Friday, April 5, 2013

Choice

I'm probably going to lose readers cuz I know ya'll would rather hear about beautiful art being made, but I am coming unglued over this power company thing, sorry! I'll take a break, I promise!

It's becoming apparent to me that we are losing more and more rights as a citizen in this country and nobody seems able to fight it. I have discovered that if I don't want to do business with Progress Energy, I have very little choice to go somewhere else. Same is true with many corporate offerings in this country. We are becoming a nation of monopolized business, big mean business.

Here is what I have learned this week from just waking up the other day with yet another odd headache:

1. I have a smart meter on my house that was installed without my knowledge or consent
2. It sends out RF pulse emissions 6-8 seconds around the clock on the other side of the wall from my kitchen where all my food is and directly below our bedrooms where we are exposed for sometimes 12 hours at a time. Also now, it is above the area where we have planted seeds
3. RF Emissions have been deemed a possible carcinogen/cancer causing agent by the World Health Organization
4. I contacted UL verification services, who promptly got back to me and said that these meters, unless clearly marked, are not UL listed, mine is not, meaning it is a fire hazard. Many insurance home owners policies will NOT cover your loss if your smart meter burns down your house.....
5. I have been told I do not have a choice. However I contacted the environmental department at Progress and quoted the Energy Policy Act of 2005 where the law clearly states that Utility companies are required to offer this sickness equipment, then I asked if they realized that these meters were not UL listed and they did NOT know that! Imagine...... the woman I spoke to at 11am yesterday said that she thought I had an opt out option and she would call me right back................still waiting..............

I have done a LOT of reading over the past 48 hours, enough to know that I do not want this thing on my house. Much of what I read in support of these meters, the ones saying all is well, seems to be from people with dollars at stake if these things were pulled from the market, hello? Propaganda?
Other reading would indicate that I am one of those nasty "tree huggers" "granolas" "activists" "conspiracy theorists".... well so what if I am? Why the name calling for people that are trying to protect our environment? I never understand that. Why is a tree hugger considered a derogatory term by those bullies?
I have read hundreds of stories of people getting sick from these meters, enough to know, there is doubt about their safety. Get it the hell off my house!


Sigh.............. if you are still reading, I read the nicest blog post this morning on Carter Gilles pottery blog. I am feeling pretty beat up, fighting Goliath and I needed these words. One sentence that is sticking with me this morning is this:

" They (the quiet artists) could have ..........resigned themselves to consuming only other people's ideas, survived on only predigested morsels and gone creatively to sleep for all eternity. They did not, nor I suspect did you."

Here is a salute to all of us who are not resigning ourselves to ideas being forced upon us!!!!!

18 comments:

Mr. Young said...

They are putting them in here on Guam. You can opt out, but the first year it will cost you $250 dollars. The next year they charge you $250 extra per month! How is this a choice??

Mr. Young said...

Luckily, the meter is 30 yards away from the apartment building on the other side of a concrete wall.

Unknown said...

Still here Tracey! We come here for the mix of art AND life, just put it all down. It's always interesting to read. As you may know the UK is about 10 years behind the US (that's being generous to us!)... so it's like getting a heads-up on what we've got coming! just like fracking, which is starting to really build momentum here.. safe energy, not relying on all those dangerous countries overseas!! oh, boy. Anyway, hope you can resolve this. I don't see why you can't opt out of the smart meter. I'm interested to hear their response...when it finally comes. Keep going. Now go outside and hug a few of those trees and really piss those folk off!!

Maria said...

Seriously consider putting in an off-grid solar installation. We did 3 years ago and have never looked back. Not only were we dedicated to a more environmentally friendly power source but we were SICK and tired of dealing with the power companies and their crap. I am a poor potter and my husband works seasonally for the Forest Service. It was VERY affordable and the feeling of not getting abill every month or pointing to our solar installation when the meter guy comes looking like alost puppy- priceless!

M E Garde said...

For your headaches, PLEASE take the suggestion of another person who commented and have your furnace checked and carbon monoxide alarms installed if you don't already have them. A much more likely source of your headaches than a smart meter.
As for tree huggers, the idea behind smart meters comes from among other things attempts to cut down on power usage, to benefit the environment. I do not think you are correctly interpreting the federal legislation. I believe it says that if a utility offers time-based rates, the utility must offer you a smart meter. In the context of the legislation, it appears to be a provision that effectively requires the utility to give all customers the opportunity to benefit from the time-based rates if such rates are offered to that class of customer. The legislation is silent on whether a utility may require their customers to accept such a meter, either in connection with time-based rates or not. Just what kind of equipment a utility may require its customers to install is a complicated topic, as utilities are highly regulated industries at both the federal and state level. You would probably have to dig into NC state public utility law to determine from the legalistic perspective what the situation is so far as the utility company's legal right (or not) to require a particular kind of meter. That's aside from the question of your personal feelings about such devices.

beaquilter said...

How can you tell if you have a smart meter? I remember getting the letter also so they can turn off power for a few hours in the summer to preserve energy. YEAH RIGHT!! hmph
We are thinking about solar panels too, they are just so much $$ up front.... BUT It would be nice in case the power goes out.
Oh and don't get me started on CENTURY STINK!!

Dennis Allen said...

