Stop the Spray

The State and Federal Governments has made a terrible decision that will affect all of us, beginning in California. A little moth has been declared a class A pest and so the feds gave California $70+ million to aerial spray over a populated area on the premise that it needed to be eradicated to protect farmers' crops. When they sprayed over Santa Cruz/Monterey last Fall, 640 people were made ill, dogs and cats were sick, and birds died.

California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is planning to spray the wider San Francisco Bay Area and Santa Cruz/Monterey with tiny plastic capsules (some small enough to get in your lungs) containing a synthetic pheromone mixture that includes mutagens, endocrine disruptors, and possible carcinogens. Capsules will emit the mixture over 30 to 90 days, and then we'll be strafed again from military type planes @ 500', and again, and again, for 9 months of the year, for 3-5 years, maybe forever. We'll be bathed in chemicals for 9 months of the year.

Public and local government outcry has not dissuaded CDFA, nor have reliable reports from reputable university scientists that the little critter is not as voracious or peripatetic as they claim. Thus far, there has been no damage in California or USA (CDFA's own records), and designation of LBAM as a class A pest seems to have some connection to NAFTA as well as trade with New Zealand (NZ) from whence it came. Also, this classification opens federal coffers to fill depleted California.

According to the director of the Arboretum @ UC Santa Cruz, the moth originated in Australia and got to NZ years ago; caused some damage when NZ was using organophosphate pesticides (OPs) which also killed natural predators. Since NZ stopped using OPs, LBAM is well controlled by "nature". It is expected the same will happen here, especially by the stingless native wasps that CDFA already releases to control other insects. Also, sterile males can be developed as was done for the Med Fly.

Health & Habitat has been selected as the 501-C-3 to raise money for a lawsuit to stop the spray; the lawsuit will have a long term component as well as attend to the impending spraying. Luckily we have access to respected researchers, including some with data on how even small amounts of chemicals can cause serious health problems; recently it has been shown that parts per trillion can adversely affect a fetus.

Steve Volker, a foremost litigator and CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) expert with numerous Appellate and Supreme Court precedent setting wins, has agreed to take the case. We are busy raising the needed funding and need your help.

A generous Tiburon resident has made a series of matching fund donations ($2000, $8000, $10,000) so your dollars will be worth double.

We really need to do this NOW - for the whole country. If the State and Feds were to be successful in California, we are told similar programs would be initiated in other places for this or other insects. We all know that the more we interfere with natural balance, the more things get out of kilter. And we are already tipping in a lot of places!

There are many groups working on the problem from many angles, but we are the only one using the sure-fire legal path. Already, Monterey and Santa Cruz are protected until the Environmental Impact Report is done (which we expect will be a white-wash). Political action has brought about temporary concessions; but only a law suit can stop the planes from flying or the trucks from dousing our streets and homes, playgrounds, and recreation areas.

Please send your tax deductible, to be matched donations to: Health & Habitat, Inc., 76 Lee Street, Mill Valley, CA, 94941; 415-383-6130; IRS # 68-0143498. Call 415-338-6130, or Frank @ 415-456-6356, for information or copies of research papers. For details on events and LBAM updates, go to www.stopthespray.org.