On September 2nd, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is expected to release the report of an investigation into widespread accusations that PG&E’s so-called 'smart' meters are inaccurate and routinely overcharge customers. Aside from concerns about accuracy, there is growing alarm from citizens over health risks from the new meters and this has led 20 cities and counties throughout California to demand a halt to smart meter installation.

Despite PG&E’s claims that Smart Meters are safe, no pilot program or independent study has ever taken place to evaluate the acute and long-term health, safety and environmental impacts from multiple meters, or the wireless infrastructure and mesh network in which the meters operate. Scientific studies linking wireless radiation to brain tumors and other adverse health impacts have led to local laws being passed in Fairfax and Watsonville that ban smart meters completely. Short-term health impacts include headaches, sleep problems, dizziness, heart palpitations and stress.

"The installation of smart meters should be halted due to the associated health and environmental risks to our communities” said Stephany Aguilar, Council Member for the City of Scotts Valley. “My being electrically sensitive reinforces my belief that people have a right to be safe in the homes. It is also imperative that we be provided an accurate accounting of our energy usage.”

Read more | PG&E Abandons Smart Meter Facility Following Protests in Santa Cruz County | previous coverage: Protests Halt PG&E's 'Smart' Meters for 3rd Day in a Row

On August 30th, the Mobilization for Climate Justice West marched in downtown San Francisco to the office buildings of Chevron, BP, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to demand accountability from "Big Oil." Near BP's San Francisco headquarters, at the intersection of Mission and New Montgomery, the march stopped and blocked traffic. Fourteen activists refused to leave the intersection and were arrested by police.

On the 5-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the Mobilization for Climate Justice demanded:
1. Moratorium on New Offshore Drilling. No Use of Dispersants.
2. Full Access to Media and Civil Society.
3. Big Oil corporations pay their debt to all impacted communities - Gulf Coast to Richmond, CA and around the world.
4. Big Oil pay for community livelihood and ecosystem restoration, clean energy, public transportation, and healthcare for impacted communities.

Video | Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | Event Announcement

Five people were arrested over the weekend for chaining themselves to bicycles and blocking an entrance to the Arco/BP gas station at the corner of Fell and Divisadero in San Francisco. The August 20th action was the 11th since the group Fix Fell began demonstrations to demand that the city and the Department of Public Works take measures to make the street safe for bicyclists.

Fix Fell activists say that the street is a particular danger to bicyclists because auto drivers sit in the bicycle lane that runs down Fell Street while awaiting entrance to the mainline pumps, forcing bikers into traffic. Protesters shut down the gas station for about 3 hours on Friday evening.

The group began demonstrating at the Fell Street station this summer to call attention to BP's oil spill and "the unsafe streets that keep us hooked on fossil fuels." San Francisco District 5 Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi spoke to the assembled crowd of about 100 people at the station on Friday and pledged to throw his full political weight behind a separated bicycle path for Fell Street and closure of the gas station entrances. Five protesters were arrested after u-locks around their necks were sawed off by firefighters.

Read More: 1 | 2 | Video & Photos: 1 | 2 | 3

Previous Related Indybay Coverage: Fix Fell Wins Green Bike Lane on Fell Street

Early morning on August 26th, outraged Santa Cruz County residents gathered at the gates of Wellington Energy at 38th and Portola in Capitola to protest what they say is a forced installation of radiating 'smart' meters against the will of residents and nearly two dozen local governments throughout the Greater Bay Area. Despite the fact that the $2.2 billion program is being funded by ratepayers, and the new meters installed on people’s homes, there has been virtually no public consultation in advance of what PG&E itself admits is one of the largest rollouts of technology in history.

PG&E’s smart meter troubles have mounted significantly this week. Tuesday night, the City of Novato demanded a halt to the program, and Watsonville unanimously passed the most stringent law in the state banning smart meters within city limits, following the lead of Fairfax in Marin County. Santa Cruz County, Capitola and numerous other local governments throughout the state are planning to follow their lead, responding to inaction by PG&E and the CA Public Utilities Commission in the face of peer-reviewed scientific studies that suggest the meters may have serious unintended health consequences, similar to cell phones which have been linked with brain tumors in many recent studies.

Read more and view photos | previous coverage: Scotts Valley Neighbors Against Smart Meters Chase PG&E Out Of Town | PG&E Forces Smart Meters On Scotts Valley | Scotts Valley Residents Ask City for Moratorium on Smart Meters

Early in the morning on August 17th, forest defenders set up a 60-foot high road blockade to stop the active clear-cutting operations of Green Diamond Resource Company in the redwoods near Jacoby Creek Road north of Eureka in Humboldt County. These clear-cut logging plans represent a fraction of the ongoing clear-cut logging operations in Northern California.

“We are not coming down voluntarily until the reckless logging in the Jacoby Creek watershed is stopped,” said Fly, one of the activists from atop the 60 ft. high hanging platform.

Citing concern for the local redwood ecosystem as well as global climate change, the activists scaled rope structures made to block the entrance of a logging road. The blockades were constructed so that if moved or damaged, the activists could fall from a considerable height. Several pickup trucks and a van full of workers had to turn back when they arrived. One of the workers from the van started cutting the rope before supporters on the ground could stop him.

EF! Humbolt update, 8/20/10: As of this 10:00 am today, the logging road is open and the highly destructive clear-cutting of the Redwoods within the Jacoby Creek watershed continues.

