April 28th Open Letter to Energy Policy Committee

On April 28th of this year, I sent the following "open letter - for the record" about a recent very one-sided news article on Analog Utility Meter Choice legislation in Michigan, to Representative Glenn, Chairman of the House Energy Policy Committee, and copied all the members of the committee:

Dear Representative Glenn, 

This article was published yesterday by DEI (Daily Energy Insider):  Smart meters opt-out bill ready for Michigan House energy committee vote - Daily Energy Insider 

Most customers of DTE Energy and Consumers Energy were not given the option of "opting-IN" to the smart and electronic metering program.   

Consumers Energy claimed in their testimony that only a small percentage of customers "opted-OUT", yet they also admitted that a customer would have to go to their website and click on a tab having to do with "questions" in order to find any information about an "opt-out program".  It is no wonder so few opted-out. 

Some customers have had electricity shut-off for refusing a "smart" meter, and have gone through two or more Michigan winters with no electricity.  They would most likely argue that thoughtfulness (per the article) was not, and has not, been used. Regardless of what DTE Energy and Consumers Energy say about privacy and cyber security, "smart" meters remain a "digital back door" to our homes and our personal lives via the wireless connection.   

This article also mentioned that analog meters would cost customers more money to keep in place.  Neither DTE Energy nor Consumers Energy has offered to "show us the books" to prove this claim.  How could a system of metering that has been in place for decades (analog metering), suddenly cost "roughly $9 million more annually for energy"? 

With analog choice, we are not asking for anything new or special.  We are simply asking for the continuation of a system of utility metering that does not infringe upon our property, and other personal rights. 

Thank you for all you do to support this legislation. 

Sincerely, 

Jeanine Susan Deal  

Battle Creek, MI  49015

I Am Hopeful

Last night I went to a Conservative Republican convention, called "Battle Cry Michigan," held at Soaring Eagle Casino in Mt. Pleasant.

I had been invited to sit at the "Utility Meter Choice 4 Michigan" vendor table, and chat with people as they stopped, and I'm really glad I went.  

I voted 3rd party, not for Trump, however, I loved the energy of the people in that convention room.

They were hopeful, confident, and resolved.

They were certain that life for Americans would get better, that endless wars would begin to diminish, and that America would become "fair" again, among other things.  And they seemed determined to help make it all happen, as well.

Most of the people who stopped at the Utility Meter Choice 4 Michigan table agreed with us: 

Michigan public utility customers need an analog choice when it comes to utility metering.

Several had already formed an opinion of "smart" and electronic public utility meters.  Some of the comments I heard:

"This is how they can hack into our homes."

"They create a privacy issue."  

"They mess with my radio."

 "I've seen them at fires."

"Of course they mess with our central nervous system."

These were professional people, for the most part, making these comments.  How refreshing to be among so many people who saw beyond the rhetoric of "smart," electronic, and wireless technology.

Some even knew of the link between wireless technology and cancer.

Those who had not already contacted their Michigan state representatives and senators regarding analog choice legislation, promised to do so.  

And a few had already seen the excellent "smart" meter documentary, "Take Back Your Power," by Josh Del Sol. 

It was a "feel-good" evening, making me very hopeful for the future of utility meter choice legislation in Michigan.

 [Update October 25, 2020:  The bill number for no-fee analog choice legislation introduced in 2020 is HB 5606.] 

May we all be blessed!

Devil in the Details

When public utility companies tell us their new electronic meters (smart, advanced, digital, AMR, AMI, AMR ERT, to name a few NON-analog meters) only transmit for a very short period of time per day/week/month/year, you gotta look at the details.

Recently I answered a question about a new electronic gas meter that "only turns on for a fraction of a second per day," per the utility company.

This was my response (names have been changed to protect the innocent):

Hi Brandon 

Under "signal duration" they compare "a fraction of second per day" for the gas advanced meters, to "less than one minute per day" for the electric smart meters. 

We know that the electric smart meter's transmissions are made up of numerous micro-bursts of radiation throughout the day, which added together, total "less than one minute" per day.  

Is it the same for (the) advanced gas meter?  Is the "fraction of a second" transmission they mention, one continuous (uninterrupted) pulse?  Or (more likely) is that fraction of a second made up of more than one pulse?   

There are 1000 milliseconds in one second.  So their advanced gas meters could be pulsing 999 times per day (at the most), in millisecond bursts, to make up the "fraction of a second" signal duration.  This is something I would press them to answer. 

