Would Gov. Rell Veto the School Pesticide Ban?

I don't know if a veto is a real possibility--my youngest graduated Foran High last summer, so its too late for me to protect him--but I hope that those of you with school age kids will join me in contacting the governor to let her know we care about this bill.

Here is what I sent:

Dear Governor Rell,


I am a physician, and mother of two children, both of whom attended public school here in Milford Ct.

I am greatly encouraged by the passage of HB 5234, protecting our children from the unnecessary health risks from the application of pesticides on school grounds. I am grateful to our legislative representatives for taking this forward thinking step.

I am aware that there will be major pressure from the commercial applicators of pesticides to have this bill vetoed. However as in the case of any new idea whose time has come, there will need to be new ways of thinking. These same businesses can delve into the huge market of natural lawn care and become leaders. Just as American car companies will eventually accept that low mileage or alternative fuels vehicles are the future, so will the chem lawn care companies find their market. The lawn care industry lobbyists will claim that the science linking acute and chronic illnesses to pesticides are weak. This is the same as our recent history of denial of the effects of greenhouse gases on climate.

There are myriad studies linking lawn care pesticides to short term and long term illnesses.

In the practice of medicine we rely on a risk/benefit ratio, if we assume that the risks of chronic exposure to pesticides are even half, a third,.. a quarter, of what we find in the medical literature, is it worth putting our children at that risk for such minimal benefit? ...when communities all over the US, and especially Canada have shown that they can provide attractive safe landscapes without the use of pesticides?

Thank you,
Laurel Lobovits MD

"Each year, we dump tens of millions of pounds of fertilizers and pesticides on our own backyards, thus poisoning birds and wildlife while creating one of the largest sources of pollution runoff in our lakes and streams."

John Flicker, President
National Audubon Society

"Every day of every week we are continuing in this country to expose children to chemicals whose toxicity is simply not known. As a pediatrician, I urge parents to think carefully about the choices they make, especially about pesticides."

Dr. Philip Landrigan,
Pediatrician and Director of the
Center for Children’s Health and
the Environment, Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Labels: legislation, pesticides

posted by itsallgreentome @ 2:35 AM 0 Comments Links to this post  

School Pesticide Bill in Trouble

Wow, we were already congratulating ourselves on the bill's imminent passage, and now its about to get snuffed. Can we muster the troops one more time? We only have until Wednesday to get through to our representatives. Here is Nancy Alderman's letter:

Dear All,

This reads like a novel. So-- the next chapter is this. Industry is now trying to put an amendment onto the school pesticide Bill 5234 at this late date.

The Legislators who are sponsoring industry's amendment are:

REP. STONE, 9th Dist. (D) East Hartford, Glastonbury and Manchester
1-800-842-8267 Christopher.Stone@cga.ct.gov

REP. MORIN, 28th Dist. (D) Wethersfield
1-800-842-8267 Russell.Morin@cga.ct.gov

REP. CHAPIN, 67th Dist. (R) New Milford 1-800-842-1423

REP. RUWET, 65th Dist. (R) Torrington 1-800-842-1423

REP. ORANGE, 48th Dist. (D) Colchester, East Haddam 1-800-842-8267
Linda.Orange@cga.ct.gov

REP. BERGER, 73rd Dist. (D) Waterbury 1-800-842-8267 Jeffrey.Berger@cga.ct.gov

The amendment asks that the date for the pesticide ban be pushed off to 2010, that schools be allowed to spray pesticides along their fence lines and that $100,000 go to CT agencies to study IPM (we know what that strategy is about).

Please call your own Representative - be sure to say it is from a constituent - and tell them not to vote for this proposed industry amendment.

Labels: legislation, pesticides

posted by itsallgreentome @ 10:47 AM 0 Comments Links to this post  

HB5234 Passes Senate Unanimously

from Jerome Silbert MD,
Watershed Partnership Director:

BILL TO PROTECT SCHOOL CHILDREN FROM TOXIC LAWN PESTICIDES PASSES SENATE UNANIMOUSLY
NOW FACES 2ND HOUSE VOTE

(Hartford, CT) On Wednesday, May 23rd, the Senate voted unanimously to support HB 5234, An Act Banning Pesticide Use on School Grounds. Connecticut officials, health professionals and child advocates are urging swift passage of the bill through the House now as the final days of the session approach. The bill, which passed the House with overwhelming support on a vote of 145-2 earlier this month, would phase out the use of lawn pesticides in primary and middle schools up to 8th grade thereby preventing harm to student and school worker health. Minor amendments relating to enforcement were added to the bill version passed by the Senate so the bill must return to the House for a final vote before session’s end.

“We are so close to achieving historic and broadly supported protections for Connecticut’s school children,” said Jerome Silbert, M.D., Executive Director of The Watershed Partnership. “But with time running out, it is now up to the leadership of the House to see that the bill is passed this session.”

Lawn pesticides are associated with a range of health impacts and disorders including certain cancers, asthma, birth defects, nervous system damage, and disruption of hormones essential for growth and development. Children are considered more vulnerable to health damage from pesticides because their organs, nervous and immune systems are still developing, they have a higher respiratory rate and inhale pesticides at a faster rate than adults, and they take in more pesticides in proportion to their body weight than adults.

“We know that safer alternatives to lawn pesticides help protect children and workers’ health,” said Tim Morse, Ph.D., CPE , spokesperson for Connecticut Public Health Association. “This bill should be a top priority for the legislature. A few minutes’ attention in the House will produce a lasting achievement in children’s health this session.”

Labels: legislation, pesticides

posted by itsallgreentome @ 6:55 PM 0 Comments Links to this post  

Ban on School Pesticides--We Are Almost There!

DEAR ECC MEMBERS,
YOU HAVE BEEN WONDERFUL AND VERY PATIENT AND MADE CALLS THAT HAVE BEEN VERY EFFECTIVE, BUT PLEASE ONE LAST CALL TO DICK ROY (800-842-1902) AND HOUSE SPEAKER JIM AMANN (800-842-8267). JUST TO LET THEM KNOW THAT YOU ARE STILL INTERESTED IN GETTING THIS BILL PASSED IN THIS SESSION. WE ARE DOWN TO THE CRUNCH AND THINGS HAVE A WAY OF GETTING OUT OF CONTROL AND WE DON'T WANT THIS BILL TO GET LOST IN THE SHUFFLE OF MADNESS.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE CALLS THAT YOU HAVE BEEN MAKING, IT HAS REALLY COUNTED AND MADE A DIFFERENCE IN HOW IT HAS BEEN RECEIVED. .
WE THANK YOU ALL FOR ALL YOUR HELP. SEE BELOW THE NEWS RELEASE BY DR.
JERRY SILBERT IF YOU WANT TO SEE WHY THE REVISIT TO THE HOUSE FOR ANOTHER VOTE.

BEST WISHES FOR A GOOD WEEK-END
ANN BERMAN

Labels: legislation, pesticides

posted by itsallgreentome @ 6:50 PM 1 Comments Links to this post