Protest at PG&E HQ This Friday

Posted on May 16, 2011 by Josh Hart

California Smart Meter Revolt Grows as European Council Issues Landmark Warning on Wireless Tech

San Francisco- Environmental health advocates and other alarmed members of the public will gather at Pacific Gas and Electric Company headquarters in San Francisco on Friday May 20th at 11:30am to demand that the ill-fated wireless “smart” meter program be halted and investigations launched into why thousands of people have reported illnesses after the meters are installed.  Their demands for caution will undoubtedly be strengthened this week by the release of a report from the influential Council of Europe, representing 47 member states throughout the EU.  The report urges that wireless technology be “banned from classrooms” and safety labeling be required on all wireless devices.  The Council received expert testimony on the health effects of wireless technology before adopting the recommendations.

In California, one need not look further than the thousands of reported health impacts from wireless smart meters to determine that we have a major problem with wireless technology.  According to Joshua Hart, Director of Stop Smart Meters!, a grassroots group formed last year to fight the health damaging meters, “This program was launched with virtually no prior testing on the human health effects of powerful pulsed radiation into people’s living areas.  Now that thousands of Californians are reporting strikingly similar symptoms, including headaches, nausea, heart palpitations and tinnitus, the utilities along with state and federal governments are refusing to act in the public interest, insisting that ‘it must be all in their heads.’ On the contrary, PG&E executives and state regulators need their heads examined if they think the public is going to accept this reckless endangerment for very long.”

Despite inaction and denial at the state and federal level, cities and counties throughout California have joined the grassroots revolt in growing numbers.  Forty-two local governments have now demanded a halt to the ‘smart’ meter program, primarily because of reported health damage and fears over long term, cumulative exposure.

Protesters are declaring a “smart” meter public health emergency and demanding that PG&E and utility regulators face the reality that millions of smart meters installed on homes and business throughout the state are responsible for widely reported health damage from the powerful bursts of microwave radiation from the meters approximately once every four seconds, 24 hours a day.  While PG&E claims that emissions from the meters are only “one thousandth” the level of radiation of a cell phone, independent measurements reveal radiation spikes that are far more powerful than any commonly used household wireless devices- potentially more than 100x the level of cell phone exposure.  Some studies have found that the meters even violate lax standards set by the FCC for safe human exposure to microwave radiation.

The public, news outlets and local governments throughout California have widely condemned PG&E’s “opt out” program as a cop out, a Trojan horse to force smart meters onto unwilling households, and a chance to increase electric and gas rates even more than they already have (PG&E customers are already paying hundreds of extra dollars for the new meters, as well as disposal of the old perfectly functional analog meters, though they were never consulted in advance.)

“Any opt out program is not sufficient in itself to protect human health from this unprecedented radiation exposure being forced on the public,” said Hart.  “Governor Brown must issue an executive order disabling the wireless transmissions from the meters statewide, halting any further installations and reaffirming the right for individuals to retain analog meters or have them replaced if they are sickened in their own homes.  We are not going away until this situation is resolved.”

May 20th 11:30am PROTEST ‘Smart’ Meters at PG&E Executive Headquarters 77 Beale St. San Francisco.  Visuals include protesters holding signs, electrosensitive individuals describing their ‘smart’ meter nightmares, confrontations with executives, etc.….. More information: https://stopsmartmeters.org

Posted in Citizen rebellion, PG&E, San Francisco | 1 Comment

Santa Barbara “Smart” Meter Forum Video

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Josh Hart

We’re excited to be able to bring you video of the major ‘smart’ meter forum held on April 28th at Fess Parker’s Resort in Santa Barbara, organized by the Santa Barbara Tea Party and other community groups.  Thank you to Ecological Options Network (the all-seeing eye of this movement) for your excellent coverage.   Stop Smart Meters! Director Joshua Hart was honored to be a panelist, and we are grateful to have been given the opportunity to report on the damage that PG&E’s meters have caused to date and to warn Southern Californians.