FYI, our new gas meters, called AMR ERT, pulse in 5.86 millisecond burst, over 15,000 times per day, to make up their 1.5 minutes per day of transmissions.  I did the math here:  Utility Companies, Lies, Deceptions, Cover-Ups & Fires

Numerous mini-pulses or micro-bursts of radiation, 24/7, is what many experts say is so damaging to the body.  They nearly killed me.  Our dogs were adversely affected also, until we wrapped the meters in lead, because there's no "opt-out". 

There are no studies that show smart or advanced meters are 100% safe, while evidence of harm continues to mount. 

Also, the FCC is not a health regulatory agency, and their exposure limits are being contested.  Cell phones are voluntary, and can be turned off.  Smart and advanced meters expose us to unnecessary radiation.  They also operate at the same frequency as cell phones, and the safety of cell phones is questionable:  Cell Phones 

All the best,

Jeanine Deal

Disdain vs. Concern

Perry Hart, the Director of Public Works here in Battle Creek, returned my phone call regarding the Water Department's new electronic water meters.  In his phone message, he stated, "I understand your disdain for our read devices."  

The definition of disdain is:

The feeling that someone or something is unworthy of one's consideration or respect; contempt.

Disdain does not describe my feelings around new electronic public utility meters.  I realized that I do not like it when people put words into my mouth, words that I never said.  So I wrote him, hoping to give him some clarity to the real gravity of this issue:

Dear Mr. Hart, 

I listened to your phone message, and you are wrong.  I do not "disdain" your "read devices."  Disdain has nothing to do with my issue.

I have multiple valid concerns about your read devices, Mr. Hart.  I have concerns about health, and a disability in the form of a functional impairment that some people have.  A functional impairment triggered by wireless devices and/or electromagnetic fields.  We Are The Evidence 

I have concerns about a loss of freedom, Mr. Hart.  Having to pay to not be exposed to something that causes me and others a functional impairment is a loss of freedom.  Having to pay to not be exposed to wireless devices and electromagnetic fields is a loss of freedom.  My Ability - Revised

I have concerns about human rights also, Mr. Hart.  I am/we are loosing the right to a safe environment. 

And it's about ignorance, Mr. Hart.  It's about government agencies ignoring all the science proving non-ionizing radiation is not 100% safe.

So you see, Mr. Hart, disdain has nothing to do with my issue.

My concerns are for health, a disability in the form of a functional impairment, freedom, human rights, and ignorance.

Perhaps the "disdain" that you "understand" is your own disdain, Mr. Hart.

Most Sincerely,

Jeanine Deal

 "When you make a world tolerable for yourself,

you make a world tolerable for others."

~ Anais Nin

My Ability - Revised

Below is the actual comment I gave at the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research, Listening Session on December 5, 2016.  I was the fifth person to comment, and at least one person who commented before me mentioned being on the brink of suicide due to extreme sensitivity to wireless technology and/or electromagnetic fields.

There were 23 comments given, and 83% of the comments were about sensitivity to wireless technology and/or electromagnetic fields.  Most of those who commented about electromagnetic sensitivity mentioned new electronic public utility meters as the trigger for their sensitivity.  

New electronic public utility meters are also known as "smart," digital, advanced, wireless, AMI, AMR, AMR ERT... the list goes on.  Non-electronic public utility meters are called "analog."

~

To:  The National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR)

Re:  NIDILRR 2018-2023 Long-Range Plan - Stakeholder Listening Session

What issues (barriers) make it challenging for you to be an active member of your community?

Answer:  I have become extremely sensitive to, and thereby, functionally impaired by, some electromagnetic fields including radiofrequency radiation from wireless technology (cell phones, electronic public utility meters, WiFi, and more).

My extreme sensitivity began after two new electronic AMR ERT natural gas public utility meters were installed at my home.  Because radiation is cumulative, I believe the continuous pulses of radiofrequency radiation from the new meters triggered my extreme sensitivity.

I, too, had begun to question if life was worth living.

The symptoms described in studies about myelin sheath damage are consistent with the symptoms I experienced after the new electronic public utility meters were installed at my home.

Some Research:

• Myelin & Electrohypersensitivity EMFacts Consultancy - http://www.emfacts.com/2014/09/myelin-electrohypersensitivty-press-release/
• PubMed - Could myelin damage from RF exposure explain electrohypersensitivity - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25205214
• Dr. Magda Havas - MS and EHS - Jan 2011 - http://www.magdahavas.com/multiple-sclerosis-and-electrohypersensitivity/

What improvements (name the top one or two) would make your daily life better?

Answer:  The accommodations I want are (1) the choice to keep analog (electromechanical/non-electronic) public utility meters without having to pay extra to do so, and (2) the availability of hospital rooms protected from wireless and other electromagnetic fields.

