HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/07/2011, C9 - LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR IMPROVED OPT OUT OPTIONS FOR SMART METERS TO THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC UTILITIES council Mafi.,DwU 1 I+
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CITY OF SAN LU I S O B I S P O
FROM: Michael Codron, Assistant City Manager
SUBJECT: LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR IMPROVED OPT OUT OPTIONS FOR SMART
METERS TO THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION (CPUC)
RECOMMENDATION
Authorize the Mayor to send a letter to the CPUC in support of improved opt out options for
PG&E customers who would prefer to not have SmartMeters installed at their place of residence
or business.
DISCUSSION
Summary
On Tuesday, May 3, 2011, the City Council heard presentations from Pacific Gas and Electric
Company (PG&E) and EMF Safety Network, an advocacy group, regarding the benefits and
potential hazards associated with SmartMeter technology. A large number of speakers expressed
concerns with potential or perceived health effects that have been associated with the installation
of SmartMeters.
On May 17th, the City Council indicated that it did not feel further discussion was needed, but
would defer to the Mayor's authority to draft a letter to the CPUC regarding this issue. The
Mayor indicated her letter would be consistent with a letter sent by the County regarding support
for opt out options for residents that don't want SmartMeters installed at their place of residence
or business. This report is to address public concern that there would be no opportunity for public
input on the Mayor's letter.
The Mayor has prepared a letter (Attachment) for consideration by the Council. The CPUC is
currently reviewing a proposal by PG&E with an opt out option that would assess residents a
one-time $250 fee, and $20 per month thereafter, to opt out or have their existing SmartMeter
deactivated. The attached letter addresses the cost component of the proposal for consideration
by the CPUC.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with the recommended action.
ALTERNATIVE
1. Do not send a letter to the CPUC. The Council can choose not to send a letter on behalf
of the City of San Luis Obispo for consideration by the CPUC.
C9-1
CPUC Letter Page 2
2. Modify the letter. The Council may decide to modify portions of the letter as presented.
Direction should be provided to staff so the appropriate changes can be made.
ATTACHMENT
Draft Letter
GAStaff\Codron\CAR\CPUC request.DOC
C9-2
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Cit O SAn luis oaspoyOFFICE OF THE CITY COUNCIL990 Palm Street ■ San Luis Ob apo, CA 93401-3249 ■ 805/781-7119
June 7, 2011
Christopher P. Johns, President Affachment
Pacific Gas and Electric Company
P.O. Box 770000, ST, CA 94177-00001
77 Beale Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
Subject: SmartMeter Installation in City of San Luis Obispo
Dear Mr. Johns,
The City Council of San Luis Obispo requests PG&E immediately suspend the installation of
SmartMeters in the City of San Luis Obispo until an opt out procedure is finalized and made
available to the public.
This request is made pursuant to numerous public expressions of concern regarding health,
privacy, safety, and environmental risks associated with SmartMeter technology.
While PG&E has proposed to CPUC to offer customers the option to pay $250 upfront and $20
per month to have their SmartMeter radio transmitter deactivated, our collective desire is for
PG&E to develop and implement a zero-cost option by which San Luis Obispo residents may
either opt out of SmartMeter installation or request deactivation of the radio transmitter.
Additionally, individuals moving into a residence with an existing SmartMeter should have the
option to request the SmartMeter be uninstalled and replaced with an analog meter.
We appreciate your immediate attention to this matter and your effort to ensure the residents of
San Luis Obispo may continue to thrive in a healthy and safe environment.
Sincerely,
Jan Howell Marx, Mayor
City of San Luis Obispo
Cc:
Vice Mayor John Ashbaugh
Councilmember Dan Carpenter
Councilmember Andrew Carter
Councilmember Kathy Smith
California Public Utilities Commission
C9-3
From: Roberta Soules[SMTP:RJSOULES@CHARTER.NET]
Sent: Tuesday, June 07, 2011 1:21:12 PM
To: Council, SloCity
Subject: smart meters
Auto forwarded by a Rule
please pass an ordinance whereby citizens can opt out of smart meters without punitive
payments to PG&E. Sincerely, Roberta Soules .
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BIG THANKS to Dr. Carpenter and to Maine's Smart Meter Safety
Coalition who "recently caught up with Dr. David Carpenter, a Harvard
Medical School-trained physician who headed up the New York State Dept.
of Public Health for 18 years before becoming Dean of the School of Public
Health at the University of Albany, where he currently directs the Institute
for Health and the Environment" (www.smartmetersafety.com)
Dr. Carpenter states, "We have evidence...that exposure to
radiofrequency radiation...increases the risk of cancer, increases
damage to the nervous system, causes electrosensitivity, has adverse
reproductive effects and a variety of other effects on different organ
systems. There is no justification for the statement that Smart Meters
have no adverse health effects."
Dr. Carpenter further advises, "An informed person should demand
that they be allowed to keep their analog meter"
(For those of you already Smart Metered, demand to have the
analog meter restored, call your your utility and your state public
utility commission)
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Dear CPUC:
Smart meters don't save energy, people save energy. I request
a better smart meter opt out option: No charge to customers to
keep our existing analog meters. Utility companies can
estimate usage based on the prior year, or customers can self-
read and report by phone or email monthly. A meter reader
can check twice a year, so that any underage or overage can be
adjusted.
For any customer who requests it, utility companies should
restore the analog meter at utility company expense (given
they were installed without-customer choice in mandatory
"deployment."), as soon as possible.
There should be an immediate moratorium on any further
installation of wireless smart meters until there have been
evidentiary hearings on smart meters and the meters are
proven to be safe for customers and the environment, and the
benefits outweigh the economic, health, safety, property,
security and privacy risks to consumers.
Sincerely,
Name
Address
4;,j6 r"I ltt& ► L4-- D •A-rvt evt C12,71 it 2,t
Transmitting smart meters are being Transmitting Smart Meters _
installed nationwide on gas, water, and Pose A Serious Threat
electrical services, driven in part by funding To Public Health
for the Smart Grid Program approved as part of
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
This is of great concern because the exposure to microwave and radiowave radiation from
these meters is involuntary and continuous. The transmitting meters do comply with
Federal Communications Commission (.FCC) "safety' standards. However, those standards
were initially designed to protect an average male from tissue heating (cooking) during a
brief exposure. These standards were not designed to protect'a diverse population from the
non-thermal effects of continuous exposure to microwave and radiowave radiation.
Therefore, these "safety" standards were not designed to protect the public from health
problems under the circumstances which the meters are being used. The transmitting meters
most often being used transmit continuously, every few seconds. This is picked up by a
receiver and logged by the utility. You are exposed to the transmissions for all the meters
within transmitting range. The meters often have a range'of over two miles. Thus, the
exposure is continuous and-the"safety",stands ds'the"meters comply with are irrelevant to
the situation. Please read this letter from the Radiation Protection Division of the
Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) regarding the limitations of the FCC standards.
Some transmitting meters transmit at less frequent intervals,however, they still seem to be
causing health problems. This could be due-,to the.still elevated levels of radiowaves and
microwaves in the neighborhood because'of all the neighbors transmitters..Remember,
many, many meters are transmitting atthese intervals. (One'person with a meter
transmitting hourly reports waking`at the time it transmits.)
The transmitting meters can also put high frequencies directly on home and building
wiring.This can happen deliberately through signaling to electrical loads or inadvertently
through poor,engineering,.Toorly engineered meters can cause electrical pollution by
putting the transmitted signal directly on home wiring or by the way theydraw power to
operate. Whether deliberate-or inadvertent, studies are finding-high-frequencies on building
wiring is related to a host of health problems. Milhain and Morgan found a dose-response
relationship between high frequencies present on building wiring and cancer. Removing
high frequencies on building wiring has improved MS symptoms, blood sugar levels,
asthma, sleep quality,teacher health, headaches, ADD,and numerous other health
problems. (Visit Research"page to see papers.) Technical papers provide a solid electrical
and biomolecular'basis.for these effects:-A recent paper by.Dzen; showed that transients
induce much stronger current density levels in the human body than.does the powerline
60Hz signal. A technical paper by Vignati and Giuliani discusses the authors' fmdings that
high frequency communication signals on power lines also induce much stronger electrical
currents in the human body than a low frequency signal of the same strength. The induced
currents disturb normal inteicellular communications. This causes harmful short-term and
.'long-term effects. Please see the Technical page for information about,properly measuring
the high frequencies on building wiring that are causing health problems. There is also a
simple meter that lay people can use to easily measure most high frequencies on building
wiring.
The objectives of the Smart Grid Program can be accomplished without transmitting meters
and without using other technology such as high frequency communication over power
lines, which are also harmful to human health. It simply requires that meters be selected
that are properly engineered to meet the needs of the program without using dangerous
technology. Multi-rate billing and other sophisticated metering options do not require that
the meter transmit. Models are available that download periodically on phone lines,
dedicated communication lines, or are read by a reader the meter reader carries. Dedicated
communication cables can be used to shut off or allow on certain power consuming
electronics such as air conditioners. It is essential that only meters that do not transmit or
put high frequency signals on building wiring are approved for the Smart Grid Program.
The un-safeness of the "safety" standards for the continuously transmitting smart meters is
apparent from the reports of health-problems ranging from headaches to poor sleep to heart
palpitations that begin after their installation. _... .__
Transmitted microwave and radiowave radiation also have the potential for causing serious
long-term health consequences,-even for those who do not notice overt symptoms. The
majority of independent studies report similar results: impairment of cellular
communication, DNA breakages,increased stress proteins,.etc. Studies targeting cellphone
and cordless phone usage are finding increased risk of brain tumors. Children seem to be
particularly vulnerable. A review of studies performed prior:to 2007 is available at
htti)://www.bioinitiave.org. A recent public health study provides particularly strong
evidence that we should be concerned about continuous exposure to transmitted microwave
radiation. It can be found in a paper published in Pathophysiology(Volume 16, Issue 1,
June 2009, Pages 43-46) Apparent decreases in Swedish 2ublic health indicators after
1997-Are they due to improved diagnostics.or to environmental factors? The authors
looked at trend'lines in data collected by the Swedish government and found that the
introduction of cellphone technology nationwide in 1997 coincided with the beginning of
an accelerating deterioration of several health indicators. Specifically, the rates of prostate
cancer, brain tumors, melanomas and lung cancers in the elderly all increased dramatically.
So did deaths from Alzheimer's disease, traffic accident injurieg, sick leave rates, and
percentage of infants born with heart problems. This paper is short and well worth reading.
We should resolve the public health questions before introducing further public exposure to
microwave radiation,.particularly involuntary continuous exposure.
Radiowave and microwave radiation are not just a problem for people, they are causing
serious problems for animals of all types. Please visit hqp://www.hese-project.org/hese-
uk/en/issues/emr.phu?id=bees and http://www.hese-proiect.orAese-uk/en/issues/ for more
information.
The only known cure for Radio Wave Sickness:
is-to stop being exposed to high frequencies. .
If you do not have a transmitting smart meter and do not want one for health reasons,
in addition to contacting your utility and Public Service Commission or Public Utility
Commission; please do the following:
• Spread the word about the public health threat posed by transmitting smart
meters. Link to http://www.electricalpollution.com/smartmeters.html on your
Facebook or MySpace page, if you have one, or.notify your friends online via email.
• Write George Arnold, National Coordinator for Smart Grid Interoperability.
He has the power to set policy on meter qualifications for the Smart Grid Program.
The program could, for instance, require non-transmitting and non-electrically
polluting meters. However, he will have to be convinced of the public health threat
they pose in order to do so.
If you already have a transmitting meter and it is causing you health problems, please
file a complaint with both the agencies listed below and then send a copy of those
complaints to the EMR Policy Institute at info(&emrpolicy.org with."Transmitting Smart
Meter Complaint" in the subject heading so that they can independently compile the
complaints. (Please be prepared to give product information, including manufacturer and
model number, and health symptoms.)
