Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : IMPEACH GRAY DAVIS! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (394)	6/22/2003 10:12:00 PM
From: Lazarus_Long	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1641

That far back? Dang, I must be an old fart now! Actually, as I remember, there was also some spraying in southern CA. Some medflies- -Mediterranean fruit flies, the ones geneticists just love- -were found in several areas of Silicon Valley. These little buggers have put whole fruit industries out of business in some nations. In others, they cause many billions of damage every year. Anyway, the last thing the farmers wanted was for these things to get established and show up in the Central Valley. They could devastate the CA fruit industry. And most likely would. The state decided that spraying of selective areas from aircraft and helicopters would be made to eliminate them. They picked the safest pesticide they could find - malathion - because they would be using it in urban areas. They warned people when it would be done and told them to stay indoors during the spraying. The spraying would be done late at night. This increased the risk to the pilots, but made it easier for the rest of the populace to be off the streets. A risk assessment conducted by the California Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment concluded that the aerial application of malathion in 1989-90 posed no significant risk to public health. cdpr.ca.gov Malathion is also used medically in much higher dosages as a treatment for hair lice. Its side effect: Along with its needed effects, a medicine may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention. Check with your doctor as soon as possible if any of the following side effects occur: * Rare o Skin rash When malathion is applied to the skin in recommended doses, symptoms of poisoning have not been reported. However, the chance may exist, especially if the skin is broken. Symptoms of malathion poisoning include: * Abdominal or stomach cramps; anxiety or restlessness; clumsiness or unsteadiness; confusion or mental depression; convulsions (seizures); diarrhea; difficult or labored breathing; dizziness; drowsiness; increased sweating; increased watering of mouth or eyes; loss of bowel or bladder control; muscle twitching of eyelids, face, and neck; pinpoint pupils; slow heartbeat; trembling; unusual weakness Other side effects may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. However, check with your doctor if either of the following side effects continues or is bothersome: * Less common or rare o Redness, pain, swelling of eye, eyelid, inner lining of eyelid; burning, dry or itching eyes, discharge, excessive tearing; stinging or irritation of scalp nlm.nih.gov Predicably, some of the environmentalists went berserk. Some gave the impression that they would rather see the fruit fly get established than spray. They went to court and the whole thing turned into a soap opera. They lost in court and the state got permission to begin spraying. Which, in a matter of weeks, killed the last of the flies and stopped the infestation. I remember one half-hysterical environmentalist on TV crying about "terror in the night" as she heard the helicopters fly over her area. I have wondered if it ever occurred to those who fought spraying what the damage to human health would be if the CA fruit industry were destroyed. There were no injuries to humans from the spraying. There weren't even any lawsuits for injury.