LBCA: Say No to Unnecessary Pesticides on Our Common Grounds
Dear LBC Neighbor:
Are you comfortable with our community's pesticide- and chemical-based approach to "turf care"? How much are you willing to risk for a weed-free setting, especially when safe, viable alternatives exist?
Did you know:
- Three times per year, weed killers (herbicides) are applied to the common grounds, all around our playgrounds, the lake, etc.? One contains an ingredient that's highly toxic to aquatic life, found in the urine of pets, and shown to have acute health effects before it “settles” after application (12 hours minimum). We're still waiting for info on the other two.
- As often "as needed" (~ 3 to 4 times/year), RoundUp — another herbicide that contains a "probable" cancer-causing ingredient according to a leading health authority (IARC) [1], has recently been definitively linked to birth defects [2], is banned across Europe, and is now being implicated in the dwindling bee population [3] — is applied with a hose to our sidewalks and other paved areas?
The use of these chemicals with their identified toxins puts all of our health, our children’s health and even our pets at risk --- not to mention the collateral effects on the amazing wildlife we are so fortunate enough to have in our own backyards and on the water quality of our lake, ponds, streams ... and ultimately our Chesapeake Bay, our oceans.
These open spaces provide us all with a beautiful haven in which to recreate: whether playing, relaxing, exercising, socializing, etc. Our children and pets interact even more intensely, more frequently, in closer proximity, and in different ways with their environment. This, together with their relatively smaller size and children's still-developing body systems, makes them even more vulnerable to the effects of toxins [4].
In light of bans against certain pesticides that were once widely used and thought perfectly safe --- and the growing body of evidence against several others still in use today --- we simply cannot be sure that these chemicals are not hurting us and our environment. We do know they are not truly addressing the needs of our turf.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection agency:
- "All pesticides are toxic to some degree..., and the commonplace, widespread use of pesticides is both a major environmental problem and a public health issue" [5]; and
- Pesticides should only be considered as a last resort because these inherently toxic "quick-fix" solutions mask rather than truly correct the underlying problems. "Serious, ongoing pest problems are often a sign that your lawn is not getting what it needs to stay healthy … [and that] you need to correct the underlying problem" [6].
THEREFORE, we the undersigned residents of Lake Braddock Community, in an effort to protect the health of our residents and our environment, to improve turf management practices, and to encourage the community’s Board of Directors to take immediate action, hereby request that LBCA and the community’s landscaping provider ("LCS"): (A) immediately stop the unnecessary use of pesticides (which do include herbicides) throughout the 130 acres of common areas (turf, paved, etc.) throughout the Lake Braddock Community; and (B) adopt a least-toxic integrated pest management plan (IPM), which:
- Ends the unnecessary use of pesticides on the common grounds in our community;
- Allows pesticide use only to protect human health or safety (such as in public health emergencies); and
- Requires that all residents be given 48-hour advance, written notification before pesticides are applied, AND that such notice shall include accurate identification of products used, AND that material safety data sheets (MSDS) for all products used shall be made readily available and accessible to residents.
The fact is, we don't need to choose between a beautiful place to live and the health of our community. We can err on the side of caution and refuse to allow additional known toxins into our lives and an environment already over-burdened with so many pollutants.
Please sign this petition to help our community keep its residents, including our children and our pets, happy and healthy ... and live in harmony with our environment.
THANK YOU, SO MUCH!!!
And for more information about related efforts in our community, please visit: https://lbcgreenblog.wordpress
Sources:
1. Accessed on June 4, 2017: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carey-gillam/iarc-sc...
2. Accessed on June 4, 2017: http://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/what-relatio...
3. Accessed on June 4, 2017: http://www.ewg.org/enviroblog/2017/04/study-shows-...
4. Accessed on June 4, 2017: http://npic.orst.edu/health/child.html
5. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances, “Healthy Lawn, Healthy Environment,” June 1992.
6. Accessed on May 26, 2017: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-04...
No signatures yet. Be the first one!
Comment