

From our friends at Burbank Action:  The utilities are telling us that smart meters emit less radiation than cell phones.   Is your utility saying the same thing?  After PG&E told Amy O’Hair that, she decided to find out for herself.  Seeing is believing, so watch the truth:

Can you trust your utility to look after your health and safety?  PG&E’s smart meter emits RF radiation levels far higher than a cell phone.  Keep in mind that on May 31, 2011, the World Health Organization classified the type of RF radiation emitted from cell phones as a Class 2-B carcinogen, on par with lead and DDT.   Do you want DDT sprayed on your home 24/7 every day of the year, every year of your life?

Talk about toxins and poisons: PG&E is the same utility that denied it was dumping toxins in Hinkley, CA, poisoning the environment and residents there.  Erin Brockovich documented the truth and sued them.  Now PG&E and other utilities are poisoning residents in communities throughout California with their RF smart meters.  Residents are outraged and want this to stop.

You can power off your cell phone so you won’t be exposed 24/7, or elect not to have one or use one in your home.  In contrast, the utilities won’t let you power off your smart meter and are forcing them on us, making them mandatory — even though the Federal government has not mandated them on our homes.  What’s happened to our rights to privacy, and to protect our health, lives, and the safety and sanctity of our homes?

If you live in a condo or apartment complex, and wondered what it’s like to live and sleep above a panel of these, watch this video:

By the way, apartment renters have rights, too, and are taking measures to oppose smart meters. So if you live in apartment or condo complex, and your utilities tell you that smart meters on a panel still emit less radiation than a cell phone, then watch this video:

The FCC limit for public exposure to microwave radio-frequency radiation is about 600 microwatts per square centimeter.  The panel of meters above emitted 873.  Would you like to live above or next to that panel?

Consumers are reporting that smart meters are giving them non-stop headaches, insomnia, heart palpitations and body aches, and making them so sick they are going to have to move.  They are also reporting that the smart meters are making their animals/pets ill.   Is this fair? Is this right?  Is this the United States of America that you grew up loving and respecting?

Some 45 local governments in California oppose smart meters, and are joining state-level efforts seeking no-cost opt outs for their communities.

Call and write your utilities and Mayor and City Council today and refuse smart meters at your home or complex.  Tell them why, too, and demand the right to keep or restore your analog meters at no extra cost and with no higher rates.   Send No Consent letters via certified mail.  Tell your family, friends and neighbors to do all of the above, too.

Take action.  Share what you learn with others. Educate yourself about smart meters and find helpful tools to take action at:  http://www.StopSmartMeters.org/, http://www.EMFSafetyNetwork.org/, http://www.SmartMeterDangers.org/, and http://www.BurbankAction.com/

Posted in Cell phones, PG&E, San Francisco | 16 Comments

No Means NO- Capitola Demands Halt as PG&E Forces Meters

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Josh Hart
Photo on right courtesy of Karen Nevis
 

The City of Capitola is one of 13 cities and counties in Northern California who have passed laws prohibiting smart meter installation within their jurisdictions (and one of 45 who have demanded a halt).  Laws and safety regulations mean very little to PG&E- they think they can ignore the law at will, and have been installing wireless ‘smart’ meters illegally throughout Capitola over the last few days.  Residents of the seaside town are already reporting headaches and sleep disturbances.

In response, Capitola mayor Dennis Norton sent the following letter to PG&E yesterday:

Wendy Abbott Sarsfield
Government Relations
Pacific Gas & Electric Company
356 East Alisal Street
Salinas, CA 93901

RE:       SmartMeters—City of Capitola

Dear Ms. Sarsfield:

As Pacific Gas & Electric Company is well aware, on February 10, 2011, in response to numerous concerns articulated by Capitola citizens relative to health, technological and cost issues implicated by the impending installation of SmartMeters at both residential and commercial locations in the City of Capitola, the Capitola City Council adopted Urgency Ordinance No. 952 prohibiting all such installations through December 31, 2011.

