Neighborhood in California Is Set Ablaze by Explosion
(PG&E negligence at fault?)
Pacific Gas and Electric Co., the utility company that serves the area, said one of its gas lines had ruptured.
Residents of the neighborhood said PG&E investigated a pungent gas leak over the previous week but did not take action, according to The Bay Citizen.
“They already knew about the leak and they didn’t do anything,” said Alex Monroy, who lives on Claremont Drive, not far from where the broken gas main burst into flames.
San Mateo Assemblyman Jerry Hill told The Bay Citizen he was “outraged” to learn that some residents had complained to PG&E about gas leaks in the neighborhood “for up to three weeks” before the explosion.
Mr. Hill said the pipe that ruptured was installed in 1948.
“I will be working closely with the Public Utilities Commission to ensure that a thorough investigation is conducted into the cause of this fire,” Mr. Hill said in a statement.
The explosion erupted on a hillside near Interstates 280 and 380, in a residential area about two miles west of San Francisco International Airport.

Residents Reported Leak Days Before Explosion
PG&E investigated and left, one man says; assemblyman `outraged’
Residents of the San Bruno neighborhood devastated by Thursday’s explosion said PG&E investigated a pungent gas leak over the previous week but did not take action.
“They already knew about the leak and they didn’t do anything,” said Alex Monroy, who lives on Claremont Drive, not far from where a broken gas main burst into flames early Thursday evening, scorching everything around it.
PG&E has confirmed that one of its high-pressure natural gas transmission lines ruptured, causing the blaze that destroyed 38 homes, damaged 120 and killed at least three people.

Radiation fears stymie SmartMeter installation
‘SmartMeters’ have been getting a lot of media attention lately, and PG&E, the company behind the wireless devices, has been ramping up its public relations campaign. A lot.
COMMERCIAL: California is on the cutting edge of the new green economy and SmartMeters are part of that edge. We’ve been in the dark far too long, and I feel enlightened because it provides the opportunity to conserve energy.
Well, PG&E’s paying a fair penny for the woman featured in the commercial to feel enlightened. She’s part of an ad campaign you can find on network TV along with the websites of the San Francisco Chronicle and Oakland Tribune. And while it’s certainly possible the customers who are paying PG&E may feel enlightened by SmartMeters too, some would prefer to turn out the lights on the new technology.
KALW’s Brian Pelletier has the story.

Concerns Raised over Use of Computer RFID Chips to Track Preschool Children
Privacy advocates [ but no health protection advocates] are raising concerns over the use of RFID chips to help track students at a public preschool in California. The technology is being tested on 240 preschool students in the Head Start Program in Richmond. Preschool students have been outfitted with jerseys carrying tiny computer chips that have a radio antenna that can be tracked from a distance. We host a debate. [includes rush transcript]

Wi-Fi Concerns in Schools
Some Ontario Parents are concerned that Wi-Fi in schools is making their children sick, the CBC’s Loanna Roumeliotis reports. Magda Havas featured.

High-Tech Utility Meters Spark a Fight
WSJ
A new, high-tech utility meter is inflaming passions around the Bay Area. Now PG&E Corp. is trying to tamp down growing regional opposition to its $2.2 billion meter upgrade—but is failing to mollify many local critics.

Smart metering: what potential for householder engagement?
The argument for the implementation of ‘smart’ metering, which is an elastic term, varies according to circumstance and place. In some countries, the business case for establishing an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) relies in part on improving consumption feedback to customers and assisting in the transition to lower-impact energy systems. There is an expectation that AMI will lead to reductions in both the demand and the cost to serve customers through improved communication, but little evidence exists to show overall demand reduction.

Local doctor shares his views on dangers from electromagnetic field radiation
by Lillian Cox
Dr. Dan Harper, M.D., was among the first to arrive at the Encinitas City Council meeting the evening of July 21. Carrying a 12-inch stack of medical journal articles about the health risks of electromagnetic field, or EMF, radiation, he was there to speak on behalf of his patient, Michael Schwaebe.
Schwaebe was appealing the placement of WiMAX towers on the site of the former Cabo Grill at Coast Highway 101 and La Costa Avenue. WiMAX is often referred to as “a cell tower on steroids.”
Harper directed his initial remarks to the Sprint Clearwire representatives in attendance when he quoted author Upton Sinclair: “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon him not understanding.”
Harper said he was frustrated, but not surprised, that he was unable to complete his presentation.
It would have been illegal.
Dr. Dan Harper offers a few tips on how to protect yourself from EMFs: