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Indybay Feature

Protests Halt PG&E's 'Smart' Meters for 3rd Day in a Row

by Joshua Hart
For the third straight morning, outraged Santa Cruz County residents gathered at the gates of Wellington Energy at 38th and Portola in Capitola, successfully blocking 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. This morning, about two dozen protesters gathered at the gates of Wellington Energy, peacefully blocking the driveway as trucks started to drive out to install the ‘smart’ meters. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff showed up and asked the protesters to step aside. Once it was clear that protesters were willing to risk arrest, PG&E backed down in order to avoid any additional negative publicity that is increasingly plaguing their ‘smart’ meter program.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Joshua Hart, Stop Smart Meters!

joshuanoahhart[at]gmail[dot]com
August 30th, 2010

PROTESTS HALT THE ‘SMART’ METER IN SANTA CRUZ COUNTY FOR THIRD DAY IN A ROW
After Watsonville Acts, Santa Cruz County Considering Emergency Ordinance Banning Radiating Meters

For the third straight morning, outraged Santa Cruz County residents gathered at the gates of Wellington Energy at 38th and Portola in Capitola, successfully blocking 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. This morning, about two dozen protesters gathered at the gates of Wellington Energy, peacefully blocking the driveway as trucks started to drive out to install the ‘smart’ meters. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff showed up and asked the protesters to step aside. Once it was clear that protesters were willing to risk arrest, PG&E backed down in order to avoid any additional negative publicity that is increasingly plaguing their ‘smart’ meter program.

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 mounted significantly last week. Last Tuesday, 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.

Heidi Bazzano, one of the protesters at 38th and Portola this morning, said, “there are so many problems with ‘smart’ meters. PG&E, the government, and any hacker worth his salt will know when you wake up, what appliances you use, when you go on vacation. The meters overcharge people, increase carbon emissions, expose us to EMF which is a confirmed carcinogen, and worst of all, we’re paying for them through hikes in our electric rates!”

Those who are electrically sensitive have reported that the intense bursts of radiation from ‘smart’ meters are amongst the worst they have ever experienced. People throughout the state have been reporting headaches, nausea, dizziness, sleep disruption and other health impacts after smart meters are installed. PG&E has declined to remove the new meters even though they are causing adverse health impacts.

Residents vow to continue their protests at the Wellington site at 38th and Portola in Capitola until the County of Santa Cruz passes an emergency ordinance banning smart meters in the County.

The following local governments, politicians, and organizations are calling for a moratorium, have enacted a ban, or are opposing Smart Meters:

The Utility Reform Network, State Senator Dean Florez, the City and County of San Francisco, Santa Cruz and Marin County Board of Supervisors, Sonoma County Supervisor Efren Carrillo, the cities of Sebastopol, Berkeley, Cotati, Fairfax, Santa Cruz, Piedmont, Scotts Valley, Capitola, Watsonville, Sausalito, Belvedere, Monte Sereno, Novato, Richmond, Ross, Bolinas, Camp Meeker, the Peace and Freedom Party, the Marin Association of Realtors and The EMF Safety Network.

Protests will continue every morning this week at 38th and Portola in Capitola, starting at 7:30am. People are encouraged to contact their County Supervisor at 831 454 2200 and demand an IMMEDIATE EMERGENCY BAN ON SMART METERS. More information at http://stopsmartmeters.wordpress.com

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Add Your Comments

Comments (Hide Comments)
by scbear
Wellington meter nazis are now coming over the hill as of tuesday.. They came to my home in Aptos, and I stopped them from entering my road and installing.. I will shoot ANYONE who enters my property to install a smart meter.. I mean it,,, This has gone to far , and we have NOT recieved ANY help from our local supervisor in Aptos,, In which I intend on taking her job in the next election... She seems clueless regarding ANYTHING here in Aptos.. We LOCALS WANT HER OUT!!!!!! NOW... As for the wellington meter scam,,, DONT ALLOW THEM TO INSTALL,, Simple,,, A class action lawsuit is preparing to be launched against wellington and Pge for there neglagence regarding this NEW SCAM nationwide,, STAND UP PEOPLE!!! POst a sign on your meter, call pge , and let them know how you feel,,, PROTECT YOUR HOME< YOUR PROPERTY< YOUR FAMILLY<< Be well,, sc bear
by um
Maybe if you are planning on running against someone in an election you shouldn't threaten to shoot people on an internet forum.

On a more related note, smart meters cannot cause cancer. You are literally more likely to get cancer from cosmic rays than from smart meters. The static on old TVs is a visual representation of the cosmic microwave background (see:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_microwave_background_radiation).