The objective of the moratorium imposed by the ordinance was not to permanently forestall the deployment of SmartMeters in the City but rather to provide the necessary time for the City, hopefully with PG&E’s cooperation, to obtain answers to the numerous legitimate questions that Capitola citizens posed concerning SmartMeters.  In addition, it was apparent at the time that the California Public Utilities Commission would be entertaining proposals relative to regulations which would allow individuals to opt out of SmartMeter installation at their home or place of business.  The moratorium was also intended to provide the time necessary for these regulations to take effect so as to avoid undesired SmartMeter installations where the affected citizens would, in the foreseeable future, have the ability to opt out and thereby avoid the installation altogether.

On April 21, 2011 the City Attorney addressed a letter to you reminding PG&E of the ordinance upon receipt of notice that PG&E intended, without regard to the ordinance’s prohibition, to install SmartMeters at the 44 mobilehomes in the recently devastated Pacific Cove Mobilehome Park.

In spite of the foregoing, PG&E has now initiated a full-blown SmartMeter deployment program in the City of Capitola.  The purpose of this letter is to once again reiterate the importance that the people of the City of Capitola ascribe to Urgency Ordinance No. 952. Our expectation is that PG&E, considering the fact that it is as a a quasi-monopolistic regulated public utility which has a fiduciary obligation to the people it serves, will heed the laws and ordinances passed by those people’s duly elected representatives.  I find it unconscionable that PG&E, in blatant and disrespectful disregard to the wishes of the Capitola citizenry, has proceeded to flaunt the Urgency Ordinance in this manner.

Once again, demand is hereby made that PG&E cease and desist from any further SmartMeter deployment in the City of Capitola through December 31, 2011.  Given the recent spate of publicity related to PG&E’s inability or unwillingness to act in accordance with governmental safety regulations in a manner which has served to directly and harmfully impact the populace PG&E is entrusted to serve, and to erode any confidence that PG&E may have previously enjoyed with that populace, it would seem that PG&E would be well-served to act in accordance with this demand.

Thank you for your attention to the foregoing.  A copy of the Urgency Ordinance and City Attorney letter referenced above is enclosed.

                                                                  Very truly yours,

                                                                  Dennis Norton, Mayor

                                                                  CITY OF CAPITOLA

cc:        Councilmembers

Jamie Goldstein, City Manager

John G. Barisone, City Attorney

Posted in Citizen rebellion, PG&E, Privacy, Safety, Santa Cruz County | 9 Comments

And What of the Animals?

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Josh Hart

What of animals suffering from 'smart' meter radiation, unable to voice their pain?

Originally posted at the La Mesa Patch, an El Cajon woman describes her torturous experience with smart meters and the impacts on her dogs, begging for help, in her own words:

—————————-

August 29, 2011

San Diego Gas & Electric

P.O. Box 25111

Santa Ana, CA 92799-5111

To Whom It May Concern at SDG&E

Smart Meter Complaint Department

I have made three prior telephone requests advising SDGE of the serious side effects concerning my health since the installation of the smart meter device at my home. Three different individuals came out to my house on three separate occasions, all armed with the same propaganda, the same zero concern for my health or the safety of my home.

I was told, “I don’t know. You are the only one that has complained.” (A false statement.)

I was also told, “The smart meter is not causing any problems to your home.” (Another false statement.)

I am a 49-year-old woman and I have never before experienced any of these problems in either this home, or any other home that I have lived in, prior to the smart meter installation.

I came home one day after work, and they had just finished installing my smart meter. I did not think anything of it. I had received a notice a few weeks prior, indicating that a smart meter was going to be installed.

That same evening I awoke between 2:00 and 3:00 in the morning, with ringing in my ears, dizziness, tingling at the upper part of my head that turned into a headache and then nausea. There was also a horrible feeling of uneasiness that I had never experienced before and that prevents me from going back to sleep at night — every night.

One of my dogs awoke at the same time, wandering the hallways whining and crying. This dog refuses to sleep inside at night now, as the pulsed radiation also makes him sick. This dog had slept at the foot of my bed since the day I brought him home until the night the smart meter was installed. I have numerous friends and family who will testify to this, if called to do so.

The same scenario occurs whenever I sleep in my home, a home that I worked six or seven days a week for most of my life to be able to afford, and now you, the utility company, is FORCING PULSED RADIATION where I live and sleep, which if you do your homework and read the numerous articles that have been published by scientists who were not paid off by a utility company, you will see that radiation causes cancer and I will not stand for a cancer causing device to be attached to my home.

