If You Do Not Have A Thorough Understanding...

Pulling up the drive after the Battle Creek City Commission meeting last night, I saw a beautiful bushy-tailed fox running off into the brush.  Fox is a "good omen," and portends, among other things, "a new world opening up," and "the world is growing and shapeshifting itself into new patterns that will be beneficial," per Ted Andrews in the book Animal Speak.  Perhaps the end of the smart meter and smart grid agenda is closer than it currently feels to me...

I gave two comments last night at the commission meeting.  The video of the meeting is here.  My first comment was brief and begins at about 11:40.  It was in response to two different Commissioner comments that were spoken at the end of the previous commission meeting.  This is an approximation of what I said in my first comment:

In the minutes from the last City Commission meeting, commission comments, it says Commissioner Sherzer requested supporting documentation on the safety of the wireless water meters.  I had done that once also...

At this point, I was interrupted by the Mayor, followed by a discussion between Commissioner Helmbolt and City Attorney Jill Steele.  After about four minutes they allowed me to continue:

Commissioner Sherzer asked about documentation about the safety of the wireless utility meters, and I wanted to say that I had already requested that (in the past).  The City Clerk had turned it into a Freedom of Information Request on my behalf, and waived the fee, and she said that the Water Department has indicated they have no documents from independent parties related to the meters.  My request was denied.  No independent third-party.  No documentation.

And then also it was Commissioner Owens that asked (about notification regarding smart meters), she had not been notified that a smart meter was installed on her home.   

That has been the experience of a lot of people.  I gave a copy of this law (to the Public Works Director, Perry Hart), it's a State and Federal law, stating that it's unlawful for anyone to install a transmitting device on anyone's home without their consent.  Yet the (City of Battle Creek) Water Department has done it numerous times.   

So, that's all regarding my comments for Consent Agenda.  Thank you!

My second comment begins at about 41:55 in the video, and here's an approximation of what I said then:

What if all this new and so-called “smart” wireless technology is really not-so-smart?

What if governmental regulatory agencies really are in cahoots with wireless agencies and are ignoring the medical doctors, scientists, and engineers who are stating that there IS proof that biological harm is occurring, even at extremely low frequencies?

Remember, governmental regulatory agencies ignored warnings about the harmful effects from tar and nicotine in cigarettes at first, though some of you may not be old enough to know or remember that.  But it was a big thing.

What if greed is again usurping the safety of us all in regards to smart meters, cell phones, cell towers, antennas, and wireless technology in general?

Is it going to take a generation, like it did with the tobacco industry, for safety issues with wireless technology to be acknowledged and widely accepted?

When you, the City Commissioners of Battle Creek, were asked to approve smart meters in Battle Creek, did you realize that you were being asked to approve a new technology that has NO long-term testing proving safety?

Do you thoroughly understand the wide spectrum of electromagnetic fields?

Can you tell me which, if any, electromagnetic fields are beneficial to human biology?

Can you tell me exactly where thermal or noticeable heating of molecules begins?  

Smart meters pulse micro-bursts of radio frequency microwave radiation through our homes and our bodies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Can you tell me what the World Health Organization says about electromagnetic fields and cumulative effects?

If you do not have a thorough understanding of something, you have absolutely no business saying that it is safe for others.  That is why I am asking you to please reconsider your decision to allow smart meters in Battle Creek.

I will end with a quote from Martin Luther King: 

'Never, never be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake.  Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our souls when we look the other way.' 

Thank you for listening ~ May you all truly be blessed!

At the end of the meeting, Commissioner Sherzer mentioned having around 70 pages of information regarding smart meters.  He suggested Mr. Kenefick, who has also commented on smart meters, and I sit down together with him so that he could explain the perspective the City of Battle Creek has, and perhaps address a few of the issues we've brought up.  Mr Kenefick requested that the documentation be emailed to us prior to sitting down with Commissioner Sherzer (excellent suggestion), to which Sherzer stated that he would have to check to make sure that was okay. 

