Here is a note I sent to the Governor of California and good friend of Stewart Resnick, a gazillionaire that donated $144K to his campaign, and owner of Suterra, the company that makes Checkmate, a pesticide that they both want to spray over most of the Bay Area, including our homes, playgrounds, schools, gardens, shopping malls, and parks.
If you don't like monthly pesticide showers, I suggest you do the same. Call him and/or send a note via this site: http://gov.ca.gov/interact
Dear Governor Schwarzenegger,
I just read your press release "Gov. Schwarzenegger Meets with Local Officials on Light Brown Apple Moth" and didn't find it very reassuring. It sounds like your "six-pack" of tests is only short term, and doesn't explain much about your methodology or extent of testing, and who is doing the tests. Where can we find more details?
As a father of two children and relative and friend of several who have suffered from cancer, alzheimer's, and autism, I have read too many press releases about other programs like this that were supposed to be safe, but are now highly correlated with long-term side effects due to prolonged exposure. (Remember DDT and Malathion?) I don't care about getting a sore throat and watery eyes the day after we get showered the first or second time, but monthly, for years? The micro-capsules are considered particle pollution which is considered dangerous by the American Lung Association, and the "inert ingredients" don't appear to be on your list for testing. Please clarify if I am wrong about this. Kids have a different metabolism than us, put things in their mouths, and like to play in the places you spray.
And where is the believable evidence this moth is such a big threat that it requires total eradication? It sounds like you are planning to spend more of our tax dollars on the eradication program than we could potentially lose by leaving it to natural predators and voluntary control programs. And that is not even counting the potential collateral costs of health complications, tourism declines, real estate drops, and other side effects.
Do a few bad apples really warrant an all-out war on a moth, and more importantly, potential harm to millions of adults, kids, and pets?
Why can't we change our mindset and become leaders in the organic farming evolution? Organic food is becoming popular and commands higher prices, and farming methods are becoming more efficient. We should be investing in the startups and projects that are innovating new methods to farm efficiently (use resources more intelligently while reducing waste), reduce the carbon footprint, and make better tasting food that is healthier for us all. That could even help solve our healthcare crisis at the same time. (Think of those economics...)
PS -
Hope to see a press release soon that is titled "Gov. Schwarzenegger
Meets with 'Local Moms and Dads and their Kids' on Light Brown Apple
Moth"
Comments