A group of protesters gathered outside of the Computer History Museum on April 14 to protest PG&E's SmartMeters and current law surrounding the installation of cell phone towers.

The protest, led by Scotts Valley resident Joshua Hart, founder of the website Stop SmartMeters, was held to draw attention to the deleterious effects of microwave radiation -- such as that produced by PG&E's controversial SmartMeters, as well as cell phones and cell phone towers.

Hart, who used to think that those who complained about being impacted by the electromagnetic waves given off by cell phones were suffering from "tinfoil hat paranoia," said that after looking into the science he is convinced that some suffer greatly because of the microwave radiation.

The protesters were as young as 17 and as old as 65.

Hart said that he doesn't believe that the world will ever give up cell phones, but he said currently the FCC regulations are too lax surrounding devices that emit electromagnetic radiation, such as mobile phones and SmartMeters -- power meters that monitor energy use in homes and other buildings and transmit that information wirelessly back to PG&E, using the same technology as cell phones.

One protester complained that when a SmartMeter was installed in her home she began getting migraine headaches, which she is certain were caused by the device.

Look for a full length article in next week's edition of the Voice.