“Smart” meters, Electro-smog and Electronic Warfare
Ron Bolin: Jan, 27, 2013
I’ll bet you didn’t know that Canada has had an electronic warfare unit for many years. If you’d like to see their Coat of Arms, go to:
http://archive.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project-pic.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=121&ProjectImageID=20
Ever wonder what’s the big deal about wireless technology? Why do people worry about privacy, security and health concerns in relation to WiFi, cell antennas, cell and cordless phones, baby monitors and especially smart meters?
Jerry Flynn, a retired Canadian military wireless communications expert with over 22 years’ experience in Electronic Warfare and Signals Intelligence, will come to Nanaimo to discuss these issues on Tuesday, Feb. 19. 7-9 p.m., at John Barsby School on Bruce Avenue. Jerry worked with Canada’s military allies around the world, including NATO forces, as an expert on the vulnerabilities and dangers of wireless radio systems.
If you want serious answers to serious questions, come to John Barsby School, multipurpose room, Feb. 19, 7-9 p.m. and ask Jerry Flynn. Admission by donation (suggested: $5)
Co-sponsored by Citizens for Safe Technology, Vancouver Island University, and concerned health care professionals
If you aren’t aware of this technology and what is known –and even more importantly what is NOT known- about it, take this opportunity to hear an expert and ask vital questions.
This writer also has some questions for Rich Coleman, Minister of Energy, Mines and Natural Gas who on Jan. 23, 2013 issued the following statement to us regarding the “Smartmeter” program: See
http://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/letters/meters-won-t-be-installed-without-consent-1.55888
Here are my questions for Minister Coleman:
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The Honourable Rich Coleman, Minister of Energy, Mines and Natural Gas for the Province of British Columbia
Jan. 27, 2013
Response to your Opinion-Editorial of January 23, 2013: Helping customers understand smart meters
Minister Coleman:
I wish to respond to your above noted editorial by raising some questions regarding the implications which I see for the health of our democracy as well as the health of our bodies and those of our children, the most vulnerable among us. While it is reassuring, during some time period unspecified in your piece, that those of us who have actively refused the installation of a so-called smart meter, have been granted the apparent protection of your office, many of us are concerned with a future considerably longer than your pleasure in this matter and have a variety of legitimate reasons for that concern.
My first concern deals with my right as a human being, a Canadian and a citizen of British Columbia, to the quiet enjoyment of my home and property, limited only by the health and safety of my neighbours. I think that you will agree that neither the health nor the safety of my neighbours is threatened by the absence of a “smart meter” on my home. On the contrary it is the health and safety of my family that is already under threat from this grid: and that threat will be magnified should one be permanently installed on my home. I note that one was initially installed on our home in our absence. It was subsequently removed, but we have had several visits and attempts to reintroduce it under various threats or devices.
Question #1: Under what principle of human rights or Canadian rights does a corporate monopoly have the authority to introduce an active and pervasive device which includes a transmitter and receiver onto my property, let alone my house and home?
Question #2: BC Hydro needs to be able to read our meter for billing purposes. This has traditionally been done by human meter readers and we have had no problem with their “invasion” of our property for this purpose, nor is there any such problem now. Similarly there are devices which could perform the same “smart meter” service by non-invasive means using the electric grid or other means to perform this service. Why was a method which places an active transmitter/receiver on BC homes selected?
Question #3: Given that the line which brings electrical power into our home has two ends, only one of which is on our property or our home, why was it decided that the active device should be placed on our home or our property rather than at the distribution pole which leads into our property and is the entire responsibility of BC Hydro? While we would find such an installation to remain a serious long term health and safety hazard, it would keep the device off our home and our property and at least outside the property rights questions which arise from the present situation.
Other issues about the installation of “smart meters” have likewise gone unanswered. While it has been stated that North American and Canadian radiation standards have been met and no doubt “experts” can be found who support the safety of these devices, experts can also be found who warn of the dangers of the electro-smog which is increasingly permeating our living space. While some of the generators of this signal soup can be avoided in one’s home by not purchasing such devices, BC Hydro makes that choice irrelevant by demanding participation in a meshed grid which along with all its intermediate repeaters increases that smog significantly. There has most assuredly been insufficient time to establish that these involuntary “smart meters” and their accompanying mesh, along with all the other assorted voluntarily transmitters out there are safe and the Precautionary Principle should have been applied. There are significant studies which indicate that even low level radiation can cause tissue damage damage. Canada’s military does not have an electronic warfare unit for no reason.