Food and Drug Administration - The FDA regulates electronic consumer products
that emit radiation (such as microwave ovens and,video monitors and cellphones).
You can file a complaint through the Medwatch Program on their website at
httt)s://www.accessdata.fda. ov/scripts/medwatch/medwatch-online htm or by
calling 1-800-FDA-1088. The same program that"regulates medical devices,
regulates consumer products that emit radiation.
• Consumer Product Safety Commission - The Consumer Product Safety
Commission is responsible for taking dangerous products off the market. You can
file a complaint with the Consumer Product-Safety Commission at 1-800-638-2772
or https://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incideht.asnx. Be prepared with the meter
manufacturer, model and/or serial number, and the symptoms it causes.
• EMR Policy Institute - Please send a copy of the complaints filed with the FDA and
the Consumer Product Safety Commission to the EMR Policy Institute at
info(@emrTolicy.org with "Transmitting Smart Meter Complaint" in the subject
heading so that they can independently compile the complaints. This is not a
substitute for filing complaints with the FDA or the Consumer Product Safety
Commission.
OPPOSITION TO WIRELESS SMART METERS
emfsafetynetwork.org
42 CA local governments(Cities and Counties)formally oppose WIRELESS smart meters,including
San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors(3/8/11)and SLO County Health Commission; 10
have passed ordinances(law)prohibiting the meters.
San Francisco Chapter of the Sierra Club opposes wireless smart meters. http://stopsmartmeters.org
Public Citizen(Ralph Nader's consumer advocate organization)has a national campaign exposing that
smart meters don't save energy,just profit PG&E's bottom line.
http://www.citizen.org/documents/EnergylnvestmentForumPres.pdf Public Citizen,AARP,Consumers
Union,National Consumer Law Center and the National Association of State Utility Consumer
Advocates www.ncic.org/images/pdf/cnergy_utility_telecom/additi
The Division of Ratepayer Advocates(DRA),an independent consumer advocacy division of the
California Public Utilities Commission(CPUC),and the California Small Business Association(CSBA),
a non-profit small business advocacy. http://yubanet.com/california/DRA-and-CSBA-Request-Relief-
from-New-Electric-Pricing-Scheme-That-W ill-Cause-Disruption-to-500-000-PG-E-Smail-Business-
Customers.php
Indiana regulators rejected the meters:The cost outweighs potential benefits to consumers.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_39/b4l96044842103.htm
The Karolinska Institute,Stockholm(Gives the Nobel Prizes)warns against wireless smartmeters,
etc.:http://www.scribd.con/doc/48148346/Karolinska-Institute-Press-Release
The Government Accountability Office(the investigative arm of the U.S.Congress)warns of security
risks from cyberattacks—hackers being able to remotely shut off power:
http://ncwatch.typepad.com/media/2011/01/smartmeter-security-is-a-growing-concern.html
Dan Hirsch,Leader of Committee to Bridge the Gap,whisleblower for the nuclear industry: Warns
continuous whole body exposure from a smart meter may be 100 times worse than that from cell
phones(comparison: whole body exposure from SmartMeter at 3 feet and cell phone at ear)
emfsafetynetwork.org/?p=3946.
Elihu D Richter MD,MPH medical epidemiologist from Israel"... we are no longer talking about mere
precaution of uncertain risk,but about prevention of highly probable and known risks...an unethical
exercise...it is now fairly certain that there will be widespread adverse public health impacts."
httpJ/emfsafetynetwork.org/?page_id=3676
EUROPEAN ENVIRONMENT AGENCY,an agency of the European Union that advises 32 countries
on public policy, is calling for FOR LOWERING EXPOSURE TO EMF(ElectroMagnetic Fields):
"Waiting for high levels of proof before taking action to prevent well known risks can lead to very
high health and economic costs,as it did with asbestos,leaded petrol and smoking."
http://glossary.en.eea.europa.eu/terminology/sitesearch?term=children+and+emf
Dr.David Carpenter,Harvard trained physician and former head of NY State Dept of Public Health and
Dean of the School of Public Health at the University at Albany,New York"We have evidence...that
exposure to radiofrequency radiation...increases the risk of cancer,increases damage to the nervous
system,causes electrosensitivity,has adverse reproductive effects and a variety of other effects on
different organ systems.There is no justification for the statement that SmartMeters have no adverse
health effects."He further advises,"An informed person should demand that they be allowed to keep
their analog meter."http://emfsafetynetwork.org/?p=3946
cmfsafetynetwork.org
Top wireless radiation scientists in the world at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco(11/18/10):
CELL DAMAGE,DNA BREAKS and BREACHES IN THE BLOOD-BRAIN BARRIER(increased
risks of cancer and alzheimers)from low levels of pulsed RF signal radiation as emitted by Wireless smart
meters: VIDEO-http://electromagnetichealth.org/electromagnetic-health-blog/cc-video/
TREND IN EUROPE TOWARD WIRED and AWAY FROM WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES:
German/French Government advise against wi-fi and French libraries removed wi-fi.Spain removed some
cell towers.Freiburger Appeal 2002 signed by 30,000 doctors observe correlation of disease and wireless
technologies.emfsafetynetwork.org/?p=116
Insurance Companies won't insure the health problems from wireless smart meters and do not
sacrifice insurance premiums without good reason. TV NEWS VIDEO-(3 minutes):
http://eon3emfblog.net/?p=382
Wireless smart meters constantly transmit pulsed digital microwave radiation(RF)24/7,up to 22,500
pulses per day.PG&E minimizes the transmitting time stating its only 45 seconds per day,however these
pulses are between 2-20 millisecond bursts. In addition this duty cycle does not include what the Smart
Meters are further intended for-wireless data transmission for new RF enabled appliances.
Cindy Sage,coeditor of The Bioinitiative Report(www.bioinitiativereport.org)states that"wireless smart
meters are unique in that they transmit 24/7 without shut off and without relief. Humans can recover from
significant adversity and stress,but 24/7 pulsed transmissions from wireless smart meters dominates the
sleep time for human recovery,and the pulsed signal radiation from the wireless meters dominates the
natural bio-electronic communications originating in the brain. " http://sagerepons.conVsmart-meter-
rf/?page_id=282
URGENT LETTER CAMPAIGN
CA Public Utilities Commission: public.advisor@cpuc.ca.gov 505 Van Ness Avenue,Room2103,San
Francisco,CA 94102;or call 1-866-849-8390
REQUEST TO KEEP EXISTING ANALOG.METER;OR IF ALREADY TAKEN,HAVE IT
_REPLACED AT PG&E EXPENSE. CUSTOMERS CAN REPORT THEIR ENERGY BY
CONTACTING PG&E MONTHLY. PG&E CAN VERIFY USAGE EVERY 6 MONHTS.
Governor Brown:governor@governor.ca.gov
Email Senator Blakeslee,Assemblymember Achadjian:
Legislature website: http:/Aeginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.htm]
SPEAK AT YOUR CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS AND ASK OTHERS TO SEND LETTERS!
Delay Installation of SmartMeters!CaR.PGE at 877-743-7378,document the call,the employee name
and request they note:"I want tokeep`(or restore)my,analog meter at no cost."Then ask for a
confirmation number to be sent to you.Ifyou received"a-letter from PG&E to install a SmartMeter,also
call Wellington(the installation company)at 1-866-6714001.If they have a work order for your location,
tell them you don't want a SmartMeter.34 business days later,call PGE to be sure they received back
the work order from Wellington. Also, put signs ph electric/gas meters(homemade or downloadable from
www.emfsafetynetwork.org)
5-I
http://www.counterpunch.orgl7evitt03182011.html
Dumb and Dangerous
The Problems With Smart Grids
By B. BLAKE LEVITT and CHELLIS GLENDINNING
How is it that so many intelligent, inside-the-beltway environmentalists are buying into an
eco-health-safety-finance debacle with the potential to increase energy consumption, endanger
the environment, harm public health, diminish privacy, make the national utility grid more
insecure, cause job losses, and make energy markets more speculative?
Answer: by not doing their homework.
Welcome to the Smart Grid - a government-funded money machine capable of intruding into
every aspect of our lives. Smart Grid technologies - initially funded to the tune of$3.4 billion
through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and slated to cost $11 billion
through 2011 - are enough to make even diehard liberals demand a claw back of misspent tax
dollars.
On the surface, Smart Grids sound `green' —with promises of saving energy, creating new
power-line corridors run on wind and solar, way-stations to power-up electric vehicles,
energy-efficient upgrades to an aging power infrastructure, and real-time customer knowledge of
electricity use.
And there's the enticing communications factor: a nationwide high-speed broadband information
technology barreling down high-tension electric corridors called Broadband-Over-Power-Lines
(BPL). What could be more perfect for communicating facts about the planet, funding.
enviro-candidates,pushing legislation, and organizing Earth Days? .
But few who actually study how these new systems functionwant anything to do with them.
Other than those who stand to make enormous profits and the physicists or engineers who dream
up such stuff, Smart Grids are giving knowledgeable people the willies.
What Is a Smart Grid?
These days the word "smart" is attached to anything even marginally digital -- and indeed it's an
effective marketing tool because who wants anything dumb?
But is the Smart Grid really smart?
The problem: smart metering will turn every single appliance into the equivalent of a
transmitting cell phone, and this at a time when public concern about the safety of exposure to
the radiofrequency radiation (RF) of wireless technologies is on the rise. Heads up: that's every
i
dishwasher,microwave oven, stove,washing machine, clothes dryer, air conditioner, furnace,
refrigerator, freezer, coffee maker, TV, computer,printer, and fax machine.
The average U.S. home has over 15 such appliances, each of which would be equipped with a
transmitting antenna. While older models can be retrofitted, General Electric (GE) and other
appliance manufacturers are already putting transmitters into their latest designs, and the U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE) is already giving out tax credits.
Meanwhile, people who don't want to use such appliances won't be able to deactivate the
wireless component without disabling it and voiding warranties. Citing"electricity theft," it
could also be illegal to do so.
Yet, not one safety concern regarding the cumulative effects of 24/7 exposure to RF radiation.
seems to have occurred to the backers of Smart Grids. And this is despite the fact that all
appliances will transmit wireless data with peak power bursts far above current safety standards
at frequencies between 917 MHz and 3.65 GHz in the ultra-high frequency/microwave ranges of
the electromagnetic spectrum, several times a minute.
And that's just the indoor part. All transmitters inside your home or office will communicate
with a Smart Meter attached to the outside of each building._(1)That meter, in turn, will transmit
at an even higher frequency to a central hub installed in local neighborhoods. In what are called
"mesh networks," signals can also be bounced from house-meter to house-meter before reaching
the final hub. So exposures will not just be from your own meter, but accumulating from
possibly 100-to-500 of your neighbors' as well.
That's a hefty barrage of radiation.
Some gas, water, and electric utilities are now using such smart networks,each with its own
metering system and separate exposures -creating a multi-frequency wall of radiation that, in the
history of living creatures, is unheard of.
In addition, the meters and the antennas will act as transceivers, allowing both you via mobile
phone or computer—and take note: your utility company-to remotely control your
appliances. According to Jenny Anderson and Julie Creswell writing in the New York Times,
one such system in the Midwest already allows the utility to cycle furnaces and air conditioners
on and off every 15 minutes, with the stated purpose to reduce peak-loads on electric grids.
On closer scrutiny, Smart Grids look like another
Build-It-Now-Deal-With-The-Consequences-Later fiasco. At a time when health concerns about
the safety of cell phones, antennas, and Wi-Fi hotspots are mounting around the globe, Smart
Grids will require literally billions of new transmitters, each pumping "electrosmog" into the
environment- for which there will be no mitigation, no conscientious objection, and no escape.
