Where We Stand: The toxic chemical and wireless crisis hits the vulnerable: Let’s supply Laura R. of Quincy with clean water and safe home
By Josh Hart
Plumas Wired spokesman
Donate via GoFundMe here: https://gofund.me/aaa0da7d
My name is Josh Hart, and I am Spokesperson for Plumas Wired, a local group based in Portola. We support those who suffer radiation poisoning from wireless proliferation and work toward policy change for safer wired telecommunications in Plumas County and beyond.
Laura R. lives outside Quincy, CA and recently contacted us for assistance. She is extremely chemically and electrically sensitive, meaning she gets very sick when exposed to chemicals and wireless technologies. Laura’s well water is polluted by bacteria and is unfit to drink, bathe, or wash laundry with. Her water now reeks of sulfur and has a “waxy” texture. She desperately needs financial assistance to restore a healthy water supply at her home near Quincy. Laura lives alone, in poverty, and does not have the money or family resources to fix this problem. She cannot live in public housing because this is generally not chemical or EMF safe. She has been living with the issue for over a year, and needs YOUR help now.
Even though she is struggling with basic elements of survival, it appears that public agencies are unable— or unwilling— to help. Both Laura and I have contacted multiple county agencies with no meaningful assistance provided. Laura has also contacted social service non-profits in the counties and multiple churches. In addition to environmental health, I also contacted county social services without any concrete assistance offered. Laura is in a catch 22: unable to fund the necessary improvements to her home and also unable to move out and live in public housing due to chemical and electrical pollution in those places.
Dryer sheets, for example, that most people believe to be benign, cause extreme suffering and impairment to her and many others with MCS (multiple chemical sensitivity). This sounds unbelievable, yet easier to understand when we realize that dryer sheets contain toxic chemicals such as phthalates, benzene, VOC’s and formaldehyde. Why are these contaminants still on the market? As the government sits on its hands under the influence of industry, the number of people impacted is increasing.
Many people like Laura with severe sensitivities have been injured by overexposure to chemicals or electromagnetic radiation (EMR). Such injury can happen to any of us, at any time, because government regulations do not protect us.
To make matters worse, Laura is being charged $15 every month (that she cannot afford) to keep a safer analog electric meter on her home. Electricity company PSREC continues to charge even severely EMF-disabled people to avoid their standard microwave meters that make people sick. Even PG&E lowers its ‘opt out fees’ for those with low income. Please e-mail General Manager Bob Marshall via his assistant [email protected] and ask that all fees be dropped for Laura and others sickened by RF microwave pulses from so-called “smart” meters.
We posted a GoFundMe appeal after it became clear that no government institution or non-profit agency was able or willing to help Laura (despite millions in state COVID funds available to the county that should be available to provide clean water!). Please donate what you can, and spread the word about our #CleanWaterforLaura campaign on social media so we can make Laura’s life livable again. She is really at the end of her rope and needs the community’s help. She feels too unwell to post a photo of herself. Instead, I have posted a picture of the water deposits in her sink.
Laure’s Immediate Needs:
Laura needs a place she can shower near Quincy, assistance with (non toxic) rides to appointments and help running errands. She urgently needs approximately $4000 for a water filter (UV, filters, etc.), and well restoration to make her water supply usable again in the short term.
Laura’s Long-Term Needs:
Laura’s well likely needs to be re-drilled. She may need new pipes and other infrastructure installed. Extensive repairs to replace moldy walls are also required. Estimated cost: $20,000+ Any additional funds raised will support Laura R.’s basic life needs.
Laura’s statement:
“The fumes from the water blur my vision, make me nauseous and give me brain fog, a sore throat, and my lungs hurt. My lungs are hypersensitive to so many things now. I have swollen lymph nodes, blisters in my nose and such extreme exhaustion I do not tend to daily living needs. It has negatively affected my digestive system, given me more food intolerances and hurt my teeth, and I forget words and how to spell. It is, directly and indirectly, affecting my neurological health.
The hot water is much worse than the cold water, so I can only use cold water. I can’t wash my hands thoroughly in ice-cold water. I can’t take a shower. My skin is re-absorbing the toxins I sweat out.
The water smells like I put a few rotten eggs and a dead mouse in it when I do laundry, so I have not washed my bedding in months.
I’m using bottled water for drinking, cooking and brushing my teeth. Two of my plants died from the water last summer. I’m worn out from it all, with the water fumes and many ongoing health issues that have gotten worse, plus new and scary ones.
I also have a drilling sound or something going on here that’s vibrating my inner ear…even at night. I want to scream…sometimes I do. Sometimes I cry. I don’t even have the energy to brush my teeth every day. If my life gets any more complicated, I will become completely immobilized.
I need clean water right away. I need a shower…The bad water is the last straw of a multitude of difficult to live with things here…”
This campaign is about Laura, but it is also about the millions of others suffering from unnecessary toxic conditions largely dismissed by mainstream society. To admit that people with electro-sensitivity and chemical sensitivity have real suffering is to erode society’s wall of denial that the problem is in our heads. We must advocate for changes in policy, but also come to the immediate aid of those most impacted when other options are exhausted.
Mainstream culture currently marginalizes and often ridicules people with MCS and EHS, depicting (us) as “crazy tinfoil hat weirdos” but the truth is that widespread chemical contamination from household products as well as ubiquitous wireless radiation from cell phones, towers etc. are an increasingly serious environmental problem that impacts humans as well as many other species. If we recognized people with these sensitivities as valuable indicators that something is wrong, and truly listened to them and responded in ways that reduced harm, we would be moving in the right direction for the health of society as a whole. These sensitivities (often as a result of injury and toxic overdose) can happen to any of us, at any time. Those with MCS/ EHS are truly the canaries in the mine, warning all of us that the environment is increasingly unhealthy. (for example, human fertility rates have been decreasing 1% every year since 1960- largely as a result of ‘endocrine disrupting chemicals’ — see https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reproductive-problems-in-both-men-and-women-are-rising-at-an-alarming-rate/ ) Plus, more and more babies are being born with undifferentiated gender, likely from the same cause. If you carry these trends forward, it is likely that humans (and other species) will have problems simply reproducing in the not-too-distant future.
There is lots of money in Plumas County. Second homes, golf resorts and the like. There is also desperate poverty. I know that together we have the ability to raise the money Laura needs to make her only home habitable again. Can you make a donation of any amount today? Please also spread the word and forward this message to your contacts. Together we can improve Laura’s life and the lives of millions of others. If we all pitch in, we can do this. I know we can. We have already raised more than $1200 for her in the first few weeks of the fundraiser, which is encouraging. She needs thousands more to truly make her home livable, and she does not have friends or family who can step in at this point to help. Therefore it is now up to the Lost Sierra community to help. Please donate to help Laura and spread the word today.
Link to donate and post on social media: https://gofund.me/aaa0da7d
Josh Hart campaigns for environmental and social change in Plumas County and beyond. He has a Masters degree in Transportation Planning from the University of the West of England, is currently the Director of Stop Smart Meters! and spokesperson for Plumas Wired! He is also organizer and spokesperson for Feather River Action! His electricity was shut down by PSREC for nearly a year and a half when he lived in Clio after he refused to pay what he considered illegal and extortionate opt out fees to use an analog electric meter. The Harts prevailed in court and PSREC reconnected the electricity, dropped all fees, and returned the analog meter to their home.