Take Action! – Page 8 – EMF Safety Network

Comments filed in smart meter opt out proceeding

EMF Safety Network filed comments today opposing the CPUC’s proposed decisions. The CPUC decisions will force customers to pay permanent fees to avoid a smart meter on their home, and business customers and communities will not be able to opt out.

Read the comments here: Network PD Comments

The CPUC is attempting to sweep public participation under the rug, deny community rights, restrict participation, and apparently expects no pushback!

Demand the Commission:

Reject the proposed decisions
Rescind smart meter opt out fees
Order all interim fees refunded to customers
Ban co-located antennas in multiple meter installations
Hold evidentiary hearings on smart meter health and safety impacts
Allow community and commercial opt out.

The best way to do this is to go to a CPUC meeting. Mark your calendars and plan to attend on Thursday, December 18, 2014, 9 am at 505 Van Ness Ave, San Francisco. This will be President Peevey’s last day on the Commission.

You can also lobby the Commissioners: Mike Florio 415-703-1840/ Catharine Sandoval 415-703-3700/ President Michael Peevey 415-703-3703/ Carla Peterman 415- 703-1407/ Michael Picker 415- 703-2444

The Commission must vote against the proposed decisions because requiring customers to pay opt out fees is coercion by exaction, extortion. Customers are forced to choose between paying to avoid harm, or the threat of harm from the pulsed electromagnetic radiation (EMR) smart meters emit, or lose essential utility service. The opt out fee would become a government-imposed exaction whose purpose and effect is to coerce payment.

A “pay to opt out” program does not provide relief to all customers, is a violation of utility laws and core principles of private property law.

The responsibility for the cost of the opt out program should rest with the true cost causers: the utilities and the CPUC.

Smart meters are a nuisance, a means of illegal trespass, and an unconstitutional interference with owners’ peaceful use and enjoyment of homes and properties.
Neither PGE nor the CPUC has the right to use private property for installation of smart meters without the owner’s consent or due process of law.

Communities have a legal responsibility, and the legal and vested power to protect residents from harm and the threat of harm. The decision that communities and multi-unit dwellings cannot opt out is a false and misleading conclusion.

The purpose of opt out fees is protection of the smart grid project and increased utility profits. The utilities do not want customers to opt out because the smart meter mesh network relies on customers participating. Where the process conceals project failings from full public scrutiny, it is unlawful and demonstrable cronyism. If shareholders paid for opt out costs, more accountability in the future would be assured.

The Commission should reject both PDs; rescind smart meter opt out fees; order all interim fees refunded to customers; ban co-located antennas in multiple meter installations; and keep the proceeding open to 1) hold evidentiary hearings on smart meter health and safety and 2) take testimony on community and commercial opt out.

The CPUC must take these actions to ensure safe and reliable utility service at reasonable rates to California customers or fail in its stated mission.

CPUC: Give millions more to PG&E and continue smart meter extortion fees

California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Judge Amy Yip-Kikugawa and President Michael Peevey have issued two proposed decisions in the smart meter opt-out proceeding. Here’s a recap of what they state:

Give 37 million dollars to Investor Owned Utilities (PG&E, SCE, SDG&E and So Cal Gas) for providing the opt-out program.
Adopt permanent fees for residential customers who “do not wish to have a wireless smart meter”.
Continue the same interim fees of $75 initial fee, plus $10 a month, and $10 initial fee and $5 a month for low income.
Local governments and multi-unit dwellings may not collectively opt out of smart meter installations.
Charging an opt-out fee does not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
They will not address health and safety impacts in this decision.
Assess fees on a per location basis, for example if you have two or more meters on your property, that will be one fee, per utility company.
If you have two utilities, they can both charge you fees.
Peevey proposes putting a cap on the opt-out fees at 3 years.
Both Peevey and Yip-Kikugawa refuse to consider a no fee option.
ALJ Amy Yip-Kikugawa’s Proposed Decision
Michael Peevey’s Alternate Proposed Decision

“It is in everyone’s interest to promote moving to smart meters.” -Amy Yip-Kikugawa, CPUC proposed decision

A proposed decision is not necessarily the final authority. In 2011 the proposed decision stated the opt-out meter for PG&E would be a radio-off smart meter. After strong public opposition the final decision allowed for the analog meter.

What you can do:

Send your comments by email to ALJ Amy Yip-Kikugawa: ayk@cpuc.ca.gov and to Michael Peevey’s advisor Manisha Lakhanpal: ml2@cpuc.ca.gov You can also request to meet with the Commissioners in person.

Go to the CPUC meetings. A current list of CPUC meetings is here. The CPUC is located at 505 Van Ness Ave San Francisco CA.

To learn more about this issue read the EMF Safety Network brief.

Study links cell phones to addiction

College students spend an average of 8 hours or more a day on their cellphones and women spend the most time, up to ten hours a day. Excessive use poses potential risks for academic performance, according to a Baylor University study on cellphone activity published in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions.

The study notes that approximately 60 percent of college students admit they may be addicted to their cell phone, and some indicated they get agitated when it is not in sight, said Roberts, lead author of the article “The Invisible Addiction: Cellphone Activities and Addiction among Male and Female College Students.”

“That’s astounding,” said researcher James Roberts, Ph.D., Professor of Marketing in Baylor’s School of Business. “As cellphone functions increase, addictions to this seemingly indispensable piece of technology become an increasingly realistic possibility.”

General findings of the study showed that:

• Of the top activities, respondents overall reported spending the most time texting (an average of 94.6 minutes a day), followed by sending emails (48.5 minutes), checking Facebook (38.6 minutes), surfing the Internet (34.4 minutes) and listening to their iPods. (26.9 minutes).