We Already Know a Lot about RF and the Environment
Living creatures are fantastically sensitive to low-level, non-ionizing radiation that includes
everything from visible light to the earth's natural electromagnetic fields.
Birds,butterflies, fish, marine mammals, bees, and other insects are particularly sensitive to the
earth's natural electromagnetic background, using it to guide their migrations, sense of direction,
circadian rhythms,food-finding, and reproductive activities. Soil bacteria are also tuned to the
natural currents of the planet.
But human-made radiation creates different exposures -with unusual signaling characteristics
like digital pulsing, phased array and saw-tooth waveforms, and at much higher power intensities
than anything found in nature. RF is actually a form of energetic air pollution - and if air were
legally considered"habitat" like water and land, RF might be regulated differently.
Studies show that myriad wildlife abandons terrain when cell towers are installed. Cows have
increased cancers, lower milk production, agitation,
Electromagnetic-Fields-Levitt-B-Blake-9780595476077.jpg "
immune system disorders,more mastitis, miscarriages, and birth defects in offspring near cell
towers. Birds with nests near antennas display lower reproductive rates, and chicks are born with
birth defects. In simulations of whole colony collapse disorder, bees have disappeared entirely
when transmitting cell phones were placed next to their hives. It is thought that RF interferes
with their navigational abilities by coupling with a natural magnetic material called magnetite in
bee abdomens.
Meanwhile, hundreds of studies done with laboratory animals found numerous cancers, immune
disorders, and increased mortality from chronic, low-level exposures. This body of work should
make us ponder the accuracy of the data—and humaneness- when biologists attach RF
transmitters to elk, marine mammals, big cats, and other species to study them.
Trees also endure die-back near towers. Whole forests near broadcast antennas in Europe have
suffered. Military-weapons designers have long used treetops with high moisture content as
waveguides for missiles.
Some of this work goes back six decades in bioelectromagnetics and biophysics journals -- and is
available'for any curious environmentalist to see.
... and We Know about RF and Humans
Research on RF and human health dates to the 040's when World War 11's radar revealed
infertility and cataracts in military personnel.
David O. Carpenter, MD, MPH, is the director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at
the State University of New York at Albany, School of Public Health. Along with EMF/RF
consultant Cindy Sage in California, he co-edited the 2001 Biolnitiative Report, which calls for
significantly more stringent RF exposure standards than now exist.
Environmentalists may know Dr. Carpenter, who blew the whistle on PCB contamination in
farm-raised salmon. He is also an expert on the biological effects of electromagnetic fields. To
him, the decade-long, 13-country World Health Organization's 2010 Interphone Study confirms
what previous reports and many experts have been saying all along: RF exposures at current
levels are already unsafe.
\ r
According to Interphone, talking on a cell phone for 1;640 hours over a 10-year period--the
equivalent of 30 minutes a day-- increases an adult's risk of malignant glioma brain cancer by
40%.
"While this [Interphone] study is not perfect,"Dr. Carpenter said, "it should serve as a warning
to governments that the deployment of new wireless technologies may bring risks to the public
that are widespread,involuntary, and increase long-term health care costs."
His assessment ipso facto includes Smart Grids.
Over 70 studies have found effects at frequencies with very low-power intensity, many with
implications for human health. Fifteen studies report effects among people living 50-to-1500 feet
from a cell tower—including cancers, immune system effects, fertility problems, heart
arrhythmias, miscarriages, sleeplessness, dizziness, concentration difficulties, memory loss,
headaches, skin rashes, lowered libido, fatigue, and malaise.
And many of these symptoms mirror what some people are reporting within days of Smart
Meters installed at their homes.
In addition, several studies report increases in the permeability of the blood-brain barrier, which
protects brain tissue from bacteria, viruses, and toxins. One study found increases in stress
markers in human saliva near cell towers..Also reported are calcium ion changes in cells -with
implications for the ability to metabolize. Other studies link exposures to Alzheimer's, Lou
Gehrig Disease, and Parkinson's.
In fact, every system of the body appears to be sensitive to low-level electromagnetic fields - and
why not? Living cells are electromagnetic systems.
Research by Magda Havas, Ph.D., of Trent University in Canada, and U.S. epidemiologist
Samuel Milham, M.D., links something called "dirty electricity" with diabetes, malignant
melanoma, and cancers of the breast, thyroid, uterus and lung. Dirty electricity is an industry
term that describes a multi-frequency exposure when higher frequencies like RF couple with the
lower frequencies running along power lines. BPL is 100% dirty electricity-that's how it
functions - and people barraged by it can now measure RF radiation emanating from their light
sockets.
Of special concern are people with implanted medical devices like deep-brain stimulators for
Parkinson's, some pacemakers, insulin pumps, and in-home hospital equipment. The
radiofrequency interference (RFI) inherent to Smart Grids can cause such equipment to go
haywire, or even to stop. And RFI from ambient exposures has caused wheelchairs to go off
peers or into traffic; automatic ignition switches in cars refuse to start until cars are towed to
RF-free blocks; and surgical beds have jumped during operations.
RFI is also suspected in sudden acceleration of automobiles.
Low I.Q.for Smart Grids and Government
Think of the static on your radio. Now imagine Smart Grid's multiple frequencies overlapping
with animate objects ... like your brain. The UHF used in Smart Grids couples best with brain
tissue.
Several federal agencies actually do have a stake in RF safety,but the Federal Communications
Commission's (FCC) standards are the only ones in effect in the U.S. A major problem is that
the FCC regulates only short-term, acute,high-intensity, thermal effects in humans, while no
criteria exist to protect wildlife.
And there's more. FCC standards only regulate for whole-body exposure, not for specific organs
- like brain tissue which absorbs energy differently. Plus, FCC allowances are averaged over 30
minutes. With Smart Grids such time-averaging makes the peak pulses that blast for a fraction of
a second when first activated vanish on paper.
These are holes through which the Queen Mary could sail.
According to Richard Tell, an electrical engineer formerly with the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) - in a 2008 report on Smart Grids for Hydro One Networks,
Inc./Toronto - antennas on appliances may transmit at a density of.18watts, each at ballpark 4.5
seconds per hour. But external meters on houses transmit at around 1 watt at less than 2 minutes
per hour.
Such figures may sound low -until the use of many appliances at the same time and exposures
from the neighbors' meters is lumped in. Nowhere in utility estimates are such peak pulses
factored—which,Tell has said, can be 20 times higher or more.
Still, he notes, the radiation from Smart Meters is 15,000 times lower than what FCC ultra-high
standards.
Too, the industry claims that meters transmit every four hours—but engineers like Stephen Scott
of EMF Services/California measure spikes every few seconds, especially from banks of meters
attached to housing and office complexes,while others have measured firing between 9-and-15
times a minute.
Utilities don't release numbers for peak pulses, but one estimate by Southern California Edison—
since voided for P.R. reasons -puts peak pulses at 229,000 microwatts per square centimeter at
eight inches from the transmitter. That means if you sleep next to a wall with a smart appliance
on the other side, strong UHF signals could be spiking several times a minute all night long-
right into your brain.
Compare that to cell phones that emit approximately 250-to-300 microwatts per square
centimeter when placed directly against the head.
Vampires and Cyber Attackers Make the Honor Roll
For decades, knowledgeable environmentalists have advised people with remote-control
appliances to unplug them because of"vampire"energy. Plugged-in remotes are never
completely "OFF"; otherwise they wouldn't be able to receive the signal to turn back"ON."
So what will happen to our aggregate energy use when all appliances become smart vampires?
No proponents thought to ask that question.
Though supposedly"secure," Smart Grids can be penetrated by both wired and wireless
networks. In August of 2009, hackers robbed 179,000 Toronto Hydro customers' names,
addresses, and billing information from their e-billing accounts. Security consultant Mike Davis
of IOActive, Inc/Seattle has shown how easy it is to install computer worms that can take over
the whole grid, and such worms can be programmed to alter billing information, gather
information on electricity use for sale to third parties, or shut down hundreds of thousands of
households.
Ross Anderson and Shailendra Fuloria at Cambridge University's Computer Laboratory note that
hostile government agencies or terrorist organizations could bring whole countries to their knees
by interrupting electrical generation. More so than traditional grids, they stress that Smart Grids
create a new strategic vulnerability as the cyber equivalent of a nuclear attack. Smart Grids are
also easy to sabotage with simple jamming devices.
And if the problems aren't human-created, nature could step in. The sun's normal 11-year
sunspot cycle - ramping up right now, promising to pump sporadic blasts of electromagnetic
energy toward earth -could wreak chaos upon Smart Grids.
Dumb: Privacy Gone, Liability Shifted,Billing Errors Galore
Privacy is an issue as well. When the utility company records home energy use in real time -
with data held at a central hub, potentially accessible from a hacker's laptop—the knowledge
that you are not home becomes available.
Plus, do you really want the utilities remotely-controlling your appliances?
And what about liability? Although grid engineers claim the systems are encrypted, encryption
often fails. Imagine the utility- or even a passing cell-phone user- inadvertently turning on your
oven when you're on vacation. Or shutting off the furnace on a subzero night. For insurance
purposes, who is liable? What about civil rights violations? Or the legal ramifications of a utility
partnering with the police?
In the purest sense, Smart Grids offer new opportunities for electronic trespass.
Then there are the billing errors. Some customers in California have seen their bills triple - from
$200/month to $600- when Smart Meters were installed. After a class action suit was filed
against Pacific Gas &Electric (PG&E), that utility admitted that 23,000 of their Smart Meters
"might" be defective, though they denied they were responsible for the billing errors.
Dumb is as Dumb Does
Smart systems can wreak havoc with electronics too. People are complaining of ceiling fans
turning on in the middle of the night, speeds spontaneously changing,paddles reversing
direction, and circuit boards burning up. A few meters have exploded. Others have fried
electronics. Fires have started. In New Zealand firefighters report 422 fires in 2010 involved with
Smart Meters.
Oddly, given such dire safety issues, neither U.S. utilities nor their experts seem capable of
answering simple questions. At a public forum in Sebastopol in 2010, PG&E pulled its speakers
when they didn't get the format they wanted-all questions in writing and in advance. Then, at a
subsequent gathering, PG&E sent two experts -Michael Herz and Leeka Kheifets -- neither of
whom knew how often meters send or repeat RF signals, called the "duty cycle."The two could
not answer what the exposure would be for an apartment complex with banks of multiple meters,
nor answer technical questions about peak-signal strength. And they didn't know the make or
model of the meters so that people in the audience could look up the information.
One Sebastopol activist, Sandi Maurer, said in frustration: "How can we trust a company to
deploy such a massive RF installation on every home, if they can't even answer basic safety
questions?"
But not all utilities are rushing forward. In 2010 Dominion Virginia Power delayed a
$600-million program because Virginia's State Corporation Commission questioned its
economic wisdom, noting that the savings to ratepayers would be less than the rate increases
needed to pay for the build-out. Hydro One/Canada came to the same conclusion in 2007, and
last year lawmakers in the Netherlands struck down a bill that would have made Smart Meters
mandatory. The U.K. is reconsidering a smart metering system as well, and in 2009 the European
Parliament ordered member states to study the economic feasibility of Smart Grids.
Electricity =Big Bucks
All the while private, largely unregulated hedge funds have been entering energy markets,
betting on the potential financial bonanza. It's the big players who stand to profit, of course--
with your tax dollars going to the likes of GE, IBM, Siemens, Intel, Texas Instruments, AT&T,
Verizon,Motorola, and other behemoths.
GE is the largest manufacturer of Smart Meters in the world. It has signed contracts with
CenterPoint Energy and Grid Net to deploy WiMax-enabled radios for use in Smart Meters.
WiMax is the fourth generation network that was earmarked by the FCC and the Obama
administration to bring wireless Internet to rural areas—so clearly the technologies are moveable
pieces, depending on who owns the chessboard.
