Ground spraying for moth planned-12 counties now and want to spray almost all Calif

July 29, 2008

Dear All,

Hello. We won the battle with aerial pesticides, but the Calif. Dept. of Food and Agric. (CDFA) has more cards up its sleeve.

The CDFA has now expanded the light brown apple moth (LBAM) program to cover almost *all* of California.

Instead of aerial spraying, except in " rural " areas, they will now use ground pesticides. They plan to coat trees/phone poles with permethrin (toxic to honeybees) and to apply Bt and Spinosad " from the ground " . I called CDFA to find out if this meant spraying from trucks, but they wouldn't or couldn't give me any answers.

Treatments are currently planned for 12 counties (up from the original 9), but they are trying to get an advance OK to spray from the Oregon to the Mexico border. The 12 counties currently targeted are: Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma, Solano, San Mateo, Santa Clara, San Benito, Monterey, Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara.

CDFA claims that there was no harm to wildlife, domestic or human animals during last year's Monterey/Santa Cruz spray. This is patently false and the investigation into it was very shoddy (no dead sea birds examined, only their feathers and they were only tested for pesticide when scientists believe it was the surfactants that killed them. Less than 10% of almost 650 human complaints investigated, NO doctors contacted. Deaths of cats and dogs not investigated.)

Reputable scientists are on record that there is no way to completely kill off this moth and it is not an " emergency " (example: Professor Glen Chase on how this is a fraud). Total extinction of the LBAM is the CDFA goal. CDFA plans to do a programmatic Environmental Impact Report (EIR) before pesticide use. This is a " mini " E.I.R.- not enough.

We CAN stop them from poisoning our communties/the state!

** Assemblymember Fiona Ma authored AB 977. It returns the right of local authorities to decide whether pesticides are used in their jurisdiction.** It will be be heard by the Environmental Quality Committee on Aug. 4. Please help ensure the bill stays in this committee, and not the Ag committee where it will die.

Please ask the following to cosponsor AB977:

Senator Migden senator.migden 415-479-6612

Assemblymember Jared Huffman assemblymember.Huffman 415-479-4920

Assemblymember Mark Leno assemblymember.leno 415-557-3013

Assemblymember Noreen Evans assemblymember.evans 707-546-4500

Assemblymember Loni Hancock assemblymember.hancock 510-559-1406

Supervisors Hal Brown and Charles McGlashan 415-499-7331- Please ask these two to urge county supervisors to support AB977

call/fax Environmental Quality Committee Members to express support for AB977 (better to fax) If you fax them, please cc Bill author Assemblymember Fiona Ma (fax: 916-319-2112)

Sen. Joe Simitian (Chair) ph. 916-651-4011 fax: 916-323-4529

Sen. George Runner (Vice Chair) ph. 916-651-4017 fax: 916-443-4662

Sen. Samuel Aanestad ph. 916-651-4004 fax: 916-445-7750

Sen. Ellen Corbett fax: 916-327-2433

Sen. Dean Florez fax: 916-327-5989

Sen. Sheila Kuhl ph. 916-651-4023 fax: 916-324-4823

Sen. Alan Lowenthal fax: 916-327-9113

More info: veganreader.com lbamspray.com panna.org

Thank you for anything you can do to stop this craziness. Let's set a precedent and show them we won't allow animals and human animals to be exposed to toxins against our will.

Best regards,

Stephanie Falcone