Agency Staff Struggle to Make Sense of a Senseless Project

Posted on June 6, 2011 by Josh Hart

Some agency staff are trying to do their best to protect people in the midst of psychopathic policies mandating microwave exposure (we never thought we would love our old analog meters so much!)

The other day I was chatting on the phone with someone who works at a fairly senior level at the California Public Utilities Commission.   After reading the FCC Authorization Form (pdf) that requires that all persons be kept at least 20cm from the wireless ‘smart’ meter at all times (yes the utilities are in flagrant violation), he suggested that Stop Smart Meters! warn people to stop their children from sitting on the meters, in case some grievous harm is done to their reproductive organs.  I paused, not knowing exactly how to respond.  “Isn’t this your job as a regulatory agency to warn people?” I said.  “Oh well you know we have to work within the confines of the commission’s directives….”  But clearly this guy was worried by what he’d read and what we had told him, as any sane person would be.  He was probably also worried that history would judge him for not doing more to respond to a public health emergency (as he should be).

Then the other day, we were forwarded this e-mail from a staffer at the FDA who responded to a woman’s complaint:

Dear Ms. ——-,

Your message was forwarded to the ——- (at the) Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Can you please send me your phone number, so, I can discuss this issue with you.

Also when you contact me also provide the phone number of who installed the Safe Meter (sic). I would like to discuss with the installer, the Radio frequency (RF) being emitted by the Smart Meter.

In the mean time have you considered putting a material that absorbs microwaves, around the meter to attenuate the RF being emitted? For example, water absorbs microwaves; consider, taping water filled plastic bags, to the meter or surrounding the meter with containers of water, to completely absorb the microwaves, until this issue can be resolved. In addition, as an alternate, safety measure, request to have the smart meter removed until this issue is resolved.

If I can be of any further assistance, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely yours,

———

This man is clearly trying to help- in the face of ridiculous policies that are allowing these meters to be installed in the first place- but perhaps he’s a bit naive. Of course the woman had asked that the “smart” meters be removed, as thousands of others have also done, only to be threatened, ridiculed, demeaned, and made to feel powerless by utility companies that have gotten out of control.

The lesson here is that many people working in public agencies are essentially good people who are horrified by what the psychopathic, corrupted lawmakers and regulators are doing.  Yet they are afraid of losing their jobs in this economy, afraid for how their families will eat- where they will live.

At the end of the day, if it is being left to a low budget, grassroots activist website to warn people to protect their children’s internal reproductive organs, something is desperately, tragically wrong with our system.

It’s time we all stand together and refuse to go along and obey.


Posted in Citizen rebellion, CPUC, Democracy, FDA, PG&E, Safety | 2 Comments

Dance Against “Smart” Meters; Dance for Freedom

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Josh Hart

On April 13, 2008, Mary Brooke Oberwetter and a group of friends went to the Jefferson Memorial to commemorate the 265th birthday of Mr. Jefferson. But park police didn’t want them shaking it with Uncle T.J. They were arrested.  Fast forward to May 17, 2011, and the appeal of that case was decided in favor of the cops.  Last weekend, a flash mob made up of people from both the tea party and code pink came to the memorial and defied that, dancing until they, too, were arrested. Watch it here:

This weekend and continuing into the July 4 holiday, many more citizens will be participating in this act of civil disobedience, at monuments across the country. A Facebook page has been set up for the June 4 Jefferson danceoff if you’d like to join, and here is the Facebook for the rest of the world to join in.

Let`s Dance Around The World to say

“Yes” to the Truth

“Yes” to Organically Grown Wholesome Foods

“Yes” to Safe and Renewable forms of Energy

“Yes” to Safe Food, Water, and Air

“Yes” to Peace and Friendship

“Yes” to Safe means of communication

“Yes” to Freedom and Human Rights

and

“No” to the lies we have been fed

“No” to Genetically Modified Foods

“No” to Nuclear Radiation

“No” to Chemicals in our food, water, and air

“No” to Wars that line the pockets of the military-industrial complex

“No” to Cell Phone Towers Blanketing Our Planet

“No” to Modified Weather

“No” to the Control Apparatus

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

WHO’s Statement is a Game Changer

Posted on June 2, 2011 by Josh Hart

Make no mistake.   The decision by the World Health Organization on Tuesday to classify non-ionizing radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” is an absolute game changer for our movement. This seemingly cautious statement by the world’s pre-eminent health organization should ring loud alarm bells around the world.  Despite backroom industry influence and widespread conservatism, the slow-to-react beast was finally forced to act- as the walls of wireless damage closed in.