While current standards may or may not be met by the “smart-meter” grid, without long term studies this is the same kind of pre-judged standard that was previously found in the promotion of smoking by “expert” doctors who were most interested in the taste of the cigarettes, by engineers and developers who promoted the use of asbestos as insulation and fire proofing, and by physicians who issued prescriptions for thalidomide to women as a sleep aid. You will forgive me if I do not invest all my credulity in experts when these examples loom over us and there has been insufficient time to come to any scientific definition of the significant danger involved in accepting this technology and ignoring its unintended consequences. It must further be noted that those “advances” which were later to prove deadly, were at least voluntary. One could choose to smoke, to use asbestos or to take thalidomide.
Question #4: What right does any democratic government have to make guinea pigs of its citizens by imposing, through a governmentally authorized monopoly, a technology which is neither proven nor a benefit to the health and safety of the community? (I would note that there is a name for that form of government which promotes the integration of corporate and state powers.)
There are those who decline the meters due to their concern that the devices intrude upon their privacy by creating a path into their homes through present or future “smart appliances” or other information which may be inferred from the data collected. Such appliances are being built based on demand generated by power companies such as BC Hydro and not by consumer demand. Those who are concerned with the use of power in their homes already have many devices available on the market by which they can perform their own audit.
Question #5: By what right does BC Hydro demand the opportunity to peer into the use of power within a home without a court order?
While the financial case for “smart meters” may now demand that BC Hydro customers be forced to take them so as to recover the huge sums which have been sunk in this project, this is a specious and self-serving argument. I have requested a true financial rationalization of the costs and benefits of this project on several occasions but have been offered only anecdotal responses.
Question #6: Where is the responsible financial study for the introduction of “smart meters” as well as that for the selection of the chosen technology?
Thank you for your consideration in this matter. I look forward to your responses to these questions.
Sincerely,
Ronald L. (Ron) Bolin
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I look forward to the responses from the Minister or from his agent and will share them with you when they are received.
Posts and Comments on Nanaimo Governance 
Well done! I doubt any answer from Coleman or Hydro is even possible.
Waiting for an answer Minister Coleman..
Judy. I sadly fear that Mr. Coleman does not read my blog. The request was sent to him by email which will be followed by Canada Post.
I will let blog readers know if, when, and what… if anything comes back.
Devil’s advocate here:
Question #1…. hydro offered to install the meters on a pole off of a customers property provided they installed the pole and meter base etc.
Question #2 …. the new meters provide more than simple consumption of power for billing, they are also capable of notifying hydro when peak loading is occurring which may be useful in helping change use habits through higher charging during peak load times, they also notify hydro when the power is off, meaning your power could be restored before you even get home and have to notify them and eat a cold supper.
Question #3 ….. how many homes come from the same pole? how many meters could one pole accommodate? who will pay for the extra wiring from the pole top, down to a meter base and then return to the top before coming to the home?
Question # 4 ….. what is the basis for the claim the technology is unproven? Unproven in what fashion? What credible evidence is there for any hazard to the homeowner?
Question #5 …. being able to track peak loading times, can hardly be described as ‘peering’ into the power use within a home. It merely notes the times of highest use, not the reason for the use. Grow-ops could have a reasonable concern for what these results might show.
Question #6 ….what would be the basis for such a study?
Devil’s Advocate…… signing off now……….
Hi Jim: Always happy to have a sincere Devil’s Advocate. It is a position that the City of Nanaimo needs badly and the role needs to be recognized. As it sits, anyone who questions anything is just a negative Nellie. Thanks for acting in Rich Coleman’s place… Anyway, here goes:
Question #1…. hydro offered to install the meters on a pole off of a customer’s property provided they installed the pole and meter base etc.
For the first part, I do not believe that either BC Hydro or I have the right to erect a pole on somebody else’s property so if they said this (I thought it was about a pole on my property), I would be surprised. The only property off my property over which BC Hydro exercises any control is their own, i.e. the other end of the line that comes into my house.
Question #2 …. the new meters provide more than simple consumption of power for billing, they are also capable of notifying hydro when peak loading is occurring which may be useful in helping change use habits through higher charging during peak load times, they also notify hydro when the power is off, meaning your power could be restored before you even get home and have to notify them and eat a cold supper.
Jim: Have you ever had a serious problem in this regard? I have lived in BC for 20+ years and have never had an instance where, if I called BC Hydro, they were not already aware of the problem. When the power goes out people are quick to give notice. The problem is the time that it will take to fix the problem and I don’t believe this will be improved much, if at all, by the fact that they can now target me rather than the grid subset on which I am hung. It strikes me that if anything, new problems will appear as a problem or problems in the system may turn me off.
I have come home to find the electricity restored as evidenced by my electric clocks. What evidence is there to show that things will be better. Have you seen anything beyond assertions. Is there evidence of improved efficiency in practice somewhere else which mitigates the problems which come with this system.
Question #3 ….. how many homes come from the same pole? how many meters could one pole accommodate? who will pay for the extra wiring from the pole top, down to a meter base and then return to the top before coming to the home?
