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6A – Daily News – Saturday, March 19, 2011 Opinion D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 SmartMeters Greg Stevens, Publisher gstevens@redbluffdailynews.com Chip Thompson, Editor editor@redbluffdailynews.com Editorial policy The Daily News opinion is expressed in the editorial. The opinions expressed in columns, letters and cartoons are those of the authors and artists. Letter policy The Daily News welcomes let- ters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All let- ters must be signed and pro- vide the writer’s home street address and home phone num- ber. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and cannot exceed two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section of those submit- ted will be considered for publi- cation. Letters will be edited. 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How to reach us Main office: 527-2151 Classified: 527-2151 Circulation: 527-2151 News tips: 527-2153 Sports: 527-2153 Obituaries: 527-2151 Photo: 527-2153 On the Web www.redbluffdailynews.com Fax Newsroom: 527-9251 Classified: 527-5774 Retail Adv.: 527-5774 Legal Adv.: 527-5774 Business Office: 527-3719 Address 545 Diamond Ave. Red Bluff, CA 96080, or P.O. Box 220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 Editor: To those who are concerned about the smart meter: I begin with the basics so all can come to their own conclusion and by refreshing our minds what we were taught in school. Neverthe- less, this is how I see what is hap- pening. (1) Electricity is measured in watts. Watts is the true measure of power. I am charged for every thousand watts I use and one- thousand watts is a kilowatt. At least with the old meters we could look and see just how much electricity we were using. (2) In the old days the more kilowatts used the less you were charged per kilowatt. Now the more used, the more you pay per kilowatt. (A) The first fifty kilowatts in the old days were the highest rate charged per kilowatt. (B) The next one-hundred kilowatts were less than the first fifty. (C) The next one-hundred kilowatts were even less than a and b. (D) When you bottomed for the highest usage you were charged the least price. Not only that PG&E would give the cus- tomer a two percent allowance for leakage, that was wattage lost in transit from meter to home. Now that two percent goes to PG&E. (3) Now PG&E has inverted that scale so that you pay the least amount for least kilowatts used, increasing the amount you pay with increased usage of kilo- watts. The smart meter is essentially a demand meter. The higher the demand, the higher the rates. Doing that is how PG&E can camouflage their prices and con- fuse the public. To make matters even worse, the smart meter is reading in watts that are calculated outside of the basic Ohms law. The smart meter uses the cosine of the angle of lag which is the power factor. That is like changing the law of gravity to meet the equations needed for huge profits. The smart meter does not measure according to Ohms law. Ohms law: E=IR. E= electromo- tive force, I= current flow and R= resistance. (4) How is wattage calculated? Wattage is calculated by mul- tiplying volts X amps X the cosine of the angle of lag on sin- gle phase electricity. That equates to the Power Factor usage. Wire- less transmission costs of this information would be minimal, however the methodology calcu- lated by the smart meter is in question in determining the true power consumed. So now where are we? We have the new smart meter being crammed down our throats which is read- ing in watts that are calculated outside of the basic Ohms law. The meter uses the cosine of the angle of lag which is the power factor. Then the smart meter sends wire- less information calculated by the above method to a remote loca- tion. We now have a situation that only an electrical engineer would understand, leaving the public in utter confusion. The perfect sce- nario for taking over the masses and retaining their power. We all understand there is not Your Turn paid for every kilowatt, thus another reason everyone's bill has increased. PG&E customers are picking up the leakage loss and PG&E is being paid for every lit- tle kilowatt lost ever hour of everyday of every year. Thus enhancing their bottom line. That is a Utopia for PG&E. We all know we must cut down our power usage to regain our independence from foreign oil. But is this truly the best way? PG&E is like an avalanche. Gaining momentum with anyway to stop progress, and there are many several good qual- ities about this new technology if it were handled honestly Howev- er, at this moment in time every- thing is in PG&E's favor and they are taking advantage of every one of them. (a) If the smart meter is so magnificent, why cannot it be calculated to using Ohms law. (b) Even with this new tech- nology, stopping leakage is not possible. However, PG&E is now every new meter they can install. To halt this avalanche everyone must band together, take the time to write your elected leaders and voice your outrage. Personally I do not enjoy being told I do not have a choice when PG&E is not following a proven law. But even more paying a premium for power I never receive and having to trust the PG&E's wolf at the door not to bite me. Remember you can refuse the smart meter. Just put a note on your meter not to install the new smart meter and go to the internet and support Refuse SmartMeters.com. Down but not out. Darlene Linch, Red Bluff Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 