Please read:
http://discovermagazine.com/2007/jun/life-is-rad

People should not make conclusive statements about radiation and health without a basic understanding of Physics.
by A
Listen now:
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Scientist are still mixed on EMF and other forms of radiation from dirty electricity, wireless devices, cell phones, power polls etc. A recent study showed youngsters were far more likely to get cancer if using a cell phone. Many doctors are opposed to more and more barrages of emf. Furthermore, this is not just a health issue but a privacy issue and a national security issue. Wireless systems connected to our grid is plain silly and an open door to those seeking to do damage to the grid. Other countries have used fiber optics to connect their smart meters. This would seem simple and make sense. Your outlets in your house are just like a wired network, smart devices in the future will be able to be powered off remotely without your permission if PGE decides your using too much power or wants it for something else. Many homes in Aptos already have them and the people inside don't know it.

I am not sure, but I want people to one be notified BEFORE installation and two, be able to OPT out of smart meters. Those who already have them should be able to have them removed.

Dr. Samuel William interestingly compared Amish communities who use no electricity, to non Amish who use electricity in this interview attached.

http://sammilham.com/
Bio -
Education and Experience: Union College, Schenectady, New York, September 1950-June 1954, B.S. Sigma Xi, Fuller Chemistry Prize New York State Medical Scholarship.

Albany Medical College, September 1954-June 1958, M.D. Alpha Omega Alpha.

Intern, U.S. Public Health Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, July 1958-July 1959.

U.S. Public Health Service Residency in Public Health. Assigned to Monroe County Health Department, Rochester, New York, July 1959-August 1960.

Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, September 1960-June 1961, M.P.H.

Senior Resident in Epidemiology. Epidemiology Residency Program, New York State Department of Health, June 1961-1962.

Development Consultant. New York State Department of Health, 1963-1967.

Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Albany Medical College, July 1964-1967.

Diplomate, American Board of Preventive Medicine, June 1966.

Associate Professor, University of Hawaii School of Public Health and Medical School, 1967-1968.

Travel Fellowship, IARC 1971.

Section Head, Epidemiology Section, Washington State Department of Health, 1968-1986.

Travel Fellowship, International Cancer Research Technology Transfer, 1981.

Washington State Public Health Association Annual Award, 1986.

Chronic Disease Epidemiologist, Washington State Department of Health, 1968-1988.

Clinical Associate Professor, University of Washington School of Public Health, 1968--.

Section Head, Chronic Disease Epidemiology Section, Washington State Department of Health, 1988-May 1992.

Adjunct Professor, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, 1989--.

Robert Carl Strom Foundation Humanitarian Award, 1990.

Member of Bioelectromagnetics Society, 1984--.

Self-employed, June 1992.

Elected to Fellowship, Collegium Ramazzini, October 1994.

Ramazzini Award. 1997

Sam Milham Cirriculum Vitae
by A
I should have put the where this interview came from -
http://electromagnetichealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Sam.mp3
by Maybe So
Prof. Livio Giuliani, PhD
"All life on earth evolved under the influence of solar radiation and geomagnetic forces that we have learned to adapt to and in some instances even utilize. The health of all living systems (ranging upward from a cell, tissue, organ or person, to a family, organization or nation) depends on good communication – good communication within, as well as with the external environment. All communication in the body eventually takes place via very subtle electromagnetic signaling between cells that is now being disrupted by artificial electropollution we have not had time to adapt to. As Alvin Toffler emphasized in Future Shock, too much change in too short a time produces severe stress due to adaptational failure. The adverse effects of electrosmog may take decades to be appreciated, although some, like carcinogenicity, are already starting to surface. This gigantic experiment on our children and grandchildren could result in massive damage to mind and body with the potential to produce a disaster of unprecedented proportions, unless proper precautions are immediately implemented. At the same time, we must acknowledge that novel electromagnetic therapies have been shown to benefit stress related disorders ranging from anxiety, depression and insomnia, to arthritis, migraine and tension headaches. As demonstrated in Bioelectromagnetic Medicine, they may also be much safer and more effective than drugs, so we need to avoid throwing the baby out with the bathwater.”
by Help
I went to support this, knowing due to the rain it was possible I would not find anyone on Saturday. I could not find anyone. It was about... Noon. Is this still happening here. Do you stay all day?
by Mark
"The wireless industry needs to look itself in the mirror and decide whether they are going to follow the tobacco industry's route of denial and deception, burdening a generation with lasting health impacts or invest in high speed fibre optic, wired and stable connections for our future telecommunications needs", said Hart in an email...

Josh -

You do realize that both wired and wireless transceivers operate in the same frequency range, right?

Unless you're also eradicating cordless phones and microwave ovens, your campaign against wireless power meters is ridiculous.
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