Jim: You are asking questions which are the responsibility of the monopoly service provider. Ask them. See question 6. This is related to the whole question of cost/benefit of various means of satisfying the needs of the corporation. I haven’t seen such a study. It is like the Colliery Dam situation. First a decision is made and then, if forced to do so, we start an examination of the problem and its possible solutions.
Question # 4 ….. what is the basis for the claim the technology is unproven? Unproven in what fashion? What credible evidence is there for any hazard to the homeowner?
What was the basis for concluding that smoking was not a health hazard; that lead in gasoline had no effect on the health and development of us all, particularly children; that asbestos was a good and healthy method of insulation and fire retardant; that thalidomide, prescribed for sleep inducement, was not harmful? There simply was no evidence until after the passage of years or decades of time. The lesson which should have been learned out of these experiences and the thousands, if not millions, who have suffered as a consequence, is that technologies, like politics, often have unintended consequences. Thus decisions should be made with the precautionary principle up front. To demand the installation of active transmitter/receivers on every home is an even more egregious affront to that principle as it replaces choice with the iron boot.
Question #5 …. being able to track peak loading times, can hardly be described as ‘peering’ into the power use within a home. It merely notes the times of highest use, not the reason for the use. Grow-ops could have a reasonable concern for what these results might show.
They currently track peak loads on their system without difficulty. The limit is set by their power generation capability along with the efficiency of their transmission system. These are matters for the monopoly corporation, not for me. What this option offers is the ability, first to look at my individual load variability, i.e. when I get up, when I go to bed and, when “smart” appliances come along, to determine which appliances I have and when I use them. Locating grow ops, as I have not been deputized act for the court, is not my problem and in any event there are legal procedures which govern evidence.
If I am truly concerned about the power use in my home there are, and have been for a considerable time, economical devices which I can use to determine and manage the use of power in my home.
Question #6 ….what would be the basis for such a study?
What is the basis for any corporate approach to a problem or an economic plan? I believe that BC Hydro has the engineers, the financial guys and the resources to do a study of the problems which they face; what can be done; the alternatives for it being done; and the managers who should understand the public implications associated with those alternatives. As with any government, quasi-government or government granted Monopoly Corporation, the public should also be consulted before decisions are made rather than after. This avoidance of the public and its role in things appears to be a sign of the times at all levels from municipal to federal to international and their agencies and it is not a good trend.
I hope this helps.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion but I must be one of those suckers that had one of them “foolish” smart meters installed because, unlike all the crap out there, I actually saw my consumption go down… How can that be? Well, for starters I am super attuned to what is on or off in my house and about the only thing I haven’t done would be to install one of those gadgets that allows for power consumption at the source to determine if there is a better way. I don’t know, I guess I will die of radiation…
Wyatt: Keep your guns in their holsters. Nobody wants to deprive you of your right to have a smart meter. But because you love it, do not expect others to either want or allow themselves to be bullied into following you. While the Marlboro man died of cancer, cursing cigarettes, there are those who have smoked up a storm all their lives and haven’t been seriously ill, let alone died of cancer. That is the beauty of genetic diversity. We are simply not all alike and there are names for governments which try to force us to be so. Democracy is not one of them.
I am also happy to hear that your use rate went down. I am not sure whether you are attributing this to the meter, but it is possible that it is a better measure than the old one or, alternatively that the new one reads short.
At any rate, as has been quoted many times, I may not agree with the way you want to handle radiation, but I will die for your right to do so as long as it doesn’t radiate me. How about cutting others the same favour.
Is the danger of ‘radiation’ from these devices something proven, or just another item taken from the Henny Penny Handbook? I’ve read some pretty scary things about the effects of cell phones, microwave ovens, cell phone towers etc. etc. etc. However, what is missing is any credible supporting evidence these fears are justified. Now we have the ‘sky is falling’ bunch running around worried about smart meters? … Advocate out!
Yeah. I expect its those same Chicken Little all stars who warned about smoking,, lead in gas and asbestos. And look how safe those have proven to be….
What I can’t understand is why those who may accept the smart meters principle are so riled up about those who do not. What skin is it off their noses?
Hey, if the old meters can be left in place and not affect the effectiveness of the grid who cares? However, if it means old technology will have to be kept alive making obsolete meters, and meter readers and going to have to run all over town reading 1% of the meters with the ensuing added cost to the rest of us………maybe I do have a bitch, especially when I have seen nothing that supports the feared hazard.
Can you reference any credible study which claims a hazard on a par with smoking, asbestos etc.? I certainly hope that all those concerned with the meters aren’t eating any food or produce that is not 100% purely organic, no beef or meat products that have been injected with antibiotics or the like. If you want your garters in a knot about something check out how dangerous your food supply is.