Wireless technology is something most of us have taken for granted for quite a while now.  Someone said the other day, “I don’t even remember when they introduced cell phones.  All of a sudden everyone was just using them.”  Therein lies the crux.  We just took the phone we were handed.  We didn’t ask questions.  We trusted that any authority that would allow this product to be sold would not do so without reasonable assurances of safety.  It is now clear that that misplaced trust has been betrayed, and people are dying because of it.

The truth is that our government allowed (even promoted) a technology whose effects on biological living systems we really knew very little about. There’s capitalism for you.  Life really isn’t that important.  It’s all about the money.  You are expendable. So- apparently- is the planet.

The WHO’s decision, and the large number of studies that led to it are suddenly opening up a whole new set of questions about how we use wireless- questions that people wouldn’t have dared to whisper- even last week.

For example:

1)  Shouldn’t  there be laws against someone else’s wi-fi entering your home?  Your neighbor would not be allowed to douse your living room with chloroform (now in the same ‘possibly carcinogenic’ category as EMF radiation).  Why should they be able to inflict wi-fi on you- particularly if it prevents you from carrying out basic life activities- like- er- sleeping?

2)  Shouldn’t public buildings such as libraries and public transportation ban wireless emitting devices such as wi-fi routers, cell phones and iPads?  A bus full of 100 people on their cell phones- with all their signals bouncing around the metal chassis- is like being forced to sit inside a microwave oven.  We are entitled to accessible transportation and public services, without being exposed to a carcinogen.  Wireless makes these services inaccessible to the growing number of electrosensitive individuals.  There’s definitely a lawsuit here if officials fail to do their job.

3) Isn’t it now just as morally acceptable to ask someone to turn off their cell phone in a public place as asking them to extinguish that cigarette?

We wouldn’t be surprised to see regulations coming forward over the next few years restricting cell phone use in the same way that smoking has been further and further marginalized, from sections in restaurants to banned inside even bars, to prohibitions around doorways, and now bans in entire neighborhoods.

So where does all this leave the “smart” meter rollout?  PG&E and other utilities have pointed to the World Health Organization to reassure its customers of the safety of RF radiation.  Now that the WHO has declared that such radiation is ‘possibly carcinogenic’ and independent analyses have pegged “smart” meter radiation at 100x the exposure of a cell phone, the wireless mesh network is looking more and more like a dangerous mistake.  The utilities that launched this program without even consulting us- arrogantly refusing  to consider the human or environmental health impacts- should be the ones to pick up the pieces and pay the tab for this debacle.  Not the ratepayers.  Not the victims who are living like animals running from this vicious technology; living in their cars or in the woods.

The East Bay Express reports PG&E’s words a year ago:

“The federal government and the international health community, including the World Health Organization,” PG&E said at the time, “have deemed the low-level radio frequency on which PG&E’s SmartMeters rely to be completely safe.”

But not anymore.

David Baker, Energy reporter for the SF Chronicle wrote:

‘Given the potential consequences for public health of this classification and findings, it is important that additional research be conducted into the long-term, heavy use of mobile phones,’ said Christopher Wild, the WHO’s director. ‘Pending the availability of such information, it is important to take pragmatic measures to reduce exposure such as hands-free devices or texting.’

That’s similar to the arguments made by many California city councils that have called for a SmartMeter moratorium. If the science isn’t settled, they argue, shouldn’t we stop installing the meters until it is?

They now have more ammunition to press their case.”

To many of us who have experienced firsthand the health damage caused by wireless, the WHO declaration is just one more brick in the wall of evidence that this technology hurts people.  But to most people, this is a huge wake up call that has received widespread coverage in the mainstream media- as if this is a new thing.  Just like gradual acceptance of climate change over the past couple of decades, governments, industry and institutions will brush aside the critics, pretending they are now the ones to protect you from the dangers and that they have the situation under control.  They will promote new devices to shield your skull from radiation- the light cigarettes and electric cars of the wireless world.  But in the end we know what we need to do.  We just need to quit the addiction.  We need to re-wire.  And our lives will be better for it.

Posted in Cell phones, Citizen rebellion, Climate Change, Democracy, Electro-Hyper-Sensitivity, Health studies, PG&E, World Health Organization | 8 Comments

Smart Meters: Who has the Power?

