Beware of premature ‘all clear’ smart meter brochures The health controversy with the planned smart meters exists because the KIUC safety study being used to reassure us, is at odds with the reality of people getting sick on the Mainland.
Beware of premature ‘all clear’ smart meter brochures
The health controversy with the planned smart meters exists because the KIUC safety study being used to reassure us, is at odds with the reality of people getting sick on the Mainland.
The KIUC safety study by Yakov P. Shkolnikov is itself flawed because Shkolnikov is an industry insider with patents for RFID (wireless identification) technology. He is pro-wireless and has a conflict of interest in testing the meters, which are designed to communicate with RFID tags (chips).
As a result of the 2007 Bio-Initiative Report, the European Parliament advised 27 European member states that they should introduce more effective protection of the general public from electromagnetic fields. This report found that radio frequency levels far lower than the FCC standards used by Shkolnikov are dangerous, especially when exposure is 24/7 and long term.
Smart Meters are designed to transmit constantly with other meters in a MESH network and with the “smart” appliances coming soon. If the appliances throughout your home can hear the smart meter, so can your body cells. We will be surrounded and penetrated by wireless signals, called electro-smog, without escape. As with cell towers and power lines, Smart Grid will increase incidence of cancer in community.
Many people now choose to hold their cell phones away from their heads when they talk, or use an ear phone, or even air tube ear phones, because we now understanding that wireless technology is not safe. It is dangerous to have children near cell phones, baby monitors, or portable phones.
Once we realize that Shkolnikov’s study is biased and as irrelevant as the FCC standards, we can see it is a mistake to allow Smart Grid here. Rather than try to dampen public scrutiny, KIUC should lead the community in becoming aware of all controversies, so a true island cooperative can make informed decisions.
It is not too late to “Just Say No” to the poorly researched Smart Grid program. Let’s wait a couple years and see how all the lawsuits against Smart Meters pan out on the Mainland.
Ray Songtree, Hanalei
Who needs cable,
phone companies?
I treated myself to a new netbook, basically a small laptop computer. I have never bought any computer new. I have always bought and used refurbished desktops priced around $60.00 delivered to Hawai’i, which is a steal.
I bought my new netbook on sale for $350.00, down from $499.00. On top of that I got an automatic $100.00 rebate from the manufacturer at the checkout stand, making the total for a brand new netbook only $249.00.
This netbook is fast, has a built in webcam and I am already Skyping with it, and the games of chess and backgammon are amazing. There is 4GB of storage for photos, the same as my desktop tower, and on top of that I bought a HDMI cord which connects my netbook directly to my TV which means I can use my TV screen as a monitor if I so choose.
The real reason for the HDMI was to download Netflix. I find this amazing. Instead of renting DVDs you just download your choice of over 20,000 movies and/or TV shows. The download time is amazingly fast, under 10 seconds and the quality is unbelievable.
I am hooked on a TV series called “Damages,” starring Glenn Close, William Hurt, Ted Danson, and Lilly Tomlin, just to mention a few names. Live streaming three years of a TV show in 10 nights is addicting.
If you do not have a HDMI connection cord, which you can buy online for as little as $5.50, I highly recommend you buy one so you can start streaming unlimited movies and TV shows for only $7.99 a month on Netflix, or for free on Hulu.
My computer, which only cost $249.00 brand new, within four months will pay for itself, since I am cutting my cable down to basic cable because I can watch all the Netflix I want.
Skype for phone calls and streaming Netflix saves one thousands of dollars a year. No more is there a need for the phone or cable companies and if you do use them buy the minimum package and supplement the rest with Netflix, Skype and Hulu.
What will they think of next?
James “Kimo” Rosen, Kapa‘a
Something is fishy
Have the local fisherman stopped fishing to supply the trade? Every day for the past two weeks, Kilauea Fish market has only ahi and that has been the case off and on all year.
On rare occasions, they have ono or opakapaka. Same thing with the restaurants in Princeville. We love the salad at Paradise Grill but all the fish they have had is walu and again, all year long.
We are regular customers at all of the above. It seems they rotate between walu and ahi with very occasional bursts of mahi mahi.
Mind you, the above two examples are not the only ones. The Dolphin Fish Market sells the fish at $30 per pound, and that is not on any local’s budget. As everyone knows, there is no middle class anymore and I think it is high time merchants realized this.
Why cater only to tourists? Locals need to eat too and you need us in the slow season. Check your prices, maybe you are overcharging.
Cliff and Cecelia Waeschle
Kilauea
