First, I would be remiss to not thank the Lake County Board of Supervisors for their action Tuesday voting unanimously to pass an urgency ordinance instituting a moratorium on the installation of SmartMeters and to seek an injunction against PG&E in support of Assemblyman Jared Huffman”s bill, AB 37, which directs the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to provide an opt-out alternative for customers who do not wish to have a wireless Smart Meter installed, and to require utilities to make this option available using wired technology that provides equivalent smart grid reliability and efficiency.
AB 37 directs the CPUC to temporarily suspend deployment of SmartMeters until this opt-out alternative is in place. In introducing this legislation Huffman stated, “This bill is about giving consumers reasonable choices. It”s only fair that consumers who are concerned about health effects be given complete technical information and the choice of another technology for devices that are installed at their homes.”
While we await a decision, thousands of phone calls, e-mails, letters and Internet posts pour in from utility customers statewide where Smart Meters have already been installed reporting sudden otherwise inexplicable and often serious health problems and cases documented by doctors in support of their patients whose health in their medical opinion has been compromised or endangered by Smart Meters.
These are not isolated cases and the science of how this technology is being deployed is questioned by responsible and learned physicians and scientists expressing their legitimate concerns over the health impact of this statewide deployment. It is clear from the preponderance of ever-accumulating irrefutable evidence that something is wrong and that the purveyors of this technology are responding with pat public relations spin and a marketing campaign to gloss over the problem and cover up what”s been missed in their industry”s haste to complete its installation agenda.
One needs not stretch far to liken this to the BP oil spill or any environmental disaster where private profit was put in front of public health and safety interests. Indeed we can come up with countless examples of assurances from industry experts who in all cases presented their homework on issues ranging from pharmaceutical approvals to automobile safety to smoking and more. The list is endless where science was presented to support positions, followed by regret and apology when tragedies cost human lives that could have and should have been prevented if due diligence had been applied before it was too late. This is not too much to ask.
This industry must be held accountable for its actions sooner rather than later and we should use whatever legal means as shall be available and at whatever judicial level as may be necessary to bring relief from this aggressive and unconscionable onslaught wrought by the far reaching hands of corporate greed driven by blind ambition and with a flagrant disregard for public health as well as civil rights.
Our representative democracy doesn”t function as intended when those who represent us stand before the CPUC and are pushed aside cavalierly. The CPUC should not be above the law. There is a place in our system for redress.
Make no mistake that the Smart Grid market is a multi-billion dollar industry with global stakeholders who”ve invested great sums they expect to recoup but this should nonetheless not dim our hopes for protection from abuses and industry excesses when forced to comply with their business plans.
It is our duty as Americans to protect the rights we fought so hard to win. When we support our troops who risk their lives to preserve our freedoms, we can”t step aside and let our freedom be taken away from us at home.
We the residents of Lake County love our environment and pride ourselves on having clean air and a healthy place to live. This is an opportunity to show the world that when Lake County says no, it means no with a capital N! We are not afraid of or resistant to new technology and are not acting out of anti-corporate sentiment but we have spoken and our voice is resolute.
Let”s make Lake County a destination of choice for those who believe in their right to choose. Let”s attract healthy-minded people who”ll want to move here and co-create a healthful, safe environment for themselves and their families.
Maybe there is one thing about the Smart Meter invasion we could be grateful for. It brought us together united by a cause with the power to break the spell of polarization that paralyzes an electorate. It mobilized and empowered us. Now let”s come together and take a stand and declare Lake County the “Smart Meter Free Zone.”
Howard Glasser
Kelseyville