But it's the taxpayer-customer who gets the double whammy: underwriting the infrastructure via
tax dollars; enduring rate hikes and medical bills -- and then there's the burden of having to
new appliances.
Plus, for citizens, real-time metering reveals when you wake up, go to work., make dinner, do the
laundry, use the computer, go on vacation. While proponents see real-time knowledge in the
hands of consumers as a form of empowerment, they ignore the gorilla-in-the-room: tiered
pricing. Today, many utilities set flat, state-regulated rates for kilowatt hours, but tiered pricing
will change that.
Critics say that tiered pricing penalizes the elderly, self-employed, unemployed;homemakers,
and those with small children - all of whom use more energy during the day. But a darker
possibility exists: a utility could create special billing tiers just for you. In other words, if you
work the evening shift and cook dinner at midnight, your rate could be highest when everyone
else's is lowest.
Then there's mandatory shut-offs for people who don't pay their utility bills - after which the
unfortunate customer will have to buy a prepaid wireless-enacted electric meter like a prepaid
phone card. Fantasy? Such a system was enacted in South Africa in the 1990's.
Inside-the-Beltway Environ
Before the Obama administration even took office, their pre-transition coordinator for climate
and energy policy,Carol Browner, met with IBM CEO Sam Palmisano.
Browner was the director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under Clinton and
is now Obama's coordinator for climate and energy policy, while IBM works with the
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation think-tank in DC to develop three focus
areas: increased broadband access, digitized medical records, and Smart Grids.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Palmisano told Browner that a$10 billion investment was
needed to jumpstart Smart Grids. Palmisano also claimed that Smart Grids would create 239,000
new jobs with half of those resulting from start-up businesses. But his promise was not
computed against the jobs lost, such as hundreds of thousands of unemployed meter readers. Nor
did he consider the fact that new information technologies are typically seen as a way to
consolidate through fewer employees.
Other former Clinton Administration officials on board for Smart Grids include Al Gore -
because of supposed lower carbon emissions - and Reed Hundt, chairman of the FCC in the
1990's when that agency championed massive auctions of the public airwaves for cell-phone
technology.
Hundt went on to become co-founder of Frontline Wireless and Sigma Networks. Sitting on
several corporate communications company boards, including Intel and China Telecom, he is
also co-chairman of the Coalition for the Green Bank, a capital-raising nonprofit that is lobbying
Congress for more Smart Grid money-- through environment committees.
The Food and Drug Administration and FCC have a stake in Smart Grids, as do the EPA and
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). But neither EPA nor FWS has the funding or manpower
to address the RF effects of Smart Grids or consider the effects of a new infusion of radiation
into the environment.
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has oversight over FWS. Salazar was a U.S. Senator
(D-CO, 2005-to-2009)before he left to join Obama. He was also Colorado's Attorney General
from 1999 to 2005 and gets low grades from environmentalists as one of a handful of Democrats
to vote against setting limits on offshore drilling and global warming.
And he is no stranger to RF politics. A go-around on RF's health and environmental effects
raged from 2000 to 2006 in Colorado. At issue was a high-definition TV tower to be erected on
Lookout Mountain near Denver, overlooking a community already burdened by one of the
country's largest antenna farms. After rancorous public hearings, the county board voted against
the new tower. But Salazar attached a midnight rider to another bill right-pre-empting local
decision makers.
Steven Chu He is former director of the DOE's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and
professor of Physics and Molecular Cell Biology at the University of California. He has also held
positions at Stanford University and AT&T Bell Laboratories— all of which develop/deploy RF
technologies. He is now Obama's Secretary of Energy, and in 2009 Chu issued a statement
telling the states to take the federal stimulus money and not stand in the way of Smart Grids.
But perhaps the biggest lack of intelligence lies in the energy and environment committees of the
U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. Smart Grid legislation first passed in 2007 as part of
the Energy Independence and Security Act under the Bush administration. Additional legislation
was contained in the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 at the House Committee
on Energy &Environment,formerly chaired by Henry Waxman (D-CA). A companion bill was
in the Senate., while in 2010 twelve bills were considered, some of which were revived in 2011.
Everyone, including the Committee of Environment and Public Works -formerly chaired by
Barbara Boxer(D-CA) with a grid-related subcommittee chaired by Bernard Sanders (I-VT)—
has had a hand in Smart Grids.
Now some Republicans, especially Tea Party activists who view Smart Grids as massive big
government intrusion, may be fighting Smart Grid proposals—a situation that is creating an odd
alliance between the extreme right and some activists who find themselves on the same side.
Smart Grids -Boondoggle or Economic Stimulus?
2010's federal appropriations for Smart Grids was $11 billion.
But some financial analysts say it will take over$900 billion over the next two decades to
upgrade high-tension lines, meters, central control facilities, and substations. In addition, they
say to truly digitize and digitalize grids, it will cost hundreds of billions more, into 2030, because
every utility's computer network will need to be upgraded, new renewable-energy sources will
be needed to plug.into new access points, and recharging stations and power lines will need to be
built. Proponents brag that the construction will be a bonanza.
But Smart Grids may be little more than a Trojan Horse donned in a "green"hat. After all the
government mandates and stimulus money for Smart Grids, a veritable gold rush ensued- with
utility companies, hedge funds, meter vendors, patent owners, and colossi like Google and
Verizon vying for taxpayer bucks.
In fact, few jobs were created.
Ironically, environmentalists are also pushing for Smart Grids without studying the
environmental/health impacts or even calculating if such systems will save energy. Plus,
provisions in the stimulus package exempt Smart Grids from National Environmental Policy Act
review and allow federal preemption for siting high-tension corridors through
environmentally-sensitive areas.
But the biggest enviro-irony is that most Smart Meter models don't"run backwards"; if you
install solar panels or other renewable-energy sources and want to sell energy back to the grid,
without very expensive additional equipment the new metering makes that impossible.
People Are Getting Smart
Connecticut Light and Power is currently petitioning the Department of Public Utility Control to
allow Smart Meters to be placed on 1.2 million homes, over the objections of the state's Attorney
General George Jepsen. A pilot program of 10,000 such meters found no energy savings in 2009,
he said, but would cost ratepayers $500 million.
Maine has begun a statewide Smart Grid project -- over citizen opposition. Smart Grids already
exist in parts of Virginia, Florida, Texas,New Mexico, and the Midwest, while PG&E in
California has installed several million meters on homes and businesses; 73% of buildings in
Alameda County already have them. As of June 1, 2010,the California Public Utilities
Commission reports 2000 health-related and 1500 non-health-related complaints. The PG&E
executive in charge of the Smart Meter program, William Devereaux, was discovered infiltrating
activist groups opposed to Smart Grids, and the utility admitted to monitoring online groups to
track their strategies.
And yet California customers are signing petitions, organizing calling campaigns, forming
neighborhood groups, holding forums, throwing protests, getting arrested for blocking from
neighborhoods, suing the state, and threatening to go off the grid. Sebastopol in Sonoma County
is calling for `opt-out' campaigns whereby customers refuse transmitters. And thus far, Berkeley,
Scotts Valley, San Francisco, Sebastopol, Capitola, Fairfax, Camp Meeker, Cotati, Bolinas, and
Watsonville, as well as Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa counties, have requested moratoriums.
In 2010 Assemblyman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) requested that the California Council on
Science and Technology evaluate health effects, and Marin County Supervisor Charles
McGlashan has called for state hearings- with his county board declaring that the state should
shut down all Smart Meters until billing, health, and safety issues are resolved.
High I.Q.'s in Europe
In 2007, Germany's Environment Ministry issued a warning to German citizens to avoid wireless
technology when possible and return to cabled means of communication. The French national
library banned Wi-Fi in libraries when librarians became ill And the European Environmental
Agency called for action to reduce public exposure to radiation from mobile phones, Wi-Fi,
Wi-Max, and other antennas.
In 2008 the European Parliament proposed publicly displayed maps of RF-contaminated areas so
people could avoid them, while the U.K.'s Association of Teachers and Lecturers came out
against Wi-Fi in classrooms.
Sweden has declared some beaches and public buildings RF-free areas where cell phones and
wireless computers cannot be used so that people with electromagnetic hypersensitivity- a form
of environmental allergy that Sweden classifies as a functional disability-can take a breather
from contamination.
Individuals have also rallied. Spanish activists hold an annual International Day Against
Electromagnetic Pollution. British and Irish citizens have taken to civil disobedience, bulldozing
down cell towers. And Israelis have torn down cell towers with their bare hands and chased
landlords who lease rooftops to tower companies through the streets.
All the while, a truly intelligent way to help an aging infrastructure does exist. Using closed
cables, fiber optic boasts no environmental RF exposures, no dirty electricity, is resistant to
sabotage and weather disruptions, and provides TV and high-speed Internet. For$11 billion, the
U.S. could bring fiber optic to every home just as Japan has done.
And some towns aren't waiting. Chattanooga TN already has a municipally-owned fiber optic
network. The community of Dunnellon FL is proposing a fiber-optic system for every home and
business - without increasing taxes. Meanwhile, Google is seeking prototype communities for a
fiber-optic system that could possibly be licensed for utility metering. Unfortunately, Google has
also wandered into wireless smart metering too.
The fact is: Smart Grids are dumb. Given known biological effects of RF--together with the use
of financial resources better spent on true sustainability-- this new roll-out adds yet another
threat to the planet.
But, in this current stampede toward everything "green," many environmentalists are flunking
the I.Q. test. We all need to smarten up.
B. Blake Levitt is a medical/science journalist,former New York Times contributor, author of
Electromagnetic
From: Connie[SMTP:CONNIE@JMADONNA.COM] RED FILE
Sent: Monday, June 06, 20112:32:57 PM MEETING AGENDA
To: Council, SloCiry DATE 6 l/ ITEM #�
Subject: Smart Meter Response
Auto forwarded by a Rule
Dear City Council Members,
Thank you very much for taking action and making contact with the PUC regarding the intended
installation of SmartMeters in San Luis Obispo. I appreciate your prudent effort and your
devotion to the City.
Connie Walter hard cu : email:
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John Madonna Construction Co., Inc a AW CM a FIBECHIEF
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From: Carole[SMTP:ONEGOODGAL@JUNO.COM] o MY MGR a Err Dm
, June 02, 2011 3:14:07 PM a '�°" a EOI
Sent: Thursday, a p'17'ORNEY o Pw DIR
.To: Council, SloCity o CLMUVO rO 0POLICE CHIEF
Subject: World Health Organization reclassifies Smart Meters a r�RIBUNE a�IR cD�
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Hello,
I have just been informed of some late breaking news concerning Smart
Meters. This is a game changer. Please read and pass along to all interested
parties.
Thanks for your time. RED FILE
MEETING AGENDA
Carole Good DATE-A#4// ITEM # �f
onegoodgal(o)i uno.com
htty://www.eastbavexpress.com/92510/archives/2011/06/01/world-health-organization-
warns-wireless-may-cause-cancer
World Health Organization: Wireless May Cause Cancer
Wed, Jun 1 , 2011 at 11 : 15 AM
Reversing its long-held position on the safety of wireless radiation from
cell phones, wi-fi, and "smart" meters, the World Health Organization
announced yesterday that it had re-classified such non-ionizing
radiation as "possibly carcinogenic." The organization's International
Agency for Research on Cancer placed radiation from these devices
in the same category as DDT and leaded gasoline.
PG&E, which leads the nation in deployment of wireless"smart"meters, has relied
heavily on the WHO's assertion of the meters' safety in defending its devices to critics.
However, the WHO's previous position dated to 1996 and did not reflect the findings of
more current research. According to activist group Stop Smart Meters!, a"broad
investigation into the peer-reviewed science"ultimately convinced the organization to
reconsider its stance on wireless radiation.
"Now that the WHO has come out and publicly confirmed that there are
significant risks from wireless technology," Joshua Hart, director of the Santa
Cruz County-based group, said in a statement yesterday, "will the utilities and
I �
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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?"
