Connecticut yanks pesticides from school lawns
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In Mother Jones recently, David Kushner wrote a fascinating piece on the struggle in Connecticut to get pesticides banned from elementary school lawns. The most interesting part of this article has to do with the way that manufacturers of lawn care products (including pesticides/poisons) have worked keep municipalities from being able to implement stronger bans against pesticides than the state has already enacted. In Canada, where this isn't the case, many municipalities have banned the use of pesticides containing 2,4-D, a compound that makes up half of Agent Orange and has been linked to multiple health problems. Kushner quotes a representative of a lawn care company who calls Connecticut's move "asinine" and adds, "The normal person just doesn't care...look at the amount of yellow signs you see out there. If the concern was there amongst the general public, then no one would apply pesticides." Much as I resent this rep's implication that I am "abnormal" for caring, I agree - I see far too many instances of pesticide use all around me. Is it true that people don't care? Or is there just a lack of awareness?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-28-2008 @ 6:18PM
Josh said...
The irony of this change to organics is that they cost nearly 3x as much as chemical fertilizers causing most towns to cut budgets for programs like sports which would use the ballfields. That is exactly what happened in my local CT town. They even toyed with the idea of letting half our ballfields go back natural, effectively ridding access to any sports programs and opportunities in the area.
Luckily, that plan was not put into place, but we do pay increased taxes, and on top of that sports usage fees to be able to play on the fields as well. While I applaud the decision to switch to organics, it's sad that the cost is so much greater than chemical applications that it forces towns to have to cut programs meant to encourage sport, activity, and culture in the community.
Thanks
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