Over 300 people attended this hugely successful event, which has sparked a burgeoning movement against ‘smart’ meters in Southern California.   So much so that Southern California Edison has now started calling their ‘smart’ meters “automatic electronic devices”  to try and avoid the public relations disaster that PG&E finds itself in up north.  Hey SCE- you can put lipstick on a pig but at the end of the day- it’s still a pig.  (No offense to pigs, who are actually quite lovely intelligent animals.)

Thank you so much to the organizers of this event and for all those people working to build grassroots public awareness of this threat, in spite of the best efforts of the utility and telecom industries, bought off “scientists,” and (for the most part) a complicit mainstream media.

It’s become pretty clear.  This thing ain’t going away anytime soon.

Below is a letter from Santa Barbara resident Diana Hull PhD- high praise indeed.

Letters: Smart meter event enlightening

Diana Hull, Santa Barbara

In my 40-odd years of attending professional meetings where presentations are made by a panel of experts, the recent event sponsored by the local tea party and Culpepper Society on the smart meter problem was a special and outstanding example of what a community meeting should ideally be like.

First, the large audience was completely engaged. That was because each speaker had not only wide knowledge and a firm understanding of his or her special contribution to this topic, but were lucid, superbly prepared and articulate. This is unusual because even brilliant academics often are unable to convey their knowledge with anything like the acumen of this group.

The problem discussed is of utmost importance not only due to its economic impact on electricity users, but because it raises the likelihood of important and adverse effects on health. In my opinion, the possible health risks posed by so-called smart meters require the kind of informed consent that’s legally required before we permit any intrusive medical procedures, even when the possibility of harm is almost non- existent. Therefore, the scientific literature on this issue will require continuing scrutiny.

The problem of intrusiveness by public utilities with the help of the Public Utility Commission also is a challenge to privacy and private-property rights, and illustrates well the kind of over-reach by big government and quasi-governmental agencies that is causing the current rebellion against the nanny-state mentality.

Front page coverage in the Santa Barbara News Press the day after the forum

Remember, Stop Smart Meters! is a grassroots funded project.  We depend on your contributions- both large and small to keep the fires burning.  Whereas mainstream environmental and consumer rights organizations are (generally) just as deep in denial as the industry and governments, we are small and nimble and not beholden to anyone except for you!  If you can afford it, please send us a check today.  It makes a big difference.  See our donate page for more details.  Thank you!

Posted in Cell phones, Citizen rebellion, CPUC, Democracy, FCC, Health studies, interference, Lake County, PG&E, Privacy, Safety, Santa Barbara | 10 Comments

Public Opinion Turning Against SmartMeters

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Josh Hart

Judging from these series of interviews with random people carried out by the Mountain View Voice in the heart of Silicon Valley, public opinion is swinging against the ‘smart’ meter and demanding that independent studies be undertaken on health effects of the wireless technology.  The question is- will strengthening public opinion against the meters translate into government policy?

How strong is our democracy when corporate interests are at stake?

Posted in Citizen rebellion, Democracy, Health studies, PG&E | 4 Comments

Defend Your Analog Meter Part III

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Josh Hart

A dish drainer and brackets provide defense against analog meter theft

Here are a couple of photos that people have sent us, showing how to protect your analog meter from theft by the utilities or their agents.  PG&E has supposedly agreed to let analog meters remain in place if they receive a request, but they have given us absolutely no reason to trust them.  So- anyone in PG&E territory alarmed about smart meter radiation should call the following numbers and demand to retain your analog meter.

 

 

PG&E:   1 866 743 0263

Wellington:  1 866 671 1001

More ideas:  Page 1; Page 2; Page 4; Page 5  

If you do not live in PG&E territory it is even more critical that you lock up your analog meter and contact your state legislators and utilities commission to demand a halt to wireless meter installation and- in the meantime- the right to retain your analog meter without penalty or harassment.  Note that there has not been a single case of service being switched off or an extra penny levied in fines for ‘smart’ meter refusal- despite the outrageous threats.

This strategy uses a plexiglass and wood construction, attached with L brackets to defend against reckless utility tampering. A hole in the bottom allows moisture to get out. Again, the strategy is to allow meter readers to continue to read your meter but not allow for easy removal.

