Google Seeks Internet Surveillance of the Smart Grid

Dees Illustration

Brandon Turbeville
Activist Post

The “Internet of Things” just wouldn’t be “Internet” enough if Google was not involved in a major way. Fortunately for those who have designed the gadget spy system, however, Google is attempting to become heavily involved in the implementation of yet another piece of the technological control grid.

According to the The Information and The Verge, Google is now testing thermostats connected to the Internet that would allow users to view the amount of energy being consumed in their homes as well as be able to make adjustments to that level of consumption. At least that is the justification used to sell the technology to the public. The real reasons behind both Google’s foray into the relatively new field and those of other tech firms, governments, and “sustainability”-related organizations are somewhat less interested in consumer satisfaction, environmental health, and lower energy bills.

Google’s latest foray into the control grid, a wide open country for the corporate giant which never seems tired of pioneering new marketable technological control products, is called EnergySense. This new program is round two for Google, which attempted something similar a few years ago named Powermeter, although this program was terminated in mid-2011 due to “difficulties scaling it up.” The mission statement for Powermeter, similar to that of EnergySense “was that people could trim energy use by 15 percent if they could see what was happening.”

Things are looking up for Google in this regard, however, as Josh Lowensohn of The Verge writes that “This might be a better time for such a service, as indicated by a rising wave of connected home appliances. That includes Nest, which began with thermostats and has since moved onto smoke detectors. It’s joined by a host of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-connected appliances that can pipe information to the cloud, from refrigerators to web cameras.”

Interestingly enough, Google Ventures already invested in Nest in 2012.

Of course, if one is better able to monitor and observe the amount of energy being used by a household or appliance, it stands to reason that one would be better able to reduce and conserve the amount of energy he uses. However, are we really expected to believe that Google simply wants consumers to be better able to monitor their energy use to save money and the environment? Or is Google interested in something else entirely?

The Verge’s Josh Lowensohn may be on to more than he knows when he writes that “For Google, and others, those devices represent a possible wealth of data.”

Data, indeed. Google’s latest “new” venture is but one more step in the merger between the “Internet of Things” and the “Smart Grid,” the solidification of the surveillance state and eco-fascism into one entity that itself is only part of a much larger agenda.

For those who are unaware of what the term “Smart Grid” means, the Smart Grid is essentially a computerized system that allows the monitoring and control over energy use from power at the plant source to every appliance in the home. Smart Grid technology is a major part of UN Agenda 21, the United Nations’ plan to herd a drastically reduced population into “human habitat areas,” meaning ultra-modern super cities with stack em’ and pack em’ dwelling structures and zero contact with nature and the outside world.

The “Internet of Things,” of course, is the term used by disgraced former General and CIA Director David Petraeus to describe the rise of gadgets which are connected and controlled by apps. Petreaus himself discussed the fact that, because of this new technology, intelligence agencies will no longer need to place spy devices inside your home – you will do it for them.

As I wrote in my article, “New Report: ‘Recording Everything’ Details How Governments Can Shape The Dynamics Of Dissent,” within the next few years, it will be possible for the intelligence wing of the U.S. government to collect, store, and centralize every type of data in existence on every human being in the country, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for one year for a total cost ranging in the few hundred thousands. And this is only what has been announced. It doesn’t include the secret black projects that currently remain under wraps or the fact that these programs have been ongoing for years.

Not only that, but with the open desire by the U.S. government to create a Total Information Awareness network, as well as the legal infrastructure such as the Patriot Act and other Big Brother legislation, a climate has been created where all of the data acquired by “Smart” appliances will inevitably be soaked into this government network. Not only that, the snooping infrastructure is such that one can assume that every piece of information that finds its way into the Cloud will not eventually find its way to a centralized government database, but will do so immediately.

The fact is, while even those few individuals who are still concerned with their privacy complain about their constant loss of it, the all-too-familiar warning of our descent into a world spoken of in George Orwell’s 1984 is often repeated ad nauseum. However, one need only look around to understand that we are not in danger of turning into the Orwellian surveillance state in the near future. We are already in it.

Recently from Brandon Turbeville:

Brandon Turbeville is an author out of Florence, South Carolina. He has a Bachelor’s Degree from Francis Marion University and is the author of six books, Codex Alimentarius — The End of Health Freedom, 7 Real ConspiraciesFive Sense Solutions and Dispatches From a Dissident, volume 1 and volume 2, and The Road to Damascus: The Anglo-American Assault on Syria. Turbeville has published over 275 articles dealing on a wide variety of subjects including health, economics, government corruption, and civil liberties. Brandon Turbeville’s podcast Truth on The Tracks can be found every Monday night 9 pm EST at UCYTV.  He is available for radio and TV interviews. Please contact activistpost (at) gmail.com. 


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