However...  as I've told someone one Twitter:

"Your papers hold no weight against many people's actual experience after smart meters were installed (with a link to my blog post, Others Like Me)"

For more information please see:

• BioInitiative.org
• EMFScientist.org
• Smart Grid Awareness
• Take Back Your Power
• Smart Meter Education Network in Michigan, USA
• Isn't the FCC protecting us?
• Electromagnetic Radiation Safety - An Expose' of the FCC: An Agency Captured by the Industries it Regulates
• International Agency For Research on Cancer - World Health Organization: IARC Classifies Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields as Possibly Carcinogenic to Humans

Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity Update: Others Like Me

New utility meters, (sometimes called smart, digital, electronic, advanced, AMI, AMR, or AMR ERT meters), do not evoke immediate adverse symptoms in everyone, however, those who do feel adverse effects from electromagnetic fields report similar symptoms to what I had experienced after new utility meters were installed on our property.  

Many people who are adversely affected by the new utility meters had no idea one had been installed where they live.  And many did not even know what a so-called "smart" or wireless utility meter was.

New utility meters, unless they are 100% analog/100% mechanical, emit low level pulsed non-ionizing microwave radiation.  The American Cancer Society states that smart meters give off the same kinds of radio frequencies as cell phones and WiFi.  However, Daniel Hirsh, radiation expert, states that the radiation from one smart meter is more like that of 50 to 160 cell phones, when corrected for duty cycle, and whole body exposure.  

Live blood analysis shows damage to red blood cells within minutes after people are exposed to new utility meters.  Even those who feel nothing show damage to red blood cells.  So if you have a new utility meter and are not feeling any adverse symptoms, that does not mean that it is not affecting you.  It only means that you can not feel the affects.  

Even the American Cancer Society states that there are no long-term studies that prove that smart meters are safe for humans, while there are thousands of studies that prove adverse effects on humans.  Our dogs even started experiencing strange symptoms after new utility meters were installed here.  Their symptoms did lessened after protective measures were taken.

Many similarities exist among those of us who do feel adverse effects from the new utility meters.  And like my experience, after taking measures to reduce the electromagnetic fields (EMFs) in their environment, many have found their symptoms to lessen. 

How could this happen?  Isn't the FCC protecting us?  The short answer is, no.  The FCC is in service to the wireless industry and is not a health protection agency.  So when utility companies claim that their new meters are FCC approved, that means nothing about being safe for humans.

~ ~ ~

In the following video, at about 27:00, a man begins talking about the symptoms he and his wife experienced immediately after moving into a new apartment that had a new wireless utility meter installed.

• Sleep problems
• Agitation, anxiety
• Headaches
• Sharp pains
• Fatigue
• Muscle, physical weakness
• Cardiac symptoms
• Chest pains
• Leg cramps
• Flu-like symptoms
• Sinus problems
• Asthma 
• Miscarriage

~ ~ ~

The following man describes what happened to him after smart meter installation.

• Difficulty walking in public
• Fatigue
• Brain fog
• Difficulty concentrating
• Stiffness

~ ~ ~

In the following video a woman describes symptoms she and her daughter experienced within six months after moving into a new apartment that had a new utility meter.

• Fatigue
• Migraines
• Electric shock
• Skin cancer
• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Ringing in ears
• Joint pain
• Organ inflammation
• Sinus infections
• Loss of eyesight

~ ~ ~

This woman describes her experience after smart meter installation.

• Extreme nausea
• Sleep problems
• Shakiness
• Surges of sharp pain
• Heart palpitations
• Waves of heat
• Brain tremors

~ ~ ~

The following woman describes what she experienced after a new utility meter was installed.

• Chronic (almost daily) migraines
• Vertigo
• Sleep disturbance
• Vibration
• Feeling like electricity coming through nervous system

~ ~ ~

This woman describes her immediate reaction to a smart meter installed on her home.