What has changed, for better or worse, in the last five years that has affected your ability to achieve your goals?

Answer:  Being forced to accept new electronic public utility meters as a condition for natural gas service has affected me for the worse in the last couple of years. 

In November of 2014, our natural gas company installed two new electronic AMR ERT natural gas meters at my home.  I was already avoiding wireless cell phones because of an adverse reaction I experienced from my first cell phone in 2013.  When the utility company installers told us the new meters only transmit one time per month, we did not consider that excessive, and allowed the installations.

Within a few months, though, I started experiencing some unusual and disturbing symptoms (the pain in my "phone ear" returned after being gone for over a year, also I experience rashes, muscle twitches, joint and muscle pain, balance problems/vertigo, brain-fog, extreme insomnia and fatigue, memory problems, inability to read or write, and more). 

When I contacted the utility company for more information about their new electronic meters, the  Regional Operations Manager emailed me with the information that the new meters send signals, not just once per month as we were originally told, but over 450,000 times per month.

We asked the utility company to remove the new electronic meters because they were making me ill, and reinstall the analog meters.  They would not do that.  However, they did offer to remove the new electronic meters and completely disconnect our natural gas service.

We were not prepared to be without natural gas service, and we have no other natural gas provider choice, so we did not have the new meters removed.  Instead, we've shielded the meters with lead (to block the radiation), and we turn electric breakers off at night (to reduce electromagnetic fields).  This enables me to sleep well once again, and slowly recover from the symptoms I've experienced.

If we had not taken these measures, I would not be able to continue living in my own home.

Some experts say it's the continuous pulses of radiation that are particularly disruptive to human biology.

I contacted the Michigan Public Service Commission, the Attorney General's office, and the Better Business Bureau, but no one helped me.

From what I understand, by 2017 our only electric company will also give us no choice but to accept electronic meters as a condition of electric service.  If we refuse the electric company's new meters, the electric company could shut-off our power. 

According to the amended Michigan Public Utility Rules, any utility company can immediately shut-off service, regardless of time of year, if a customer refuses the installation of a new electronic public utility meter.  This discriminates against those who are sensitive to wireless technology or electromagnetic fields.

I spoke at the September 22, 2016 Michigan Public Service Commission hearing on proposed new public utility meter rules.  Ninety-one percent of the people who spoke at that hearing wanted to keep analog public utility meters for various reasons, though mostly for health reasons. 

I've been visiting Lansing, talking with Michigan State Representatives, urging them to support legislation that would allow all public utility customers (natural gas, electric, and water) to keep analog meters on their homes. 

The National Toxicology Program has been conducting experiments in rats and mice on potential health hazards from cell phone radiofrequency radiation.  This is the same frequency new transmitting electronic public utility meters utilize.  The rats in this study experienced whole-body exposure to radiofrequency radiation, as do humans from new transmitting electronic public utility meters.  Preliminary results from the NTP study show low incidents of brain and heart tumors in the male rats.

The #1 improvement that would make my daily life better is having the choice of an analog (non-electronic) public utility meter. 

And if I were ever to be hospitalized in a WiFi saturated room, my condition would most likely become much worse in that environment.  A hospital room protected from wireless technology and low in electromagnetic fields is imperative to me and others functionally impaired by an environment not protected from wireless technology and high in electromagnetic fields.

Other Research:

• https://www.emfscientist.org/
• http://www.bioinitiative.org/
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25478801
• http://powerwatch.org.uk/science/studies.asp
• https://www.emf-portal.org/en
• https://www.scribd.com/doc/278888178/Biological-Effects-of-Microwaves-and-Radio-Frequency-Radiation
• https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19810017132.pdf

Respectfully,

Jeanine Deal

November 10th City Commission Meeting

A resolution establishing an opt-out choice was on the agenda for the November 10, 2015 Battle Creek City Commission meeting.  Because it was a "Resolution," I had five minutes to speak about it, and not the usual three.  

No matter how many Resolutions are on the agenda, the City of Battle Creek allows Citizens only five minutes to comment on the resolutions.  So if there are five resolutions and I want to comment on each one, that would be one minute per comment.  If there are more than five Resolutions and I wanted to comment on each one, I would have less than 60 seconds for each comment.  They say that they want our comments, and value public input, but only so much, you see.  Doesn't really seem fair, but it is what it is.

Here's what I said about the smart meters (they are now calling them "electronic meter reading technology") and the proposed opt-out program:

I speak not only for myself, but for many others. 

I speak not only to the Water Department, but to all of our utility companies who have done this to us. 

You changed the utility meters without public consent or consensus.

