Dear Friends:  

 

Many of you are probably wondering what's happening with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) decision on smart meter fees.  Nothing has happened since January when we submitted briefs in this case.  The CPUC judge said she would rule on the legal considerations months ago, but no word yet.  Considering the CPUC still needs to address the legal and community opt-out issues it's likely this will drag on till the fall. 

What more can we do to end the extortion fees, and to ultimately recall smart meters?

Meanwhile, California state legislators have been grilling the CPUC on it's safety and financial problems. Legislators wiped out its $1.4 billion budget to "force the regulatory agency to justify how it spends its money."  President Peevey was caught by a TV investigative reporter  at a conference, instead of answering questions at a senate hearing: Peeveys Priority: Senate Hearing or Napa Winery?

At the federal level President Obama nominated a wireless industry leader, Thomas Wheeler, to head the FCC.  We started a petition to ask US senators to reject this nomination.  If you agree, please sign and circulate this petition. https://www.change.org/petitions/reject-president-obama-s-nomination-of-thomas-wheeler-to-head-the-fcc

In April we held a fundraiser in Sebastopol for film Take Back your Power:  The Smart Meter Agenda Unveiled . After expenses were paid and additional pledges were counted- over $15,000 was raised for the film! Great big thanks to everyone who donated and to all who helped with this event.

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President Obama could not have picked a worse nominee than Tom Wheeler to head the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).  Wheeler has obvious industry ties and conflicts of interest:

• Wheeler chaired the CTIA, the Wireless Association, which includes Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile;
• Wheeler chaired the National Cable Television Association, which includes Comcast, Time Warner, and others;
• Wheeler is the director of Core Capital Partners LP, a venture capital firm that manages $350 million in the high-growth technology sector- they rely on friendly regulation at the FCC;
• Wheeler raised millions of dollars for Obama's presidential campaign;
• Wheeler is listed on Fierce Wireless' top ten list of people who helped shape the wireless industry.

The FCC regulates the nation's airwaves and all communications plus its accompanying infrastructure. The FCC sets the "safety" standards for radio frequency radiation (RF) used in all wireless devices. The standards are inadequate and obsolete because they do not address long term health effects, and they were created before cell towers, cell phones, wi-fi and "smart" meters.

 

Importantly, the FCC is set to update these RF "safety" standards soon. With trillions of wireless products in use today, babies, children, adults, animals, the environment, and future generations are all at risk from chronic exposure to wireless radiation based on inadequate safety standards.

 

With a wireless industry leader as the head of the FCC there's little chance for safe oversight. These crucial decisions will threaten us for decades to come.

 

Sign the petition here! 

 

MORE INFO:

•  Authors of the BioInitiative Report, science and public policy experts signed a letter to US Senators urging them to reject Wheeler stating, "Mr. Wheeler should not be in charge of the nation's safety standards and deployment for a technology he promotes without regard to public health and safety..." http://emfsafetynetwork.org/?p=9964 
•  The World Health Organization classifies wireless as a possible carcinogen, same as DDT and lead! http://emfsafetynetwork.org/?p=4386 
• Read B. Blake Levitt's commentary, " Why the Senate Should Reject Tom Wheeler- Another Industry Crony at the FCC?"  http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/05/10/another-industry-crony-at-the-fcc/ 

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Terrific video news clip which hits important points about the risk of smart meter fire, higher utility bills and meter readers as the safety team. MLGW stands for Memphis Light, Gas and Water, in Tennesee. "Meter readers are turning in 13,000 tickets a year of things they're finding out in the field. Smart Meters will never find those things."

Watch the news video here: http://www.wmctv.com/story/22229806/unions-oppose-mlgws-smart-meter-expansion

Another news story on smart meter fires can be seen here: http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/22240644/fox-5-investigates-smart-meters-spark-controversy#ixzz2TIPxfMlI
"I was walking to the seventh tee, when the pro came up and said,'Jump in the car. We just got a call. Your house is on fire," Michael Capetto said.  He lives in Upper Makefield, near Philadelphia, where the utility PECO this past summer reported at least 15 smart meters caught fire or got so hot, the meters melted. Similar fires have been reported in other states too."..."..the meter sizzling inside the casing like a piece of bacon"

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Donations can be sent online through Paypal, or by sending a check to EMF Safety Network.  PO Box 1016, Sebastopol CA 95473.  Click here to donate

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p: 707-824-0824

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