• Severe insomnia
• Swelling
• Headache
• Fatigue and exhaustion
• Depression and despair
• Anxiety

~ ~ ~

The woman in this video describes her symptoms after a new utility meter was installed on her home.

• Insomnia
• Heart palpitations
• Ears ringing

~ ~ ~

This woman describes how, not only were her bees and hens affected after smart meters were installed in her neighborhood, but she also started experiencing symptoms, even though she did not have a new meter on her home, only her neighbors did.

• Sneezing attacks
• Pressure in head
• Torn and detached retina
• Severe insomnia
• Throbbing head
• Humming, buzzing sound
• Neuromuscular coordination problems

~ ~ ~

This man knew he was sensitive to electromagnetic fields since he was a child.  His story does not mention new utility meters, perhaps because he moved to a remote area in order to distance himself from electromagnetic fields, and new utility meters do not work in remote areas, as we are learning.  

• Feeling ill
• Fatigue
• Eczema
• Pain
• Headaches
• Nausea
• Migraines 

~ ~ ~

And this woman's story does not mention new utility meters either, though she discovered that she was sensitive to electromagnetic fields and has moved numerous times in order to avoid cell towers, antenna, WiFi, and other modern wireless technology.

• Inability to speak
• Inability to comprehend what others were saying to her
• Inability to do simple mathematics
• Inability to walk
• Insomnia
• Exhaustion
• Feeling faint
• Headaches 

~ ~ ~

This video describes two women who have also fled civilization to escape modern wireless technology.

• Pain from pressure on skull
• Feeling like skull will explode
• Skin burning
• Memory loss
• Pain in leg radiating up
• Headaches
• Muscle pains

"It would be unbelievable if external electromagnetic fields DIDN'T have an effect." ~ Prof. Andrew Marino, PhD - Neurology, Louisiana State University

~ ~ ~

There are more and more videos being made every day of testimonies from people around the world who have experienced or are experiencing severe adverse health effects from electromagnetic fields and the new "smart" utility meters.  

Some utility companies threaten to and have actually turned off utility service (electricity, natural gas, or water), if customers refuse a new wireless utility meter, even those who explain to the utility company that they suffer from electromagnetic hypersensitivity, as I did.  

And some utility companies are giving us a what they call a "choice," (though it's not a choice when the smart meters are forced upon us), to "opt-out" of the new utility meter program, but it is usually for a fee.

"Money to avoid harm is extortion."

The American Academy of Environmental Medicine has asked for "an immediate caution on smart meter installation due to potentially harmful RF (radiofrequency) exposure."  Don Maisch, PhD, from Australia, writes:

"We are now entering the era of 'The Internet of Things' (IoT) where all our appliances will be Wi-Fi enabled, endlessly communicating with each other and us through so-called smart devices.  This 'brave new world' dictates that human exposure to radiofrequency radiation must greatly increase in order to accommodate the technology.  This is a planned world being created by technocrats totally ignorant of the reality of our biology, an ignorance fostered by the existing thermal-effects-only standards/guidelines.  Now, more than ever, we need new, biologically relevant standards to meet the challenge of the future."

~

If you live in Michigan, please call you State Representative and ask them to support HB4916, Meter Choice, which will allow us to keep our 100% analog utility meters with a $5 per month charge only if we do not read our meter ourselves.  More information about that here.

If you don't live in Michigan, but are concerned about the new wireless utility meters, please speak out!  Talk to everyone you know, and some people you don't know, about your concerns and why you feel that way.  We can make a difference.

Thank you for reading ~ May We All Truly Be Blessed!

