LBAM Spray Campaign to Hit SF Bay Area
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) are developing their plans for the 2008 Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM) eradication program in nine Central California counties along the coast and in the Bay Area. According to information from StopTheSpray.org, August is the targeted date for potential aerial pesticide spraying in the SF Bay Area.
They will be using aerial pheromone treatments along with other techniques. A pheromone is a natural scent that an insect produces to communicate with a potential mate. Pheromone use for this pest works by confusing the male moth, which disrupts the mating cycle, thereby decreasing or eradicating the pest population. The CDFA says that pheromones are not harmful to people, pets or plants. In actuality the spray with all of its inert ingredients has not been through long-term toxicity testing. Some of the inert ingredients are known carcinogens.
Listen to KPFA Terra Verde radio show for the interview with Chela Vasquez of the Pesticide Action Network; Nan Wishner, chair of the Albany Integrated Pest Management Task Force and John Russo of StopTheSpray.org.
Some of the facts I heard on the show:
- There have been 643 documented complaints of adverse reactions. And this is only complaints to doctors. Many more don't have insurance or didn't go to the doctor.
- LBAM is considered only a minor pest in Australia, the country its origin.
- LBAM has been in Australia for 100 years
- LBAM has been here for at least a decade according to independent biologists contradicting what the CDFA has said.
- Spraying is slated for Alameda, Contra Costa, SF, Marin, San Mateo, Solano, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties
- Concentrations of the inert ingredients are unknown. This information is protected under trade secret rules
- CEO of Suterra (manufacturer of the pesticide Checkmate being used) Stewart Resnick donated $144,000 to Gov. Schwarzenegger's re-election campaign.
- Combined total cost of the program in USDA funds in 2008 is $97 million
- The state of California is spending $500,000 on a PR firm to convince the public that the aerial spraying is OK
Community information meetings:
San Francisco: 2/11/08 Women's Building 7:30pm 3543 18th St. Rm A
Berkeley: 2/24/08 5pm Berkeley Hillside Club 2286 Cedar St.
Go to StopTheSpray.org to sign the petition.
Could you show us the link for the 144K given to Schwarzenegger? I couldn't find it at opensecrets.org
Posted by: Nico | Mar 7, 2008 12:39:54 PM
Thank you so much for blogging about this.
This is the #1 issue facing California and the United States right now.
Should governments have the right to spray carcinogens on citizens?
17 million people will be sprayed with a mixture containing known carcinogens, endocrine disruptors and mutagens, encapsulated in particulate plastic that will lodge deeply in their lungs, forever.
More than 600 people were gravely sickened by this toxic pesticide exposure in 2007 in the sparsely populated Monterey Bay Area. When this toxin is sprayed on the millions of people who inhabit the SF Bay Area, thousands and thousands of people will be sick.
The spray will be done every 30 days for years to come, and the time-released nature of the product means that there will never be a day without the carcinogens in our air, water, soil and bodies.
If the State and Federal Government are allowed to do this to California, in violation of the State and US constitution as well as the Nuremberg Code that was established to protect human beings from experimentation against their will after WWII, you can bet they will make a it a national policy to spray urban regions with toxins for undisclosed reasons.
So, while I'm calling this the #1 issue facing California, it is really a potential calamity facing the whole country. If they aren't stopped here, they will go on to do this everywhere, sickening our children, our loved ones and forever poisoning our precious watershed, soil and environment.
Please, believe this is a crisis, and get educated at:
http://www.lbamspray.com
http://www.stopthespray.org
http://www.veganreader.com
We need to tell the government that we do not consent to being given cancer so that they can line their pockets.
Thank you again for blogging about this. Silence is our enemy.
Posted by: Mim | Mar 24, 2008 6:27:52 PM
Thank you so much for blogging about this.
This is the #1 issue facing California and the United States right now.
Should governments have the right to spray carcinogens on citizens?
17 million people will be sprayed with a mixture containing known carcinogens, endocrine disruptors and mutagens, encapsulated in particulate plastic that will lodge deeply in their lungs, forever.
More than 600 people were gravely sickened by this toxic pesticide exposure in 2007 in the sparsely populated Monterey Bay Area. When this toxin is sprayed on the millions of people who inhabit the SF Bay Area, thousands and thousands of people will be sick.
The spray will be done every 30 days for years to come, and the time-released nature of the product means that there will never be a day without the carcinogens in our air, water, soil and bodies.
If the State and Federal Government are allowed to do this to California, in violation of the State and US constitution as well as the Nuremberg Code that was established to protect human beings from experimentation against their will after WWII, you can bet they will make a it a national policy to spray urban regions with toxins for undisclosed reasons.
So, while I'm calling this the #1 issue facing California, it is really a potential calamity facing the whole country. If they aren't stopped here, they will go on to do this everywhere, sickening our children, our loved ones and forever poisoning our precious watershed, soil and environment.
Please, believe this is a crisis, and get educated at:
http://www.lbamspray.com
http://www.stopthespray.org
http://www.veganreader.com
We need to tell the government that we do not consent to being given cancer so that they can line their pockets.
Thank you again for blogging about this. Silence is our enemy.
Posted by: Mim | Mar 24, 2008 6:29:24 PM