PG&E Threatens to Disconnect Families Protecting Their Health

StopSmartMeters.org December 12, 2011 Bianca Carn, Santa Cruz mother of 2, is now...

Hundreds of Households Having SmartMeters Removed as Health Toll Mounts

Capitola, CA- Last Wednesday, more than a dozen Santa Cruz County residents- including mothers and grandmothers- assembled outside Pacific Gas and Electric’s Capitola Payment Center with their unwanted wireless electric meters in hand, and spoke about what prompted them to defy their utility and replace the ‘smart’ meter on their homes with widely available analog meters.

After being interviewed by the media, they quietly got in line and waited for the next clerk. But before they could speak to anyone, PG&E called out half a dozen Capitola Police Officers, and kicked everyone out of the office.

The unwanted ‘Smart’ Meters were left piled up on the counter. Late last week, PG&E sent letters threatening to disconnect power to those who returned their ‘smart’ meters on Wednesday, including a family of four with headaches and a single woman in her seventies.

The dozen residents who assembled last week outside a PG&E office just 30 miles south of Silicon Valley are the most visible part of a growing movement of people suffering from insomnia, headaches, tinnitus and other symptoms linked to smart meters- fed up with being ignored by the monopoly utilities and state regulatory agencies (who have received over 10,000 health complaints about the new meters).

Many have begun taking matters into their own hands and having their smart meters removed from their homes. Their efforts have been bolstered by online videos showing how to do the switch, and ‘smart meter replacement kits’ are now being sold online for $49.95. (See FreedomTaker.com)

Despite thousands of threats, not one household has had their power disrupted for refusing or removing a ‘smart’ meter in California. According to many legal experts, utilities do not have the legal right to force a carcinogen on people’s homes. Nevertheless, the threats continue.

Last week’s events in Capitola should send shivers down the spines of utility executives, who are facing a growing backlash against their ‘smart’ meter programs.

While investment banking and tech firms are looking forward to potential profits of $49 billion from rolling out the ‘smart grid’ worldwide- mainly through utility rate hikes- increasingly customers are rejecting ‘smart’ meters as surveillance devices, fire hazards, and as dangerous sources of non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation- what the World Health Organization now identifies as a Class 2B carcinogen.

“The ‘smart’ meter was installed outside my children’s bedroom,” says Bianca Carn resident of Santa Cruz and mother of an 8 and a 6 year old.

“Since the meter was installed, they are both complaining of headaches. I asked PG&E multiple times to take it off- they refused. So we hired an electrician and had it removed.”

PG&E’s ‘smart’ meters emit radiation bursts that are more powerful than wireless consumer devices and have been measured at levels that would exceed safety limits for RF exposure in much of Europe.

“PG&E does not care about health and safety and does not respect private property rights,” said Joshua Hart Director of Santa Cruz County based Stop Smart Meters! “Threatening to turn off the power to a family who are simply trying to protect their children from radiation-induced headaches- two weeks before Christmas- is about as Scrooge-like as you can get.”

The County of Santa Cruz, all 4 municipalities in the county, and 42 other local governments throughout the state have demanded a halt to deployment because of health damage, privacy violations, and safety concerns.

At the time Santa Cruz County was “deployed” with ‘smart’ meters, a County Ordinance prohibiting their installation was in force and PG&E chose to ignore it. According to Hart, “it appears that PG&E’s chickens are coming home to roost as hundreds are returning unwanted utility equipment that was installed illegally in the first place.”

Source: The Intel Hub – Cross-Posted at AskMarion h/t to Jean Stoner

Related:

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The Smart Meter Rebellion

Energy Saving Light Bulbs ‘Contain Cancer Causing Chemicals’

Taking These Common Pills? You're Playing "Russian Roulette" With Your Heart

Drugs that include traditional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) as well as new generation anti-inflammatory drugs (COX-2 inhibitors) have been linked to cardiovascular risks.

Researchers performed a comprehensive analysis of all randomized controlled trials that compared any NSAID with other NSAIDs or placebo. The analysis included more than 30 trials that examined in total more than 116,000 patients.