Without the WHO's approval, it's unclear what approach PG&E and other utilities
will take to continue to defend wireless "smart" meters in the face of increasing
public criticism. To date, a total of 42 local jurisdictions have asked the
California Public Utilities Commission to halt further installation of the meters
due to health concerns. The CPUC also has launched its own investigation into
wireless radiation effects. In March, PG&E proposed a plan to allow concerned
customers to tum off the wireless signals of their new meters, though at
considerable cost.
"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 Smart Meters rely to be
completely safe." But not anymore.
VitaCost discount vitamins (and more) can be found at http://mygoodhealthyfood.com
i
rcouncjl memoRanbum
,city of san lits osispo, ki inisWation a6 pautmEnt,___
DATE: June 3, 2011
TO: City Council
BY: Michael Codron, Acting Assistan City Manager
VIA: Katie Lichtig, City Manager ;
t
SUBJECT: RED FILE—AGENDA ITEM C-9, JUNE 7, 2011, CITY COUNCIL
UPDATED LETTER TO CALIFORNIA PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
Staff drafted an earlier version of the letter of support for improved opt out options for
SmartMeters to Pacific Gas and Electric. It was brought to Staff's attention that the letter would
be more appropriately addressed to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The
attached letter is the updated and correctly addressed version, directed to the CPUC.
RED FILE haW coar. emnil:
— MEETING AGENDA a COUNCIL c CDD DIR
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14, N OFFICE OF THE CITY COUNCIL
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June 7, 2011
Michael R. Peevey, President
California Public Utilities Commission
505 Van Ness Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94102
Subject: SmartMeter Installation in City of San Luis Obispo
Dear Mr. Peevey,
The City Council of San Luis Obispo requests PG&E immediately suspend the installation of
SmartMeters in the City of San Luis Obispo until an opt out procedure is finalized and made
available to the public.
This request is made pursuant to numerous public expressions of concern regarding health,
privacy, safety, and environmental risks associated with SmartMeter technology.
While PG&E has proposed to CPUC to offer customers the option to pay$250 upfront and $20
per month to have their SmartMeter radio transmitter deactivated, our collective desire is for
PG&E to develop and implement a zero-cost option by which San Luis Obispo residents may
either opt out of SmartMeter installation or request deactivation of the radio transmitter.
Additionally, individuals moving into a residence with an existing SmartMeter should have the
option to request the SmartMeter be uninstalled and replaced with an analog meter.
We appreciate your immediate attention to this matter and your effort to ensure the residents of
San Luis Obispo may continue to thrive in a healthy and safe environment.
Sincerely,
Jan Howell Marx, Mayor
City of San Luis Obispo
Cc:
Vice Mayor John Ashbaugh
Councilmember Dan Carpenter
Councilmember Andrew Carter
Councilmember Kathy Smith
I 1
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council memoRAn6um
June 7, 2011 hard co email:
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FROM: Gary Henderson, Water Division Manager °CUM&
SUBJECT: RED FILE—AGENDA ITEM PH-1
The staff report for the appeal of'impact fees for the project at 1130 Garden Street included the
appeal documentation submitted by the applicant on April 20, 2011. The documentation did not
include the calculations that were submitted earlier to City staff on February 11, 2011. Please
find attached a copy of the calculations from the previous correspondence.
RED FILE
MEETING AGENDA
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From:George Garcia [george@garciaorchdesign.com]
Sent:Tuesday,lune 07,20114:35 PM
To:Ian Marx, Marx,Ian
Subject Impact fee issue for 1130 Garden Street URM retrofit project
Hello lan:
I trust this email finds you well. It was good to see you up @ Cal Poly a few weeks
back,although a quieter venue might have yielded more a productive dialog with the
students. Let me know if there is continue interest in the"Uptown Monterey" concept,
as I'd be happy to participate.
I am actually writing to express my support for the plight of Alex Benson and his
retrofit project at 1130 Garden Street,who's appeal goes before the Council tonight.
We were hired by Alex back in 2008 to prepare the required seismic retrofit plans for
his Master List historic building on Garden Street. Since then we have been working
with the planning and building department to secure the required permits for the URM
retrofit as well as ADA accessibility and other improvements for this historic property.
During the process,Alex expressed interest in retaining the upstairs apartment as a
residential unit,and asked my opinion on the matter. I advised that city policy is
written to encourage property owners to include housing in their downtown properties
whenever possible,and this particular building was particular suited since is was
originally built as a residence over a doctors office (Dr. Stover Residence).
The difficulty lies with the impact fees being imposed on this property to"convert"the
upstairs to a residential use,when the truth is that it was originally built as a residence,
and is in fact one of the few remaining original Master List"mixed use" buildings in the
historic downtown. I therefore urge you to consider Mr. Benson's appeal and allow the
requested fee waiver. Doing so will encourage and promote housing in the downtown,
as well as provide an opportunity to restore this historic property to it's true and historic
use.
Thanks for your consideration,
-- hard opyr. emo
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George Garcia,AIA a AMCM a maw
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RED FILE
MEETI G AGENDA
DATE ITEM #—at—
From: Annie Laurie[SMTP:ANNIELAURIECMT@GMAIL.COM]
Sent: Wednesday, June 08, 2011 9:59:13 PM
To: Council, SloCity
Subject: Smart meters
Auto forwarded by a Rule
Please put a stop to the installment of SMART METERS ! I am already sensitive to the
EMF. These meters will impare my health even more.
PLEASE GIVE THE PEOPLE AN OPTION.
Sincerely,
Annie
Annie Laurie
(805) 595-6221 �'b: �c-lii �G
www.annielaurie.cieaura.com 2
www.AnnieLaurie.com Crry/17ja2
E-mail: annielauriecmt(ci)_amail.com
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OBIG THANKS to Dr. Carpenter and to Maine's Smart Meter Safety
Coalition who "recently caught up with Dr. David Carpenter, a Harvard
Medical School-trained physician who headed up the New York State Dept.
of Public Health for 18 years before becoming Dean of the School of Public
Health at the University of Albany, where he currently directs the Institute
for Health and the Environment" (www.smartmetersafety.com)
Dr. Carpenter states, "We have evidence...that exposure to
radiofrequency radiation...increases the risk of cancer, increases
damage to the nervous system, causes electrosensitivity, has adverse
reproductive effects and a variety of other effects on different organ
systems. There is no justification for the statement that Smart Meters
have no adverse health effects."
Dr. Carpenter further advises, "An informed person should demand
that they be allowed to keep their analog meter"
(For those of you already Smart Metered, demand to have the
analog meter restored, call your your utility and your state public
utility commission)
RECEIVED
MAY 2 7 1611 RED FILE
TO VIEW THE VIDEO: MEETING AGENDA
SLO CITY CL�E.RK
DATES k t ITEM #-_
http://emfsafetynetwork.org/?p=3946
Judy Vick hardCO ` ems`
° COUNCIL O CDD DIR
EMF Safety Network Representative ° CffYMOR aFIT DM
San Luis Obispo County ° AY!°RMa PWMR
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venturemind@hotmail.com ° TR ° MDI RECDIR
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OUNCIL° SLOCIiYNE9V3 °COUNCO.
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CPUC Public Advisor O
505 Van Ness Avenue, Room 2103
San Francisco, CA 94102
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Dear CPUC: J
Smart meters don't save energy, people save energy. I request
a better smart meter opt out option: No charge to customers to
keep our existing analog meters. Utility companies can
estimate usage based on the prior year, or customers can self-
read and report by phone or email monthly. A meter reader
can check twice a year, so that any underage or overage can be
adjusted.
For any customer who requests it, utility companies should
restore the analog meter at utility company expense (given
they were installed without customer choice in mandatory O
"deployment."), as soon as possible.
There should be an immediate moratorium on any further
installation of wireless smart meters until there have been
evidentiary hearings on smart meters and the meters are
proven to be safe for customers and the environment, and the
benefits outweigh the economic, health, safety, property,
security and privacy risks to consumers.
Sincerely,
Name
Address O
Transmitting smart meters are being Transmitting Smart Meters
Oinstalled nationwide on gas, water, and Pose A Serious Threat
electrical services, driven in part by funding To Public Health
for the Smart Grid Program approved as part of
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
This is of great concern because the exposure to microwave and radiowave radiation from
these meters is involuntary and continuous. The transmitting meters do comply with
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) "safety" standards However, those standards
were initially designed to protect an average male from tissue heating(cooking) during_a
brief exposure. These standards were not designed to protect a diverse population from the
non-thermal effects of continuous exposure to microwave and radiowave radiation
Therefore, these "safety" standards were not designed to protect the public from health
problems under the circumstances which the meters are being used. The transmitting meters
most often being used transmit continuously, every few seconds. This is picked up by a
receiver and logged by the utility. You are exposed to the transmissions for all the meters
within transmitting range. The meters often have a range of over two miles. Thus, the
exposure is continuous and the "safety" standards'the meters comply with are irrelevant to
the situation. Please read this letter from the Radiation Protection Division of the
Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) regarding the limitations of the FCC standards.
OSome transmitting meters transmit at less frequent intervals, however, they still seem to be
causing health problems. This could be due to the still elevated levels of radiowaves and
microwaves in the neighborhood because of all the neighbors transmitters. Remember,
many, many meters are transmitting at these intervals. (One person with a meter
transmitting hourly reports waking at the time it transmits.)
The transmitting meters can also put high frequencies directly on home and building
wiring. This can happen deliberately through signaling to electrical loads or inadvertently
through poor engineering. Poorly engineered meters can cause electrical pollution by
putting the transmitted signal directly on home wiring or by the way they draw power to
operate. Whether deliberate or inadvertent, studies are fording high frequencies on building
wiring is related to a host of health problems. Milham and Morgan found a dose-response
relationship between high frequencies present on building wiring and cancer. Removing
high frequencies on building wiring has improved MS symptoms, blood sugar levels,
asthma, sleep quality, teacher health, headaches, ADD, and numerous other health
problems. (Visit Research page to see papers.) Technical papers provide a solid electrical
and biomolecular basis for these effects. A recent paper by Ozen, showed that transients
induce much stronger current density levels in the human body than does the powerline
60Hz signal. A technical paper by Vignati and Giuliani discusses the authors' findings that
Oigh frequency communication signals on power lines also induce much stronger electrical
currents in the human body than a low frequency signal of the same strength. The induced
currents disturb normal intercellular communications. This causes harmful short-term and
long-term effects. Please see the Technical nage for information about properly measuring
the high frequencies on building wiring.that are causing health problems. There is also a
simple meter that lay people can use to easily measure most high frequencies on building
wiring.
The objectives of the Smart Grid Program can be accomplished without transmitting meters
and without using other technology such as high frequency communication over power
lines, which are also harmful to human health. It.simply requires that meters be selected
that are properly engineered to meet the needs of the program without using dangerous
technology. Multi-rate billing and other sophisticated metering options do not require that
the meter transmit. Models are available that download periodically on phone lines,
dedicated communication lines, or are read by a reader the meter reader carries. Dedicated
communication cables can be used to shut off or allow on certain power consuming
electronics such as air conditioners. It is essential that only meters that do not transmit or
put high frequency signals on building wiring are approved for the Smart Grid Program.
The un-safeness of the "safety" standards for the continuously transmitting smart meters is
apparent from the reports of healthproblems ranging from headaches to poor sleep to heart
palpitations that begin after their installation. .
