PD: "Fear and loathing in Sebastopol...Both county, city lack authority to stop..."

[2Bwacco]

The Press Democrat's site is unavailable for the link, the article in today's newspaper dated March 10, 2010 makes some outrageous statements:

The article is titled "Fear and loathing in Sebastopol...Both county, city lack authority to stop installation of meters"

"...Sebastopol residents...say they appreciate living in a place where such debates are encouraged.

"I like the idea of people being allowed to entertain crackpot ideas in Sebastopol. I've lived in places where people don't, and I find that a very stifling experience," said Robert Porter, a former Sonoma State University physics professor and Sebastopol resident who refers to members of the safety network as the "tin-foil-hat crowd."

* * * * *

"...Robinson, the councilman who supported bringing free wireless Internet downtown and supports the new gas and electric meters, has felt the wrath of those claiming health problems from electrosmog.

In turn, he minces no words in describing his critics as "the west county's equivalent of the tea party movement," which he said is gripped by an irrational mistrust of government, corporations and authority.

A former psychotherapist, Robinson said people who claim health problems related to radio frequencies are suffering psychosomatic illnesses -- which is basically another way of saying he thinks it's all in their heads.

"I don't want to diminish their suffering because I know it's legitimate and real," he said. "But attributing that suffering to electrosensitivity or chemical trails is fallacious thinking."

* * * * * * *

Here is another elected official who is dismissing his constituency's concerns apparently out of hand!

PG&E has been sued by other California municipalities over the SmartMeter technology: overbilling and actual house fires may be caused by improper installation of the devices.

Rational concerns about safety must not be clouded by statements such as the "tin-foil-hat crowd" are behind "crack pot ideas."

Prove to us that these are indeed "unfounded claims" by investigating!

[Barry]

Here's the PD article:

Fear and loathing in Sebastopol

Posted by editor in Sebastopol on March 10th, 2010 | no responses
By DEREK MOORE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

When the Sebastopol City Council voted in February to ask PG&E to delay installing wireless natural gas and electric meters at homes and businesses, the decision was cheered by residents who packed council meetings to share concerns that such technology causes serious health problems, including cancer.

But to others who live in the west county enclave of nearly 8,000, the council action was further evidence that city leaders have fallen under the spell of a fringe element spreading paranoia and junk science.

Even for Sebastopol, where contrarian thinking is celebrated and has brought the city international attention, some of it unflattering, the claims being made about health risks related to the use of cell phones, wireless Internet and other technologies and the public policy decisions that are being made based on those concerns have sparked unusual acrimony.

“I hear it at the store. I hear it at the gym. I hear from a lot of people,” said City Councilman Larry Robinson. “It ranges from amusement to disbelief.”

The whole of Sonoma County is being drawn into the debate, with west county Supervisor Efren Carrillo planning a countywide public forum in April to discuss PG&E Co.’s SmartMeter program.

In a March 2 letter Carrillo sent to the state Public Utilities Commission, he asked for a delay in installing the meters in his district until issues can be aired, including a “candid discussion of potential health issues” related to use of the devices.

“Personally, I am a cell phone user. I’m a Wi-Fi user. I personally don’t feel there are health concerns,” Carrillo said. “But when constituents bring it to my attention, I think there’s an opportunity to have a public dialogue.”

Carrillo’s request and that of the Sebastopol City Council are largely symbolic because they lack the authority to halt the new meters.

The PUC is hiring an independent auditor to test the new meters after complaints, mainly from PG&E customers in the Central Valley, that the devices may not be accurate. But the PUC has no plans as of now to slow meter installation.

“There are millions of these meters installed around the globe with no complaints like the ones we are seeing from PG&E,” PUC spokeswoman Terrie Prosper said. “We suspect the problem is not the hardware, but we won’t know for sure until we do the assessment.”

That audit won’t focus on health concerns, but such concerns are the driving force locally for resistance to the devices.

