Stop the Spray or Mothra Might Ruin the Economy
In California, and San Francisco in particular, we see almost as many Obama for president placards in home and business windows as we see Stop the Spray signs. It seems like the precursor for a B-grade sci-fi film with the storyline pitting the the government versus this evil moth. But this isn’t Mothra we’re talking about, its the Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM).
The situation involves not just the local governments but the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) and CDFA (California Department of Food and Agriculture) that claim that the LBAM will cause major destruction of crops in California. The feds think that we must take swift action or suffer the economic impact of quarantines, which they estimate will cost CA millions of dollars.
Something curious happened on the way to this economic thinking. To date, the LBAM has caused ZERO crop damage. The economic damage has been due only to quarantines imposed on the Golden State by Canada and Mexico. When the Feds sprayed Santa Cruz and Monterey counties last fall the counties recorded over 640 health problems. This number represented only the reported cases, and conservative estimates of actual health impacts by local agencies put the number of cases at ten times the number of reports claimed.
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It gets better. But of course numerous unbiased, third party agencies have tested the safety of this spray, right? In a word, NO. The Feds have waived all safety tests and environmental impact reviews due to the “emergency status.” The “inert” ingredients (which in pesticide speak means that the pesticides, though chemically active, are not targeting the moth in this particular cocktail of chemicals) of the spray that was used last year in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties contain known carcinogens, mutagens and endocrine disrupters.
It’sSanta Cruz and Monterey not like this moth has been part of a recent invasion but most entomologists including Dr. James Carey, a professor of entomology and invasion pest biology from University of California - Davis, contend that the little critter has been in Cali for at least 30 years.
This moth resides in New Zealand and as of 2003, they manage to control it by natural predators. We don’t have the space to cover this whole story but we have to think why do they want to spray this “agent orange for moths” over urban areas like San Francisco and Oakland. We’re sure that the babies and pets will react well to the days and weeks of poison sprayed over our fair metropolises.
Maybe the best thing that will happen (aside from the the governemnet coming to its senses) is for Mothra to eat everyone in Washinston who greenlighted this order. Maybe then they would be right to spray.
Photo credit - veganreader.com