Posted in Citizen rebellion, PG&E | 45 Comments

“The radiation readings were so high I had to get an additional piece of equipment to read how high the spikes went.”

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Josh Hart

A recent submission from a SSM! member, who didn’t believe PG&E’s claims that smart meter radiation is insignificant.  The other day she went out into SF to do her own readings with an electromagnetic analyzer- what she found shocked her:

By Amy O’Hair

RF microwave radiation is invisible. It’s creepy to think about. No wonder many people would rather trust their government’s regulation of it than give it a second thought—or maybe just not think about it at all. PG&E tells me that RF radiation is everywhere in the modern world, so what can one more little emitter in my life matter?

I decided I wanted to know just how much there was around me, in this so-called RF-saturated urban world I live in. I got an instrument to measure the “power density” (in µW/m2) of radiation in the microwave range (from cell phones at 900 MHz to wifi at 2.4 GHz). I wanted to see the invisible.

I took readings around cell phone antennas, both small and large, cell phones themselves, the new wireless parking meters, wifi in cafes and libraries, my own microwave oven, and, of course, ‘smart’ meters in my neighborhood. I did this repeatedly. Things like cell phones and wifi fluctuate somewhat in radiation readings, but are fairly steady.

This is what I saw that alarmed me: ‘smart’ meters are very different, in that they emit extremely short, extremely sharp spikes of radiation, sometimes called pulses. I wouldn’t personally choose to stand in those other RF fields  for long periods of time—but then none of them emit 24 hours a day, stuck to the side of my house, and none of them pulse high spikes like ‘smart’ meters do.

Some ‘smart’ meters pulse way more often than anything I’ve read about from PG&E. The radiation readings were so often I couldn’t count them, and so high I had to get an additional piece of equipment, an “attenuator,” to read how high the spikes went. Unfortunately, even with that extra equipment, I still couldn’t see the top of some spikes. Some spiked lower, some less often. But who knows what kind of emissions you will get when they install one in your home?

It has been an exciting few weeks. In numerous locations in San Francisco I’ve taken out this bit of equipment, and walked around taking readings. People come up to me to ask what I’m doing. It’s been great—I’ve never met so many strangers all at once. They are interested. Mostly, they don’t have much information about RF, and want to know a bit more. They often communicate to me a sense of helplessness and distrust of the corporate entities that hold so much power in their lives. (Of course I take the opportunity to talk about ‘smart’ meters…)

One woman came out of her house in Glen Park while I was measuring a “microcell” antenna, the tip of which was located about 15 feet from a bedroom wall. She’d watched it go up, and didn’t know who to call to say “No” to. What power did she have? Who was looking after the levels of radiation she and her family would be exposed to? (Happy note: I was able to tell her the antenna wasn’t yet turned on—there were no readings from it!)

I’ve also received mail via my YouTube site from people all over—helpless victims of ‘smart’ meter health effects. I can only write back to say how sorry I am to hear of their difficulties. Please, everyone, keep writing letters, keep speaking up, and keep educating your friends and neighbors—it matters!

Editors Note:   You may have heard PG$E say things like:

“radio waves from a SmartMeter™, at a distance of 10 feet, are only about one one-thousandth as much as a typical cell phone.”

To arrive at this comparison, they use time-averaging and other sleight-of-hand techniques to obscure the powerful peak pulses from ‘smart’ meter devices.  They also use inconsistent units of measurement on the same chart.  In other words, bad and deceptive science.  What matters here is peak power density, which our reader above, as well as other independent studies have demonstrated is well above other typical household exposures.  Something like 100 times the full body exposure of using a cell phone, according to UC Nuclear Policy lecturer Dan Hirsch who kindly corrected the inaccurate figures published by the CCST.  And utilities like PG$E are now approaching 90% installation of 10,000,000 meters in CA.

An unsolicited lab experiment indeed…

Posted in Cell phones, Citizen rebellion, Democracy, Environmental Concerns, FCC, PG&E, Safety, San Francisco | 32 Comments