1) Many smeters are not working and will always be manually read. Why are BC Hydro and FortisBC forcing people to have this dangerous device when they know they will never work? The costs are considerable. A smeter costs (minus infrastructure, etc.) in the range of $130 while an analog is about $45. When I last asked quite a while ago, BC Hydro said that 50,000 meters were manually read. That means, in the initial year, that is an additional cost of more than $4 million. ($130-$45 x 50,000) Each 5-7 years when the smeter needs to be replaced, the additional cost would be $6.5 million. ($130 x 50,000) and so on for years, and all this time, the analog would have still been running just fine.
Below is a letter a member wrote asking for an explanation. So far, after asking this many times, no response has been provided to me or others. Maybe this time….
2) Schools and school boards in Canada and the USA are doing everything they can to prevent information about the dangers of Wi-Fi in schools from reaching parents. They refuse to allow presentations in schools, flyers being handed out, or information in newsletters. In the US, David Morrison has been fighting for years to keep Wi-Fi out of his children’s schools. Recently, he submitted an application, which was approved, to have a booth at a PTA (Parent Teacher Assoc.) conference in which he planned to have information available for both parents and teachers. Once the organizing group realized his intent, they withdrew their approval. Below, in Letters, is his response to this letter from the organizers which can be found at:
3) A member has taken the initiative on behalf of the marmots:
“I have contacted the Vancouver Island Marmot Federation as well as PETA, and provided the US government ATP report, as well as the 2015 Scientist Appeal to the UN, to Protect Humans and Wildlife from Electromagnetic Fields and Wireless Technology.
If these poor creatures have to live with radiofrequency transmitters inside their bodies, sending constant pings, just like a smart meter, it is not far fetched that theses hideous devices will cause adverse health effects over time.
As many scientists pointed out: biological effects are cumulative and irreversible!
I am certain that the intentions where good, but their ignorance should be pointed out, so that hopefully this will never happen again.
Radiofrequency GPS transmitter implants are cruel, and must be relegated to history!”
http://emrabc.ca/?page_id=5228
&
http://www.chipmenot.org/casehistories.htm
I wonder how strong the chips’ signals must be for them to be reached miles away.
4) Another email from a member re. something good that was made possible by a $$meter, even though it confirms that BC Hydro can invade privacy. How did it know that it was the heating???
“A friend of mine (still has her legacy meter) told me about her daughter’s “good thing” about a smart meter. The daughter’s power bill spiked one month considerably. When she phoned BC Hydro about it, they were able to tell her that the electric heat had been running full on for 2 days. Following it through, turned out the downstairs tenants had decided to heat the outdoors for 2 days.
In this situation, was a good thing but a bit unnerving that BC Hydro can tell you when your heat is on. Actually, BC Hydro should go the extra step and install monitoring equipment to spot unnatural jumps in use like this was. Doubt there are many stories like this one.”
5) Not many people have told me whether or not they have checked to see if their transmitter-off meter is really “off”. One member said that FortisBC’s meters are not necessarily off either.
“A similar incident happened with Fortis. I had my RF meter and took readings of one radio off meter in Trail, one in Fruitvale, and then one radio on in Fruitvale and Trail. I sent an email to Fortis, saying that there was no difference in what radio on or off meters in Fruitvale or Trail were emitting. I also mentioned in that email that the Fruitvale meters (more rural) seemed to be emitting at a higher RF than the Trail meters. Several weeks later I returned to these same radio off meters and they were no longer emitting, and the digital displays were now different on the radio off meters.
I asked a radio off customer if they regularly see Fortis meter reader. He said no and looking at his last bill indicated it was an estimate.”
There are people in Chilliwack and Maple Ridge areas who have meters and have offered to test $$meters that are supposed to have their transmitters turned off. Email me if you would like to have yours tested, put “test smeter” on the subject line.
__________________________________________________________________________
Letters:
To: Jessica McDonald, President and CEO <jessica.mcdonald@bchydro.com>; Daren Sanders <daren.sanders@bchydro.com>
Dear Ms Macdonald and Mr. Sanders:
I had been informed of BC Hydro’s intentions to replace my analog meter with a smart meter. Although I have been told it will be a ‘signal off’ meter, I have concerns about the safety of the smart meters. My meter base isn’t CSA certified for combustible electronic meters. As this base is owned by me and therefore is wholly my responsibility, I can only accept this combustible electronic meter upon receipt of a letter signed by a BC Hydro professional engineer saying that doing so is a safe practice and that, should any fire damage occur as a result, BC Hydro will assume full responsibility. I live in a remote area unserviced by fire trucks and understandably can take no risks of fire hazards such as the smart meters have proven to be. Assurances made without the foregoing statement (“. . .. safe practice” etc) are not acceptable in my circumstance. Our meter is exposed to the elements; there is a risk of moisture affecting a smart meter’s lithium battery.
