SECURITY & PRIVACY.
Smart Meters are a threat to your personal security and privacy.
1. Personal Privacy is guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution:
Here is the 4th Amendment to the United States Constitution:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects,
against unreasonable searches and seizures, but upon probable cause,
supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be
searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Leading the deployment of Smart Meters in the midwest is Naperville, IL. They are attempting to calm people's fears by passing into ordinance a utility customer "Bill of Rights." Of course, these "rights" are given to the people by a government so they can just as easily be eliminated by that same government. They are not inalienable rights as outlined in our federal and state constitutions.
Don't be suckered into believing that anything a document like this says is written in stone. It is nothing more than bait.
With a Smart Meter on your home information about you is collected & stored and can be shared, sold - and STOLEN.
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Still don't believe? Watch the video below from a company whose business is to collect and sell your personal smart meter data.
.2. Let's look at the topic of Security:
Remember, your wireless smart meter is an access point for a hacker to tap into the electric grid control system.
Here is a report from NBC News from March 12, 2013.
Don't think cyber-security is an issue?
Well, the Pentagon thinks it is. Here's a quote from the article link below:
"The new teams are part of a broader government effort to shield the nation from destructive attacks over the Internet that could harm Wall Street or knock out electric power, for instance." [emphasis added]
This video goes into more depth and introduces a new movie being produced.
Data Security is not possible:
- "Perhaps the most critical finding of Pike Research’s analysis is that end-to-end protection of private and commercial usage data is impossible."
- "Consequently, the data are, for a short while, unencrypted on the meter and could be successfully eavesdropped." [emphasis added]
The above quote is from Pike Research's Smart Meter Security report available here. It is worth noting that Pike Research does studies for the "clean technology" industries.
Terrorists will use a vulnerable electric grid to attack you.
Virtual Terrorism: Al Qaeda Video Calls for 'Electronic Jihad'
HEALTH AND SAFETY
Click here to see latest research report.
Smart meters have two problems: Pulsed RF and Dirty Electricity. Let's examine each.
1. Pulsed RF (Radio Frequency Signal) Dangers
Smart Meters may be bad for your health because they emit pulsed microwave radiation. This is the same as with a wireless computer network or a cell phone. It is not the same as a microwave oven. They leak a continuous high frequency radio wave. Cell phones, wireless networks and Smart Meters purposely emit a pulsed radio frequency (RF) signal because they are transmitting information with the pulses.
You will probably hear the argument made that Smart Meters are within FCC safety limits. This is true as far as it goes. The standard only addresses thermal effects. This refers to tissue heating (ie. your body) when exposed to the signal. The non-thermal effects are what many are worried about. Non-thermal effects include breaking of your DNA within your cells. The result of this is that there may be an increased risk of cancers. Other health problems have been reported as well.
The simple fact is that we have not exposed ourselves to these pulsed waves long enough to know if they will have the suspected long term effect. It has been proposed that we should be using the Precautionary Principle and wait until reliable scientific studies can provide more information. Think "asbestos", "cigarettes", "DDT" and "x-rays."
If you want to play it safe do the following:
- Don't have a Smart Meter installed on your dwelling.
- Minimize your use of a cell phone.
- When using a cell phone, hold it about 1/2" from your ear.
- Minimize the use of a bluetooth earpiece with your cell phone.
- Eliminate or minimize the use of a wireless network in your home.
- Turn of your wireless network router at night or when not in use.
There may be a certain percentage of the population (3-15%) that is "RF sensitive." These people experience mild to severe symptoms when exposed to pulsed radio signals. Dizziness, nausea, ringing in the ear, headaches, heart palpitations are among the symptoms. Some have reported that the symptoms appear after a Smart Meter is installed and go away if they are able to get it replaced with their old analog meter.
Some electronic medical implants may be affected by strong pulsed RF signals. This includes spinal implants and heart pacemakers. If you have or know of someome who has a device like this be aware of the increasing presence of these devices.
NONE OF THIS INFORMATION IS NEW.
Here is a Naval Medical Research Institute report from 1971 reviewing findings from a long list of studies about the negative health effects associated with RF exposure.
Link to site to download documents.
Download graphic of symptoms shown below.
Click here to see latest research report.
2. "Dirty Electricity"
"Dirty Electricity" is a term that refers to signals that may exist on a power line that are undesirable. When these are present in your home or business wiring, negative health effects occur, in varying degrees by individual. Current research indicates that as many as 45 million Americans (about 15% of the population) may be sensitive- and we ALL may be at risk.
Prevention Magazine has a good online article on the topic. Read this summary or scroll down to access the full article.
Although it is not entirely clear why, GS (Graham Stetzer) Filters have been shown to help to help those who feel the ill effects of RF and dirty electricity.
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EHS - Electro-Hypersensitivity
People who can feel dirty electricity and RF transmissions have what is becoming to be known as EHS or Electro-Hypersensitivity. It may explain many of the previously unexplainable maladies suffered by individuals who are told "it is just in your head" or "you are feeling stressed."
If you are one of these people, know that you are not "crazy." What you are feeling is real.
Here is some reading material on the topic.
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As of May 2011, the World Health Organization now classifies the type of radiation emitted by a smart meter to be a potential Class 2B Carcinogen. Click below to see the document.
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Even school children in Denmark have easily shown how Wi-Fi/cell phone/smart meter frequencies are hazardous to living things.Go here to see the article.
Go here for a series of articles about real electro-sensitive people.
Watch the story of one electro-sensitive person in this video.