Same group fought Wi-Fi

Carrillo’s letter followed weeks of lobbying by the Sebastopol-based Electromagnetic Field Safety Network, the same group that successfully killed efforts to bring free wireless Internet to downtown Sebastopol in 2007 and more recently got SmartMeters on the city’s agenda.

The network’s influence belies their actual size — the group has only 12 or so members, said founder Sandi Maurer.

But Maurer said the “movement is growing.”

“The numbers of people that are speaking out against this and working to educate the people through public policy is growing,” she said.

The network’s basic claim is that radio frequencies used to transmit data from SmartMeters, as well as to laptops, cell phones, TVs and other electronic devices, can cause “electrical sensitivity” and health problems ranging from chronic fatigue, headaches and insomnia, to heart ailments and cancer.

The network advocates “prudent avoidance” of the causes of “electrosmog,” as well as such things as a healthy diet built upon organic foods and using alternative medicines, such as acupuncture, to treat ailments.

Risks covered up

Maurer dismisses reports from the World Health Organization, American Cancer Society and other major health organizations that have found no definitive links between radio frequencies and ill health. In her opinion, the scientific community and corporations have vested financial interests in covering up the risks.

“Are we going to wait until the bodies start piling up around us?” she asked.

Maurer said she is a former ceramics maker who has devoted herself full time to the safety network the past three years. She lives in Sebastopol with her husband, 7-year-old daughter and her husband’s 88-year-old mother.

Maurer said she relieved her own symptoms of chronic fatigue and other illnesses by re-wiring her home. She also forgoes using a cell phone or Wi-Fi and at night turns off the electricity to her house. Were it not for the needs of her mother-in-law she said she’d go off the grid entirely.

A history of questioning

Her concerns are well outside the mainstream in most areas of the country. But in Sebastopol, where residents have a rich history of challenging widely accepted scientific dogma, the network has found a receptive audience.

Sebastopol is the city, after all, where non-vaccination rates for children are among the highest in California out of concern that such inoculations are the cause of autism and other disorders despite overwhelming evidence of no such link.

Even Sebastopol residents strongly opposed to the safety network’s cause say they appreciate living in a place where such debates are encouraged.

“I like the idea of people being allowed to entertain crackpot ideas in Sebastopol. I’ve lived in places where people don’t, and I find that a very stifling experience,” said Robert Porter, a former Sonoma State University physics professor and Sebastopol resident who refers to members of the safety network as the “tin-foil-hat crowd.”

Seated outside Coffee Catz in Sebastopol this week, Tanja Soelkner tapped away on a Netbook linked to the coffee shop’s wireless Internet service. With her was a cell phone.

The German-born woman, who is living in Sebastopol on a tourist visa, said she is not worried about acquiring a serious illness as a result of her exposure to the Wi-Fi or cell phone transmissions.

But as a precaution, she carries an “electromagnetic harmonizer,” which looks like a playing card with a magnet stuck to the middle, and that, according to the manufacturer, is supposed to relieve symptoms of “electrostress.”

“That makes me feel better,” she said of the harmonizer. “I don’t know if it works or not.”

Inside the cafe, Jay Ma said he relies heavily on wireless networks for his work as an event coordinator, which takes him all over the West Coast and to Hawaii.

Despite his own belief that such technology is safe, he said he doesn’t mind people raising doubts.

“I’m interested to learn more,” he said.

Fueling fears

But critics of Maurer and the safety network say the group is fueling irrational fears to the detriment of Sebastopol.

The debate has gotten personal. On Facebook, the “Sandi Maurer Killed Free Wi-Fi in Sebastopol” group has 191 members. Maurer said she’s received hate mail and she has grown weary of people taking her to task in the opinion pages of local newspapers.

Robinson, the councilman who supported bringing free wireless Internet downtown and supports the new gas and electric meters, has felt the wrath of those claiming health problems from electrosmog.

