Page 9 - the NOISE January 2015

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dr. Martin blank (top left) of Columbia university testifies about smart Meters in front of AZ Corporation Commissioners (cw from center) bob stump, susan bitter smith, bob burns, brenda burns, & Gary Pierce.
Dr. Blank was then asked by Mr. Burns about methods in the laboratory, whether amplified frequencies had been used, akin to feeding rats an unreasonable amount of diet pill. Dr. Blank, who had voluntarily sworn in earlier, affirmed the frequencies and the amplification used — that ultimately moved simple electrons and activated stress proteins — were at ranges & levels considered safe by current FCC standards.
Mr. Stump chimed in, querying what Dr. Blank’s “policy prescription” would be considering there are already 313 million Smart Meters installed worldwide, especially for those who “feel” they have electromagnetic Hypersensitivity [a term, strangely, acknowledged by the World Health Organization but given no formal census of the population, perhaps due to the fact its symp- toms have yet to be codified, or the actual disorder classified].
Giving the short example of the advisory three feet one should stay away from a working microwave oven, Dr. Blank said everyone should identify the sources of radiation and take ac- tion to avoid constant exposure. Cell phones should not be left on in a pocket when going for a walk, as the cellular signal is beaming all the time, he advised; instead, turn in off for the dura- tion of the walk, then turn it on. “Same with wi-fi; when you’re done with it, shut it off. Don’t leave it on all night.”
Mr. Stump then pounced, and sharply asked, since Dr. Blank had previously admitted to us- ing wi-fi regularly, “What would you say to those who see Smart Meters as a fact of life much as wi-fi is ... an inevitability ... of modern life?”
“That’s easy. Wi-fi seems to work for everybody. Smart Meters seem to work for the compa- nies only. It’s exposing people when they hadn’t been exposed previously. It’s enabled the companies to fire a bunch of meter readers so they can reduce their payrolls. And it’s caused problems — there’s been a number of cases where Smart Meters have caused fires ... There really is no need for them. They said it would help improve efficiency ... but most people know that if you do a wash at night you’ll use cheaper power then when you do it at 10 in the morn- ing ... The companies are not being honest ... It’s only good for one side.”
Mr. Stump, ever the ideologist and continuing his line of inquiry, needled the doctor to as- sume a position categorizing his Smart Meter aversion and wi-fi acceptance into either a “need” or a “cost-benefit.” But Dr. Blank refused both lures, reflecting: “There’s a population we’ve de- veloped as a result of the exposures we now have that has increasing sensitivities to these types of fields. Just like we lowered the curbs on streets so women pushing prams could nego- tiate crossings more easily, we have to make accommodation for people.”
Then, turning back to his original thesis, Dr. Blank concluded: “I’ve always felt very strongly that science should be the guiding principle of a lot of our decisions. Obviously it can’t be all, but if you keep track of your science and keep it straight, then it’s hard to stray very far. But the thing is: if you start making up science, you start saying things that don’t hold up, then you re- ally stray too far. That’s the worldly equivalent of sin, you really go down the wrong path. And it’s clear in this case. When you think in terms of the energy as being the standard for safety, you’re really way off. Mother Nature doesn’t work that way.”
To this, Mr. Pierce responded: “You know, the science and the math part, the math part would be: does this make sense to people’s pocketbooks? I mean, there’s great science out there, but I go online to buy something sometimes and there’s a ‘good, better, best’ of that product you can buy. And not everybody’s going to buy the best. They’re going to look at how much they use it, and all the things they need, and they’ll want a test to that, because they cost different. That’s why there’s science and the math to it. And you have to do both, you have to apply both those things. But I really appreciate you being here.”
Many in the audience wondered that despite Dr. Blank’s nearly 60 minutes at the podium, if Mr. Pierce’s commentary reflected the opinion of the rest of the Commission. Even while Mr. Pierce declared at one point, “utility companies must be held accountable,” confessing he had moved his grandson’s bed away from a Smart Meter at his own home as a safety precaution,
NEWSnOTE:
bag frEE flag?
sTory & PHoTos by
Omar VicTOr
IllusTrATIon by
TylEr bighOrsE
oPIne by
PHoTo by
charlEs sEiVErd
if you’re like most Americans, chances are you make out the store with at least 10 plastic bags a week, from groceries to take-out trips to general merchandising. Ten doesn’t seem like a whole lot at first, but when put all together, it’s a landfill. Over the course of one year, an average American will use about 520 light fluffy balloons of petroleum. Over the course of a lifetime, the number of plastic bags consumed by one man or woman or child hovers around 36,000.
In a relatively small pocket of the world like Northern Arizona, with about 169,000 residents [not including the 10 million domestic & foreign tourists that visit each year] 87,880,000 plastic bags are thrown out each year. Nationwide,
the US accounts for 20% of the world’s consumption of plastic bags [over 100 billion per year] and contributes substantially to the country’s reliance on OPEC. The American beauty of a plastic bag, shivering in the wind, dancing on a
movie screen, alluding to the wonders of mortality; but for this inexpensive darling, it’s 20 years hard time here in the Southwest, and what’s worse, they don’t all the time end up in a landfill. On the contrary, they float around neigh- borhood streets & wooded areas as if mischievous ghosts, awaiting the next gust of wind to carry them hither & yon.
Friends of Flagstaff’s future is asking: “Can we have the death of the plastic bag already?” and their members are poised to educate the public, and, along with the City of Flagstaff, pass out reusable bags to everyone who might need one. There’s also a proposal at the table for City Council to ban the bags al- together, which has been accomplished in a number of cities to date, with reported success.
The Town Hall meeting is the 13th of January. Keep your eyes peeled for flying logos ...
rEnE riVas
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