JOIN US! Tues, Feb 16: PG&E Smart meters, Seb. council to discuss actions, 6PM

[mweaver]

An other opportunity to voice your opinion:

The Sebastopol City Council will discuss actions they can take regarding Smart Meters Tuesday FEB 16 at 6 pm. It's #3 on the agenda. 6:30 pm should be an ok time to arrive. Youth Annex, 425 Morris St, Sebastopol.


FYI: There is another article in todays PD on the Smart Meters re the council's agenda on Tuesday. It states -"Councilman sees value in new technology", "Councilman Larry Robinson said he believes the meters are a necessary step in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by helping residents monitor energy use".


https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20100214/ARTICLES/100219690/1350?Title=Sebastopol-council-weighs-action-on-wireless-PG-E-meters (https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20100214/ARTICLES/100219690/1350?Title=Sebastopol-council-weighs-action-on-wireless-PG-E-meters)


Rebuttal: Smart Meters will not directly reduce energy usage. Consumer education showing how to reduce usage during peak times could serve the same purpose as the new meters. Also, monitoring our energy usage utilizing Smart Meters demands we keep our appliances plugged in all the time. How will we save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions with these wireless devices when PG&E also states (and recommends) in their own publication that we can save an average of 200-300kWh/yr PHANTOM ENERGY USAGE by UNPLUGGING all of our appliances! Read pages 19, 29, 30 in this document printed by PG&E (Nov. 09) to learn more. What a contradiction!

https://www.pge.com/includes/docs/pdfs/shared/solar/solareducation/your_path_to_ee_res.pdf (https://www.pge.com/includes/docs/pdfs/shared/solar/solareducation/your_path_to_ee_res.pdf)


In addition, when we calculate the greenhouse gas emissions created by the manufacturing of millions of new Smart Meters, (which, because they are wireless will most likely need to be upgraded every few years), and the hidden costs of disposing of millions and millions of perfectly functioning older meters, (not to mention the costs to our environmental and health) how can we possibly assume that smart meters are a smart choice?

Melissa Weaver
www.emfsafetynetwork.org (https://www.emfsafetynetwork.org/)

[Sciguy]

... and the hidden costs of disposing of millions and millions of perfectly functioning older meters, (not to mention the costs to our environmental and health) how can we possibly assume that smart meters are a smart choice?


I am always surprised when I encounter an attitude that takes it for granted that garbage creation is the way of the world. Instead of becoming resigned to the costs of dumping and garbage, known today for no good reason as "disposal", why not ask ourselves how these meters (and everything else not wanted) can be reused beneficially?

The recycling approach would smash them up and try to recover shards of glass and copper worth almost nothing. Definitely the wrong path, as recycling always is.

In this particular case, there is a large market for the older meters which do still work fine. They are being sold throughout the world, particularly South America, after being collected by two (as I last heard) different reuse companies that refurbish and resell them. I bought 10 of them from the Austin Electric company a few years ago and used them as submeters on my property. They cost me less than $20 each including plug-in bases and covers. New, they would each probably cost two or three hundred dollars or more.

Paul Palmer