Moth spraying program/ other pesticides to resume-now almost ALL Calif.

[Guest guest]

Fellow Californians,

CA Dept of Ag is gearing up to start spraying us all w/ pesticides again.  Their goal is to 100% eradicate light brown apple moths, something entomologists who aren't on their payroll (and even one who used to work for them, but no longer does) say CANNOT be done.

(Good article on this in last week's East Bay Express).

 

They are now targeting ALL of Calif., w/ a few exceptions.

In Santa Cruz + Monterey counties in 07, they sprayed at times and in places other than what they told residents they would do;  100s of people became ill (some gravely), cats, at least one dog, 100s of terresterial and sea birds died and they had " red tide " .

A San Mateo Dept. of Ag. worker told me that the protestors had been right and that pesticide/pheremone Checkmate that they sprayed in 07 is not effectifve against LBAM.

Also, what they say are just pheremones, contain pesticides that are proprietary and they won't say what they are.

In all other countries w/ the lbam, it's considered a minor pest and managed w/ integrated pest management (ipm).

In 07 + 08, the pesticide maker was a major Schwarzenegger donor.  Do not know if this is still the case.

What they plan to use now is fatal to cats and bees, harmful to dogs, children, people w/ asthma or other breathing issues and people w/ immune system problems.

 

***Part of their plan for urban areas is to spray a pesticide/pheremone mixture onto phone polls from a moving truck going up and down streets.***  Yeah right, none of the pesticide will end up anywhere but where they aim it from a moving truck.

 

I just got the following email: 

 

Thank you again for signing the petition to Stop the Spray. This was an unprecedented victory; there may not have been any other aerial spray program that has ever been stopped by citizen action.

But the program hasn't ended, nor has the aerial spray component been done away with. Aerial spraying is still in the plan for forested and rural areas -- terms which have never been defined. And by its own measures, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has documented that spray can drift for miles and miles. In most of California, no one lives very far from open space, farms, or fields.

What's worse, the LBAM eradication program is now on track for most of the state of California, excluding only a few areas like Death Valley. Aside from the aerial spray component, the LBAM eradication program includes ground treatments which are known to be harmful to people, pets, wildlife, pollinators, and waterways. These poisons will be used where people live and not just on farms. In addition, millions of irradiated dyed moths are to be released in Napa and Sonoma this October as part of an LBAM eradication program pilot project. No one knows what environmental havoc might result from doing so; if the program isn't stopped, more of these moths will then be released all over California, regardless of what their impact turns out to have been in Napa and Sonoma.

Like government waste? Almost $100 million of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)/CDFA money was spent in 2008 on the program; the program is on track to spend millions more in 2009 and beyond. LBAM has caused no documented crop or environmental damage in California.

The LBAM eradication program harms farmers and growers, because it inflicts harsh and destructive quarantines (along with onerous record-keeping and forced compliance measures) on them. The program is particularly hard on small business people.

USDA/CDFA's LBAM eradication program has tried to place a wedge between farmers and growers and those who benefit from what farmers and growers produce. This is wrong. Since June 2008, many people have continued to dedicate themselves to stopping the program altogether --- and there are signs of progress. For one, California State Senator Dean Florez, the senate majority leader, is an outspoken opponent of the program. For another, the National Academy of Science basically said the USDA has no sound science to justify its program.

So while progress is being made, there is still work to be done. We did it before, we can do it again with your help. What you can do:

 

Come to an event demonstrating against the LBAM eradication program/showing support for farmers at the Tuesday Sonoma Farmers' Market (Plaza on the Square, intersection of Broadway and Main streets) on October 20, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:15 pm. Tabling and leafleting throughout the Plaza will also be going on...

Signs and banners will be provided, but feel free to bring your own. Please RSVP if you need a sign at yphillips

As an added incentive for making the trip to Sonoma, world-famous sustainable agriculture advocate Vandana Shiva will be speaking that evening nearby at 8:00 p.m., as part of the Economics of Peace conference.http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/AFQna/zJV3/AM3Mq

 

Politely call all these members of the government to tell them you want 1) funding for LBAM eradication program to be cut, 2) quarantines lifted, and 3) LBAM-associated trade agreements to be worked out:

Cathy Neville, Sonoma County commissioner of agriculture(707) 565-2371 in Sonoma

Congressman Mike Thompson (St. Helena), member of the House Ways and Means Committee (international trade policy)(707) 226-9898 in his Napa district office

Congressman Sam Farr (Carmel), member of both the House Appropriations Committee and the Subcommittee on Agriculture(202) 225-2861 in Washington D.C.For more information on the LBAM eradication program, check out www.stopthespray.org

Contact info. Yannick A. Phillips yphillips

We cannot let them do this to us!!!!!

Stephanie