Against all the potential benefits of the smart grid—and Mike Knutson at Reimagine Rural offers a great five-point response on why smart meters are just plain sliced-bread-super—the only con that Sioux Falls paper can find is faintly Tea-Party-esque Big Brother talk. They cite a Bob Sullivan MSNBC article, Wired, and an out-of-state think tank who raise privacy concerns.
(Citing MSNBC and Wired... that Sioux Falls paper is sounding a lot like a blog....)
Not so long ago, my privacy meter might have sounded an alarm as well. Sioux Valley will know when I microwave some popcorn... it's 1984! Aaaahhh!
But if you really want to get bent out of shape about the privacy issues associated with energy-saving smart meters, then you'd better be prepared to decouple yourself from much more than the electric grid:
- Cut up your credit cards: Citigroup et al. have detailed records of all that stuff you buy and when and where you buy it.
- Smash your cell phone: its GPS chip can tell law enforcement exactly where you are.
- Unwire OnStar... or ride your bike!
- Get off the Internet: Google knows much more about you than Sioux Valley Electric ever will.
- Repeal the Patriot Act (warrantless wiretaps? there's a real privacy freak-out).
Cory,
ReplyDeleteAre smart grids staying voluntary like cell phones, credit cards, and Google? And if so, then the taxpayers are not going to pay for them?