Watch the trailer for the film Resonance: Beings Of Frequency
Here is a possible explanation for why some of us are electro-sensitive: Evolution.
Microwave radiation can be good or bad for you.
A good video about how Smart Meters pose a potential danger to your health.
Health info starts at about the 23:00 minute mark.
A good unbiased scientific report is available.
Report link. For quick answers check out the "Summary of Findings" at the beginning of the report.
Here is a good video showing actual smart meter output. Read the text below the video.
Another example of frequent transmissions from a smart meter.
If being around a Smart Meter makes you feel sick, you are not alone.
The effects of RF exposure may not be felt for some time but can be detected. Here is the conclusion of a study on firefighters working with cell towers on their firehouses.
"...until legislative changes take place in the US, and a much-needed health consciousness arises about the need for safer communication through fiber optics as opposed to the proliferation of RF-emitting devices, we are playing Russian Roulette with our future, our children’s future, and their progeny, as well."
Read the letter under the video at the Site link.
Based on the knowledge we have, how should we proceed?
How to safely use a cell phone.
More about cell phone signals and health.
U.S. News report calling for more research into cell phone effects.
For the opinion of the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, follow this link below.
"The current medical literature raises credible questions about genetic and cellular effects, hormonal effects, male fertility, blood/brain barrier damage and increased risk of certain types of cancers from RF or ELF levels similar to those emitted from “smart meters”. Children are placed at particular risk for altered brain development, and impaired learning and behavior."
Here is what the GAO - the Federal Government Accountability Office - says about radiation from cell phones. Remember, smart meters and wi-fi computers work on the same frequency range ad cell phones.
The U.S. should reassess standards for radiation exposure from
mobile phones, the Government Accountability Office said in a report
that found federal guidelines lagging behind international standards.
Limits
set in 1996 by the Federal Communications Commission may not reflect
recent research on radio-frequency energy from phones, and testing
requirements may not identify maximum exposure in all usage conditions,
the agency said in a July 24 study released today. The FCC doesn’t test
for devices carried against the body, a practice that may lead to
exposure that exceeds the FCC’s limit, the GAO said.
“The United States is behind on the science,” Devra
Lee Davis, founder of the Teton County, Wyoming-based Environmental
Health Trust, said in an interview. “There’s been this dogmatic belief
that there cannot be an effect.”
Children receive more exposure than adults, Davis said.
“We
need to do a better job of vetting things before we conduct wholesale
experiments on our children and grandchildren,” Davis said.
CHOICE.
Smart Meters are usually advertised as a way to give you more "choice" in how you "manage" your use of electricity. How much more choice can you have? You need electricity so you use it. Plug it in, turn on the switch. What goes unsaid is that in the future your choices may be limited. There are those who would force you to make undesirable trade-offs for no good reason. Don't be fooled by the propaganda. Your electric bill will go up, not down. See below.
Direct Load Control - Voluntarily giving up your "choice"
Smart Meters, especially when combined with smart appliances (currently under development by manufacterers) will allow "Direct Load Control." This means that someone you don't know, in a remote location, will decide if an appliance you are using (say an air conditioner) needs to be cycled off to lighten the load on the grid. This is the explicitly stated purpose of smart meters. Follow the links for documents and discussions on this aspect of Smart Meters.
The purpose of Direct Load Control is articulated in federal documents and quotes from federal employees.
From the American Thinker website:
In a rare moment of candor, Obama "Energy Czar" Carol Browner said to US News & World Report last year: "We need to make sure that ...[e]ventually, we can get to a system where an electric company will be able [sic] to hold back some of the power so that maybe your air conditioner won't operate at its peak..." (emphasis added)
Brian Sussman blogs on the American Thinker site, "An obscure Federal government document procured for the Oak Ridge National Laboratory entitled, Smart Meters, Real-Time Pricing, And Demand Response Programs, in 2007, explained how these systems work:
Under certain predetermined peak periods, the utility interrupts or cycles the appliance [including air-conditioning, furnaces and water heaters] to achieve its system goal of reducing peak usage and thereby reduce the cost of electricity for all customers...In most cases customers do not "notice" or suffer adverse consequences for the interruption or cycling."
The document Smart Meters, Real-Time Pricing, And Demand Response Programs can be seen here.
From the White House report "A POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR THE 21st CENTURY GRID: ENABLING OUR SECURE ENERGY FUTURE"
Smart grid technologies can empower consumers to better manage their energy use, including opportunities to reduce peaks and share in any savings (Borenstein & Holland 2005, pp. 11-12). These technologies may also give consumers more predictable bills, with the information and control they need to target specific electricity costs or bill totals. Demand response includes a diverse set of programs (FERC 2010, pp. 5), such as:
Direct load control (DLC) programs in which consumers can choose to allow a program administrator to remotely turn off their appliances or equipment
You hope you can "choose to allow." When will choice turn into a requirement?
Answer: When the grid is fed by too many windmills that do not turn on a calm, hot summer day.
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Energy Policy Act of 2005
You may also hear that Smart Meters are mandated by the federal government. This is not true. They are encouraged in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The bill can be found here. It is a big document so give it time to download. Go to section 1252. Here is the relevant text (emphasis added):
``(C) Each electric utility subject to subparagraph (A)
shall provide each customer requesting a time-based rate with a
time-based meter capable of enabling the utility and customer to
offer and receive such rate, respectively.
RATE HIKES.
Chicago residents will start paying for smart meters before they are even installed. Article.Higher Electric Bills
Your electric bill will go up. Here is an example. Article link.
Here is another example. Article link.