Call-to-Action: Stop The Spraying Alert

February 28, 2008

Light Brown Moth, Light Brown Moth
What Do You Hear?
I hear helicopters in the sky
Dumping unknown chemicals…

Apologies to Eric Carle.

If you haven’t heard already, there are plans to do an aerial spray against the Light Brown Moth in Marin this Summer. The first communities will be Tiburon, Belvedere, and San Francsico. Opponents, StoptheSpray, feel that there has not been full disclosure about the pesticide and not enough time to understand the health effects of the spraying. Considering that Marin County already high rates of Cancer, it is worth to think of protecting people over crops. The spraying will begin on August 1, 2008, and it will continue for several years.

The San Francisco Chronicle has already reported that communities in Santa Cruz and Monterey have already been sprayed and have complained of, “coughing, wheezing, muscle aches and headaches, among other symptoms.” One Monterey family reported that a child had a first-time asthma attack. 643 people in Santa Cruz and Monterey reported ill effects and hundreds of shore birds were found dead.

The pesticide they will be spraying is called, Checkmate, a hormone that is designed to throw off the scents of mating moths. Prior to this spraying, this pesticide has never been used over populated areas — only farmlands.

There are no independent studies to determine the short or long term environmental or health effects of Checkmate on any species. This goes for the formula that was used on Santa Cruz and Monterey, or the new formulation for Marin and San Francisco. The California Department of Food & Agriculture (CDFA) has not published a full list of ingredients of what will be sprayed, and has not conducted tests or environmental impact studies. There are also concerns what this pesticide will do to our bee population.

What Can YOU Do?

The Pesticide Free Zone Campaign of Marin is sponsoring a Marin County Town Hall Meeting on Monday, March 3, 2008 at 7:00PM. It will take place at the Corte Madera Town Center, Suite 201. The tentative speaker line up will be Paul Schramski from Pesticide Watch, John Russo from Stop the Spray, Fairfax NCRA attorney Steve Volker, Ginger Souders-Mason from Pesticide Free Zone Campaign, Nan Wishner chair IPM Task Force for the City of Albany, and a representative from CASS to speak about the experiences in Santa Cruz County. Frank Egger will be opening the meeting.

There is an online petition you can sign.

If you want to place your name on a MarinIJ Ad against this spraying email judishils@earthlink.net. They need names in by today, 2/28/2008. The Ad will appear this Sunday.

Contact the Marin Board of Supervisors (Susan Adams, Hal Brown, Charles McGlashan, Steve Kinsey, and Judy Arnold) to join the City of Albany (ie. Albany Resolution #08-4) and Fairfax (Ordinances banning pesticides on the Commons — Ordinance #686-FX Town Code, Title 8, Health and Safety, Chapter 8.40). in Opposing Aerial Spraying. The Supervisors number is 415-499-7331.

On February 22, five bills that address the LBAM spraying were introduced to the California Assembly. One of these bills, AB 2892, introduced by Assemblymember Swanson requires consent by 2/3 vote before spraying. Please contact our Assemblyman, Jared Huffman to let him know you support its passage. His number is (916) 319-2006.

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