Dear _________________,

Have you heard about the new “smart” meter electric meters?  There is a great deal of concern all across Georgia about these untested-for-human-safety devices.  Some wonder if they are too dangerous to even be installed on our homes.  Put it this way: When asked about the dangers of the new “smart” meter electric meters, and their effects on humans in the house where they’re installed, a power company-related person said “Well, you’re not sleeping in that room, are you?”

How would you feel if someone were to say that you had to let them paint the inside of your house with lead paint?  Or cover all of your pipes with asbestos?  That is how dangerous and questionable the new “smart” meter electric meters may be.

“Smart” meters have not even been UL tested, as is customary for electrical devices.  Some doctors (the American Academy of Environmental Medicine - http://aaemonline.org/images/CaliforniaPublicUtilitiesCommission.pdf) have said their installation should stop immediately, until they ARE tested.

“Smart” meters use radiation to transmit their signals.  They shoot radiation through you and your family hundreds of times a day, throughout the day and night.  To make it sound less dangerous, the power company says the smart meter only transmits “for a TOTAL of one second a day.”  They will cite the “CCST report,” and say they are within FCC guidelines.  But those guidelines only cover thermal, or heating, effects.

What the power company doesn’t tell you is that there are NO guidelines to cover NON-thermal effects, in other words, damage that is done when there is no heating.  The same type of radiation which smart meters emit has been shown to damage human cells.  It has been shown to cause cancer, especially in children.  The World Health Organization has declared radiofrequency radiation a class 2B carcinogen, just like lead paint.

When comparing whole body exposure to radiation from a smart meter and a cell phone, Professor David Hirsch found out that a smart meter puts out over FORTY TIMES MORE RADIATION than a cell phone (the power company will tell you it’s much less – please look at www.stopsmartmetersGeorgia.Org for references.)  Imagine forty cell phones attached to your wall, and on all the time.  That’s important to know when you consider that your exposure to radiation is cumulative – it adds up over time.

Georgia Power uses Sensus brand meters, as does Nevada.  Nevada has had hundreds of complaints, including health problems and burned-out appliances.  And an Alabama Sensus employee, Don Baker, was fired because he told his superiors that Sensus “smart” meters were catching on fire and melting.  They melt at 500 degrees Fahrenheit!  He called the Sensus meters inaccurate, some reporting up to seven times the actual usage, and said they were “fundamentally unsound (http://stopsmartmeters.org/2012/01/20/meters-that-endanger-shocking-details-from-a-whistleblower/).”

Some attribute these complaints to the “smart” meters’ “switching mode power supply.”  It can create a very strong magnetic field along the wires in your home.  This may be connected to reports of insomnia, irregular heartbeat, and ringing in the ears.  A much higher than normal incidence of cancer has also been tied to this phenomenon, which is termed “dirty electricity,” with cancer rates going up from 65% to 13 times higher where strong electromagnetic interference exists (http://www.prevention.com/health/healthy-living/electromagnetic-fields-and-your-health).

“Smart” meters can also be hacked easily.  Anyone with a laptop or a cell phone and the knowhow can figure out if you’re not using any power, because you’re not home, and they may take that opportunity to rob you.

Some places have actually criminalized the installation of smart meters.  The law, which is the Federal Energy Policy Act of 2005, says only that you can have a “smart” meter if you ask for one.  Federal law does NOT say you have to have a “smart” meter (http://centerforsaferwireless.org/documents/USEnergyPolicyActof2005.pdf, page 371; look for the phrase “time-based meter”).

Taxpayers are paying the Georgia Public Service Commission to make sure we have safe electricity.  That is their job.  They should stop installation now, until human safety research is completed, research that should have been done before smart meters were unleashed on an unsuspecting public.  England, Ireland, and Scotland have stopped involuntary installation altogether, due to health, safety, and privacy concerns, as has the state of Maine, which is following the law!  You can contact the Georgia Public Service Commission at 800-282-5813, or email them at gapsc@psc.state.ga.us.  Tim Echols is the new chairman (timothyechols@gmail.com).

Several states have decided NOT to have them at all.  The Connecticut attorney general said “NO,” since the consumer would only save eleven dollars over a twenty year period!  There was a comment in a Savannah paper recently that someone paid more this winter for their electric power, since getting their “smart” meter, than they’d ever paid in their life.  A firefighter in Camden County said he was paying over 3X his normal bill!

Senate Bill 459, which will allow Georgians a FREE opt out, to avoid having a smart meter, will soon be up for a vote in the Georgia State House.  Please contact as many Georgia State Representatives as you can, listed at www.stopsmartmetersgeorgia.org, and let them know you want all Georgians to have a free opt out.  This bill will be voted on soon, so please call or email them now, along with your local legislators, and encourage others to do the same.  If you happen to BE a Georgia State Representative, please vote “Yes” on Senate Bill 459, for your family, friends, and constituents’ sake!

