1) There is a push for “smart” cities which includes installing microcells on lamp posts or on streetlights. This has been done without considering or informing residents about the radiation that is emitted by each and every one. People are often unaware of the potential for invasion of privacy and threat to security from hacking, etc. Major projects have failed once people become informed. Now the push is to inform, but will the information be accurate and complete?
U.S. Department Provides “measurement framework to help local leaders assess the impacts of smart city technologies”
“The dissolution of high-profile smart city efforts like San Diego’s smart streetlights program and Sidewalk Labs’ controversial Quayside project in Toronto shows residents’ skepticism of certain smart city projects or technologies. “My advice for cities is that this is the time where you have to be extra cautious about being very transparent about what we’re doing,” Caldwell said. Cities must engage the public, he said, which often goes counter to how smart cities originally functioned.”
https://www.activistpost.com/2022/03/u-s-department-provides-measurement-framework-to-help-local-leaders-assess-the-impacts-of-smart-city-technologies.html
2) I’ve shared this report before, but Dr. Timothy Schoechle, whom many of you met a couple of years ago when he and Dr. Martin Pall gave presentations here in BC, continues to educate and engage about the benefits of wired connections vs. wireless. He is an expert on this topic and has offered his book online for all to read for free. It can be downloaded at the bottom of this page. We need to help him and ourselves by not only promoting his book but by pushing our communities to consider one of his most important points: local networks are safer and more efficient. Control of the infrastructure, via small local networks, will prevent major catastrophe in the event of a destructive cyber attack which Russia and other countries are capable of carrying out.
NEW REPORT: “Re-Inventing Wires: The Future of Landlines and Networks
“5G and the Internet of Things (IoT) are engines of forced obsolescence, intended to create lucrative public demand for more millions of new chips, apps, wireless devices and appliances. The Internet of Things (IoT) will also enable commercial interests to collect huge troves of data about the most intimate details of our lives, details that can be sold and/or captured by botnets. When critical systems are linked to remote actuators and/or cloud-based software, those links can become vulnerable, inadequate or inappropriate. IoT also raises many health and safety issues, such as what if a stove or oven is activated by a cell phone when something flammable is nearby? Or a hacker in China finds a way to control door locks, furnaces or the national grid system? The very concept of a wireless Internet of Things must be considered for what it is—in large part an unnecessary technology looking for a market and wireless industry cash cow.”
https://gettingsmarteraboutthesmartgrid.org/wires.html
3) All of our modern gadgets and tools, such as computers, contain material that can pollute waterways and air if it isn’t recycled in a responsible manner. Katie Singer again reports on people who are making a difference. All of Katie Singer’s and Miguel Coma’s reports are available at: www.ourweb.tech/letters .
(click on photo to enlarge)
Eric Lundgren: how to prevent waste and make money
When consumers don’t reduce consumption
“In the old way of capitalism,” Lundgren says, “we mastered manufacturing, marketing and consuming. We focused on profits and ignored the trash. New capitalists,” he continues, “recognize that the Earth’s resources are finite. I’m done with single-use products. I’m ready for manufacturers to focus on long-term goals—and use only biodegradable materials or that can be repurposed into new things.”…
“In the old way of capitalism,” Lundgren says, “we mastered manufacturing, marketing and consuming. We focused on profits and ignored the trash. New capitalists,” he continues, “recognize that the Earth’s resources are finite. I’m done with single-use products. I’m ready for manufacturers to focus on long-term goals—and use only biodegradable materials or that can be repurposed into new things.”
https://wsimag.com/economy-and-politics/68874-eric-lundgren-how-to-prevent-waste-and-make-money
Sharon Noble, Director, Coalition to Stop Smart Meters
“We have always found the Irish a bit odd. They refuse to be English.” Winston Churchill