Sources & more information:

• EMFscientist.org
• BioInitiative Report
• Smart Grid Awareness
• Take Back Your Power
• Smart Meter Education Network in Michigan, USA
• Smart Meters & Electromagnetic Radiation: The Health Crisis of Our Time
• Triggering Agents of Electromagnetic Sensitivity

"Sudden Aging" & Smart Meters

     "Sudden aging" is how some have described the myriad of symptoms that can occur when one experiences sensitivity to the vast array of man-made electromagnetic fields permeating our modern world. And feeling like I had suddenly aged tremendously definitely describes my experience, shortly after new utility meters were installed where I live.  I had deep, dark circles and huge bags under my eyes.  A friend whom I hadn't seen in a while asked me what had happened to my eyes, and said she had never seen me look so bad.  She was being honest and sincere and I knew she was deeply concerned about me.  I don't think I had ever seen myself look that "bad" either.  But a month of severe insomnia, waking up every few hours with heart palpitations, and feeling like I was being electrocuted throughout the night, is probably why I looked that way!

Our bodies rest, heal, and repair when we sleep.  When our sleep is chronically disrupted, as can happen after a new (wireless/smart/advanced/electronic/AMR ERT/AMI/radio frequency) utility meter is installed, our bodies are not given the chance to heal, rest and repair, thus aging can become dramatic.  Electromagnetic fields, or EMFs, are said to cause "subliminal stress" that puts the body into a fight-or-flight mode, even while sleeping, making restful and healing sleep less attainable.

In our modern world we are constantly being exposed to EMFs; from cell phones, to wireless laptops, WiFi networks, a myriad of wireless appliances and gadgets, and now the new utility meters.  Which is why it is so very important we have a "safe" environment at night for healing sleep.  However, when smart meters are installed on our homes, they are continuously sending millisecond bursts of radio frequency microwave radiation throughout our environment.  Radio frequency radiation, whether from a cell phone, WiFi, new utility meter, or any other wireless device, does not stop at walls, doors, furniture, or flesh.  We don't necessarily feel the millisecond pulses of radiation, but our biology does.  That is why, for those of us more sensitive to the pulses of radiation, the new utility meters can severely disrupt our normal nighttime rest, healing and repair cycle.

Pulsed radio frequency radiation that the new utility meters emit explained the mystery of the pain returning in my "cell-phone ear," along with sudden and severe insomnia, heart palpitations, feeling like I was being electrocuted, and like I had suddenly developed severe arthritis in just about every joint in my body.  I did not have any of these symptoms prior to new utility meters being installed.

Our natural gas company, SEMCO Energy, tells us that their new meters are "not smart meters," but that they do emit micro-pulses of microwave radiation.    

Electromagnetic fields don't seem to be something we really want to fool around with.  I've talked with representatives at the electric company, the natural gas company, and the water department, and none of them seem to have a thoroughly understanding of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and health risks associated with them.  How can those who don't thoroughly understand something, tell you that it's safe?

Dr. Martin Blank, PhD, Dept. of Physiology, Columbia University, and spokesperson for the International Scientist Appeal on Electromagnetic Fields, explains that damage is occurring to DNA at "virtually all levels of exposure."  

The following quotes are from an Abstract by J.L. Phillips, Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO,  N.P. Singh, Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, and H. Lai, Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA:

"A major concern of the adverse effects of exposure to non-ionizing electromagnetic field is cancer induction. Since the majority of cancers are initiated by damage to a cell’s genome, studies have been carried out to investigate the effects of electromagnetic fields on DNA and chromosomal structure." 

"RFR (radio frequency radiation) exposure does indeed appear to affect DNA damage and repair..."

Electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) is becoming more widely recognized, and the percentage of people who experience it ranges from about 1.5% of the population in Sweden, to as high as 13.3% in Taiwan, with the United States at about 3%.  I would say that for about every 10 people I talk to about EHS, usually at least one of the people are either also sensitive to EMFs, or know someone else who is.  

I've heard some call EHS a functional or environmental disability, because it's not something that would necessarily be treated by a doctor, though a doctor or health care practitioner versed in radiation poisoning could offer suggestions as far as detoxifying the body and building up the immune system.  "Treatment" for EHS seems to primarily involve altering the environment where the person experiencing EHS spends their time, especially their sleep-time.  