I was gone for two weeks on two occasions over the summer, and I sleep fine whenever I am away from my home. I was in Peru for two weeks without these problems and also in Alaska, where I had no trouble sleeping, no trouble concentrating, no dizziness, no ringing in my ears, no tingling at the upper part of my head that turned into headaches.

I also have noticed a strange humming and buzzing in my home around the appliances, coming from the computer, and around all the intercom panels in my home. I’ve had three people out from SDGE and they all heard the humming and buzzing and told me to turn the intercom down all the way and then I would not hear it.

I asked them, “How do you explain this? This humming and buzzing was not ever here before the smart meter installation? My kitchen appliances never hummed and buzzed before the smart meter installation.” I told them, “I don’t think my house is safe. This is not normal.”

And I just got the blank stare, the “I don’t know what to tell you, “ and the “No, I cannot remove the smart meter.” I begged them to return my house and home which I loved back to normal, to please, please remove the smart meter and install the old analog meter that worked just fine and that I never had a problem with. The blank stare and the, “No, I cannot do that,” was the only answer I could get out of these people.

I asked one of the gentlemen what his job was at SDGE, as it appeared he had no training as an electrician and was not capable of answering any of my questions. He told me, “Well, my job is to handle questions from people like you.” I then replied, “I thought you said I was the only one that complained.” Of course, he quickly departed after that. We all know that if he had told me anything different, he would have lost his job.

I want the same remedy that Northern Californians have received. I pay my utility bills just like they do and I want to be treated with the same remedy that [they] received: IMMEDIATE REMOVAL OF MY SMART METER AND REMOVAL OF SMART METERS SURROUNDING MY HOME.

How can the utility commission and the utility companies treat Southern Californians who are being made sick by smart meters any different than customers in Northern California? They cannot. This is a formal request for removal of the smart meter illegally attached to my home and to the homes around me.

Copies of this letter are going out to as many people, organizations, and government agencies as I can send it to, so you can’t drop this one in the trash and say you never got my letter.

Sincerely,

Richard and Diane  XXXXXXXXXXX

(signatures)

———————————-

Addendum, an email from Diane:

Yes, it [is] very sad.  I have two dogs and it seems the smart meter bothers one of the dogs more than the other.  I came home from work one afternoon and I saw the utility company truck pulling away.  I had received a notice two weeks prior that they were going to install a smart meter, but I really did not think too much about it.

That very first night, my dog wandered the hallways whining and crying.  … I have learned that the smart meter is more active at night.  My dog’s face went completely white within a two week period.  Usually this happens more gradually.  He was also diagnosed with arthritis after two weeks of the smart meter forced radiation and he refuses to sleep inside at night now.  He just can’t stand it.  Which never, ever happened before.  He always slept at the foot of my bed in the years prior.

I believe the smart meter is slowly eating away at our health, slowly killing us.  I found there is nowhere to run, because all over the United States they are installing these radiation machines on homes.  I read on the internet of people selling their homes and moving out of state, only to find that within weeks of moving to a new home a smart meter was slapped on their home when they were at work.

Of course, the utility company came out and told me that none of my problems or the changes in the home were caused by the smart meter.  They absolutely refused to investigate or own up to any responsibility at all.  They just looked at me, shrugged their shoulders, and told me that I was the only one that had complained.

I BEGGED them to put my old meter back on for the sake of my home, the health of my pet and myself and they absolutely refused.  I had three different individuals out to my house, telling them about the problems since the very first night of the smart meter installation.  They refused to accept responsibility, because if they changed out my meter or accepted responsibility for me, they would have to do it for all the others that complained.

One of them I think did feel sorry for me and he made a call to a supervisor two or three times to his visit to my home and each time he was told absolutely no, that he could not remove my meter and put the old analog meter back on.  I’m sure he would have lost his job if he had gone ahead and done what was right.  I do not know how these people sleep at night, knowing they are slow-killing us.

I do know that evil flourishes when good men do nothing, which is why we all have to stand up and do whatever we can to fight this, especially for the innocents that cannot defend themselves:  our pets, infants in the womb, children, the elderly.  They cannot fight for their right to live in a radiation free environment, so we have to do it for them.