Transmitted microwave and radiowave radiation also have the potential for causing serious
long-term health consequences, even for those who do not notice overt symptoms. The
majority of independent studies report similar results: impairment of cellular
communication, DNA breakages, increased stress proteins, etc. Studies targeting cellphone
and cordless phone usage are finding increased risk of brain tumors. Children seem to be
particularly vulnerable. A review of studies performed prior to 2007 is available at
hn://www.bioinitiave.org. A recent public health study provides particularly strong
evidence that we should be concerned about continuous exposure to transmitted microwave
radiation. It can be found in a paper published in Pathophysiology (Volume 16, Issue 1,
June 2009, Pages 43-46) Annarent decreases in Swedish public health indicators after
1997-Are they due to improved diagnostics-or to.environmental factors? The authors
looked at trend lines in data collected by the Swedish government and found that the
introduction of,cellphone technology nationwide in 1997 coincided with the beginning of
an accelerating deterioration of several health indicators. Specifically, the rates of prostate
cancer, brain tumors, melanomas and lung cancers in the elderly all increased dramatically.
So did deaths from Alzheimer's disease, traffic accident injuries, sick leave rates, and
percentage of infants born with heart problems. This paper is short and well worth reading.
We should resolve the public health questions before introducing further public exposure to
microwave radiation, particularly involuntary continuous exposure.
Radiowave and microwave radiation are not just a problem for people, they are causing
serious problems for animals of all types. Please visit hU://www.hese-proiect.org/hese-
uk/en/issues/emr.php?id=bees and http_//www.hese-project.orz/hese-uk/en/issues/ for more
information.
The only known cure for Radio Wave Sickness
Ois to stop being exposed to high frequencies. .
If you do not have a transmitting smart meter and do not want one for health reasons,
in addition to contacting your utility and Public Service Commission or Public Utility
Commission, please do the following:
• Spread the word about the public health threat posed by transmitting smart
meters. Link to http://www.electricalpol.lution.com/smartmeters.htmi on your
Facebook or MySpace page, if you have one, or notify your friends online via email.
• Write Georgie Arnold, National Coordinator for Smart Grid Interoperability.
He has the power to set policy on meter qualifications for the Smart Grid Program.
The program could, for instance, require non-transmitting and non-electrically
polluting meters. However, he will have to be convinced of the public health threat
they pose in order to do so.
If you already have a transmitting meter and it is causing you health problems, please
file a complaint with both the agencies listed below and then send a copy of those
complaints to the EMR Policy Institute at info ,emrpolicy.org with,"Transmitting Smart
Meter Complaint" in the subject heading so that they can independently compile the
complaints. (Please be prepared to give product information, including manufacturer and
model number, and health symptoms.)
O
• Food and Drug Administration - The FDA regulates electronic consumer products
that emit radiation (such as microwave ovens and video monitors and cellphones).
You can file a complaint through the Medwatch Program on their website at
https://www.accessdata fda $ov/scripts/medwatch/medwatch online htm or by
calling 1-800-FDA-1088. The same program that regulates medical devices,
regulates consumer products that emit radiation.
• Consumer Product Safety Commission - The Consumer Product Safety
Commission is responsible for taking dangerous products off the market. You can
file a complaint with the Consumer Product Safety Commission at 1-800-638-2772
or hqps://www.cpse.2o /c2ibin/incid&ntaspx. Be prepared with the meter
manufacturer, model and/or serial number,and the symptoms it causes.
• EMR Policy Institute- Please send a copy of thecomplaints filed with the FDA and
the Consumer Product Safety Commission to the EMR Policy Institute at
info(oDemrpolicy.org with "Transmitting Smart Meter Complaint" in the subject
heading so that they can independently compile the complaints. This is not a
substitute for filing complaints with the FDA or the Consumer Product Safety
Commission.
O
OPPOSITION TO WIRELESS SMART METERS '
emfsafetynetwork.org O
42 CA local governments(Cities and Counties)formally oppose WIRELESS smart meters,including
San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors(3/8/11)and SLO County Health Commission; 10
have passed ordinances(law)prohibiting the meters.
San Francisco Chapter of the Sierra Club opposes wireless smart meters. http://stopsmartmeters.org
Public Citizen(Ralph Nader's consumer advocate organization)has a national campaign exposing that
smart meters don't save energy,just profit PG&E's bottom line.
http://www.citizen.org/documents/EnergylnvestmentForumPres.pdf Public Citizen,AARP,Consumers
Union,National Consumer Law Center and the National Association of State Utility Consumer
Advocates www.ncic.org/images/pdf/energy_utility_telecom/addif
The Division of Ratepayer Advocates(DRA),an independent consumer advocacy division of the
California Public Utilities Commission(CPUC),and the California Small Business Association(CSBA),
a non-profit small business advocacy. http://yubanet.com/california/DRA-and-CSBA-Request-Relief-
from-New-Electric-Pricing-Scheme-That-W ill-Cause-Disruption-to-500-000-PG-E-Small-Business-
Customers.php
Indiana regulators rejected the meters:The cost outweighs potential benefits to consumers.
http://www.businessweek.conVmagazine/content/10_39/b4l96044942103.htm
The Karolinska Institute,Stockholm(Gives the Nobel Prizes)warns against wireless smartmeters,
etc.:http://www.scribd.con/doc/48148346[Karol inska-Institute-Press-Release
The Government Accountability Office(the investigative arm of the U.S.Congress)warns of security
risks from cyberattacks—hackers being able to remotely shut off power:
http://ncwatch.typepad.con/media/2011/01/smartmeter-security-is-a-growing-concem.html
Dan Hirsch,Leader of Committee to Bridge the Gap, whisleblower for the nuclear industry: Warns
continuous whole body exposure from a smart meter may be 100 times worse than that from cell
phones(comparison: whole body exposure from SmartMeter at 3 feet and cell phone at ear)
emfsafetynetwork.org/?p=3946.
Elihu D Richter MD,MPH medical epidemiologist from Israel"... we are no longer talking about mere
precaution of uncertain risk,but about prevention of highly probable and known risks...an unethical
exercise...it is now fairly certain that there will be widespread adverse public health.impacts."
http://emfsafetynetwork.orgl?page_id=3676
EUROPEAN ENVIRONMENT AGENCY,an agency of the European Union that advises 32 countries
on public policy, is calling for FOR LOWERING EXPOSURE TO EMF(ElectroMagnetic Fields):.
"Waiting for high levels of proof before taking action to prevent well known risks can lead to very
high health and economic costs,as it did with asbestos,leaded petrol and smoking."
http://glossary.en.eea.europa.eu/terminology/sitesearch?term=children+and+emf
Dr.David Carpenter,Harvard trained physician and former head of NY State Dept of Public Health.and
Dean of the School of Public Health at the University at Albany,New York"We have evidence...that
exposure to radiofrequency radiation...increases the risk of cancer,increases damage to the nervous
system,causes electrosensitivity,has adverse reproductive effects and a variety of other effects on
different organ systems.There is no justification for the statement that SmartMeters have no adverse )
health effects."He further advises,"An informed person should demand that they be allowed to keep
their analog meter."http-.//emfsafetynetwork.org/?p=3946
emfsafetynetwork.org
OTop wireless radiation scientists in the world at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco(11/18/10):
CELL DAMAGE,DNA BREAKS and BREACHES IN THE BLOOD-BRAIN BARRIER(increased
risks of cancer and alzheimers) from low levels of pulsed RF signal radiation as emitted by Wireless smart
meters: VIDEO-http://electromagnetichealth.org/electromagnetic-health-blog/cc-video/
TREND IN EUROPE TOWARD WIRED and AWAY FROM WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES:
German/French Government advise against wi-fi and French libraries removed wi-fi.Spain removed some
cell towers.Freiburger Appeal 2002 signed by 30,000 doctors observe correlation of disease and wireless
technologies.emfsaft:tynetwork.org/?p=116
Insurance Companies won't insure the health problems from wireless smart meters and do not
sacrifice insurance premiums without good reason. TV NEWS VIDEO-(3 minutes):
http://eon3emfblog.net/?p=382
Wireless smart meters constantly transmit pulsed digital microwave radiation(RF)24/7,up to 22,500
pulses per day.PG&E minimizes the transmitting time stating its only 45 seconds per day,however these
pulses are between 2-20 millisecond bursts. In addition this duty cycle does not include what the Smart
Meters are further intended for- wireless data transmission for new RF enabled appliances.
Cindy Sage,coeditor of The Bioinitiative Report(www.bioinitiativereport.org)states that"wireless smart
meters are unique in that they transmit 24/7 without shut off and without relief. Humans can recover from
significant adversity and stress, but 24/7 pulsed transmissions from wireless smart meters dominates the
sleep time for human recovery,and the pulsed signal radiation from the wireless meters dominates the
natural bio-electronic communications originating in the brain. " http://sagereports.conVsmart-meter-
Orf/?page_id=282
URGENT LETTER CAMPAIGN
CA Public Utilities Commission: public.advisor@cpuc.ca.gov 505 Van Ness Avenue,Room2103,San
Francisco,CA 94102;or call 1-866-849-8390
REQUEST TO KEEP EXISTING ANALOG METER,OR IF ALREADY TAKEN,HAVE IT
REPLACED AT PG&E EXPENSE. CUSTOMERS CAN REPORT THEIR ENERGY BY
CONTACTING PG&E MONTHLY. PG&E CAN VERIFY USAGE EVERY 6 MONHTS.
Governor Brown:governor@governor.ca.gov
Email Senator Blakeslee,Assemblymember Achadjian:
Legislature website: http://Ieginfo-ca.gov/yourleg.htm]
SPEAK AT YOUR CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS AND ASK OTHERS TO SEND LETTERS!
Delay Installation of SmartMeters!Call PGE at 877-743-7378,document the call,the employee name
and request they note:"I want to keep(or restore)my analog meter at no cost"Then ask for a
confirmation number to be sent to you.If you received a letter from PG&E to install a SmartMeter,also
call Wellington(the installation company)at 1-866.671.1001.If they have a work order for your location,
tell them you don't want a SmartMeter.3-4 business days later,call PGE to be sure they received back
O the work order from Wellington.Also,put signs on electric/gas meters(homemade or downloadable from
www.emfsafetynetwork.org)
http://www.co unterp unch.org/Ievitt03182011.html
Dumb and Dangerous
The Problems With Smart Grids
By B. BLAKE LEVITT and CHELLIS GLENDINNING
How is it that so many intelligent, inside-the-beltway environmentalists are buying into an
eco-health-safety-finance debacle with the potential to increase energy consumption, endanger
the environment, harm public health, diminish privacy, make the national utility grid more
insecure,cause job losses, and make energy markets more speculative?
Answer: by not doing their homework.
Welcome to the Smart Grid - a government-funded money machine capable of intruding into
every aspect of our lives. Smart Grid technologies -initially funded to the tune of$3.4 billion
through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.and slated to cost$11 billion
through 2011 - are enough to make even diehard liberals demand a claw back of misspent tax
dollars.
On the surface, Smart Grids sound `green' —with promises of saving energy, creating new O
power-line corridors run on wind and solar, way-stations to power-up electric vehicles,
energy-efficient upgrades to an aging power infrastructure, and real-time customer knowledge of
electricity use.
And there's the enticing communications factor: a nationwide high-speed broadband information
technology barreling down high-tension electric corridors called Broadband-Over-Power-Lines
(BPL). What could be more perfect for communicating facts about the planet, funding
enviro-candidates, pushing legislation, and organizing Earth Days?
But few who actually study how these new systems functionwant anything to do with them.
Other than those who stand to make enormous profits and the physicists or engineers who dream
up such stuff, Smart Grids are giving knowledgeable people the willies.
What Is a Smart Grid?
These days the word "smart" is attached to anything even marginally digital -- and indeed it's an
effective marketing tool because who wants anything dumb?
But is the Smart Grid really smart?
The problem: smart metering will turn every single appliance into the equivalent of a
transmitting cell phone, and this at a time when public concern about the safety of exposure to
the radiofrequency radiation (RF) of wireless technologies is on the rise. Heads up: that's every
O dishwasher, microwave oven, stove, washing machine, clothes dryer, air conditioner, furnace,
refrigerator, freezer, coffee maker, TV, computer, printer, and fax machine.