I have been a responsible BC Hydro customer for fifty years; when the smart meter program was established, I never opted in, and according to the promise of Rich Coleman (“Individual home owners who had not yet had a smart meter installed on their home, would not have to have one …You will not be ‘forced’ into having one or be in fear of it being installed when you are not home”), I chose to keep my analog meter though it hugely increased my hydro bill. To now be told that I must accept a smart meter (and still pay an ‘extortion fee’ for the installation of a signal-off meter) is deceitful and contrary to the promise of the BC government. My present meter has 6 months left, according to Measurements Canada, plenty of time for BC Hydro to locate an analog meter from another jurisdiction, should it irresponsibly have left itself without analog meter replacements for those it promised would not be ‘forced’ to accept a smart meter.
It took us 25 years to return to our home town, but after thorough research into smart meters and all the negative factors therewith, we decided to move north to a more remote location–with no cell towers, no wifi connections and no close neighbours. As any smart meter will still have to be read manually, there is no benefit to BC Hydro to install a smart meter. There is every reason for us to demand our right to an analog meter, as promised by Rich Coleman. I have two friends who have developed EHS.
Furthermore, I was told that “as a courtesy” I would be notified the day before my unwanted exchange. I was not notified and am now out of country. I have just received my bill by e-mail and see that I have unjustly been charged an installation failure fee. I had locked my analog meter so that I would not have a live meter exchange; we just had a very expensive replacement of an electrical appliance and I didn’t want to risk its damage, in the event that BC Hydro ignored my protests and requests. However, I was reluctantly prepared to accede to an exchange under my supervision subject to the above; BC Hydro has not complied with its assurance to me that it would ask the installer to notify me in advance. This lack of goodwill and breaking of its given word does nothing to repair the lack of trust that BC Hydro has generated in this whole smart meter program.
I am paying the unjustified added ‘penalty’ under protest. It is just one more example of the extortion fees BC Hydro is charging those who refuse to opt in. My disgust for this undemocratic procedure is no protection against a monopoly that uses its weight and power to get its way. I cannot understand, when you have been collecting the extortion fees these past years, and since our location nullifies the use of a smart meter, why you continue to badger me and heighten my resentment against your company. This latest evidence of breaking your word and billing me the extra $65 unjustly is an abuse of power. If there is any honesty left in this company, it would give proof that the installer was asked to notify me. I have a landline, an answering machine, and an e-mail. I was awaiting a call. I was deceived into being ready with my keys. This latest $65 overcharge is unwarranted and deceitful.
I remain
an extremely annoyed and dissatisfied customer, at the mercy of a conscience-less company.
X
_______________________________________________________________________
From: david morrison [mailto:wirelesswatch@yahoo.com]
Sent: June 21, 2016 7:46 PM
To: Jennifer Bradley <jbradley@pta.org>; Portland Council PTA <president@portlandcouncilpta.org>; Gina Salmons <gsalmons@pta.org>; Oregon PTA <office@oregonpta.org>; Portland Council PTA <ptaclothingcenter@comcast.net>; ptasec@irvingtonschool.com; ptatreas@irvingtonschool.com; ptanews@irvingtonschool.com; ptapres@irvingtonschool.com; pta@alamedaschool.org; ptamemb@irvingtonschool.com; 2016 National PTA Convention and Expo Manager <exhibits@pta.org>; 2016 National PTA Conference & Convention <leads@showcare.com>; PTA Convention Registrar <pta@showcare.com>; ptawdirector@zoho.com; ptairwatchers@mailhaven.com; CLG_News <clg_news@legitgov.org>; dian@dischaffhauser.com; nmonell@pta.org; kkirchoff@pta.org; ltoney@pta.org; lmccline@pta.org; klester@pta.org
Subject: Letter From PTA Dir. Refusing W.E.A. Participation in National PTA Convention
SEE ATTACHED LETTER: (which is at https://stopsmartmetersbc.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Wireless-Education-Action-Letter-2016-06-20-1.pdf )
PTA Position Statement per Microwave Emitting Devices in Schools Needs to be Updated in Light of:
Overwhelming Scientific Consensus That Chronic Microwave Exposure in Schools is Harmful to Children. Statements From EPA, FDA, American Cancer Society, The German Government, The Bavarian Government, Various State PTA Statements & Resolutions, American Firefighters Association, The American Academy of Environmental Physicians, The American Academy of Pediatrics, The Italian Government, The European Parliament, Harvard Pediatric Dr. Martha Herbert, M.D., W.H.O. Doctor, Anthony Miller, M.D. and many, many other international governmental agencies, organizations, medical professionals and etc:
http://ehtrust.org/policy/schools-unions-and-pta-actions/
= = =
Sent: Monday, June 20, 2016 1:09 PM
Subject: Letter from National PTA re: Upcoming Convention
Dear Mr. Morrison and Mr. Mottus:
Please find attached a letter from National PTA’s Executive Director, Nathan Monell.