In turn, he minces no words in describing his critics as “the west county’s equivalent of the Tea Party movement,” which he said is gripped by an irrational mistrust of government, corporations and authority.

A former psychotherapist, Robinson said people who claim health problems related to radio frequencies are suffering psychosomatic illnesses — which is basically another way of saying he thinks it’s all in their heads.

“I don’t want to diminish their suffering because I know it’s legitimate and real,” he said. “But attributing that suffering to electrosensitivity or chemical trails is fallacious thinking.”

A 2005 World Health Organization study stated people who claim to be suffering from health problems related to electromagnetic fields may have “pre-existing psychiatric conditions as well as stress reactions as a result of worrying about EMF health effects, rather than the EMF exposure itself.”

But Maurer bristled at suggestions that her health problems are psychological in nature.
“They’re looking for a stereotype,” she said. “I read that and I know in time the truth is going to come out about all of this, just like it did about cigarettes.”

Robinson criticized his fellow council members for what he views as public policy being driven by unfounded claims, calling it a “disservice to the people who are suffering from the psychosomatic illness, as well as for the larger community.”

Mayor Sarah Gurney, Vice Mayor Guy Wilson and Councilwoman Kathleen Shaffer voted to send the letter to the PUC seeking the SmartMeter delay. Councilwoman Linda Kelley was absent from that meeting but in 2007 opposed bringing free Wi-Fi to town.

Gurney noted her concerns about the new meters go beyond health issues to also include concerns about the accuracy of the devices, the loss of meter reader jobs and privacy issues.

Wilson, an attorney, said he does not believe city leaders are catering to a minority at the expense of what others in Sebastopol might want, saying he mostly hears from people who have health concerns about wireless Internet and other technologies.

“I don’t think we can decide things on what the perceived majority is. If there is a minority, even a small minority, suffering from a technology, I’m not willing to dismiss that concern,” he said.

Need to prove it’s safe

He said the onus is on people who support such technology to prove that it is safe.

“Maybe those concerns will be proven unfounded. Or maybe not,” he said. “I don’t think we have definitive scientific information to say there are no health risks from exposure to Wi-Fi or EMF.”

But critics say city leaders and safety network members are seeking an impossible standard, wanting absolute assurances about technologies that even if proven to be detrimental to some people, provide benefits to a vast many more.

“It’s a good idea to study all of this stuff. It’s relatively new,” said Dale Dougherty, general manager of the Maker Media division of O’Reilly Media in Sebastopol. “But that doesn’t mean it should be banned until we have a body of evidence that it’s safe. I think our practice has been that unless we see real evidence it’s causing harm, we move along.”

Research into electromagnetic fields has been ongoing since the 1950s, with much of the attention recently focused on cell phones.

A story in the March edition of Popular Science said that unlike cigarettes, which have been proven to cause disease, there is yet “no proven mechanism by which cell phones do the same.”

The report stated most studies have found no link between cell phone use and cancer, although a few have, including a Swedish study that found increased risk for malignant tumors after 10 years of regular cell phone use. A 2004 government report also found the rate of childhood brain and spinal-cord tumors in Britain rose from just less than 20 per million in the early 1970s to just less than 30 per million in the late 1990s, prompting calls for awareness campaigns urging decreased cell phone use among children and adolescents.

The Popular Science report said research is continuing to determine whether there is something, as yet undiscovered, in these phones, or in electromagnetic fields in general, that should be cause for worry.

Some communities are sounding the alarm. State Sen. Mark Leno, a San Francisco Democrat whose district includes southern Sonoma County, has introduced legislation that would require information about radiation levels on cell phone packaging. In Maine, legislators are debating whether cell phones sold there should display warnings about brain cancer.

Sebastopol’s stance on free wireless Internet downtown and on SmartMeters takes the concerns to a new — some say, hysterical — level.

Jeff Mich, an Analy High School senior who gathered 1,700 signatures in 2007 in a losing effort to have the free wireless Internet installed, said he remains disappointed in city leaders.