The average U.S. home has over 15 such appliances, each of which would be equipped with a
transmitting antenna. While older models can be retrofitted, General Electric (GE) and other
appliance manufacturers are already putting transmitters into their latest designs, and the U.S.
Department of Energy(DOE) is already giving out tax credits..
Meanwhile, people who don't want to use such appliances won't be able to deactivate the
wireless component without disabling it and voiding warranties. Citing "electricity theft," it
could also be illegal to do so.
Yet, not one safety concern regarding the cumulative effects of 24/7 exposure to RF radiation
seems to have occurred to the backers of Smart Grids. And this is despite the fact that all
appliances will transmit wireless data with peak power bursts far above current safety standards
at frequencies between 917 MHz and 3.65 GHz in the ultra-high frequency/microwave ranges of
the electromagnetic spectrum, several times a minute.
And that's just the indoor part. All transmitters inside your home or office will communicate
with a Smart Meter attached to the outside of each building._(1) That meter, in turn, will transmit
at an even higher frequency to a central hub installed in local neighborhoods. In what are called
"mesh networks," signals can also be bounced from house-meter to house-meter before reaching
the final hub. So exposures will not just be from your own meter, but accumulating from
Opossibly 100-to-500 of your neighbors' as well.
That's a hefty barrage of radiation.
Some gas, water, and electric utilities are now using such smart networks, each with its own
metering system and separate exposures -creating a multi-frequency wall of radiation that, in the
history of living creatures, is unheard of.
In addition, the meters and the antennas will act as transceivers, allowing both you via mobile
phone or computer—and take note: your utility company-to remotely control your
appliances. According to Jenny Anderson and Julie Creswell writing in the New York Times,
one such system in the Midwest already allows the utility to cycle furnaces and air conditioners
on and off every 15 minutes, with the stated purpose to reduce peak-loads on electric grids.
On closer scrutiny, Smart Grids look like another
Build-It-Now-Deal-With-The-Consequences-Later fiasco. At a time when health concerns about
the safety of cell phones, antennas, and Wi-Fi hotspots are mounting around the globe, Smart
Grids will require literally billions of new transmitters, each pumping "electrosmog" into the
environment - for which there will be no mitigation, no conscientious objection, and no escape.
We Already Know a Lot about RF and the Environment
O Living creatures are fantastically sensitive to low-level, non-ionizing radiation that includes
everything from visible light to the earth's natural electromagnetic fields.
Birds, butterflies, fish, marine mammals,bees, and other insects are particularly sensitive to the O
earth's natural electromagnetic background, using it to guide their migrations, sense of direction,
circadian rhythms, food-finding, and reproductive activities. Soil bacteria are also tuned to the
natural currents of the planet.
But human-made radiation creates different exposures - with unusual signaling characteristics
like digital pulsing, phased array and saw-tooth waveforms, and at much higher power intensities
than anything found in nature. RF is actually a form of energetic air pollution - and if air were
legally considered "habitat" like water and land, RF might be regulated differently.
Studies show that myriad wildlife abandons terrain when cell towers are installed. Cows have
increased cancers, lower milk production, agitation,
Electromagnetic-Fields-Levitt-B-Blake-9780595476077.jpg "
immune system disorders, more mastitis,miscarriages, and birth defects in offspring near cell
towers. Birds with nests near antennas display lower reproductive rates, and chicks are born with
birth defects. In simulations of whole colony collapse disorder,bees have disappeared entirely
when transmitting cell phones were placed next to their hives. It is thought that RF interferes
with their navigational abilities by coupling with a natural magnetic material called magnetite in
bee abdomens.
Meanwhile, hundreds of studies done with laboratory animals found numerous cancers, immune
disorders, and increased mortality from chronic, low-level exposures. This body of work should
make us ponder the accuracy of the data—and humaneness - when biologists attach RF
transmitters to elk, marine mammals,big cats, and other species to study them.
Trees also endure die-back near towers. Whole forests near broadcast antennas in Europe have
suffered. Military-weapons designers have long used treetops with high moisture content as
waveguides for missiles.
Some of this work goes back six decades in bioelectromagnetics and biophysics journals -- and is
available'for any curious environmentalist to see.
... and We Know about RF and Humans
Research on RF and human health dates to the 1940's when World War II's radar revealed
infertility and cataracts in military personnel.
David O. Carpenter, MD, MPH, is the director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at
the State University of New York at Albany, School of Public Health. Along with EMF/RF
consultant Cindy Sage in California, he co-edited the 2007 BioInitiative Report, which calls for
significantly more stringent RF exposure standards than now exist.
Environmentalists may know Dr. Carpenter, who blew the whistle on PCB contamination in
farm-raised salmon. He is also an expert on the biological effects of electromagnetic fields. To
him, the decade-long, 13-country World Health Organization's 2010 Interphone Study confirms O
what previous reports and many experts have been saying all along: RF exposures at current
levels are already unsafe.
O According to Interphone, talking on a cell phone for 1,640 hours over a 10-year period-- the
equivalent of 30 minutes a day -- increases an adult's risk of malignant glioma brain cancer by
40%.
"While this [Interphone] study is not perfect,"Dr. Carpenter said, "it should serve as a warning
to governments that the deployment of new wireless technologies may bring risks to the public
that are widespread, involuntary, and increase long-term health care costs."
His assessment ipso facto includes Smart Grids.
Over 70 studies have found effects at frequencies with very low-power intensity, many with
implications for human health. Fifteen studies report effects among people living 50-to-1500 feet
from a cell tower—including cancers, immune system effects, fertility problems, heart
arrhythmias, miscarriages, sleeplessness, dizziness, concentration difficulties, memory loss,
headaches, skin rashes, lowered libido, fatigue, and malaise.
And many of these symptoms mirror what some people are reporting within days of Smart
Meters installed at their homes.
In addition, several studies report increases in the permeability of the blood-brain barrier, which
protects brain tissue from bacteria, viruses, and toxins. One study found increases in stress
markers in human saliva near cell towers. Also reported are calcium ion changes in cells -with
implications for the ability to metabolize. Other studies link exposures to Alzheimer's, Lou
OGehrig Disease, and Parkinson's.
In fact, every system of the body appears to be sensitive to low-level electromagnetic fields - and
why not? Living cells are electromagnetic systems.
Research by Magda Havas, Ph.D., of Trent University in Canada, and U.S. epidemiologist
Samuel Milham, M.D., links something called "dirty electricity" with diabetes, malignant
melanoma, and cancers of the breast, thyroid, uterus and lung. Dirty electricity is an industry
term that describes a multi-frequency exposure when higher frequencies like RF couple with the
lower frequencies running along power lines. BPL is 100% dirty electricity- that's how it
functions -and people barraged by it can now measure RF radiation emanating from their light
sockets.
Of special concern are people with implanted medical devices like deep-brain stimulators for
Parkinson's, some pacemakers, insulin pumps, and in-home hospital equipment. The
radiofrequency interference (RFI) inherent to Smart Grids can cause such equipment to go
haywire, or even to stop. And RFI from ambient exposures has caused wheelchairs.to go off
peers or into traffic; automatic ignition switches in cars refuse to start until cars are towed to
RF-free blocks; and surgical beds have jumped during operations.
RFI is also suspected in sudden acceleration of automobiles.
OLow I.Q.for Smart Grids and Government
Think of the static on your radio. Now imagine Smart Grid's multiple frequencies overlapping
with animate objects ... like your brain. The UHF used in Smart Grids couples best with brain /
tissue.
Several federal agencies actually do have a stake in RF safety,but the Federal Communications
Commission's (FCC) standards are the only ones in effect in the U.S. A major problem is that
the FCC regulates only short-term, acute,high-intensity, thermal effects in humans, while no
criteria exist to protect wildlife.
And there's more. FCC standards only regulate for whole-body exposure, not for specific organs
- like brain tissue which absorbs energy differently. Plus,FCC allowances are averaged over 30
minutes. With Smart Grids such time-averaging makes the peak pulses that blast for a fraction of
a second when first activated vanish on paper.
These are holes through which the Queen Mary could sail.
According to Richard Tell, an electrical engineer formerly with the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) -in a 2008 report on Smart Grids for Hydro One Networks,
Inc./Toronto - antennas on appliances may transmit at a density of.18watts, each at ballpark 4.5
seconds per hour. But external meters on houses transmit at around 1 watt at less than 2 minutes
per hour.
Such figures may sound low-until the use of many appliances at the same time and exposures
from the neighbors' meters is lumped in. Nowhere in utility estimates are such peak pulses
factored—which, Tell has said, can be 20 times higher or more. O
Still, he notes, the radiation from Smart Meters is 15,000 times lower than what FCC ultra-high
standards.
Too, the industry claims that meters transmit every four hours—but engineers like Stephen Scott
of EMF Services/California measure spikes every few seconds,especially from banks of meters
attached to housing and office complexes, while others have measured firing between 9-and-15
times a minute.
Utilities don't release numbers for peak pulses,but one estimate by Southern California Edison—
since voided for P.R. reasons -puts peak pulses at 229,000 microwatts per square centimeter at
eight inches from the transmitter. That means if you sleep next to a wall with a smart appliance
on the other side; strong UHF signals could be spiking several times a minute all night long-
right into your brain.
Compare that to cell phones that emit approximately 250-to-300 microwatts per square
centimeter when placed directly against the head.
Vampires and Cyber Attackers Make the Honor Roll
For decades, knowledgeable environmentalists have advised people with remote-control
appliances to unplug them because of"vampire" energy. Plugged-in remotes are never
completely "OFF"; otherwise they wouldn't be able to receive the signal to turn back"ON." O
O So what will happen to our aggregate energy use when all appliances become smart vampires?
No proponents thought to ask that question.
Though supposedly "secure," Smart Grids can be penetrated by both wired and wireless
networks. In August of 2009, hackers robbed 179,000 Toronto Hydro customers' names,
addresses, and billing information from their e-billing accounts. Security consultant Mike Davis.
of IOActive, Inc/Seattle has shown how easy it is to install computer worms that can take over
the whole grid, and such worms can be programmed to alter billing information, gather
information on electricity use for sale to third parties, or shut down hundreds of thousands of
households.
Ross Anderson and Shailendra Fuloria at Cambridge University's Computer Laboratory note that
hostile government agencies or terrorist organizations could bring whole countries to their knees
by interrupting electrical generation. More so than traditional grids, they stress that Smart Grids
create a new strategic vulnerability as the cyber equivalent of a nuclear attack. Smart Grids are
also easy to sabotage with simple jamming devices.
And if the problems aren't human-created, nature could step in. The sun's normal 11-year
sunspot cycle-ramping up right now, promising to pump sporadic blasts of electromagnetic
energy toward earth could wreak chaos upon Smart Grids.
Dumb: Privacy Gone, Liability Shifted,Billing Errors Galore
O Privacy is an issue as well. When the utility company records home energy use in real time-
with data held at a central hub,potentially accessible from a hacker's.laptop—the knowledge
that you are not home becomes available.
Plus, do you really want the utilities remotely-controlling your appliances?
And what about liability? Although grid engineers claim the systems are encrypted, enc
ryption
often fails. Imagine the utility- or even a passing cell-phone user -inadvertently turning on your
oven when you're on vacation. Or shutting off the furnace on a subzero night. For insurance
purposes, who is liable? What about civil rights violations? Or the legal ramifications of a utility
partnering with the police?
In the purest sense, Smart Grids offer new opportunities for electronic trespass.
Then there are the billing errors. Some customers in California have seen their bills triple - from
$200/month to $600- when Smart Meters were installed. After a class action suit was filed
against Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), that utility admitted that 23,000 of their Smart Meters
"might"be defective, though they denied they were responsible for the billing errors.