Drugs such as rofecoxib (Vioxx) and lumiracoxib were associated with twice the risk of heart attack, while ibuprofen was associated with more than three times the risk of stroke. Etoricoxib (Arcoxia) and diclofenac were associated with the highest risk of cardiovascular death.

Eurekalert reports:

"... [T]hese cardiovascular risks are worrying because many patients have both cardiovascular disease and musculoskeletal disease, and suggests that it is time for an evaluation of a broader range of alternatives."

In other drug news, the U.S. FDA has asked manufacturers of prescription drugs containing acetaminophen to limit the dosage of the drug and add a liver toxicity warning to labels. The warning will be a "boxed warning" -- the strongest warning for a prescription drug.

Prescription acetaminophen (a pain and fever reducer better known as Tylenol) must limit the drugs to no more than 325 milligrams per tablet or capsule. Currently, some products contain more than twice that amount.

Paging Dr. Gupta reports:

"Overdose from prescription combination products containing acetaminophen account for nearly half of all cases of acetaminophen related liver failure in the United States, many of which result in liver transplant or death."

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Millions of Americans depend on anti-inflammatory drugs to relieve pain from arthritis, headaches, injuries and countless other conditions that cause chronic pain, but the drugs are among the most dangerous on the market.

Beware of Taking These Common Painkillers if You Value Your Heart Health

Vioxx was among this same class of drugs, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDS, and it was pulled from the market in 2004 after 60,000 people died from its increased heart risks.

I issued the first public alert that Vioxx was dangerous and would cause an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. That warning came in 1999 -- one year before the drug was approved in the US and five years before it was eventually pulled from the market.

Later in 2004, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also warned that NSAIDS, such as Cox-2 inhibitors Bextra (which was pulled from the market in 2005) and Celebrex, as well as over-the-counter varieties like Aleve, Ibuprofen and aspirin, also lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular problems.

In what's appearing very much like déjà vu, now a new study by researchers at The University of Bern in Switzerland revealed that NSAIDs lead to a two to fourfold increase in the risk of heart attacks, stroke or cardiovascular death, noting that it would only take 25-50 patients being treated with NSAIDs for one year to lead to an additional heart attack or stroke.

Risky Choices for Pain Relief

Aside from significantly increasing your heart risks, NSAIDs are linked to serious gastrointestinal risks, like bleeding of the digestive tract, increased blood pressure and kidney problems. Remember, this applies not only to prescription medications like Celebrex but also over-the-counter drugs like aspirin, Advil and Motrin.

In fact, it's very difficult to find a drug-based method of pain relief that is not saddled with severe side effects. The FDA has even recently limited the amount of acetaminophen allowed in prescription products and added a boxed warning due to liver toxicity concerns.

Prescription products that contain acetaminophen (Tylenol) will now be required to limit the amount of the drug to no more than 325 milligrams per tablet, as taking too much is the most common cause of acute liver failure in the United States.

There are over-the-counter Tylenol products that currently contain well over 325 milligrams of acetaminophen however, and they will not be included in this new limit, even though they're easier to obtain, so you will have to watch out for this risk yourself.

But no matter what type of painkiller you choose, the bottom line to remember is that they do not come without risks! Unfortunately, if you visit your conventional physician with chronic pain, a long-term treatment plan will typically include a drug-combination approach, using anti-inflammatory drugs, anti-convulsants, muscle relaxants and possibly other types of pain medication as well.

In other words, the answer for pain relief is drugs, drugs and more drugs -- each one raising your risk of suffering potentially lethal side effects. Is there a better way?

A Safer Approach for Pain Relief

Many people reach for the pill bottle with little or no thought of what it might do to their health in the long run. But tens of thousands of people die prematurely each year as a result...

It's completely understandable to want to get rid of pain. However, please understand that there are many options other than prescription and over-the-counter painkillers that are much safer, even though they may require some patience

Seems far more rational to stick with natural approaches for inflammation as they don't kill you or cause permanent organ damage, and typically serve to actually prevent disease. My first and newest recommendation is now astaxanthin. It is the most powerful natural anti-inflammatory known and profoundly helpful for supporting heart and eye health.