After the new utility meters were installed, and when I began to question whether or not this life was worth living, I knew I had to do something to reduce the EMFs in my environment.  Here's a list of some of the steps taken: 

• Wrapped new utility meters in lead sheeting (lead blocks radiation)
• Removed the grounding/earthing sheet from my bed (because the ground outside where the grounding rod was buried tested unusually high for electricity)
• Eliminated the wireless computer mouse and returned to a hard-wired mouse
• Turned off the wireless feature on the computer
• Turned off the WiFi feature on the modem
• Eliminated the iPad from my environment 
• Keeping the cell phone off most of the time, and pulling the battery out at night and when not in use
• Using the landline phone instead of the cell phone
• Turning off all the electric breakers at night, except for the furnace

The measures have been successful because I've been sleeping much, much better, thank goodness! 

Over 200 scientists have now signed The International Scientist Appeal to the United Nations and the World Health Organization, requesting greater levels of protection for humans and wildlife to electromagnetic fields and wireless technology.  Allowable levels in the United States and Canada far exceed allowable levels in other countries, for some reason, and professionals who do understand electromagnetic fields, are calling for the U.N. to strengthen its advisories on EMF risks for humans.

Bottom line is that the new utility meters are not proven safe, and many professionals are now saying they could be extremely harmful.  I know that they've been harmful to me.  And I know that I'm not the only one.

If you live in Michigan, please call your State Representative right now, and ask them to support the Analog Choice Bill, HB4916, which will give us a choice to keep our 100% mechanical, 100% analog, time-tested for safety, utility meters, without having to pay exorbitant fees to do so.  You can find more information about that on my blog here.

If you don't live in Michigan but are concerned about the new utility meters, please speak out!  Talk to everyone you know, and some you don't know, about your concerns and why you feel that way.  We can make a difference.

Thank you for reading ~ May We All Truly Be Blessed

Sources & more information:

• The Latest Form of Pollution: Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs), Hyla Cass, MD
• Electromagnetic Fields Stress Living Cells, Martin Blank, Ph.D., Dept. of Physiology, Columbia University, NY, NY; Reba Goodman, Ph.D., Dept. of Pathology, Columbia University, NY, NY
• Cell Phone Task Force - Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS)
• Electromagnetic Fields and DNA Damage, J.L. Phillips, Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO; N.P. Singh, Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA; and H. Lai, Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
• Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity - an increasing challenge to the medical profession, L. Hendendahl, M. Carlburg, L. Hardell
• Business Wire: International Scientist Appeal to U.N. to Protect Humans and Wildlife from Electromagnetic Fields and Wireless Technology
• EMFscientist.org
• BioInitiative Report: A Rational for Biologically-based Exposure Standards for Low-Intensity Electromagnetic Radiation
• Electromagnetic Radiation Safety - Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS), Joel M. Moskowitz, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
• Wireless Utility Meter Safety Impacts - Final Results Summary, Ed Halteman, Ph.D.
• Smart Meter Education Network in Michigan, USA
• Smart Grid Awareness
• Take Back Your Power

And The Story Continues...

At the January 5, 2016 City Commission meeting, the City of Battle Creek was introducing a Resolution that would allow water customers to have the transmitter part of their new "smart" water meter installed at a distance, up to 100 feet, from their home.  I gave an impromptu comment about that Resolution at about 29:00 here.  This is the approximate script of what I said: 

I’m here to speak about Resolution 47, the remote placement of the device that is the transmitting part of the new water meters.  While this is a Band-Aid, it definitely does not address the real issue of smart meters.

Smart meters are not proven safe.  We have not gone one generation with the level of radio frequency that we are exposed to today.  There is only a small percent of the population, about 3% in the United States, but up to 12% in other countries, that actually feel the effects of the radiation.  Like myself, it took about 6 months before I started feeling pain from my cell phone.  And it took about six months after we had encoder-receiver-transmitter gas meters installed for me to start feeling the pain again in my phone ear, and then a plethora of other symptoms to develop.  

