Powerline infiltrated neighborhoods? EMF & high voltage (Dairyland: power lines, countertops)

[mommyntheoc]

Hello fellow EMF-worrywarts...

What neighborhoods in the west side do NOT have high voltage lines running around or through them?

Are there any neighborhoods that do NOT have backyard or frontyard power lines and poles running around all of the houses?

It seems like every neighborhood has a power line in front or behind it, and every 2 houses is a pole pig (transformer drum on the pole, the white bucket), I'm assuming these are distribution lines and not high voltage, I plan on using a gaussmeter to take readings nonetheless, but I was hoping there might be some exception for aesthetic and property valuation reasons. And yes, I realize this sounds very silly because to have electricity, it must be coming from a line somewhere...but sometimes they are buried from the pole to the houses on a street, yes?

[gold*dust1]

Originally Posted by mommyntheoc

Hello fellow EMF-worrywarts...

What neighborhoods in the west side do NOT have high voltage lines running around or through them?

Are there any neighborhoods that do NOT have backyard or frontyard power lines and poles running around all of the houses?

It seems like every neighborhood has a power line in front or behind it, and every 2 houses is a pole pig (transformer drum on the pole, the white bucket), I'm assuming these are distribution lines and not high voltage, I plan on using a gaussmeter to take readings nonetheless, but I was hoping there might be some exception for aesthetic and property valuation reasons. And yes, I realize this sounds very silly because to have electricity, it must be coming from a line somewhere...but sometimes they are buried from the pole to the houses on a street, yes?

You will more than likely have to reside in a "newer" subdivision (neighborhood) to get the buried lines which are standard for new construction.

[Dairylander]

"EMFs from a buried power line may be about twice the levels from a typical overhead line carrying the same electrical load.
This is because an underground line is usually buried only a few feet below the surface of the ground and is closer than an overhead line that is suspended well above the ground."

[mommyntheoc]

I know :-( unless the underground are in piping and insulated with it. I'm torn about this subject, because unless we build a house in the middle of nowhere with no electricity, there is no way to avoid it. We're bringing a gaussmeter to take EMF readings when we visit next weekend, the realtor is going to think we are nuts! Oh well, despite appearances, I think it is a smart idea considering the high possibility of complications long-term.

All the power lines are underground here, it freaks me out to think what we may be living on top of...hmm. We actually had a big green transformer for our subdivision in our last home's backyard...so I'm certain we've had our fair share (my husband works with major electric and magnetic fields daily, he thinks I'm a nut for worrying about their affect on the body...but there are studies, as with everything) *sigh*

[Dairylander]

For the truly paranoid, get yourself a geiger counter to make sure those new granite counter tops aren't overly radioactive.

[mommyntheoc]

haha I know you didn't just go there! haha I HATE granite countertops...so no worries about that :-) that was one of the main features I was talking about not liking in the other thread. lol

But hey, if something interferes with quality of life, I say minimize it...there is NO way to eliminate it with a modern lifestyle. You'd probably be concerned too if you had researched as much as I have and were staying at home with very young children who may spend the next 20 years of their lives in this house...20 years of exposure...something to think about, the big picture!

Just a personal note, Dairylander, what do you do? I'd like to get a better feel for ya :-)

[Dairylander]

Originally Posted by mommyntheoc

I HATE granite countertops...

I rarely hear that from people. What do you prefer? Manufactured stone? Solid surface synthetic?

[mommyntheoc]

Anything that has been in place for years and won't pollute through unnecessary manufacturing or outgass into our indoor air environment and affect our health. There are many ways to "upgrade" your home without destroying the planet or your health in the process. You can use various techniques with found and recycled/repurposed materials for countertops and other areas of the home, all of which have minimal impact on the world and the living things in it! And no, anything forcibly sliced out of the deep layers of the earth isn't acceptable for aesthetics in my opinion. We try not to buy synthetics in our household, I do not support manufacturing of unnatural materials - however if they are already made and the company is not profitting from the re-use of the materials in order to make more of said materials, I think it is wise to use items that have already been made by repurposing or reusing them. It was pretty shameful in my opinion that people ripped out perfectly fine counters that had been in their houses for years and replaced them with something new and pretty and shiny just for the hell of it :-/ The earth was gutted of that granite somewhere...maybe the radioactivity is just payment ;-)

[mommyntheoc]

note: true that some countertops needed to be replaced due to damage, however this was not the case with most I've seen and many could have been resurfaced easily with a little bit of labor and creativity from the homeowner, but in a world of laze, money buys a lot more "shiny factor" than hard work in many cases!

[Dairylander]

My question remains, what do you prefer?
You said you want to fix up a house, I assume that includes a kitchen remodel, so what would you install?
Any natural stone has to be quarried and shipped, the components of concrete counters require huge amounts of energy to make, butcher block requires felling hardwood trees, tile requires a 2,000 degree gas fired kiln, even recycled glass counters have a high pecentage of synthetic resins and binders.
I don't understand how you're going to avoid a manufacturing process.