Here are several other guidelines that can help reduce, or potentially even eliminate, your pain, depending on its severity:

• Start taking a high-quality, animal-based omega-3 fat. My personal favorite is krill oil. Omega-3 fats are precursors to mediators of inflammation called prostaglandins. (In fact, that is how anti-inflammatory painkillers work, they manipulate prostaglandins.)
• Eliminate or radically reduce most grains and sugars from your diet. Avoiding grains and sugars will lower your insulin and leptin levels. Elevated insulin and leptin levels are one of the most important reasons why inflammatory prostaglandins are produced. That is why stopping sugar and sweets is so important to controlling your pain and other types of chronic illnesses.
• Optimize your production of vitamin D by getting regular, appropriate sun exposure, which will work through a variety of different mechanisms to reduce your pain.
• Retool your diet based on your body's unique nutritional type. Understanding your nutritional type is a tool I have seen work in thousands of patients to reduce their pain. If you are not yet aware of your nutritional type, you can take our free online test now.
• Use effective stress relief tools, such as the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). EFT can address your previous emotional traumas that cause bioelectrical short circuiting, predisposing you to immune dysfunction.
• Use safer alternatives for temporary relief, while you are in the process of implementing the above strategies. For several safe and effective suggestions, please see this link for anti-inflammatory alternatives.

As you can see from the list above, there is no "quick fix" to treating pain, but rather it requires a lifestyle change that will be well worth the effort – and far safer than resorting to potentially deadly pain-relieving drugs.

Posted By Dr. Mercola   - Cross-posted by True Health is True Wealth

Do airport body-scans have radiation risk?

Some individuals will apparently get cancer from these scans, but the risk of any individual getting cancer is very small.

Some scientists and two major airline pilots unions contend not enough is known about the effects of the small doses of X-ray radiation emitted by one of the two types of airport scanning machines.
The Transportation Security Administration’s advanced imaging technology machines use two separate means of creating images of passengers — backscatter X-ray technology and millimeter-wave technology.
At the end of October, 189 backscatter units and 152 millimeter-wave machines were in use in more than 65 airports. The total number of imaging machines is expected to near 1,000 by the end of 2011, according to the TSA. . . .
“If you think of the entire population of, shall we say a billion people per year going through these scanners, it’s very likely that some number of those will develop cancer from the radiation from these scanners,” Brenner [director of the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University and a professor of radiation biophysics] said.
Skin cancer would likely be the primary concern, he said. Each time the same person receives a backscatter scan, the small risk associated with the low dose of radiation is multiplied by the number of exposures.
Brenner said the risk to an individual is “very small indeed” for a single scan. He said he is most concerned about frequent fliers, pilots and young people, because children are more sensitive to radiation.. . . .

See this also:

Some US scientists warned Friday that the full-body, graphic-image X-ray scanners now being used to screen passengers and airline crews at airports around the country may be unsafe.

They say the risk is minimal, but statistically someone is going to get skin cancer from these X-rays,” Dr Michael Love, who runs an X-ray lab at the department of biophysics and biophysical chemistry at Johns Hopkins University school of medicine, told AFP.

“No exposure to X-ray is considered beneficial. We know X-rays are hazardous but we have a situation at the airports where people are so eager to fly that they will risk their lives in this manner,” he said.

The possible health dangers posed by the scanners add to passengers’ and airline crews’ concerns about the devices, which have been dubbed “naked” scanners because of the graphic image they give of a person’s body, genitalia and all. . . .

And also this discussion.

Stepped-up security screening at airports in the wake of foiled terrorism plots has provoked an outcry from airline pilots and travelers, including parents of children who say they are too intrusive.

With the busiest holiday travel season nearing, fliers face long security lines and new rigorous patdown checks begun in recent weeks aimed at discovering hidden explosives. As a result, some travelers are questioning whether to fly at all. . . .

BY JOHN LOTT ON NOVEMBER 17TH, 2010

Posted at Back to Basics