• Men send about the same number of emails but spend less time on each. “That may suggest that they’re sending shorter, more utilitarian messages than their female counterparts,” Roberts said.

• Women spend more time on their cellphones. While that finding runs somewhat contrary to the traditional view that men are more invested in technology, “women may be more inclined to use cellphones for social reasons such as texting or emails to build relationships and have deeper conversations.”

• The men in the study, while more occupied with using their cellphones for utilitarian or entertainment purposes, “are not immune to the allure of social media,” Roberts said. They spent time visiting such social networking sites as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Among reasons they used Twitter were to follow sports figures, catch up on the news — “or, as one male student explained it, ‘waste time,’” Roberts said.

Excessive use of cellphones poses a number of possible risks for students, he said.

“Cellphones may wind up being an escape mechanism from their classrooms. For some, cellphones in class may provide a way to cheat,” Roberts said.

Excessive or obsessive cellphone use also can cause conflict inside and outside the classroom: with professors, employers and families. And “some people use a cellphone to dodge an awkward situation. They may pretend to take a call, send a text or check their phones,” Roberts said.

Roberts noted that the current survey is more extensive than previous research in measuring the number and types of cellphone activities. It also is the first to investigate which activities are associated significantly with cellphone addictions and which are not.

Study participants were asked to respond to 11 statements such as “I get agitated when my cellphone is not in sight” and “I find that I am spending more and more time on my cellphone” to measure the intensity of their addiction.

The study noted that modern cellphone use is a paradox in that it can be “both freeing and enslaving at the same time.”

“We need to identify the activities that push cellphone use from being a helpful tool to one that undermines our well-being and that of others,” Roberts said.

Baylor University did a previous where they reported “Cell phone and instant messaging addictions are driven by materialism and impulsiveness and can be compared to consumption pathologies like compulsive buying and credit card misuse, according to a Baylor University study in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions.”

“Cell phones are a part of our consumer culture,” said study author James Roberts, Ph.D., professor of marketing and the Ben H. Williams Professor of Marketing at Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business. “They are not just a consumer tool, but are used as a status symbol. They’re also eroding our personal relationships.”

Digital Insanity “Can We Auto-Correct Humanity?”

Stop cell towers on 73 public schools in Prince George’s County

Parents and residents in Prince George’s County Maryland have started a campaign “Safe Schools for Prince George’s County” to stop the construction of cell towers on 73 school grounds citing safety, property devaluation, lack of community notice, zoning issues, and health issues from wireless radiation exposure. Several cell towers are moving forward despite community opposition.

Many parents had no idea of these plans for their child’s school. Residents near schools were also not notified. Parents are rightly concerned about their children’s health.

Dr. Martha Herbert, pediatric neurologist and neuroscientist at Harvard Medical School
“EMF/RFR from wifi and cell towers can exert a disorganizing effect on the ability to learn and remember, and can also be destabilizing to immune and metabolic function. This will make it harder for some children to learn, particularly those who are already having problems in the first place.”

The Coalition is calling for a cancellation of all cell-tower contracts.

Sign their petition: Stop Cell Towers on Prince George’s County Schools

Visit their website for more information: http://www.SafeSchoolsPG.org

Contact them to donate or help out: safeschoolspg@gmail.com

Smart meters affect bees, plants and people

Marianna Hartsong recounts what happened to her after the utility in Sedona Arizona (APS) installed six “smart” meters on neighbors homes. Within a half hour after smart meters were installed her normally docile bees swarmed and dive bombed at her.

As a permaculturist she notices other abnormal changes: unhealthy chicken eggs; changes in laying patterns; broccoli plant abnormalities; and bee die off. She also had eye problems, and other health effects. APS, like many other utilities in the US and beyond, are not listening.

CPUC President doesn’t want to answer your gddmn questions, now shut up!

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is responsible for protecting utility customers and ensuring safe and reliable utility service.

Michael Peevey, the President of the CPUC, has been in charge of the decisions regarding smart meters. He approved wireless smart meters without any safety review. He approved smart meter opt-out fees without any legal review.

Peevey cussed out an attorney who’s asking questions at a public hearing.

Do you have questions about utility smart meters? President Peevey can be reached at mp1@cpuc.ca.gov He doesn’t want to hear from you!

An Electronic Silent Spring by Katie Singer

Katie Singer is a gifted writer and has authored a new book, “An Electronic Silent Spring”. The book features fifty physicists, electrical engineers, biologists, MDs, medical implant patients, lawyers, policy makers, mothers and business people who speak about the impact of electromagnetic radiation on human health and wildlife. This book is impeccably referenced and includes solutions for everyone from newcomers and longtime activists. It is published by Rudolph Steiner/Portal Books.

“An Electric Silent Spring illuminates how human-made electricity and wireless devices impact bee colonies, birds, cows and human cell structure. It describes actions we can each take to reduce and mitigate the harm caused by the electromagnetic radiation emitted by mobile devices. This is an important and thoughtful book for every person concerned about the environment and human health.” -Kenny Ausubel, Co-CEO and Founder, Bioneers

“A must-read for those of us rushing heedlessly into the wireless age. Katie Singer describes the dangers of EMFs in a way that goes beyond the science with moving personal stories.” -Sally Fallon Morell, President, The Weston A. Price Foundation and author of Nourishing Traditions

Click here to buy the book

Katie Singer is a medical journalist, an author of The Garden of Fertility, Honoring Our Cycles, and a novel, The Wholeness of a Broken Heart. Learn more about Katie’s EMF work by visiting her website: www.electronicsilentspring.com