Letters: Get ready to pay more for power

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At the beginning of June, when I discovered we were being issued, without any EIR for public safety, three-watt broadcasting devices called Smart Meters, I wrote to the city and to The Malibu Times. I got no response from either agency. This is a system planned to eventually add a chip to each of your appliances and link them to the meter. SCE’s website said the system “links devices, components, communications networks.” (Dishwasher, computer, electric hairdryer, shower?) 

Electronic Frontier Foundation filed comments with CA Public Utilities Commission: “Without strong protections, this information can and will be re-purposed by interested parties: Criminals intercepting information to plan a burglary; marketing companies want to access data to get intimate insights into your family’s day-to-day routine; not to mention government, which wants to mine the data for law enforcement and other purposes.” I went on Edison’s website and, sure enough, they’ve interacted with the Department of Defense to counter information leakage. 

Sierra Club wrote to the SF Board of Supervisors, advising that cities have the power to suspend the installations and 49 counties have done this, yet the PUC told Ojai, (Edison not PG&E), it has no right to challenge them. All one can do is utilize one’s right to opt out. 

As a business owner, I’m not “allowed” to, so the meter for outside lights, garage doors and hot water in my apartment complex must remain “smart.” This means every public building you go into will be broadcasting at you. 

The Malibu Times published a little cartoon recently, showing hypnotic wavy spirals blinking in the eyes of the characters, which made light of the meter’s effects, but which unknowingly put the artist’s finger right on the problem. Edison’s representative admitted to me that they will be broadcasting this wireless info in and out of your home every 15 minutes. How much ionizing radiation is three watts every 15 minutes? 

Santa Cruz Public Health’s report, “Risks Associated with Smart Meters,” expressed strong concerns. Three-Watt Smart Meters cause an apparently FCC-illegal amount of cumulative microwave – 100X the full body exposure of using a cell phone, according to UC Nuclear Policy lecturer Dan Hirsch. 

I’m very concerned about our ELF/RF microwave-bathing being mandated by a public utility. This is not a federal mandate at all, but a country-wide corporate decision to cut down on staff (no meter-readers). Believe me, this is going to be a highly expensive program, all paid for by us. 

Beate Nilson