Opinion: The Green Rush continues

Throw caution to the wind and pray those industrial strength wind turbines and collector smeters aren't in anyone's back yard.

Despite months of testimony from experts outlining the myriad dangers of wireless smeters, CVPS/GMP remain on autopilot, set to undermine our fundamental rights to privacy and health. It's an unfortunate byproduct, but hey, corporations aren't people and profits come first. We know the Smeter scheme is a bonanza for utilities and a host of other companies. So what if Vermonters are left holding the bag. We are proud to be the Guinea Pig state!

In CVPS/GMP and Sandia National Lab's perfect world, wind turbines spin at night, feeding electricity into the grid, powering fleets of electric cars recharging their batteries in those early off-peak hours... Meanwhile, wireless smeters transmit continuously, averaging 14,000 times a day (some 190,000 times) blanketing our environment and everything in it with microwave radiation... The GMP turbines are another DOE swindle, with carpet-bagging prospectors looking to ensnare stressed communities with $$$, destroying pristine ridge lines forever with their blasting. The DOE and investors have pulled the plug on most electric car subsidies; when those vehicles are affordable smeters will be obsolete... But Sandia National Labs VP Rick Stulen says Vermont is the ideal "lab" to trouble shoot smart grid deployment. What an honor!

"We Hear You" is the slogan on a CVPS Smart Power pamphlet. It's a clever marketing ploy, to manufacture a "need" and supply the "solution". The problem is, Vermonters never wanted Smart Power to begin with. As one of our local ministers put it, "If it ain't broke, why fix it." Why, indeed?! Because $69,000,000 in stimulus grants is a compelling "fix", with a 9.1% rate of return guaranteed through rate increases, $34,000,000 saved in eliminating meter readers and associated costs and rate-payers will pay for the meters at $200.00 a piece, including those who choose to opt out.

"We Hear You" - Really?! Short of sky-writing, four towns in southern VT spoke loud and clear on Town Meeting Day, demonstrating their opposition to the deployment of Smart Meters. Our message fell on deaf ears...

Never mind if RF radiation is implicated in irreparable DNA damage and a host of other biological functions.

Who cares if health experts say high exposure levels to RFR may be tied to the global increase in autism and other neurological disorders.

It's only our children and grandchildren who are likely to suffer irreversible health effects by stewing in electrosmog.

So what if our electricity rates skyrocket and we find ourselves doing the laundry at 3:00 a.m.

Just Say No To Big Brother's Smart Meter? Who are we to stand in the way of Homeland Security's scrutiny of our every action, within our own homes every day.

Let the data-miners mine the treasure trove soon to be at their fingertips. There's more money to be made.

Green is good - it's the color of money.

Let's boost Canada's economy, enriching Gaz Metro. Rumor has it they specialize in land seizures by eminent domain. 82% of rate-payers and a majority stake in Velco; let's play Monopoly.

Vermonters saved CVPS from bankruptcy in 2001 - $21,000,000 is small change in a deal valued at $700,000,000 - what's wrong with weatherization when we're paying for it.

Let's not forget $18,000,000 in golden parachutes for CVPS executives - bon voyage.

The Governor's right about not intervening in an open Docket; he's already agreed to an MOU with the PSB and that's interference enough.

Just because Energy Commissioner Elizabeth Miller's husband is the lead attorney in the merger deal doesn't mean there's a conflict of interest...

$232,000,000 in taxpayer money for 4G-LTE cell tower expansion, AT&T's invested $50,000,000 - it's an Equal RF Exposure Opportunity Act, with no person, creature left behind...

Governor Shumlin claims he "doesn't want Vermont to be left behind",  presupposing we're in the dark ages of energy and internet/broadband expansion. At this time, we're actually ahead in the ways that matter, free from harm. We have/had the opportunity to do things right, to put safety first and learn from mistakes made in other states. CVPS/GMP are typical corporations, notoriously shortsighted and greed driven. If only they were smart meters, we could add the missing components of precaution, compassion and environmental stewardship. Instead, our energy future is determined by a cadre of outside entities, telecommunication industries, utilities and investors, funded by tax payer dollars, leaving Vermonters to foot the bill and bear the long term consequences, all under the guise of Smart Power. In our defense, it's easy to fall for green washing, but the devil is in the details. We failed to read the fine print.

It's time for a change! Please write to your local papers and send a copy to the PSB. Opt Out and urge your neighbors to do the same - no fee for the first year and possibly no fee ever.

Stay tuned for our lawn sign campaign and pray S.214 and H.718 will prevail in the pressure cooker that is Montpelier this week.

Martine McGrail
StopSmeters.org and WakeUpOptOut.org