pinion Letter to the Editor: Commissioners Have it Wrong on Smart Meters

Dear Editor,

In response to the Manatee County Commission Agenda Results:11/13/12:

I would like to comment on Commissioner Whitmore’s statement to a constituents request for assistance because the new digital SMART meters that are being installed make the constituent sick. While it is reported that only 3 – 7% of the human population have noticible physical reactions that can be mild to debilitating, most people will be unaware of the reason of the onset of the new ailments they are experiencing.

Experience and research have proven to some of us that when able to remove oneself from the proximity of these new meters, the health challenges go away and when one returns to an area with the meters, the disease or illness returns. Now that these meters are on almost every business and home, there is no sanctuary to evade the effects.

The only alternative is to recognize that this invisible pollutant that cannot been detected by smell, touch or sight - be recognized as a menace to society and dealt with. The majority of people will not notice the effects the emissions from these meter have on humans, animals and flora until the damage is done.

Telling a constituient that it is too late to do anything about ‘it’ because the meters are (all nearly) installed would have been like telling people not to expect BP to clean up the oil spill. These meters also pose an invasion of privacy.

While I am not the person who reached out to Commissioner Whitmore, I can attest that these meters can and do effect one’s body – and not in a good way. Before technology developed, coal miners brought canaries into the mines because they would succumb to the gasses that kill men – long before damage to the human body would occur. When the coal miner who was tending the canary saw that the canary died, he would call the alarm and the mine would be evacuated to save the workers. 

The people among us who are more sensitive to the effects these meters pose are ‘our canaries' – and we must pay attention and protect everyone. These meters must be removed and replaced with the traditional analogue meters that have never proven to hurt anyone. To learn more about these meters, start here and here.

There are communities in Florida and all over the country who are recognizing this problem and are forcing the utility companies to stop and to be accountable. The County Commission is the body that has the responsibility to protect the citizens from this sort of danger.

Thank you for paying attention to my concern,

Cathy Grippi
Longboat Key