Thanks for the heads up Tracey.Your Blog is for whatever you want to say whether it is pottery, weaving , family, health or just being pissed off.If anyone doesn't like it, they can ask for their money back. I'm going to stock up on Reynold's Wrap 'cause there's going to be a run on tin foil hats if they bring those meters to Warren County!

Tracey Broome said...

Mr. Young, $250 a MONTH!?! OMG!!!! that is some choice!
Hey Scott, yeah, just keeping it real here in freedom land :)
Maria, we would love to have solar panels, we have no place to put them, wooded lot, very little sun... but we are considering a move....
Maureen, it is not the furnace or the carbon, we have those checked, they are fine. I have done my homework on these rf emissions and I am not happy, in fact I am pretty much freaking out about my health, skin cancer this past summer, headaches, tingling hand, chronic fatigue, vertigo are ALL symptoms of rf emissions. There are hundreds and hundreds of cases around the country reported, I'm pretty sure I'm not imagining this..... as far as energy efficiency, we just did our taxes and our power bill went UP by several hundred dollars, we aren't saving any money and this thing is a known carcinogen... just saying.....
Bea, if it's a digital meter and you haven't had a meter reader in your yard for awhile, its a smart meter(also known as a digital meter)
Dennis, I am considering a new line of lead wallpaper :)

brandon phillips said...

Hey...have you seen this Tracey?
http://www.freedomtaker.com

I don't know how legit this is but something to look into.

Here's an interesting story:
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/01/24/woman-arrested-while-refusing-smart-meter-installation-on-her-property-tells-us-her-story/

Tracey Broome said...

Hey Brandon, Thanks! I had read about the woman being arrested, you might be reading something similar about me, haha! Had not seen the freedomtaker site, love that.
My question is, what is to keep the power company from just cutting off our power? There isn't another place to go for power..... That is a huge problem in itself....
Good to hear from you, miss your blog.......

Tracey Broome said...

Ps: interpreting the legislation, I got that from a letter congressman Bill Posey from Florida wrote to one of his constituents that was sick from this meter, here:
http://nevadajournal.com/assets/uploads/2012/02/congressman-opt-out-ok.pdf
I' m not an expert at interpreting legislation, just reading what the congressman said it meant.

Vicki said...

Wish we could install solar panels and thumb our noses at the power company, but we are also among big trees with very little sun.

I'm sick of being a pawn in big companies games.
Despite the majority of people here opposing the Smart Meters, the govt. went ahead and installed "this great incentive" to homes - most without consent.

Just as 9 out of 10 people vehemently opposed McDonalds in our little town AND we were backed by the local council, the state government OK'd the golden arches establishment.

Money talks, it seems :(

Sissy said...

Tracey - this is your blog so you have the right to write whatever you want! Don´t forget that!:) and I think you have the right to use the kind of device you want to use...there must be more human friendly devices out there...

Tracey Broome said...

Hey Vicki, our plan is to get a place with solar panels and grow our own food, just looking for the right place...
Hi Sissy, thanks! You are right there has to be something better!

Sandy Miller said...

Read the blog yesterday and can't stop thinking about all this...... Plus my oldest daughter is home and of course we takes about this as she is a bit of an activist herself, not sure where she gets it :(

You go Tracey! Fight the bastards! I think I'm getting smart enough to know which battles to pick. I'm aging and at this point I want to make a stand for sanity! I want my PHD in common sense! And although Rachael and I vow to buy land and live in Yurts, retreating from the insanity of big business we still fight the fight. We choose to grow much of our food and hug trees and life is pretty sweet well except now their fracking in the neighborhood. I go to city council meetings and have had to learn the power of the pen and theory of the squeaky wheel. I can't stand and watch this happen anymore! Somedays I spend my whole day on stupid stuff I should not have to. The more I know the crazier I get! Give me a fucking label that tells me this is GMO crap! I am not giving Monansanto one dime if I can help it! I have been insanely diligent about my seeds this year. This has become a full time job while trying to get my pots done to pay the bills. One thing I am noticing is this next generation. I am listening to so many of my nieces, nephews, friends kids etc making the choice to engage or not. Most are choosing not to play, the majority but then there are a few who want to the light switch on and not care about where it comes from or what cost. I know I am not going down without a fight! I didn't choose or even want this battle, I thought I would be living on happy acres growing food, making pots and watching the sunset....... Fucking fairy tales! Somebodies got to jump in and the waters deep but I'm in up to my neck. Hang in the and get snorkel out!

Tracey Broome said...

Rage against the machine Sandy!! There are soooo many of us that could right this very same post. Thanks for this,I have felt so best up this week and tired, but I'll get back up Monday morning and start again!
Much love
Xo

ang design said...

so much for all the freedoms the US is so known for trace....theres always wind power, solar and we're hearing a bit about methane energy too....even your dog can help out with that one :P hope you come up with good solution and soon ....lead casing sounds like a possibility

Maria said...

Solar panels may be more of a reality than you think. Explore the option. Don't give up before you even get started- or maybe a windmill is more or you... We live in the darkest hole in northern NH on 20 acres of maple forest. There are no trees growing out of your roof. Unless you live in a hobbit hole. You may have to make some concessions and monitor your usage more than you used to- but it is worth it to be FREE. Much love to you!