The letter and check were sent today via FedEx.
= = =
June 20, 2016
Nathan R. Monell, CAE, Executive Director, P.T.A.
Dear Mr. Monell;
I read your letter and am somewhat stunned at your position. I was not aware of the actions of Mr. Mottus. He lives in L.A. and I am in Portland, OR. Given your fear about disruption, it is not necessary that he come to the conference.
It was my intent to distribute paper materials that have already been delivered to the convention site, informing educators and others of the biological effects of wireless devices in schools and what is happening internationally as more scientists, educators, agencies and organizations become aware of the potentially devastating short and long term medical problems caused by chronic, pulsed microwave exposure. Your position that opposition to wireless devices in schools is a “danger to children” is utterly unsupportable. In fact, the hardcore, forefront science confirms that opposition to wireless is morally, ethically and legally necessary. The position of Wireless Education Action and our agenda was never a secret. Jennifer Bradley, National PTA | Corporate Alliances Specialist, was informed in detail with regard to the educational service we have intended to provide at the conference. Thus, your sudden, untimely objection to our agenda is unwarranted. Moreover, you have not provided any defense of your decision to lock me and the agenda out of the conference. I have numerous emails to and from Ms. Bradley detailing our mission and have incurred considerable expense in relation to the convention that cannot be retrieved so I expect to be reimbursed for the cost of my plane ticket which was $465 and is unrefundable.
Our position on wireless devices in schools is informed by thousands of scientific studies, the latest of which, a definitive study that has already modified the positions of other US health and environmental agencies, was just completed last month by the US National Toxicology Program and is referenced below with a quote from the American Cancer Society just last month. Additionally years ago, Norbert Hankin of the Environmental Protection Agency was quoted in a letter saying FCC standards do not protect against long term chronic exposure! (I suggest you read the entire document linked here)
It is extremely dangerous and potentially legally liable to adopt an uninformed position, when the safety of children is in question. Considering your influential position with the PTA, you are obligated to become informed of all matters of safety even if it challenges your beliefs. It is mandated throughout your mission statement. To ignore data or misinform parents and educators by omission has the potential to cause harm. Since microwave devices including wi-fi routers are categorized in the highest emerging risk category by Swiss Re, an insurance risk management company, the telecommunications industry can no longer get coverage for liability insurance. Liability will fall on school boards, administrators and organizations that have been informed of the risk but choose not to inform the public.
Personal opinions should never dictate policy that is solely informed by corporate salespeople, software and hardware companies and stakeholders whose lobbying efforts and advertising budgets determine the flow and content of information.
It is the high duty of PTA officials, school boards, administrators and others in related organizations and agencies to be completely informed so as to do no harm to children that are under your jurisdiction. No telecommunication corporation or representatives thereof have ever made the claim that wi-fi and other wireless devices used in schools are safe. Do you feel comfortable with that? Wireless devices were never pre-market safety tested.
There have been numerous examples of environmental toxins that were considered safe until policy caught up with science. Tobacco, asbestos, plastics, pesticides (they used to spray DDT on school children to prove it’s safety), thalidomide, artificial sweeteners and fructose to name just a few. Now we have children exposed to microwave radiation for 7 hours each day for 14+ years. There are at least a dozen studies that confirm 4 hours on a lap top can cause damage to men’s sperm as well as damage to DNA.