My dog used to LOVE to go on long walks.  He is a retired greyhound and spend the first part of his life in a cage, and so I used to be able to take him on long walks. Since the smart meter was installed (within a two-week period of time) he is only able to go on very short limited walks now due to swelling in his joints (which is a common complaint for a lot of people after smart meter installation).

This all practically happened over night.  It was not a gradual progression, where he gradually got older and declined.  It was very sudden and not natural at all.  I am 49 years old and have pets since I was a child and we all watch our pets gradually get older and understand this.  THIS WAS NOT NATURAL FOR A DOG IN PERFECT HEALTH TO GO from one who loved life to a state of torture the very first night that smart meter was installed.

I know my dog, I know my house, I know myself and none of these have been the same since the smart meter installation.

(reproduced with permission)

——————————

Note: Opting Out means getting rid of the wireless smart meter – we think that turning off the transmitters inside (a Northern CA utility proposal) is not enough. We recommend opt-outs that involve nothing less than return to safe mechanical analog meters. To date, only a (forced) proposal has been made by PG&E, in Northern California. No utility has had a formal opt-out plan yet approved by CPUC.

The federal government does not require wireless or smart meters. The state CPUC falsely claims that the federal gov’t has mandated smart meters. CPUC has authorized smart meters to be placed on every home in California (not required). The utilities in CA claim that smart meters are mandated, rather than authorized. No one in CPUC or utility companies admit that wireless was selected as the cheap option, without health and safety testing.

Utility and CPUC science is outdated and full of industry-produced information that is non-scientific and tainted by conflicts of interest. Michael Peevey, President of the regulatory commission to oversee the California utilities (CPUC) is a Southern California Edison Vice President, retired.

On Sept. 14th, 2011 CPUC will hold an Opt-Out Workshop which all major utilities in California have been ordered to attend, to discuss potential opt-out solutions, including SDG&E. Without strong public pressure, such as we have seen in Northern and Central CA, it is doubtful an opt-out plan will be developed for Southern Californians, as the CPUC says it has not had enough complaints, to date, to warrant it. In Northern CA, 44 municipalities have taken out ordinances or a position against smart meters. In Southern California, 2 have done so (Santa Barbara city and County) (Center for Electrosmog Prevention).

Posted in Animal Harm, Citizen rebellion, Electro-Hyper-Sensitivity, San Diego County | 21 Comments

“Smart” Meters to Blame in East Palo Alto Power Surge?

Posted on August 27, 2011 by Josh Hart

KTVU Reporter on the scene in E. Palo Alto where 'smart' meters popped on Aug.25.

Reports were coming in yesterday of a major power surge that left more than 200 without electricity and burned out appliances and wiring in East Palo Alto, a low income community in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Many of the affected homes were in apartment buildings, where clusters of the new wireless meters have recently been installed.

The power outage affected 10 blocks and started after 9 pm Thursday night, with
400 volts of electricity surging through homes, rather than the usual 110 volts, according to PG&E.  Residents reported loud bangs, pops, glass shattering, TVs blowing up, lines sparking, smoke, lightbulbs exploding, and other electrical problems.

PG&E tried to blame it on the trees, but fire officials warned residents not to turn their electricity on until the smart meters are inspected.

Now no one is sure what caused this incident- let’s make sure we don’t jump to conclusions here, but new readers on this site should be aware that ‘smart’ meters are not UL certified, have been linked with numerous fires and electrical explosions, and that a fire that burned the Santa Rosa Mall in April appears to have been caused by ‘smart’ meters and then covered up by PG&E.  Whistleblowers who worked for Wellington Energy- PG&E’s ‘smart’ meter contractor- have alleged unsafe installations that have led to arcing, which certainly could have caused this incident.

If anyone has further information about this incident, please post it below in the comments section.

Update Tuesday Aug. 30th 4:30pm:  We obtained a copy of the fire incident report from the Menlo Park Fire Dept. (that serves E. Palo Alto)- it states:

“Received alarm as smoke & flame from electrical box.
On arrival Eng. 5 personnel met with PR he stated that PG&E power lines (&) house meters popped.”

KTVU TV coverage here.

Palo Alto Online Coverage here.

 

Posted in Class Issues and Social Equality, CPUC, Dirty Electricity, PG&E, Safety | 16 Comments