You sometimes forced the new electronic meters on with threat of service shut-off. 

You sometimes lied to us, or did not tell us the whole truth about the equipment in order to get it installed. 

The only documentation of safety you have is propaganda from the manufacturer, citing FCC guidelines.  The FCC is not a health protection agency. The FCC is a private, For-Profit corporation listed on Dunn & Bradstreet that has its investor’s best interest in mind, not the general public. 

The new electronic meters have a questionable history, and they are being rejected by citizens, not just in the United States, but all over the world. You won’t see that on mainstream media. But it is true. 

Many cities have banned electronic meters due to health, safety, and privacy issues. 

Utility company executives admit that the new electronic meters last only about 5 to 7 years before needing replaced.  (See http://bit.ly/1N9B52w)

• The old analog meters lasted about 30 years, sometimes much longer.

Utility company executives admit to “catastrophic failures” and inaccurate billing with the new electronic meters.  (See http://bit.ly/1k8Fn3n)

• The old analog meters did not have a history of “catastrophic failures” or inaccurate billing.

There are literally thousands of studies that prove biological harm is done by the new electronic meters.  (See below)

• The old analog meters did not cause biological harm.

There are nuclear radiation experts that say the radiation exposure from one electronic meter, when corrected for whole-body and cumulative effect, is 50 to 160 times that of a cell phone.  (See http://bit.ly/1MHFf6I)

• The old analog meters do not emit any form of electromagnetic frequencies and did not irradiate us.

I have been harmed by electronic meters. Up to 12% of the population IS electromagnetically hypersensitive, which means that over 6,000 people in Battle Creek may become harmed by the new electron meters.

• I was never harmed by any of the old analog meters.

One of your installers actually told a resident to NOT sleep within about 15 feet of one of the new electronic meters.

• We were never told to keep any sort of distance away from the old analog meters, because we didn’t need to, because they did not irradiate us.

The old analog meters worked fine, didn’t harm anyone, and had withstood the test of time.

• We can not say that about the new electronic meters

I was going to say that I am all for the Opt-Out program, but many of us never opted-in, in the first place.

• We were deceived, or forced in.

And regarding the fees: If someone tells you that you are hurting them by what you are doing, is it morally correct for you to tell them:

• “I will stop hurting you, but only if you pay?”

Thank you for listening. May you all truly be blessed.

(End of that comment)

I also gave a "General Public" comment, more or less on-the-fly, though I did have notes.  My comment came after the Director of Public Works, Perry Hart, commented about the new meters.  He had quoted some wrong information, and I spoke-up during his comment, only to be shushed by the new Mayor, Dave Walters.

This is an estimation of what I put together for my second comment:

I've probably done more research on smart meters than all of you put together, including Mr. Hart.  This technology has not been around for 25 years, as Mr. Hart indicated.  It was about 10 years ago that California started installing smart meters.  And California may also be the state with the most cities that have put a ban or moratorium on smart meters.

Electromagnetic hypersensitivy (EHS) is a condition recognized by the World Health Organization.  There is actually a plethora of information on the internet about EHS.  Medical studies have indicated that exposure to smart meters/radio transmitting meters could increase one's risk of developing EHS.  (See http://1.usa.gov/1W17qgC)

There is a group in Maine that have taken a public utility company all the way to the State Supreme Court.

For information about smart meters, check out Bioinitiative.org and EMFScientist.org.

You forced and deceived many of us into taking the new utility meters, and now you want US to pay to have you remove them?

Some say EHS is a dis-ability, because those afflicted with it really do have to be careful about electromagnetic field exposure, lest they find themselves severely affected.

But is EHS a DIS-ability?  Or is it an ABILITY?  Because we can sense high levels of electromagnetic frequencies most others can not?

Kind of like a smoke detector that has the ABILITY to sense smoke, and wake us up, before disaster happens... 

(End of that comment)

The video of the city commission meeting is here.  I comment at 29:55 and again at 64:10.

We are dealing with unproven to be safe technology here.  And lots and lots of professionals saying that there IS cause for concern.  I know it.  I can feel it.  That's why I feel that paying an opt-out fee is agreeing to pay to not be harmed.  I refuse to enter into such an agreement.

What it also means is that we are getting the exact same service as before this whole smart meter fiasco started, but now we have to pay a fee for it because the utility company doesn't want to pay meter readers.  And I say, we can read our own meters, if that would help.  Just stop irradiating us, thank you very much!