6031 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319-2102 STATE SENATOR — Doug LaMalfa (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 3070 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Jerry Brown, State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 558-3160; E-mail: gover- nor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Wally Herger (R), 2635 Forest Ave. Ste. 100, Chico, CA 95928; 893-8363. U.S.SENATORS — Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 393-0710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (415) 403-0100. Fax (202) 224- 0454. Daffodils, dandelions and democracy Commentary During our Lenten meditation on Wednesday one of those in attendance noticed we had a world map and material about Japan. The materials were designed to stimulate thought and prayer about the plight of the Japanese and how each of us might help them. A friend of mine who is in his nineties said, I’ve never had so much to be concerned about in the world as this year, and there was no end in sight. There is a lot going on to be concerned about, both at home and abroad. We both agreed that it is very difficult to predict when things might end. Often we see the rainbow and assume there is a pot of gold at the end. I reiterated my story about time in the Army when we renewed our tear gas training, learned how to use a bayonet for crowd control, and stood by across the Potomac on August 28, 1963 ready to rush across the bridge to manage what was sure to be chaos in the march on Washington by civil rights lead- ers. We didn’t know the crowd had its own control mechanisms, and because we didn’t know much except we had no control over much in the Army, we fret- ted while we listened to the events on transistor radios. There were no riots, of course, and those of us standing by felt relief and a certain amount of elation. We were relieved because we didn’t have to use gas or bayonets against fellow citizens, and some of us were elated by the content of Martin Luther King Jr's speech. I had a particularly hopeful feel- ing, but in retrospect even a 24 year old should have known the dream King spoke of was a long way off. It took many years before all our citizens were legally assured equal access to the voting booth and other aspects of our democratic life. I had similar feelings when I heard the story that took place in Tahrir Square in Cairo on the day after Mubarak left his office. Wendell Steavenson of the New Yorker was interviewing Egypt- ian writer Alaa Al Aswany; as he finished his last cigarette, Aswany, like most of his fellow Cairo residents, crumpled up the empty pack and tossed it on the ground. An elderly lady who was standing by bent over, picked up the pack, and touched Aswany on the elbow. She said, “Dr. Alaa, please take this and go and put it in the garbage, because we are building a new country and everything should be clean.” Similar stories were told and witnessed about ordinary citi- zens, Coptic Christians and Moslems, working to clean up the square. It all seemed too good to be true, and of course it was. It wasn’t long before Mus- lims were killing Coptics. Secret Police offices were raided. The emergency law in place since 1958 has not been repealed. There is no clear voice for the people. A referendum on the new constitution is scheduled for March 19; schedules are sub- ject to change. Promises are almost always deferred. Corruption is hard to weed out when it is the corrupt that are in power. The recent short term vice president of Egypt, Omar Suleiman, former head of the security ser- vices, proclaimed publi- cally that the people were not ready for democracy. women was not a major revolu- tion since our democracy has been stable because we have a strong economic sys- tem, a public educa- tion system, a grow- ing (until recently) middle class, and a vision of ourselves as a people and nation. All those things were necessary for democ- racy to flourish. What Joe Suleiman stated is the truth; it was also a com- mentary on the abysmal job the “revolutionary government” had done since 1952 to prepare the people for democracy; those “efforts” betray the poorly hidden agenda of those who have held power, and it explains why there was sufficient pent up emotions to cause the sudden eruption of frustration at the government. Preparing for democracy requires many preconditions the Egyptians do not have. What may happen next in Egypt is subject to great conjec- ture. Democracy is not some- thing that can be implemented with the snap of fingers or the flip of a switch. Our form of republican democracy has evolved over time. For example, it was not until after World War I that women obtained the vote. The long overdue suffrage for Harrop My thoughts return to home. Win- ter is winding down. First came the bright yellow daffodils with their cheery promise of spring. Then the robins descended, frolicking all over our front lawn, heads up and down; the robins came several days in a row, and we enjoyed watching them energetically hop about, eating whatever it was they found in our grass. Then one morning we noted that the flock of fat robins was missing and in their place was a crop of dande- lions. Pretty soon we will have to mow the lawn every week and make sure it gets enough water and nutrition. With lawns this is a nine months per year of vigi- lance. With democracy it is a year round job. Joe Harrop is a retired educator with more than 30 years of service to the North State. He can be reached at DrJoeHarrop@sbcglobal.net.