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Josh Hart

By Howard Glasser

If you’re waiting for somebody else to do something about this, don’t hold your breath. Meanwhile we’re all being led like sheep to the slaughter while being portrayed by the industry that would commit genocide as a fringe group of misguided, uninformed, conspiracy theorist, tin hat lunatics that also believe in alien abductions. Smart Grid Industry trade publications say that “The proliferation of anti-SmartMeter citizen groups is a direct result of the lack of community outreach by the utilities in the smart meter rollout.” They add, “Utility companies need to make their case for SmartMeters to the public and they need to hone their PR skills.”

We’re being treated like uneducated idiots. Worse yet, we’re being ignored because this crime’s being committed in broad daylight while we watch and do nothing and PG&E and the CPUC are confident they’ve got local government’s hands tied and the ratepayers right where they want them in their pocket.

Now’s not the time to give up and lay down because they’re just getting started. This deal was made in back rooms and a long time before you knew about it and there’s a lot of catching up to do. It took a lot of time to plan something this big.

It involved the cooperation of utility companies and regulatory commissions and buy in from every level of government both here and abroad. It crossed party lines and international boundaries. An alliance was formed, stakeholders were rallied, meetings were held, an agenda was issued, lobbying groups were activated, campaigns financed, politicians elected, promises made, t’s crossed, votes cast, lips zipped, bills passed, capital raised, wheels put in motion, science bought, marketing commissioned, brochures printed and then one day as if it all happened overnight while we slumbered, global deployment was under way.

This isn’t a new story. In matters where government and business have a great deal of money at stake, they’re going to protect their investment and their interests will not necessarily be yours. If there’s enough money to be made, the entities that control world markets will stop at nothing to achieve their goals and if they’re caught doing wrong, the penalty is always worth the price.

“I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. Corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money-power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until the wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed.” Abraham Lincoln, Nov. 21, 1854

Corporations aren’t in business to be nice. They exist to return a profit to their investors. None of this should come as a surprise. What isn’t about money these days? If it’s not about making money, it’s about lobbying money or laundering money or hush money or payoffs or bailouts or rip-offs or rate hikes.

Without a financial incentive, industry doesn’t care and the policy makers won’t listen.

It’s not and never has been about getting government and corporations to respond for moral or ethical reasons or even because they’ve been backed in to a legal corner. It doesn’t matter what corner they’ve been backed in to, they have enough money to buy themselves out and enough political muscle to win.

SmartMeters are not about going green or conserving energy or reducing greenhouse gas emissions or saving polar bears. It’s about how our money finds its way in to a utility company’s pockets.

The utility companies aren’t doing this for your health or for the environment.

This isn’t about Green Power but the power that’s wielded over a citizenry stripped of its rights and that the CPUC would see buried to meet industry deadlines and increase shareholder returns while leaving us in the rubble of PG&E’s twisted machinations. It is and always has been about the money. It’s about having enough money to turn big money into mega money because as anyone with great wealth can tell you, you can’t ever possibly have enough money.

This isn’t a game for amateurs and the players are not easily identified. It’s not like they’re wearing jerseys that say, I’m the quarterback. They’re well-protected. You could be standing right in front of them and not know it. You may have even voted for them. They have speech writers. They have people who run around after them with erasers when they falter. They have marketing agencies and makeup artists.

They’re packaged and sold like commodities and even when they’re in plain sight, we’d never guess what they’re up to.

Forty-seven years ago, a voice stepped forth out of the crowd and uttered these words:

“There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can’t take part; you can’t even passively take part, and you’ve got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you’ve got to make it stop. And you’ve got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you’re free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!” Mario Savio, University of California at Berkeley, Dec. 2, 1964.

Who will step from the crowd now and lead us forward and who will stand with them? If you still believe in America and you want change, you’ll have to stand up for it and it’s going to take more than letters and a handful of people on the courthouse steps. It’s going to take numbers too big to ignore. Organize and mobilize or lose the chance to get back your country.

Howard Glasser

Kelseyville

This article originally appeared in the Lake County Record Bee.  Mass direct action by the public seems to now be the only thing standing in the way of the destructive, diabolical smart meter program, backed by the utility industry and corrupt regulators.  If you’ve never stood in the way of a truck or risked arrest for what you believe in, don’t worry.  We can offer advice for defending your neighborhood and your community.