As part of my work as an advocate, I recently ran for city council in Portland OR as a single issue candidate. My platform was advocating for the replacement of wireless internet connections with wired connections and getting cell towers off of school grounds. Endorsing my campaign were; Dr. Devra Davis the Nobel Prize winning founder of the Environmental Health Trust, and a staunch advocate of getting microwave devices out of schools; Professor Barrie Trower, former microwave weapons specialist for the British MI5; Frank Clegg, former CEO of Microsoft Canada; Ellie Marks, President — California Brain Tumor Association and Lloyd Morgan, Senior Research Scientist for E.H.T. As a result of my candidacy I have been invited to present before the Portland City Council regarding the issue of wireless in schools. The incumbent I was running against, Amanda Fritz, a Cambridge educated psychiatric nurse, understands the risk after being informed during the campaign. I have also been working closely with our State Representative, Alissa Keny Guyer who invited a world renowned scientist, Dr. Martin Pall and a medical doctor, Dr. Paul Dart to give a half hour presentation before the Health Committee of the State House regarding the imminent public health emergency facing the most vulnerable–children and pregnant women. Dr. Martin Pall & Dr. Paul Dart Address the Health Committee of the Oregon State Legislature on the Dangers of Exposure to Microwaves from Wireless Technology and Wi Fi in Schools Feb. 24, 2014
As a result of that meeting Rep. Keny-Guyer introduced House Bill 3350 which would require that parents and teachers be informed of the fact that Classroom environments are a Class 2B Carcinogen as so designated by the World Health Organization in 2011. Schools teach about tobacco, drugs, alcohol and safe sex but do not inform children and their parents of the many potentially devastating health effects of microwave radiation from cell phones and other wireless devices. Wi-Fi Utilizes the Most Lethal Microwave Frequencies 0.95 and 2.45 GHz —Dr. Magda Havas, BSc, PhD
The resistance among educators and bureaucrats, is potentially harmful for students as they should be learning, in health classes, about the hazards of wireless devices and how to use them more safely since that is the world they are growing up in. The “debate” on safety, prolonged by industry propaganda (similar to that used by the tobacco industry many years ago), is now over as referenced in the statement by the American Cancer Society below. In other words, there is no longer a debate as to whether microwave emitting devices are potentially harmful as science now confirms that they are. Prior to the current study, the W.H.O. classified microwave radiation from all wireless devices as a Class 2B Carcinogen.
Your position statement (below), that advocating for the removal of wireless devices is contrary to the PTA mission can easily be challenged and cannot possibly be sustained by any science. It also conflicts with statements to the contrary by statewide PTA organizations (see other PTA statements re: wireless below).
Your statement: “The National PTA has determined that Wireless Education Action’s positions that wireless classrooms are a danger to children, that the government is covering it up, that schools are microwave radiating children without real safety standards, and that wireless systems should be banned from schools and other locations where children are exposed to them, are not consistent with National PTA’s mission, position statements, resolutions or policies.”
— (Please see numerous PTA, and other organization and agency policy statements supporting our position at the end of this letter below).
There are not only many thousands of peer reviewed scientific studies that show biological harm but hundreds that show psychological problems caused by excessive screen use causing device addiction and changes in brain function as well as disruption to the learning process. Smart phones and Ipads are changing the way our brains work and erasing our memory.. The Mirror.
Our children are mere pawns in this vast corporate feeding frenzy that is being enabled by those willfully ignorant and afraid to look beyond the crucible of corporate culture. Standing up for the safety of our children and their genetic integrity might be a logistical nightmare and an inconvenient truth but should be the first priority of any and all organizations advocating for the health and safety of children — especially in school. The PTA has an obligation to students, parents, teachers and school staff to become informed on the challenges of wireless technology and update it’s members:
HARVARD DR. WARNS AGAINST WI FI IN SCHOOLS Feb. 8th Letter to L.A. Unified School District
2001 California State PTA Resolution On Wireless Equipment/Cellular Phones and Antennas
New York PTA Calls For Wi-Fi To Be Turned Off: Major Wi-fi Controvery as School District is Served With Legal Liability Notice Tuesday, April 5, 2016
City of Haifa, Israel Removes WiFi From Schools Siting Health Reasons! April, 2016
A Message to Public Schools and Public Libraries About Wireless Devices Posted on August 21, 2015 Ronald M. Powell, PhD.
Dr. Anthony Miller, World Health Organization Expert to MCPS Warns: “Wi-Fi networks in schools and cell towers on your school grounds could significantly increase the cancer risk in your community,”
Thank you for your attention to this important issue.
Sharon Noble
Director, Coalition to Stop Smart Meters
“Your silence gives consent”
~ Plato