“I don’t want my town to be known for choosing unsubstantiated claims over science and reason,” said Mich, who hopes for a career in computer engineering.

Jay Ma uses the free Wi-Fi at Coffee Catz in Sebastopol
last week to work on his business, Living Mandala.
(Photo by Christopher Chung/PD)

Research funded by PG&E found SmartMeters emit less radio frequencies than many other electronic devices, including cell phones and microwave ovens.

PG&E has begun rolling out the new meters in Santa Rosa and other North Coast cities and had planned to start work last month on converting 22,572 electric and gas meters in the Sebastopol area to the upgraded devices. But that has been pushed back for an undetermined amount of time for reasons unrelated to the city’s request for a delay, PG&E spokesman Paul Moreno said.

He said the company routinely adjusts schedules as the need arises, and that it’s only a matter of time before every meter in Sebastopol will be upgraded.

“There is no opt out,” he said. “Every meter is going to be upgraded to a SmartMeter meter because they will no longer be manually read.”

[tommy]

I researched any evidence for adverse health effects from overhead electrical transmission lines a few years ago, when a friend was considering buying a property with nearby overhead transmission lines. As I recall, there was no scientific evidence from several studies done, supporting claims of adverse health effects.

I echo Larry's compassion for those who have health concerns regrarding Wifi and Smart meters. I can only think that when the internal combusion engine replaced horse drawn carriages some years ago, and when electricity was installed in homes years ago, there were those who suffered adverse health effects from those advancements.

As I have learned with regard to mold, it bothers some people and not others. This is a nuanced issue, a tempest in a teapot, in my opinoin. It's only my opinoin however. I used to live in the same town as the gonzo man himself Hunter Thompson. It's this kind of juice, and reporting, along with the local spirits, that make this a beautiful place.

[Runningbare]

In his PD article, Derek Moore wrote:
"Sebastopol is the city, after all, where non-vaccination rates for children are among the highest in California out of concern that such inoculations are the cause of autism and other disorders despite overwhelming evidence of no such link." The last part is the hitch. "Overwhelming evidence of no such link", is a logical nonsequitur. Because you can't prove a negative, there is a significant difference between "evidence of no such link" and "any evidence of such link".
Vice Mayor Guy Wilson assesses the situation fairly when he notes, ". . .the onus is on people who support such technology to prove that it is safe . . .I don’t think we have definitive scientific information to say there are no health risks from exposure to Wi-Fi or EMF.” This approach essentially engages the precautionary principle, prudently applied by wiser regulatory agencies in Europe. They haven't been as dumbed down over there as we have here. With all the preoccupation with security here, this orange alert should be a no brainer--which, incidentally, is all that's left after brain cancer.

Ron

[Barry]

From a logic point of view, it sure seems to me that these two issues/arguments are the same.

If we define "safe" as "the absence of harmful effects" (i.e. Negative)

And, as you correctly point out, "you can't prove a negative".

Then Guy Wison's assessment of ". . .the onus is on people who support such technology to prove that it is safe" is asking them to "prove a negative" which you can't do.

In his PD article, Derek Moore wrote:
"Sebastopol is the city, after all, where non-vaccination rates for children are among the highest in California out of concern that such inoculations are the cause of autism and other disorders despite overwhelming evidence of no such link." The last part is the hitch. "Overwhelming evidence of no such link", is a logical nonsequitur. Because you can't prove a negative, there is a significant difference between "evidence of no such link" and "any evidence of such link".
Vice Mayor Guy Wilson assesses the situation fairly when he notes, ". . .the onus is on people who support such technology to prove that it is safe . . .I don’t think we have definitive scientific information to say there are no health risks from exposure to Wi-Fi or EMF.” This approach essentially engages the precautionary principle, prudently applied by wiser regulatory agencies in Europe. They haven't been as dumbed down over there as we have here. With all the preoccupation with security here, this orange alert should be a no brainer--which, incidentally, is all that's left after brain cancer.