But, like I’m saying, this is a Band-Aid.  All we are doing is moving the radiation a little bit further away from our living quarters, which, hey, that is good, because the pulsing, these meters pulse radiation, and it’s numerous times a minute.  Even though some of them say they only wake-up once a month, when the meter reader drives by or when they go to collect the information, they pulse all the time.

Our gas meters, we were told by the company, pulse 10.67 times a minute.  And these micro-pulses, what they do, whether you feel it or not, it’s when we sleep that the body heals and repairs, it’s kind of hard to go anywhere these days without experiencing wireless radiation.  You go into Meijers and they have WiFi.  So we’re constantly being bombarded everyday by this, but we need to have a safe environment where our body can actually shut-down, rest and repair.

Now, having one of these meters 100 feet or so away from our home will help, but we’re still blanketing the environment with more and more radio frequency than we’ve never experienced before.  We have not gone one generation with the amount of wireless technology we have today.  And even the government says that the studies for non-thermal radiation, that which is radiated by these smart meters, the electronic meters, the wireless meters, the encoder-receiver-transmitters, studies are inconclusive, yet when you look, when you do searches there are studies coming up all over the world.  

There are countries that have banned and outlawed WiFi in schools which utilize radio frequencies very similar to the smart meters.  There are countries that have banned WiFi in schools.  Why?  Because children, and the elderly, and pregnant women, are more susceptible to this pulsed radiation than regular adults, however about 3% of the population in the United States are like me and feel, if not immediate effects, within a short period of time, harmful effects.

So, I just want to say that this is just a Band-Aid.  We are not addressing the real issue of the harm that these wireless devices create.  And it could take 10 to 20 years.  Cancers don’t develop overnight.  It takes 10 to 15 to 20 years for cancers to develop.

I’m just saying that this is a Band-Aid.  Even though it’s going to get it away from our sleeping areas, perhaps, and allow us to do some healing and repairing, we’re still poisoning ourselves with this.

Thank you for listening.  May you all be blessed.

 Later I gave a General Public Comment, at about 70:00 into the recording, where I said:

Regarding what Mr. Dopp said, the FCC is not a health regulation agency. They service the wireless industry. 

Wireless utility meters and smart meters are a source of non-thermal electromagnetic radio-frequency radiation, which means, they do not generate heat. Because they don’t generate heat, there is no early warning, no physiological means by which most people can feel and recognize that they are being affected at a biological and metabolic level by a wireless utility meter. 

There are no government standards (in North America) that establish safe human exposure limits for non-thermal radiation, that which is utilized by the new wireless water meters. When utility companies insist that the levels of electromagnetic radiation their products radiate fall well within government limits, they are referring only to the limits for thermal radiation, not non-thermal. 

On May 11, 2015, 190 scientists from 39 countries submitted an "International EMF Scientist Appeal" to His Excellency Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations. These scientists have collectively published over 2,000 peer-reviewed papers on the biological and health effects of non-thermal electromagnetic radiation. The Appeal now has 217 scientist signatures. 

Dr. Martin Blank, from the Department of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics at Columbia University, says, (quote): 

"We are scientists and engineers, and I am here to tell you - we have created something that is harming us, and it is getting out of control! Putting it bluntly, they are damaging the living cells in our bodies and killing many of us prematurely.” 

There are videos of live blood analysis that clearly show the harmful effects from non-thermal smart meter radiation. Subjects have blood samples taken both before and after a 2 minute exposure to smart meters. All samples show damage to red blood cells, yet most test subjects feel nothing. 

The important thing is that no one has been able to show conclusively that smart meter radiation is safe. And in 2011 the World Health Organization reclassified radio frequency electromagnetic radiation as a “possible carcinogen,” which means that the wireless devices the City of Battle Creek Water Department, and all of our utility companies are installing, may cause cancer. 

The City of Battle Creek’s mission statement says, in part, that they want to ensure a safe community, yet admit to having no documentation proving the safety of their new wireless utility meters. Perhaps it is time to re-write the mission statement, or, review your approval of wireless smart meters. 

Thank you for listening. May you all be blessed.

~