There is a way to avoid getting a “smart” meter in the first place.  Put a sign in a gallon Ziploc bag that says “DO NOT REPLACE METER.  We refuse the smart meter due to health, safety, and privacy issues.”  Tape that sign under your safe, analog meter.  Tell your family, friends, and neighbors to do the same, and look out for each other.  GEORGIA POWER HAS PROMISED, ON TELEVISION, THAT THEY WOULD NOT TURN OFF OUR POWER IF WE REFUSE A SMART METER!

Demand that only completely safe, analog electric meters be on our homes and businesses.  Thank you very much for your time, and please visit www.stopsmartmetersGeorgia.Org for more information.

Thank you for letting us speak before you.  All the material we’re covering can be found at www.stopsmartmetersGeorgia.Org, and we will cover it very quickly.

The name of this talk is “You’re Not Sleeping in That Room, Are You?” because that’s what a power company-related person said when asked about the dangers of the new “smart” meter electric meters.

How would you feel if someone were to say that you had to let them paint the inside of your house with lead paint?  Or cover all of your pipes with asbestos?  That is how dangerous and questionable the new “smart” meter electric meters may be.

“Smart” meters have not been tested for human safety, or UL tested.  Some doctors have said their installation should stop immediately, until they ARE tested.

“Smart” meters use radiation to transmit their signals.  They shoot radiation through you and your family hundreds of times a day, throughout the day and night.  To make it sound less dangerous, the power company says the smart meter only transmits “for a TOTAL of one second a day.”  They will cite the “CCST report,” and say they are within FCC guidelines.  But those guidelines only cover thermal, or heating, effects. 

What the power company doesn’t tell you is that there are NO guidelines to cover NON-thermal effects, in other words, damage that is done when there is no heating.  The same type of radiation which smart meters emit has been shown to damage human cells.  It has been shown to cause cancer, especially in children.  The World Health Organization has declared radiofrequency radiation a class 2B carcinogen, just like lead paint.
 

When comparing whole body exposure to radiation from a smart meter and a cell phone, Professor David Hirsch found out that a smart meter puts out over FORTY TIMES MORE RADIATION than a cell phone (the power company will tell you it’s much less – please look at www.stopsmartmetersGeorgia.Org for references.)  Imagine forty cell phones attached to your wall, and on all the time.  That’s important to know when you consider that your exposure to radiation is cumulative – it adds up over time. 
 

Georgia Power uses Sensus brand meters, as does Nevada.  Nevada has had hundreds of complaints, including health problems and burned-out appliances.  And an Alabama Sensus employee, Don Baker, was fired because he told his superiors that Sensus “smart” meters were catching on fire and melting.  They melt at 500 degrees Fahrenheit!  He called the Sensus meters inaccurate, some reporting up to seven times the actual usage, and said they were “fundamentally unsound.”
 

Some attribute these complaints to the “smart” meters’ “switching mode power supply.”  It can create a very strong magnetic field along the wires in your home.  This may be connected to reports of insomnia, irregular heartbeat, and ringing in the ears.  A much higher than normal incidence of cancer has also been tied to this phenomenon, which is termed “dirty electricity,” with cancer rates going up from 65% to 13 times higher where strong electromagnetic interference exists.
 

“Smart” meters can also be hacked easily.  Anyone with a laptop or a cell phone and the knowhow can figure out if you’re not using any power, because you’re not home, and they may take that opportunity to rob you. 
 

Some places have actually criminalized the installation of smart meters.  The law, which is the Federal Energy Policy Act of 2005, says only that you can have a “smart” meter if you ask for one.  Federal law does NOT say you have to have a “smart” meter.
 

Taxpayers are paying the Georgia Public Service Commission to make sure we have safe electricity.  That is their job.  They should stop installation now, until human safety research is completed, research that should have been done before smart meters were unleashed on an unsuspecting public.  England, Ireland, and Scotland have stopped involuntary installation altogether, due to health, safety, and privacy concerns, as has the state of Maine, which is following the law!
 

Several states have decided NOT to have them at all.  The Connecticut attorney general said “NO,” since the consumer would only save eleven dollars over a twenty year period!  We saw a comment in a Savannah paper yesterday that someone paid more this winter for their electric power, since getting their “smart” meter, than they’d ever paid in their life!  A firefighter in Camden County said he was paying over 3X his normal bill!
 

Senate Bill 459, which will allow Georgians a FREE opt out, to avoid having a smart meter, will soon be up for a vote in the Georgia State House.  Please contact as many Georgia State Representatives as you can, listed at www.stopsmartmetersgeorgia.org, and let them know Georgians you want all Georgians to have a free opt out.  This bill will be voted on soon, so please call or email them now, along with your local legislators, and encourage others to do the same.

There is a way to avoid getting a “smart” meter in the first place.  Put a sign in a gallon Ziploc bag that says “DO NOT REPLACE METER.  We refuse the smart meter due to health, safety, and privacy issues.”  Tape that sign under your safe, analog meter.  Tell your family, friends, and neighbors to do the same, and look out for each other.  GEORGIA POWER HAS PROMISED, ON TELEVISION, THAT THEY WOULD NOT TURN OFF OUR POWER IF WE REFUSE A SMART METER!
 

Demand that only completely safe, analog electric meters be on our homes and businesses.  Thank you very much for your time, and we’d be happy to answer any questions you might have.