Ron

[Runningbare]

From a logic point of view, it sure seems to me that these two issues/arguments are the same.

If we define "safe" as "the absence of harmful effects" (i.e. Negative)

And, as you correctly point out, "you can't prove a negative".

Then Guy Wison's assessment of ". . .the onus is on people who support such technology to prove that it is safe" is asking them to "prove a negative" which you can't do.

Barry,

The weak link is in your predicate, i.e. your definition of "safe" as "the absence of harmful effects (i.e. Negative)."
Semantic exercises can belie underlying intent by confusing purely grammatical negativity with substantive negativity. Hence it can be argued that the "absence of harmful effects" is indeed a very positive, confidence-inspiring quality, and that "safe" can likewise be defined positively as freedom from harmful effects.
But mindgames aside, it is most encouraging to watch the precautionary principle gain a strong popular foothold in European regulatory bodies such as the REACH program wherein, among other improved measures, manufacturers are held responsible for end-of-the-line disposal costs of their products. Actually, there was a stimulating call-in discussion on this topic during the last ten minutes of yesterday's Morning Show when Elizabeth Grossman was interviewed about her new book, Chasing Molecules: Poisonous Products, Human Health, and the Promise of Green Chemistry.
The Morning Show - March 11, 2010 at 7:00am | KPFA 94.1 FM Berkeley: Listener Sponsored Free Speech Radio

[Toxic Reverend]

Has anyone been watching the latest information
coming out about cell phones ? I have a New York
Times newspaper article that interviewed three of top
brain surgeon in the world, saying that they would not
use one.

More to the point with what is going on here.

High power lines were found to attract pockets of
radon and caused an alteration in the vibration that
can cause more cancers. The studies about high power
lines and (for instance) childhood cancer, never even
considered that.

Title of reference article:
Are pylons and radon a lethal cocktail
By O'Brien-Claire.
New-Scientist. Feb 17, 1996. v149(n2017). p4(1).
A copy is in the Archives Way Back Machine at a
censored page I had made over a decade ago at
https://web.archive.org/web/20050907060756/www.angelfire.com/in/sickbuildingsyndrome/emfeff.html

The same is true of cellphones and any other EMF.
What effect do EMF's have on the VOC's in your
home? Or on any of the toxic chemicals in your
tissue ? The average person has a "Toxic Lotto"
of about 160 some odd chemicals in their body.
So what I am saying is that such studies are flawed
at the very premise.

One of the questions I usually ask myself is "who
benefits" and "how much" ? When the stakes are
high, numbers do not lie, but the liars can figure.

Here is a Youtube video made by a couple of ex Fox
Investigative Reporters that talk about how such news
and information that effects our health is kept censored
from the news media and inaccurate / misleading
information "fed" to researchers. Their main focus
is a situation with Monsanto that might be hurting you
and yours, right now.



Posted at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trWcqxrQgcc

Since someone tossed vaccinations into this mess:



Toxic Reverend an Environmental Technologist | MySpace Video

Posted at
https://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=60193551

More videos are posted at that profile, too.


Blessings,

The Toxic Reverend
https://www.myspace.com/toxicreverend

Toxic Revelations; Censored information on
biological weapons and the health care
industry The censored rough draft had
been re-posted, but has been censored again
and some versions are even censored at the archives
An incomplete version is
Toxic Revelations
Rough draft
https://www.puppstheories.com/tr.html
Toxic Revelations
Editing, link updating and research in progress at
https://sites.google.com/site/toxicrevelations/