Advocate …. out
Jim: I don’t know how many ways to say it. BC Hydro’s business model is not my concern. I don’t owe them whatever they may want to charge -unless I am living in a totalitarian state. If they had not spent one or two billion dollars on this installation, against, as far as I can see, saving some money by putting a few of their employees out of work [will the last wage earner turn out the lights!], you wouldn’t have to worry about supporting those who don’t want the device, and I wouldn’t have to worry about supporting those who do.
On a lighter note, I would like to pass on a comment which I once got from a visiting professor when I was in university: “Bolin, I know that you are acting as a Devil’s Advocate, but sometimes there is a very fine line between a Devil’s Advocate and a son-of-a-bitch.”
Words to ponder as to which side of the line one is on…….
Does anybody know how a Smart Meter communicates with BC Hydro’s accounting department?
That should have been question #7: I have not seen a picture of the entire grid. As I understand it, some of the smart meters on homes act as concentrators, which transmit to intermediate concentrators and so on, I know not where or how strong. This is something that Jerry Flynn will be talking about on Tuesday the 19th of February, 7pm, at John Barsby Secondary School. Hope you can make it.
I presume, WIFI should be banned in places such as the conference centre and most coffee shops in town, cell phones likely would also have to be trashed as well, cordless phones at home are also out, back to landlines, and the wireless router for your home computers, these items are in the transmission and receiving business, and oh yes, let’s not forget the GPS units in peoples cars…..don’t forget to pitch the microwave and turn off your crt screens …. did I forget anything???
Of course I understand these hazards can be avoided through the constant wearing of a tin foil cap, which also has the benefits of not allowing the aliens to read our thoughts.
DA …..out
Jim: I don’t have children in school, I don’t have to go to the conference centre or most coffee shops in town. I can actively avoid many places with wifi except my home. Therefore I really don’t understand your passion that all should have to have it. It seems to me that there is something perverse in wanting everyone to be subject to the same conditions. We are not alike in all ways and from a survival point of view that is a very good thing. I don’t recall asking you to do without all the toys which you so esteem and seem to have led us to this elevated point of civilization on which we are balanced, even if I might think that you are misguided. Why are you so dedicated to the doctrine that those who do not agree with you should have to wear tin hats -even at home? If a little of something might help doesn’t mean that a lot of it won’t hurt.
I trust you will be at Barsby on Feb. 19 at 7pm to hear someone who has worked in the area for many years talk about its use and abuse. And I expect that you will bring your cynicism with you.
Ron, is there one piece of evidence that danger from smart meters is any greater than any of the other receiving/transmitting devices I have mentioned?
Are you saying that with your concern about smart meter radiation you still have WIFI in your home, or use a cordless phone or a cell phone?
As for the Barbsy presentation, does the presenter have some credible evidence specific to smart meters, or would he see us ban all questionable devices. There was a serious study done in Britain within the last five years which points to potential harm especially to teenagers vis a vis cellphone use and holding the phone right beside the brain.
Do any of these devices come with a level of hazard to some people? Will they end society as we know it? Perhaps this will all simply be one large example of natural selection, which will eliminate all those of us who deem these modern devices ‘a good thing’, once again reducing the surface population to one that can be managed when we return to a more happy time when we enjoyed our lives as mere hunters and gatherers free from the evils that have evolved in ‘modern’ times.
Jim: We don’t seem to be getting anywhere, but I will try again. I don’t know if the risk of smartmeters is any greater than that of any of the other wifi stuff you mentioned,, but I do know that we don’t have any wifi stuff in our house. The wifi on my modem has been turned off, we don’t have cell phones or cordless phones, our tv and computers are hard wired, we don’t have a microwave, etc. Like the Amish, we may have to live in a world that dotes on these things, but we don’t have to take part in them beyond that.
As for the Barsby presentation we will have to see what the evidence is. I am not a clairvoyant. The future is anybody’s guess. If I knew what it was I could make a fortune, but alas, my lottery ticket represents a faint and fickle possibility, not an investment. You may be right, this may be one big example of natural selection. In the meantime I believe that everyone has a right to a choice about how they wish to face that future, at least in their own homes.
On Tuesday evening at a Regional District of Nanaimo Committee of the whole meeting, a number of resolutions regarding the further consideration of smart meters was presented and passed. To see this document go to:
Click to access evID6290evattID1474.pdf
Maybe there is some kickback still left in the acquiescent public after all.
Needless to say, I have had no response from the Minister to the above email which was sent to him, nor to the registered letter containing that same content which was sent to him. As with previous requests for information, I have continued to draw a blank. Is there no one at BC Hydro or at the Province who can provide such information? Or are they simply unwilling to do so?