Dumb is as Dumb Does
Smart systems can wreak havoc with electronics too. People are complaining of ceiling fans
turning on in the middle of the night, speeds spontaneously changing,paddles reversing
Odirection, and circuit boards burning up. A few meters have exploded. Others have fried
electronics. Fires have started. In New Zealand firefighters report 422 fires in 2010 involved with
Smart Meters. O
Oddly, given such dire safety issues, neither U.S. utilities nor their experts seem capable of
answering simple questions. At a public forum in Sebastopol in 2010, PG&E pulled its speakers
when they didn't get the format they wanted - all questions in writing and in advance. Then, at a
subsequent gathering, PG&E sent two experts -Michael Herz and Leeka Kheifets -- neither of
whom knew how often meters send or repeat RF signals, called the "duty cycle." The two could
not answer what the exposure would be for an apartment complex with banks of multiple meters;
nor answer technical questions about peak-signal strength. And they didn't know the make or
model of the meters so that people in the audience could look up the information.
One Sebastopol activist, Sandi Maurer, said in frustration: "How can we trust a company to
deploy such a massive RF installation on every home, if they can't even answer basic safety
questions?"
But not all utilities are rushing forward. In 2010 Dominion Virginia Power delayed a
$600-million program because Virginia's State Corporation Commission questioned its
economic wisdom, noting that the savings to ratepayers would be less than the rate increases
needed to pay for the build-out. Hydro One/Canada came to the same conclusion in 2007, and
last year lawmakers in the Netherlands struck down a bill that would have made Smart Meters
mandatory. The U.K. is reconsidering a smart metering system as well, and in 2009 the European
Parliament ordered member states to study the economic feasibility of Smart Grids.
Electricity =Big Bucks O
All the while private, largely unregulated hedge funds have been entering energy markets,
betting on the potential financial bonanza. It's the big players who stand to profit, of course --
with your tax dollars going to the likes of GE, IBM, Siemens,Intel, Texas Instruments, AT&T,
Verizon,Motorola, and other behemoths.
GE is the largest manufacturer of Smart Meters in the world. It has signed contracts with
CenterPoint Energy and Grid Net to deploy WiMax-enabled radios for use in Smart Meters.
WiMax is the fourth generation network that was earmarked by the FCC and the Obama
administration to bring wireless Internet to rural areas —so clearly the,technologies are moveable
Pieces, depending on who owns the chessboard.
But it's the taxpayer-customer who gets the double whammy: underwriting the infrastructure via
tax dollars; enduring rate hikes and medical bills -- and then there's the burden of having to
new appliances.
Plus, for citizens, real-time metering reveals when you wake up, go to work, make dinner, do the
laundry, use the computer, go on vacation. While proponents see real-time knowledge in the
hands of consumers as a form of empowerment, they ignore the gorilla-in-the-room: tiered
pricing. Today, many utilities set flat, state-regulated rates for kilowatt hours,but tiered pricing
will change that.
Critics say that tiered pricing penalizes the elderly, self-employed, unemployed;homemakers, O
and those with small children- all of whom use more energy during the day. But a darker
O possibility exists: a utility could create special billing tiers just for you. In other words, if you
work the evening shift and cook dinner at midnight, your rate could be highest when everyone
else's is lowest.
Then there's mandatory shut-offs for people who don't pay their utility bills - after which the
unfortunate customer will have to buy a prepaid wireless-enacted electric meter like a prepaid
phone card. Fantasy? Such a system was enacted in South Africa in the 1990's.
Inside-the-Beltway Enviros
Before the Obama administration even took office, their pre-transition coordinator for climate
and energy policy, Carol Browner, met with IBM CEO Sam Palmisano.
Browner was the director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under Clinton and
is now Obama's coordinator for climate and energy policy, while IBM works with the
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation think-tank in DC to develop three focus
areas: increased broadband access, digitized medical records, and Smart Grids.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Palmisano told Browner that a$10 billion investment was
needed to jumpstart Smart Grids. Palmisano also claimed that Smart Grids would create 239,000
new jobs - with half of those resulting from start-up businesses. But his promise was not
computed against the jobs lost, such as hundreds of thousands of unemployed meter readers. Nor
did he consider the fact that new information technologies are typically seen as a way to
Oconsolidate through fewer employees.
Other former Clinton Administration officials on board for Smart Grids include Al Gore -
because of supposed lower carbon emissions - and Reed Hundt,chairman of the FCC in the
1990's when that agency championed massive auctions of the public airwaves for cell-phone
technology.
Hundt went on to become co-founder of Frontline Wireless and Sigma Networks. Sitting on
several corporate communications company boards, including Intel and China Telecom, he is
also co-chairman of the Coalition for the Green Bank, a capital-raising nonprofit that is lobbying
Congress for more Smart Grid money-- through environment committees.
The Food and Drug Administration and FCC have a stake in Smart Grids, as do the EPA and
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). But neither EPA nor FWS has the funding or manpower
to address the RF effects of Smart Grids or consider the effects of a new infusion of radiation
into the environment.
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has oversight over FWS. Salazar was a U.S. Senator
(D-CO, 2005-to-2009)before he left to join Obama. He was also Colorado's Attorney General
from 1999 to 2005 and gets low grades from environmentalists 8 one of a handful of Democrats
to vote against setting limits on offshore drilling and global warming.
And he is no stranger to RF politics. A go-around on RF's health and environmental effects
Oraged from 2000 to 2006 in Colorado. At issue was a high-definition TV tower to be erected on
Lookout Mountain near Denver, overlooking a community already burdened by one of the
C� C
country's largest antenna farms. After rancorous public hearings, the county board voted against O
the new tower. But Salazar attached a midnight rider to another bill right- pre-empting local
decision makers.
Steven Chu He is former director of the DOE's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and
professor of Physics and Molecular Cell Biology at the University of California. He has also held
positions at Stanford University and AT&T Bell Laboratories—all of which develop/deploy RF
technologies. He is now Obama's Secretary of Energy, and in 2009 Chu issued a statement
telling the states to take the federal stimulus money and not stand in the way of Smart Grids.
But perhaps the biggest lack of intelligence lies.in the energy and environment committees of the
U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. Smart Grid legislation first passed in 2007 as part of
the Energy Independence and Security Act under the Bush administration. Additional legislation
was contained in the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 at the House Committee
on Energy&Environment, formerly chaired by Henry Waxman (D-CA). A companion bill was
in the Senate., while in 2010 twelve bills were considered, some of which were revived in 2011.
Everyone, including the Committee of Environment and Public Works -formerly chaired by
Barbara Boxer(D-CA) with a grid-related subcommittee chaired by Bernard Sanders (I-VT)—
has had a hand in Smart Grids.
Now some Republicans, especially Tea Party activists who view Smart Grids as massive big
government intrusion, may be fighting Smart Grid proposals—a situation that is creating an odd
alliance between the extreme right and some activists who find themselves on the same side. O
Smart Grids -Boondoggle or Economic Stimulus?
2010's federal appropriations for Smart Grids was $11 billion.
But some financial analysts say it will take over$900 billion over the next two decades to
upgrade high-tension lines, meters, central control facilities, and substations. In addition, they
say to truly digitize and digitalize grids, it will cost hundreds of billions more, into 2030, because
every utility's computer network will need to be upgraded, new renewable-energy sources will
be needed to plug into new access points, and recharging stations and power lines will need to be
built. Proponents brag that the construction will be a bonanza.
But Smart Grids may be little more than a Trojan Horse donned in a "green"hat. After all the
government mandates and stimulus money for Smart Grids, a veritable gold rush ensued- with
utility companies, hedge funds, meter vendors, patent owners, and colossi like Google and
Verizon vying for taxpayer bucks.
In fact, few jobs were created.
Ironically, environmentalists are also pushing for Smart Grids without studying the
environmental/health impacts or even calculating if such systems will save energy. Plus,
provisions in the stimulus package exempt Smart Grids from National Environmental Policy Act
review and allow federal preemption for siting high-tension corridors through O
environmentally-sensitive areas.
O But the biggest enviro-irony is that most Smart Meter models don't"run backwards"; if you
install solar panels or other renewable-energy sources and want to sell energy back to the grid,
without very expensive additional equipment the new metering makes that impossible.
People Are Getting Smart
Connecticut Light and Power is currently petitioning the Department of Public Utility Control to
allow Smart Meters to be placed on 1.2 million homes, over the objections of the state's Attorney
General George Jepsen. A pilot program of 10,000 such meters found no energy savings in 2009,
he said, but would cost ratepayers $500 million.
Maine has begun a statewide Smart Grid project -- over citizen opposition. Smart Grids already
exist in parts of Virginia, Florida, Texas, New Mexico, and the Midwest, while PG&E in
California has installed several million meters on homes and businesses;73% of buildings in
Alameda County already have them. As of June 1, 2010, the California Public Utilities
Commission reports 2000 health-related and 1500 non-health-related complaints. The PG&E
executive in charge of the Smart Meter program, William Devereaux, was discovered infiltrating
activist groups opposed to Smart Grids, and the utility admitted to monitoring online groups to
track their strategies.
And yet California customers are signing petitions, organizing calling campaigns, forming
neighborhood groups, holding forums, throwing protests, getting arrested for blocking from
neighborhoods, suing the state, and threatening to go off the grid. Sebastopol in Sonoma County
Ois calling for `opt-out' campaigns whereby customers refuse transmitters. And thus far, Berkeley,
Scotts Valley, San Francisco, Sebastopol, Capitola, Fairfax, Camp Meeker, Cotati, Bolinas, and
Watsonville, as well as Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa counties, have requested moratoriums.
In 2010 Assemblyman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) requested that the California Council on
Science and Technology evaluate health effects, and Marin County Supervisor Charles
McGlashan has called for state hearings - with his county board declaring that the state should
shut down all Smart Meters until billing, health, and safety issues are resolved.
High I.Q.'s in Europe
In 2007, Germany's Environment Ministry issued a warning to German citizens to avoid wireless
technology when possible and return to cabled means of communication. The French national
library banned Wi-Fi in libraries when librarians became ill. And the European Environmental
Agency called for action to reduce public exposure to radiation from mobile phones, Wi-Fi,
Wi-Max, and other antennas.
In 2008 the European Parliament proposed publicly displayed maps of RF-contaminated areas so
people could avoid them, while the U.K.'s Association of Teachers and Lecturers came out
against Wi-Fi in classrooms.
Sweden has declared some beaches and public buildings RF-free areas where cell phones and
O wireless computers cannot be used so that people with electromagnetic hypersensitivity- a form
of environmental allergy that Sweden classifies as a functional disability- can take a breather
from contamination. O
Individuals have also rallied. Spanish activists hold an annual International Day Against
Electromagnetic Pollution. British and Irish citizens have taken to civil disobedience, bulldozing
down cell towers. And Israelis have torn down cell towers with their bare hands and chased
landlords who lease rooftops to tower companies through the streets.
All the while, a truly intelligent way to help an aging infrastructure does exist. Using closed
cables, fiber optic boasts no environmental RF exposures, no dirty electricity, is resistant to
sabotage and weather disruptions, and provides TV and high-speed Internet. For$11 billion, the
U.S. could bring fiber optic to every home just as Japan has done.
And some towns aren't waiting. Chattanooga TN already has a municipally-owned fiber optic
network. The community of Dunnellon FL is proposing a fiber-optic system for every home and
business - without increasing taxes. Meanwhile, Google is seeking prototype communities for a
fiber-optic system that could possibly be licensed for utility metering. Unfortunately, Google has
also wandered into wireless smart metering too.
The fact is: Smart Grids are dumb. Given known biological effects of RF-- together with the use
of financial resources better spent on true sustainability--this new roll-out adds yet another
threat to the planet.
But, in this current stampede toward everything "green," many environmentalists are flunking
the I.Q. test. We all need to smarten up.
B.Blake Levitt is a medical/science journalist, former New York Times contributor, author of
Electromagnetic
O