Hooray! Governor Brown Vetoes the SB 649 Telecom Coup
Victory!
Thanks to each of you who took action to urge Gov. Brown to oppose SB 649!
We also thank Gov. Brown for actually vetoing the bill late Sunday night, October 15.
Gratitude to everyone who has phoned, emailed, testified in hearings, or met with legislative staff, written Op-Eds, blogs, articles, gave interviews, produced radio and videos and sent post cards.
Those of us concerned with health as well as democratic choice and rights to local control joined the 300 California cities, 47 counties and over 100 community, planning, health, environment and justice organizations opposed to SB 649.
Altogether we truly made a difference and defended democratic choice and process in California!
A National Win!
People across the nation concerned with health, safety and the right to public oversight were also watching how our battle went and were overjoyed. Our win helps everyone. We were also blessed that many great folks from other states generously contributed their energy and talents to our educational campaign here in California. (Similar bills have already been passed in 12 other states and are being introduced directly into some cities.)
EMF Safety Network and Ecological Options Network opposed SB 649 since the bill was introduced in March because of the exponential increase of harmful microwave radiation that would have been emitted 24/7 close to homes, schools, parks, offices, playgrounds. We commissioned postcards that were sent to the Governor in the thousands.
SB 649 would have given the telecom industry carte blanche rights to install powerfully emitting microwave antennas, and associated equipment along the public right of way — on any publicly owned street light, traffic-signal pole, or any wood poles with electricity, cable, or telephone lines attached, while eliminating local authorities’ oversight and financial options.
Please thank Governor Brown today for vetoing this bill by calling his office at:
(916) 445-2841. You can also send Governor Brown a card: Governor Jerry Brown, State Capital, Suite 1173, Sacramento CA 95814
We feel we’ve made an impact with the educational campaign so far and we in our Alliance intend to continue. We give special thanks to the EMF Safety Network, with whom we worked closely from early on in this campaign. Many, many people worked tirelessly to achieve this success!
Now we all need to celebrate and take a brief rest.
Celebrate, but stay alert!
Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Democracy
The telecommunication industry forces behind SB 649 are hard at work at the Federal level with bills S18 & S88 that would further amplify the rights of telecoms and further erode public health, safety and democratic choice at the local level. So the challenge is far from over and corporations like to rush unpopular bills through Congress during the holiday season.
Please stay ready for action with us as we continue to post info and alerts…. We can stop this if we all continue to work together!
Check out the great coverage from this San Jose Mercury News story about the veto and the health implications!
Please consider a donation to EON for us to continue our work on this and other issues!
Hurricanes, flooding, fires…..
Landlines have some major advantages over cell phones in emergencies!
Please be aware of landline advantages over cell phones during emergencies like the recent devastating California fires.
Cell towers rely on electrical power, many emergencies include loss of electricity and landlines can still work without electricity.
Further from the Sacramento Bee:
Northern California wildfires expose emergency alert weaknesses in cellphone era
“County officials in the fire zones are offering a disconcerting mea culpa. Their emergency warning systems are severely limited – and in some ways getting worse.
Traditionally, counties have built their phone alert systems by collecting all households’ landline phone numbers from phone carriers and sending out mass alerts in emergencies.
But the number of people with landlines has dropped dramatically in the last decade. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 40 percent of U.S. households no longer have a landline, as more people rely only on cellphones.
County emergency officials say it’s harder for them to collect cellphone numbers. They often rely on voluntary sign-up systems that allow people with cellphones to register their numbers with the county that can be used to send out emergency alerts.
But county officials acknowledge they have not been able to get the word out well that people should sign up. …” http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/fires/article178822381.html
For more info:
Please check out the new film, Generation Zapped!