Unfortunately, while I was gone, the person who was going to send out info to you had problems with Shaw allowing so many emails to be sent. For those of you who did not receive them, they are available on our website: www.stopsmartmetersbc.com under “NEWSLETTERS”.
1) This article was sent out while I was away, so some of you may have read it already. It is an excellent one and deserves a serious read.
“The biggest benefit of smart meters is control—but not for consumers. Utility companies can use them to shut off consumer access to prevent blackouts, or more ominously, when consumers fall behind on bills. Utilities also have the opportunity to adjust pricing based on demand; it’s like Uber surge pricing but for water, gas and electricity. Surge pricing may be fine when there are other options available like public transit or a taxi, but utilities are a natural monopoly. What are we supposed to do, wait three hours to cook dinner?
The billions spent on smart meters would have been better served installing solar panels or retrofitting old houses. Consumers, especially those with low income, might not be able to conserve energy because their windows are drafty or they have inefficient appliances.”
http://www.ioes.ucla.edu/smart-meters-watching/
2) Below is a response to a letter written to the Canadian Cancer Society about the recent study by the US Toxicology Program. Disappointing but not surprising since the Canadian Cancer Society consistently refuses to include any independent information about studies showing EMR/RF is dangerous. Instead they say misleading, inaccurate things supported by (perhaps even provided by) the industry such as:
“Because of the conflicting evidence, more conclusive research is needed to be sure:
- A small number of studies show a link between cell phone use and cancer.
- Most research done so far does not show a link. IARC created a large international research project called INTERPHONE to study whether cell phones increase the risk of certain types of cancer. They collected data from 13 countries, including Canada. The results from the INTERPHONE study found no increased risk of brain cancer (glioma and meningioma) from using a cell phone. Other research groups have also conducted studies that don’t show a link.”
3) The USA Report on the carcinogenic response to whole body exposure to RF radiation, at modulated frequencies used by $$meters (900 Mhz). A report on effects other than those to the brain and heart will be provided at some future date – implying that there were other effects. The study was cut short because the researchers thought that the results were so significant.
These studies were conducted in rats and mice using a reverberation chamber exposure system with two signal modulations [Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM)] at two frequencies (900 MHz for rats and 1900 MHz for mice), the modulations and frequency bands that are primarily used in the United States.
http://biorxiv.org/content/biorxiv/early/2016/05/26/055699.full.pdf
4) A survey of IT professionals shows that many report symptoms consistent with those found in many studies of RF. No reference to $$meters probably due to the fact that the IT people do not work with or use them in their work environment.
“The frequency of symptoms often experienced included hair loss (32.02%), difficulty sleeping (12.36%), poor short term memory and pain in teeth and deteriorated fillings (10.11%), headache (8.99%), fatigue and dryness of lips, tongue, mouth, eyes (5.06%) and depression (2.81%). As for severity, the symptoms often experienced were hair loss (22.47%), poor short-term memory (10.11%), pain in teeth and deteriorated fillings (10.11%), difficulty sleeping (7.30%), irritability (7.30%), difficulty concentrating (7.30%), headache (6.18%), fatigue (5.06%), and dryness of lips, tongue, mouth and eyes (5.06%). Both male and female IT professionals possessed cell phones (100%), 80.34% of them used a wired computer, 73.60% wireless computer, 20.22% microwave, 19.66% cordless phone and only 2.25% of them used the landline telephone…
According to Fox [11], the nervous system of every species including humans can detect EMF, but it is not developed in most humans because it was not useful to them historically. While living next to a cell phone tower, due to constant RF-EMF exposure, the nervous system detects a change, which is interpreted as a threat, and the fight or flight response is switched on. Calming this response by avoiding exposure to such pollutants is very difficult to do in modern life. People who are in a constant state of nervous system arousal suffer the most. When such people get additional exposures, the nervous system goes from order into a chaos state, leading to chronic pain, anxiety, sleeplessness, short-term memory loss, lack of concentration and increased fear psychosis…
According to Becker [20], who is a Nobel Prize nominee, at the present time, the greatest polluting element in the earth’s environment is the proliferation of electromagnetic fields.”
5) WARNING FROM A MEMBER re. BC Hydro. In situations like this, no doubt BC Hydro will try to charge the “failed installation” extortion fee. But if there has been no prior notice then BC Hydro has not acted as they promised. Complaints should be made if that fee is on the next bill. This has been happening all too often – no notice as a continued means of harassment.
I want to send out an alert to the residences of Qualicum Beach who have retained their analogue meters and who have been paying the “extortion fee” to do so. BC Hydro are up to their sneaky, bullying tactics in Qualicum Beach.
Today I received a tip off from a neighbour about a BC Hydro truck on the drive way of our daughters house here in Qualicum Beach. Our daughter and her family no longer reside in Qualicum Beach and they have rented out their property. I have been managing it for them and have been reimbursing the tenant the $64.80 every two months in order to retain the analogue meter. I have been doing so since the program was introduced in December 2013..
When I got to the house the BC Hydro van was gone but they left a notice saying they could not access the meter for a routine replacement because it was caged and locked. We received no prior notice of their coming by.
Letters:
Subject: Toxicology Program Carcinogenesis Studies
Date: 1 Jun 2016
From: Canadian Cancer Society <hamiltoncis@cancer.ca>
To: N
Dear Mr. ,
You’ve asked if the Canadian Cancer Society has a response to this specific report. We continually review current evidence to develop meaningful information for Canadians on topics related to cancer. You can view our editorial policy <http://www.cancer.ca/en/about-our-site/our-editorial-policy/> around information development. Our information on cell phones and radiofrequency fields <http://www.cancer.ca/en/prevention-and-screening/be-aware/harmful-substances-and-environmental-risks/cell-phones/> is available on our web site.
I have forwarded your question to our Policy analysts to see if there is other or more information we have to share on this topic. If so, I’ll send you a follow up message with that information.
Thank you for contacting the Canadian Cancer Society’s Cancer Information Service. Please take a few minutes to fill out this feedback questionnaire <https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2DB9RF7> about the quality of our service. If you have any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to contact us again.
Sincerely,
Jan, Cancer Information Specialist
Sharon Noble
Director, Coalition to Stop Smart Meters
“Lyon, France, May 31, 2011 ‐‐ The WHO/International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B), based on an increased risk for glioma, a malignant type of brain cancer, associated with wireless phone use.”
~ World Health Organization