Commentary by Blake Levitt

The following is written by Blake Levitt, award winning journalist, medical and science writer. www.blakelevitt.com It is a work in progress.

“…Very few people realize that the entire concept of smart grids requires the unfettered use of RF throughout our homes, businesses and neighborhoods. All appliances — washing machines, dryers, air conditioners, refrigerators, freezers, etc. will be equipped with transmitting antennas. There will be retrofit antennas for older models but appliance manufacturers are already gearing up for models that will incorporate transmitters into all new models. People who do not wish to be exposed to radiofrequency radiation won’t be able to deactivate them without disabling the product and negating the warranty. Talk about big brother.

One preliminary estimate of ambient radiation that such systems will cause found the average smart grid could use up a full 1% of the total allowance for RF according to the FCC standards for thermal heating. Add cell towers, wi-fi, Wi-Max and other common RF environmental contributors and this could get serious. Smart grid proposals do not consider potential cumulative exposures from the other myriad RF-emitting devices in our midst today. Nor do they factor in the recent research regarding what’s called ‘dirty electricity’ — the phenomenon of multifrequencies coupling on lines to create complex energy exposures. Dirty electricity has been linked in some studies to numerous cancers, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. A smart meter, using RF to ‘talk’ with the central information-gathering hub will couple with the extremely low frequency range used in powerlines.

Few know that there has also been legislation to preempt local/state regulation similar to the preemptions of the Telecom Act for cell towers. Smart grids will entail the ability of all our appliances to “talk” wirelessly with utility companies’ remote control methods. They also entail transceiving antennas (towers too) to be located in neighborhoods to ‘gather’ the information. Wireless meters will be attached to all houses/businesses. Some meters will transmit to other houses and bounce signals along that way — from house to house until it reaches the central hub. As oddball as that sounds, that’s among the designs for rural areas.

. Why are no environmentalists, regulators, health professionals, or EMF activists raising health/enviro concerns about yet another layer of “electrosmog” — this one being completely ubiquitous indoors and out with no possibility of individual shielding?

. Why are we trusting the same people who brought us the Telecom Act’s preemptions to get this one “right?”

. Why are billions of taxpayer dollars being used to stimulate the economy through the technology sector just like in the 1990’s when there is no money appropriated for research into the effects of such technologies?

. Recent research has found a 30% increased incidence of brain tumors in people who have used cell phones for 10 years or longer. Smart grids will be like living with a cell phone turned on 24/7 in every room of your house, in every neighborhood in the country. So why would the designers of smart grids presume that if people fight cell towers in their neighborhoods, they will put up with something like this?

. Has anyone at the federal level asked consumers if they want the utility companies ‘talking’ with privately owned appliances?

. Has anyone asked consumers if they are willing to possibly endanger their health and the environment for the convenience of turning down their furnace via their cell phones after they have left for work when all they had to do was write themselves a note?

. Has any work been done about the possibility of malfunction of such systems, say, your furnace being inadvertently turned up to 90 degrees by some other stray signal? The electromagnetic spectrum is a crowded place these days.

. Has any work been done on potentially deadly radiofrequency interference with lifesaving devices like pacemakers, deep brain implants used in Parkinson’s patients, wheelchairs, hospital beds or other devices highly sensitive to such interference?

. In an age of increased attention to national security issues, do the proponents of smart grids understand how vulnerable such systems will be to easy sabotage from simple jamming devices as well as more sophisticated electromagnetic pulse devices? The natural 11–year cycle of increased sunspot activity projected within the next few years could alone disrupt such systems.

Do we, as utility customers, trust such systems to accurately report our electricity usage when so many other devices can — and will — confuse the data? Just imagine trying to straighten out a jump in your electric bill when its recorded use could be dependent on someone else’s passing wi-fi signal or any unspecified local interference. It will simply be your word against their hub’s data.

Smart grids are a spectacularly dumb idea. And it’s a wonder that so many genuinely smart people don’t get that. In our headlong rush toward anything green, we might just be doing far more harm than good. This writer has yet to find a single person who, once given the details of what smart grids entail, thinks this is smart in any way.”

Blake Levitt

10 thoughts on “Commentary by Blake Levitt”

  1. I /We can protect ourselves from much ElectroMagnetic Radiation by shielding and being sure to keep away from it’s sources including even moving if in close proximity to a large source BUT for the ELF/ULF which passes through anything practical.
    There are several of these powerful emitters throughout the world and they have been found to have significant biological effects!
    To mask them with a noise field is to expose us to additional and stronger emissions with it’s potential damage!~

  2. There is a trend of networking home appliances together, and combining their controls and key functions. For instance, energy distribution could be managed more evenly so that when a washing machine is on, an oven can go into a delayed start mode, or vice versa. Or, a washing machine and dryer could share information about load characteristics (gentle/normal, light/full), and synchronize their finish times so the wet laundry does not have to wait before being put in the dryer.

  3. Iknow i felt when i had the new digital mtr on our home. i have a rod down my neck and everytime it read i knew it and boy what that a jolt. people have to understand how many health problems there are with these meters and we are all gonna suffer in allot of ways. our website is http://www.w4ar.com has allot of info on this. please join us in the fight. we need all to apply pauline holeton shelby twp mich

  4. An HF 35C analyzer tell me that my 2002 HotPoint refrigerator is emitting WLAN. Another 2004 GE fridge measured picked up WLAN. They were both purchased from Home Depot who is heavily invested in the “green” programs.

    I’m looking for an older fridge to replace mine, but will analyze them first. There have to be lots out there by different companies who weren’t involved in the secret smart chips. No wonder our power company has a “see ya later frigerator” program where they’ll pay cash for you old fridge and are buying up the old models in the thrift stores.

    It’s no wonder that my kitchen has felt “bad” to me. I have problems with wireless signals.

  5. blake levitt if go to agenda 21 sustainable development you will find alot of information about smart meter which the government wants to pass one of barak obama agenda. not only are this meters dangers but this meters are going to monitor every thing you and anyone gets one of these meters. in other words. they will be able to see how much electricity you everyday they will be able to know what you say. and if you are using to much energy. automatically they will turn your electricity off.

  6. Thank you for your work. A well-written article. Informative, and able to be understood by the layperson like myself. Today is the first I ever read about ‘Smart’ meters. The Intelhub article and this article make me think to take action to put a halt to this. It sounds like big business seeing a new way to make big money, with complete disregard for the well-being of humanity. What’s wrong with the system of metering electricity we’ve been using for nearly 100 years now?
    I’ve been hearing alot about how the elite think it’s their business to reduce the population by some 3 billion people. It’s unbelievable that some filthy rich elites would believe they have the right to kill human beings, but with the HAARP program, chemtrails, deadly vaccines, toxic food additives, etc, it seems to be the case. So maybe they don’t care if this new ‘smart’ grid system kills off millions of people.
    It’s become a frightening world to live in.

  7. Since the information is online, I think it’s also OK to distribute on paper. Sandi

  8. Amazing info and so well put I would love to print this and add it to the handouts I am passing around the neibourhood…would that be OK?

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