For more information about the health impacts from the new wireless meters, please see:

• Bioinitiative 2012
• EMFScientist.org
• American Academy of Environmental Medicine - Wireless Smart Meter Case Studies
• Clear Light Ventures - The Emerging Link between Wireless and Autism
• Electromagnetic fields stress living cells
• International Agency for Research on Cancer - classifies RF and EMF as possibly carcinogenic
• Electromagnetic hypersensitivity - an increasing challenge to the medical profession
• Self-reporting of symptom development from exposure to radiofrequency...
• Health Impacts of Radio Frequency from Smart Meters
• Smart Meter Radiation Exposure Up to 160 Times More Than Cell Phones
• Smart Meters 100X Radiation of a Cell Phone
• Cancer Expert Warns: Extremely Important to Adopt Precaution against RF Exposure
• AAEM - Electromagnetic and Radiofrequency Fields Effect on Human Health

Thank you for reading ~ May we ALL truly be Blessed!

***

Battle Creek City Commission Meeting

It was a long City Commission meeting last night, with lots of drama.  I gave my comment about smart meters at about 46:48 minutes in, which can be viewed here.  The audio is somewhat off sync with the video, but still very understandable.

Towards the end of the meeting, one of the Commissioners asked the City Manger if there was an opt-out program that I could become a part of.  She replied that they were working on an opt-out program.    

And it just occurred to me that the idea of an "opt-out" program is backwards, because we never opted-IN to the City's wireless program in the first place.  We were tricked into having the wireless devices installed, without our knowledge or consent.  

Analogue Water Meter

The "old-fashioned" ANALOGUE meters have a 100-year history of safety, and last an average of 30 to 50 years.  The new, so-called smart meters (wireless/radio/electronic/upgraded/digital meters), do not have a history of safety.  Actually quite the opposite.  Here and here are some links about that.  Plus, the new smart meters that were installed only a few years ago are already failing. 

After the meeting, I met another resident who has been adversely affected by a smart meter.  She and her husband were actually forced into taking a smart meter by the City of Battle Creek Water Department, with the threat of water shut-off if they did not comply.

So not only have they been sneaking these wireless devices onto private property without the knowledge or consent of the property owners, but they've been threatening property owners with water shut-off if they don't agree to having one of these radio devices installed.

And the line from an old Gene Pitney song comes to mind, "What a town without pity can do."

As I was leaving, a uniformed police officer turned to me and said that he really likes what I say at the end of my speeches, blessing everyone, and that he could really feel that I mean it, and that "we could use more people like you."  

I smiled and said, 

"We start with one."

He smiled and agreed.

Here is a transcript of what I said: 

Regarding Vice Mayor Gray's comment to me at the last City Commission meeting, which was in response to my deep concern about the safety of the smart meters the Water Department, and all of our utility companies, have been installing, neither Ms. Gray nor any of you, have been able to provide actual studies, documenting the safety of smart meters, while more and more evidence that smart meters cause harm continues to surface. 

There are 57 jurisdictions opposed to the installation of smart meters in California, a state known to be a forerunner when it comes to the health and safety of their citizens, and 15 have passed ordinances making smart meter installations illegal.  Now Nevada City, NV, is proposing a ban on smart meters.
Hundreds of medical doctors and other health professionals are requesting moratoriums on the installations of smart meters because they are seeing the effects these meters are having on their patients. 

Ms. Gray's email mentioned the FCC in reference to the smart meter manufacturer's documents.  The fact is that the FCC refuses to regulate low frequency radiation.  The new FCC chairman, Tom Wheeler, has been active in the over-a-trillion-dollar-a-year wireless industry since the mid-1970's.  And now he's in a position to regulate the very industry that has been his bread and butter.  That is what's called a fox guarding the hen-house, and could explain the lack of regulation by the FCC.

Ms. Gray's email mentioned the World Health Organization in reference to the smart meter manufacturer's documents.  The fact is that there is an appeal in front of the World Health Organization, signed by over 200 doctors, scientists, engineers, and PhD's, requesting that the World Health Organization's  guidelines and regulatory standards be strengthened in regards to radio frequency radiation, based upon over 2,000 scientific studies that mostly demonstrate neurological and physiological damage from prolonged exposure to the kind of low frequency radiation generated by smart meters. 

Those who are more quickly adversely affected by smart meters, the proverbial canaries in the coal mine, are currently approximately 5% of the population, and we have a right to be safe from harm from utility company's equipment.
Just as Battle Creek was the first in the nation to honor the needs of the disabled by making curb cuts, there is still time for Battle Creek to be the first, at least in the mid-west, to recognize the difficult truth about smart meters and the harm they cause, by imposing a ban or moratorium on the installation of smart meters within the City of Battle Creek. 

Thank you for listening.  May you all be blessed!

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