Posted in Berkeley, Citizen rebellion, CPUC, Democracy, Lake County, PG&E | 2 Comments

World Health Organization Declares Wireless a Cancer Risk- Mesh Network Must be Deactivated to Protect Human Health

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Josh Hart

PG&E has claimed- like at 1:10 in this video from a year ago- that the World Health Organization says that RF radiation is safe.  Now that the WHO has reversed its position, saying there are significant risks from human exposure to wireless tech, will PG&E act to protect public safety?  Not unless they are forced to, we imagine.

Our press release, out today:

For Immediate Release  May 31st 2011

Contact: Joshua Hart, Director Stop Smart Meters!

The World Health Organization (WHO) today classified wireless, non-ionizing radiation as ‘possibly cancer causing’ based on a broad investigation into the peer-reviewed science, throwing a wrench into unrestrained proliferation of wireless infrastructure, particularly utility installations of ‘smart’ meters throughout the United States.  Environmental health groups immediately seized upon the declaration, saying that it has vindicated their urgent calls for precaution around wireless technology such as ‘smart’ meters- devices that have already been linked to thousands of illnesses throughout California and elsewhere.

The WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) placed radiation from cell phones into Category 2B- the same category as DDT and engine exhaust.  The finding comes as telecommunications companies and utilities worldwide rush to saturate communities with wireless technology.  The WHO report now opens the door to new citizen lawsuits as well as government policies restraining placement of wireless facilities to protect human health and the environment.

“PG&E and other utilities have been citing past assurances from the World Health Organization to respond to allegations of health damaging radiation from their ill-fated “Smart” Meter program,” said Joshua Hart Director of StopSmartMeters.Org.  “Now that the WHO has come out and publicly confirmed that there are significant risks from wireless technology, will the utilities and regulators admit they have made a terrible mistake in deciding to roll out wireless mesh networks that are blanketing our communities with a likely carcinogen?   We need to put the brakes on any further meter installation and immediately deactivate the existing networks.  That is the only sensible and humane response to what has now become a growing public health emergency.”

The WHO declaration adds to the pressure on state regulators to act with urgency in order to prevent exposure to high intensity EMF pulses from ‘smart’ meters.  Contrary to utility claims, the pulses are far stronger than most wireless devices in the home, and unlike a wifi router or cell phone, they cannot be turned off.   According to Cindy Sage of Sage Associates, co-editor of the Bioinitiative report and author of a study on the health effects of smart meters, “Smart meters can produce RF exposures in some homes higher than those from PDAs and cell phones in the manner they are being installed and operated, and it is a continuous exposure unlike cell phones.”  Evidence of growing health harm has forced the CA Public Utilities Commission to require that PG&E offer an opt out program for those unwilling to be exposed, but critics say this plan falls far short of what is needed, in addition to charging people large fees- simply to protect their health.

To date, a total of 42 local jurisdictions have demanded that the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) halt further installation because of widespread reports of health impacts and other concerns.

Lake County in California has been one of the most vociferous local governments fighting the ‘smart’ meter program, taking out an injunction against PG&E based on violations of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). County Supervisor Anthony Farrington says, “WHO’s classification should prompt the CPUC to cease installation and undertake a full environment review based on significant evidence of health risks.”

Aside from cancer risks, wireless meters have been widely reported to cause headaches, dizziness, ringing in the ears- even memory loss and heart palpitations among susceptible individuals due to the constant bursts of microwave radiation.  The movement against wireless meters is the sharp end of a growing movement demanding health-based standards for wireless technology.  Michael Peevey, who Gov. Brown has allowed to continue on as President of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), has continually insulted individuals with sensitivities to electromagnetic radiation, inferring that they are ‘just making it up.’  Peevey, the former President and Senior Executive of Southern California Edison (SCE) has ties to the telecommunications industry, and continues as President of the CPUC that is meant to oversee the utilities, despite popular outrage about clear conflicts of interest.

The World Health Organization’s press release can be downloaded from http://www.iarc.fr/ PG&E has referred to WHO studies to justify the roll-out and safety of their smart meters.  Now that WHO has identified a cancer risk from wireless technology, will PG&E deactivate their carcinogenic mesh network?

Immediate action required: Call Gov Brown 916 445 2841 – demand that the smart meter mesh network is immediately deactivated to protect human health.

Posted in Cell phones, CPUC, Electro-Hyper-Sensitivity, Environmental Concerns, Health studies, Lake County, PG&E, World Health Organization | 6 Comments