Open Letter to All Readers (especially those who reside in the San Francisco Bay Area):
Disclaimer:
I'm generally not a politically active or politically involved person. But the following issue really ruffles my feathers. Please take a few minutes out of your busy schedule to read this decidedly non-gaming-related entry about the potential health hazard millions of Bay Area citizens may soon face. I wish the information presented below were a video game or multiplayer online game scenario. Unfortunately, this is the real deal...
My roommate is planning on leaving San Francisco in the near future because of his opposition to and fear of the health-related repercussions of the scheduled aerial spraying of the city beginning August 1 (2008). In case you haven't heard, there's a lot of talk lately about the aerial spraying of huge sections of the Bay Area by the California Department of Food and Agriculture in order to stop the spread of the light brown apple moth (LABM)--a pest.
Areas scheduled to be sprayed are all of San Francisco, all of the East Bay from the Carquinez Strait (Crockett/Pinole/Hercules south to the southern border of Oakland. No exceptions. This includes cities like Richmond, Albany, Berkeley, etc that have not been explicitly listed in some news reports), Daly City, Colma, etc.
According to the California Alliance to Stop the Spray, this spraying will be done from planes up to 9 times per year for 3-10 years ! There is a large opposition movement to this operation. Over 600 health complaints were reported in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties--where spraying has already taken place. Among the groups who oppose this spraying are the Sierra Club, the City of Santa Cruz, the Breast Cancer Fund, Coalition for Clean Air, etc.
There is data to the effect that the "inert" ingredients in the pesticide cocktail are carcinogenic and not regulated.The California Department of Food and Agriculture is playing up the angle that the spray is composed of nontoxic "moth pheromone." The many groups opposing this operation insist that there are many additional highly-toxic chemicals that make up the pesticide "cocktail."
My roommate was planning on staying in San Francisco for the rest of his natural life and planning on buying a condo in town. He is a highly educated, well read, informed, politically active computer professional who has researched this issue and attended community meetings addressing the topic. He recently attended a meeting in which four California Department of Food and Agriculture reps would not address citizens' concerns or answer questions. According to these reps, they were only there to take statements of concern to factor into an environmental impact report and they absolutely would not answer any questions.
My roommate points out that If the goal of this spraying is supposed to protect crops, why are they exclusively spraying it in urban population centers? There are many theories about the " true nature" of this operation that range from the huge monetary gains by the key players involved, to contentions that "...the government of the United States, is conducting a human biological experiment, on a massive scale, breaking State, Federal and International laws." (Hopefortruth.com).
It is hard to believe that this massive aerial spraying is a harmless effort. This kind of stuff has happened before. When I was a kid in L.A. In the 1980s, the chemical Malathion was sprayed all over L.A. to combat a fruit fly. My mother came down with a mysterious illness that wreaked havoc on her system for several months. Doctors didn't know what to make of it. My mother is convinced her illness was a result of Malathion exposure. She had never experienced anything of the sort before or since the Malathion spraying.
For the first time in forever, I am going to contact my representatives, although I fear my concerns will befall deaf ears. My vision may be selective, but more often than not, I see bad things happen to good people and the forces of greed and power reigning supreme.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
FAQ about the spraying:
http://www.lbamspray.com/00_Flyers/FREQUENTLY%20ASKED%20QUESTIONS.pdf
SF Chronicle Q & A by Richard Fagerlund (Scientist/Columnist):
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/23/HO4OUNNC6.DTL&feed=rss.news
Article by Hope for Truth:
http://www.hopefortruth.com/Lbam_Articles/75_for_aerial_spray.htm
Stop the Spray:
http://www.stopthespray.org/
Hope for Truth:
http://www.hopefortruth.com/
California Alliance to Stop the Spray:
http://www.cassonline.org/
Don't Spray California
http://www.dontspraycalifornia.org/
Lbam Spray Info:
http://www.lbamspray.com/
6 comments:
I had heard nothing about this until I read your blog. It seems so odd, and sketchy!
I tried to find a link to post, but you have covered pretty much every link on the topic!
I found this at source
"Read the bills by logging on to www.leginfo.ca.gov.
AB2764 by Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, would prohibit the California Secretary of Food and Agriculture from approving the application of a pesticide in an urban area as part of an eradication project unless the governor has proclaimed a state of emergency.
AB2763 by John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, would require the state Department of Food and Agriculture to prepare a list of invasive species that might enter the state, including which chemicals might be used in eradication.
AB2765 by Jared Huffman, D-Marin, would require a public hearing and the examination of alternatives to aerial spraying before any decision to do so. It also requires full disclosure of all substances in the products.
AB2760 by Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would require that an environmental review be completed before the state agricultural department could apply pesticides in urban areas for the eradication of the light brown apple moth."
Wow! I knew about the aerial spray that they were thinking of conducting, but I never knew much about it because I don't like bugs. But after reading your post you gave me a whole new perspective to this story.
I thought it was great that you had a disclaimer that explained you were not an activist. I totally can relate to that.
You included tons of information, including some theories as to why the spraying "needs" to occur.
The San Francisco Bay Area is a beautiful and diverse place to live in, but to think that we are being used as an experiment is mind-boggling. Since your post, there have been a few changes that hopefully will put an end to the proposed aerial spray. Check out this article.
Its good to break away from your blog's original intention to give information like this. I'm not so into aerial spraying. However, just for fun I'll tell a story about a conversation I had the other day. I was standing outside a building in downtown San Francisco. Where these two college aged kids were smoking cigarettes. They were talking about the spraying and I quote "I'm not stoked about breathing that shit in. I could get cancer or something." I fucking laughed and laughed. This asshole is sucking down a cigarette. Ha! Just so you know other bloggers are concerned as well. This Organic blog has written a wordy post.
Trust your leaders, go back to the mall and spend quietly. Everything is under control. Don't bug out, be strong, fight the terrorists, the radicals, the leftists, and environmentalists. Try not to breath.
Thank you for all of this info. For anyone that reads this post or if you want to pass it on. Here is the contact info for Barbara Lee and Nancy Pelosi. People need to become more active in their communities. Thank you for posting all of this info.
What a wonderful blog to inform yourself and others. The state has been spraying this shit in my hometown, Stockton, located in the central valley, forever.
I'm glad to see that we're all becoming aware, many activist are fighting for "Environmental Justice."
The best book that you can read is called, "From the Ground Up." It documents the victories for struggles on these issues and how the (EPA) Environmental Protection Agency has purposely worked with the government to do and pull off shit like this.
I became informed about environmental/social justice issues from my Ethnic Studies classes at State, I'm very glad for this.
Another thing to ponder... while being active within the system and outside of it, we must also put out positive vibrations and visualize a world of justice for humanity and mother earth: clean air, water, and food. Let's stop buying into the b.s. that is sold to us that we can't do it, there aren't enough resources, and so on.
The law of attraction works and the universe it listening: ask, visualize, live as you already have it, and believe/trust that we can have it.
Anything and everything is possible!
Yours for Justice,
Josie
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