Barry,

The weak link is in your predicate, i.e. your definition of "safe" as "the absence of harmful effects (i.e. Negative)."
Semantic exercises can belie underlying intent by confusing purely grammatical negativity with substantive negativity. Hence it can be argued that the "absence of harmful effects" is indeed a very positive, confidence-inspiring quality, and that "safe" can likewise be defined positively as freedom from harmful effects.
But mindgames aside, it is most encouraging to watch the precautionary principle gain a strong popular foothold in European regulatory bodies such as the REACH program wherein, among other improved measures, manufacturers are held responsible for end-of-the-line disposal costs of their products. Actually, there was a stimulating call-in discussion on this topic during the last ten minutes of yesterday's Morning Show when Elizabeth Grossman was interviewed about her new book, Chasing Molecules: Poisonous Products, Human Health, and the Promise of Green Chemistry.
The Morning Show - March 11, 2010 at 7:00am | KPFA 94.1 FM Berkeley: Listener Sponsored Free Speech Radio

[Howard]

Barry,

The weak link is in your predicate, i.e. your definition of "safe" as "the absence of harmful effects (i.e. Negative)."
Semantic exercises can belie underlying intent by confusing purely grammatical negativity with substantive negativity. Hence it can be argued that the "absence of harmful effects" is indeed a very positive, confidence-inspiring quality, and that "safe" can likewise be defined positively as freedom from harmful effects.
But mindgames aside, it is most encouraging to watch the precautionary principle gain a strong popular foothold in European regulatory bodies such as the REACH program wherein, among other improved measures, manufacturers are held responsible for end-of-the-line disposal costs of their products. Actually, there was a stimulating call-in discussion on this topic during the last ten minutes of yesterday's Morning Show when Elizabeth Grossman was interviewed about her new book, Chasing Molecules: Poisonous Products, Human Health, and the Promise of Green Chemistry.
The Morning Show - March 11, 2010 at 7:00am | KPFA 94.1 FM Berkeley: Listener Sponsored Free Speech Radio

Rather than watch a two-minute tv news segment about two people who had problems with smart meters or listed to a radio show that has nothing to do with smart meters, I would instead urge those of you who still read books to pick up: Denialism: How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet, and Threatens Our Lives by Michael Specter.

I also want to remind those of you following this issue what we’re talking about here. The smart meters utilize one watt of electricity for 0.05 seconds every four hours in the 900 MHz range. This is the same frequency range utilized by cordless phones (which by the way draw 2 – 3 watts continuously).

I'm sorry, but there’re many 1,000 times more waves bombarding you at every moment of the day (assuming you aren’t living in a lead lined room) than the less than one-half second per day transmission that comes from these devices. If you’re sensitive to this infinitesimal amount of energy, there’s just no way you can survive in modern society.

[2Bwacco]

I'm not a member of the "tin-foil-hat crowd" [nor would I insult others' concerns by labeling them in that fashion].

There are other approaches to automating/controlling power usage without bringing PG&E into a home's kitchen, laundry room, bathroom, bedroom.

The thought of PG&E being able to control my appliances horrifies me.

I know I can probably avoid this by not upgrading to an appliance that can "talk" to the meter. It has been reported that some energy savings will not be realized unless all the components in the electrical flow are of compatible smartness.

Over the last 23 years of being involved with computers and knowing the pain-in-the-butt of upgrading, matching compatibility, learning new systems, this is another black hole for my time and money.

So, what happens when you can't get your appliances to function properly because of some incompatability with feedback from the SmartMeter.

Another post reported diagnosing SmartMeter problems ... one house fire at a time. Malfunctioning meters, voltage spikes, overcharging customers.

Friday's newspaper had yet another public publishing of rate hikes by PG&E. I tried to read it to understand what was going on, baffled me.

Does anyone really KNOW what this monopoly utility is up to? They appear to be so big no one knows, and PG&E apparently likes it that way. Oh, and no one can stop them.

[Thad]

As tyranny has become an accepted practice by default since no alternative exists to provide the energy/medical/legal/etc we need day to day, the dollar becomes the only weapon to use.

If there is a solution then it begins with looking at quality of service and how other service might provide a better way.

