Santa Cruz Sentinel - Light brown apple moth spraying resumes June 1

In the face of lawsuits and swelling opposition from environmental groups, the state Wednesday it will resume aerial spraying June 1 in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties in its bid to eradicate the light brown ...

[Sam]

This should be great for tourism...NOT!

[We the people]

John Laird's staff member contacted the CDFA, they have not notified residents yet, but they are also planning ground spraying with BT as soon as mid to late March. BT is a pesticide used in organic farming, but it is toxic when sprayed around people. In 1996, BT was sprayed over urban areas of New Zealand. Here is an excerpt from a PANNA news update about it:
Auckland spraying victims publish scathing report: In 1996, New Zealand began massive aerial sprayings to eradicate moths that reportedly posed an economic threat to plantation forests. The West Auckland urban area was sprayed 48 times over a period of 70 days with Foray 48B, a product based on the naturally-occurring soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, subspecies Kurstaki (BtK). More than 400 residents reported being sickened. Despite medical reports and university studies linking the spraying to seizures, headaches, memory loss, skin rashes, vomiting and respiratory distress, the government refused to investigate. Dr. Meriel Watts of PAN New Zealand called it "completely unacceptable to spray an urban population...with a brew of a biological insecticide and chemicals, and prevent the community from knowing what chemicals they are being sprayed with." In March 2006, residents raised $20,000 to hold their own five-day inquiry. The results of those hearings, including testimony of 70 individuals before a panel of four health experts, are now available in a new book, Peoples Inquiry, which calls for the government to compensate residents who experienced health problems and also suffered the loss of "jobs, businesses, schooling, homes and marriages as a result of the spraying."

The CDFA has not been forthcoming about the ground spray methods they are planning to use, which can be as or more toxic then the aerial spray which has already caused adverse reactions to many residents.
The aerial spray, Checkmate,was never tested by the EPA, and the ingredients were later determined to be level 3 intoxicants if exposed to skin or ingested. Inhalation has never been tested on humans. The CDFA is planning to dump a longer lasting version of checkmate spray with micro capsules that can lodge inside the lungs and time release over 30-90 days. Or they may shower us with pesticide laced "confetti" or pesticide and urea bb pellets (easily eaten by children and pets). The ingredients can cause cancer, respiratory illness, birth defects and the list goes on and on. They are endocrine disrupters which can cause miscarriages and all kinds of diseases in mothers and babies. The CDFA is planning to continue this at regular intervals for up to 5 years, possibly expanding the program state wide, and ground spraying in between aerial sprays. This stuff is poisoning people, animals and the environment. Why is the Sentinel not divulging more about this threat to our health and environment? Steve Lyle says we have no vote. They have to remember, the citizens of California outnumber them, and we wont take kindly to having our lives threatened or those of our children. We are organizing and will stop this. If any members of the CDFA or the state or federal gov. supporting the spraying of pesticides on people are reading this, know that your days in office are numbered, and you will be held accountable for the sickness, possible deaths and destruction to the environment that your decisions are creating. You are in direct violation of the Nuremberg code, by experimenting untested chemicals on humans without their consent. If any of those in power have a conscience, act now to stop this. It is more important to save the lives of many then keep your job, or make $$ for special interests. Stand up and do the right thing. If you dont, you can be sure we the people will..and you will be held accountable.

[wildman]

The CDFA needs to do a couple of placebo sprayings in conjunction with regular hormone spraying. I would bet the number of health related complaints would be the same. The spraying is not good for life, but it is impossible to measure whether or not the good(elimination of the LBAM) outweighs the bad(ill effects on life).

[Pete]

Don't spray chemicals over our state!
I thought we'd learn from our past mistakes. You can't effectively solve a problem like this by turning to chemicals. Organic farming is all our planet can tolerate. There already are too many different poisons, herbicides, pesticides floating around in our water, soil and food. Our earth is suffering enough as it is. Can't somebody do the right thing for a change! STOP the spraying!

[Wescruz]

Hey, you know what is REALLY strange?
People are overreacting to this whole spraying thing. And at the same time..........plenty of mind altering/destroying drugs being sold all over the place right here in good ole Santa Cruz.
Smoking crack cocaine, doing heroin. ecstasy. meth.
all these things are just acceptable here. Sometimes it seems like santa cruz yokels are good at selective outrage. I bet you anything that even alcohol is more dangerous than the "pesticide" or any pesticide that is up for discussion in use around here. WAKE UP PEOPLE!! there are those among us who are really very paranoid. Which drug did it for you? meth? ecstasy? crack? Or is it that you are just fine drinking down the koolaid?:)

[NOT ON MY LAND]

We are expecting our birth of our son in late may.... So I guess we will have to move. I AM NOT GOING TO LET THESE NAZIS POISON MY SON FROM BIRTH.!!!!!!!!!THEY HAVE ANOTHER THING COMING.!!!!I GUESS WE NEED TO TAKE OTHER ACTION!!!!!!!!!!

[Join the resistance]

The California Alliance to Stop the Spray was organized by citizens in Santa Cruz & Monterey Counties in response to last year's sprayings. This organized opposition is the reason that CDFA has delayed the spraying till June and added other methods, some of which are equally toxic unfortunately. Get involved by going to www.lbamspray.com . Also www.stopthespray.org and 1hope.org have good info too. Letters to the Governor (he can stop this immediately) along w/ all other local, state, and federal representatives are necessary and effective.
We also need to call for the full involvement of the state and local public health agencies to treat and track all adverse reactions to these toxic sprayings. Amazing that they can deny that the over 650 reports of sickness after the sprayings weren't caused by the sprayings without ever having done any medical follow-up on these cases. No studies of long-term safety let alone the effects of inhaling these products have ever been done. They just "know" its safe and that's that.

[bpm]

The Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the LBAM aerial spray is due out this Fall, yet the California Department of Food and Agriculture already have dates selected to spray (June 1 Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties; August 1 most of the Bay Area Region). What a sham of a process. To Not On My Land - be careful where you move since most of California has LBAM and has quarantined areas - good luck.

[DBS]

"We the people" When you have my permission to speak for me, I will let you know it.

[we the people 2]

DBS, no one needs your permission to do anything on this site. Not even your kids if you have any. Of course, those of us who regularly make and read comments, including yours, are well aware that anyone who writes intelligent and well-researched comments does not represent you and the other yahoos on this site who mistake rude remarks for informed commentary.