Read More | Jacoby Creek Action Update

Responding to weeks of protests and direct action by the grassroots group Fix Fell, as well as lobbying efforts by other community groups, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency on August 3rd painted the bike lane on Fell Street between Scott and Baker Streets green. This is just one more small improvement that is being made to this stretch of The Wiggle, a well-known San Francisco bike route, to improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians and improve clarity for motorists.

The protests by Fix Fell have occurred on seven consecutive Fridays since June 11th. There have been two arrests and four citations of protesters, who have been peacefully blocking the Fell St. entrances to the Arco (BP) station to highlight the connection between unsafe conditions for cyclists and society’s addiction to oil, leading to the recent catastrophic Gulf oil spill. Fix Fell maintains its position that while these changes are welcome, they are not enough.

Fix Fell has called for a follow-up day of action on Friday, August 20th.

Read More | Announcements: 1 | 2

See Also: Police Crack Down on BP/ ARCO Direct Action in SF | Fell St. ARCO/ BP Protester Assaulted by Station Owner

Previous related Indybay feature: SF Protest Targets Environmental Disaster in Gulf of Mexico and Unsafe Bike Lanes

On July 22nd, San Francisco's Submission Gallery will host a benefit event in support of Marie Mason, a long-time activist in the environmental and labor movements from Cincinnati, Ohio. In 2008, Marie was arrested on federal charges of property destruction that occurred in 1999, and in 2009 she was sentenced to almost 22 years in prison. A mother of two children, Marie is currently imprisoned in Waseca, MN, and is appealing her sentence.

Three activists will share their experiences and perspectives on Marie Mason’s case: Linda Evans, sentenced to 40 years in prison in 1987 for her participation in radical resistance against U.S. imperialism as part of the Weather Underground Organization, and released in 2001 after presidential commutation; Jeff Luers, sentenced in 2001 to over 22 years for the burning of three SUVs in Eugene, Oregon, as a statement on global warming, and released in 2009 after a successful appeal; and Karen Pickett, a long-time Earth First! activist in the Bay Area and personal friend of Marie Mason.

Event details | Support Marie Mason

Street theater activists portraying British Petroleum and Chase Bank as being "too chummy" drew the attention of bank customers and foot traffic at a demonstration in Palo Alto on June 26th. Demonstrators encouraged customers to move their money to community banks or credit unions, telling passersby that not only did Chase take bailout money as a "too big to fail" institution, but that it is the chief depository bank for British Petroleum. The protesters sang songs and held signs pointing out that JP Morgan Chase got $25 billion in government bailout money and they grease the wheels for BP.

Photos: 1 | 2

A New Way Forward | Raging Grannies Action League

Since the April 20th BP oil spill began in the Gulf of Mexico, a number of related protests have been held across the country and locally. On June 11th, a group of bikers blocked entrances at a BP owned ARCO gas station at Fell and Divisadero in San Francisco. The demonstrators were protesting the environmental outrage in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as a dangerous bike lane that is perennially blocked by cars lining up to enter the station.

Michael Steinberg reports: "The message is clear at the ARCO gas station at the corner of Fell and Divisadero streets in San Francisco: $2.99. That once extravagant price for a gallon of gas is now considered cheap, and continually draws heavily oil addicted drivers in need of a quick fix.

"In doing so, the drivers’ vehicles habitually sit in the bicycle lane that runs down Fell Street while awaiting entrance to the mainline pumps. This in turn forces bikers into the race car traffic roaring up Fell, and injuries to two wheelers are consequently also habitual.

"But that message changed today when dozens of protesters blocked the two entrances off Fell into the station. They filled the entrances with potted plants, blocked them with their bodies, with banners, with a bike powered sound system whose beats inspired dancing and whooping and carried their message to the neighborhood and beyond."

Read More | Video | Photo | Event Announcements: 1 | 2

Upcoming: Protest Big Oil at the Beach! June 26th | Check Indybay Calendar for More Related Events

Previous Related Indybay Feature: SF Protest Demands Government Seize BP and Its Assets; Berkeley Protest to Target UC & BP

GARBERVILLE, Calif.- The Environmental Protection Information Center and the Center for Biological Diversity vowed an all out legal challenge against a highway-widening project that not only threatens the ancient redwoods of Richardson Grove State Park, but could also change the rural character of Humboldt County.

On May 19th, the California Department of Transportation filed official notice that the project was approved, but the agency has not yet made its final Environmental Impact Report for the controversial project available to the public. The highway project is widely opposed by local residents, business owners, conservation and Native American groups, and economists as unnecessary and damaging to the state park, the venerable old-growth grove and its wildlife, tourism, and the coastal communities of Humboldt County.

"Anyone who cares about California's redwoods and the rural charm of Humboldt County should weigh in to stop this disastrous project," said Kerul Dyer, Richardson Grove campaign coordinator for the Environmental Protection Information Center. "The old-growth redwood grove within the state park is supposed to be fully protected and not vulnerable to destructive projects like this one."

Read more | Richardson Grove Action Camp! May 28-30 at the Grove | Redwood Saviors or Cyber Criminals? Center Supporters Update Democracy | Day of Climate Action in the Ancient Redwoods | Save Richardson Grove! | Saving Richardson Grove