Look first at all those lovely powerlines snaking everywhere. How nice they are to look at and how nice it is the banks got all that stimulus money, Perhaps Sebastopol could get some of that money to begin making new jobs burying their cables as they begin laying an independent Power grid that would exclude PG$E's rights to your property.

Being that Sonoma County is involved in considering an Ocean Wave Power plant then why not consider a smart grid instead of smart meters and this locally owned

Sebastopol starts its own substation for PG$E to supply.

Sebastopol then begins a public works project burying the lines and becoming the local distributor designed to include alternative energy bought at a higher rate than PG%E pays to local providers.

Now look at bloom box's

Bloom Energy | Be The Solution | Contact Us

back yard solar

Lens Based Solar Furnace Systems

and all the other innovative ideas that could be implemented into a separate smart grid

I think we should make PG$E fear our Loathing

The Press Democrat's site is unavailable for the link, the article in today's newspaper dated March 10, 2010 makes some outrageous statements:

The article is titled "Fear and loathing in Sebastopol...Both county, city lack authority to stop installation of meters"

"...Sebastopol residents...say they appreciate living in a place where such debates are encouraged.

"I like the idea of people being allowed to entertain crackpot ideas in Sebastopol. I've lived in places where people don't, and I find that a very stifling experience," said Robert Porter, a former Sonoma State University physics professor and Sebastopol resident who refers to members of the safety network as the "tin-foil-hat crowd."

* * * * *

"...Robinson, the councilman who supported bringing free wireless Internet downtown and supports the new gas and electric meters, has felt the wrath of those claiming health problems from electrosmog.

In turn, he minces no words in describing his critics as "the west county's equivalent of the tea party movement," which he said is gripped by an irrational mistrust of government, corporations and authority.

A former psychotherapist, Robinson said people who claim health problems related to radio frequencies are suffering psychosomatic illnesses -- which is basically another way of saying he thinks it's all in their heads.

"I don't want to diminish their suffering because I know it's legitimate and real," he said. "But attributing that suffering to electrosensitivity or chemical trails is fallacious thinking."

* * * * * * *

Here is another elected official who is dismissing his constituency's concerns apparently out of hand!

PG&E has been sued by other California municipalities over the SmartMeter technology: overbilling and actual house fires may be caused by improper installation of the devices.

Rational concerns about safety must not be clouded by statements such as the "tin-foil-hat crowd" are behind "crack pot ideas."

Prove to us that these are indeed "unfounded claims" by investigating!

[Runningbare]

Rather than watch a two-minute tv news segment about two people who had problems with smart meters or listed to a radio show that has nothing to do with smart meters, I would instead urge those of you who still read books to pick up: Denialism: How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet, and Threatens Our Lives by Michael Specter.

I also want to remind those of you following this issue what we’re talking about here. The smart meters utilize one watt of electricity for 0.05 seconds every four hours in the 900 MHz range. This is the same frequency range utilized by cordless phones (which by the way draw 2 – 3 watts continuously).

I'm sorry, but there’re many 1,000 times more waves bombarding you at every moment of the day (assuming you aren’t living in a lead lined room) than the less than one-half second per day transmission that comes from these devices. If you’re sensitive to this infinitesimal amount of energy, there’s just no way you can survive in modern society.

"I would instead urge those of you who still read books to pick up:Denialism: How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet, and Threatens Our Lives by Michael Specter."

Your unsavory condescension undermines your persuasiveness. Why do you bother?

We have the best science money can buy. In fact, politically selective allocations and withholding of funding is the foremost hindrance to scientific progress. As in so many other aspects of our lives, commodification of science has corrupted it beyond recognition. In the absence of valid science, witness all the "progress"--such as the spectacle I beheld yesterday at probably the most opulent dump in all of Northern California, the Healdsburg Transfer Station: from one end to the other, rolls upon rolls--quite literally miles--of black plastic tubing, destined not for recycling, but "landfill" in some remote desecrated location. We call it agrikulture. How much does that bottle of wine cost?