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Pastimes : Let's Talk About Our Feelings!!! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill who wrote (97372)	3/8/2005 6:49:59 PM
From: Grainne	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 108807

Bill, unfortunately the lawn itself does not absorb all the chemicals. You put you, your family and your pets at risk when you use garden chemicals, in addition to poisoning the environment. In families that use garden chemicals, their risk of certain cancers skyrockets, for example. So I would suggest that you do some reading and mull it over. Here is an article from a site that seems pretty interesting. It is a Vermont organization--not sure where you live--but most of the information is quite general: Healthy Lawn Care for Healthy Communities Americans keep lawns to provide themselves and their families with a cool green oasis where they can play and relax. But dousing those lawns with toxic pesticides means that a space meant for families and pets can become a potent danger to health and the environment. Americans maintain over 25 million acres of lawn, with an average amount of 5 to 10 pounds of pesticide (active ingredient) used per acre per year. That rate of pesticide use is more than three times as high as rates of pesticide use on farms, and it means that we are exposing ourselves, our children and our environment to the unintended effects of as much as 200 million pounds of pesticides nationwide from lawn care alone. In Vermont, almost 12,000 pounds of pesticide active ingredient were used for turf and weed control by commercial applicators alone in 1999. This figure does not include the thousands of pounds of pesticides used by homeowners around the state. Health Dangers Why should we be concerned about this astronomical level of pesticide use? First, there are the acute dangers pesticides pose to humans—about 140,000 pesticide poisonings are reported to US poison control centers each year, 90% of them occurring at home and 50% of those to children under 6. To support VPIRG's "Pesticide Free Lawn Campaign", make a donation on-line through helping.org's secure server! Obviously, reduced use of household pesticides could prevent many of these poisonings. But perhaps more importantly, many of the chemical pesticides in use today are associated with long-term human health problems, including cancers, birth defects, and neurological diseases: According to the US EPA, the majority of lawn care chemicals in use today are possible or probable carcinogens; A National Cancer Institute Study indicated that children in homes where lawn and garden pesticides were used were 6.5 times more likely to develop acute lymphoblastic leukemia than those living where pesticides were not used; Multiple studies have linked Parkinson’s Disease to the use of common household herbicides and insecticides; 14 of the most commonly used lawncare pesticides are linked to birth defects. Humans and their pets can be exposed to lawn care pesticides in a variety of ways—by swallowing, inhalation or absorption through the skin. Despite labels that indicate that treated lawns are safe for human and animal contact after 24 or 48 hours, many lawn and garden pesticides have been found to persist far longer than that period of time. Pesticides can also contaminate indoor environments when tracked or blown inside. Thus family members or pets can be exposed to pesticides when playing on a treated lawn or contaminated carpet or using an exposed toy or tool, even after the reentry period listed on the label. Even when used as directed, pesticides kill non-target organisms—beneficial insects, desirable plants, birds and other wildlife—along with their target pests. Because most pesticides work by interfering with physiological processes shared by many organisms, they can kill indiscriminately. Crashes in honeybee populations, damage to wild plant life, fish and bird die-offs have all been linked to herbicide and insecticide use. Lawns and gardens treated with chemical pesticides and fertilizers can be a significant source of surface water contamination when the chemicals used run off into neighboring water bodies. When pesticide residues contaminate waters, they can kill off small plants and animals at the bottom of the food web, as well as damaging some fish species. Farther afield, the manufacture of pesticides affects workers’ health and often generates highly toxic residues that are released to the air and water. And since many unused pesticides are disposed of in landfills or incinerators or poured down drains, they can continue releasing their toxic contents to the water and air even after disposal. Healthy Lawns Without Chemicals It is perfectly possible to maintain a healthy green lawn and garden without risking the dangerous side effects of chemical pesticides. School districts, golf courses, parks and municipalities around the country have been able to successfully manage their grounds without synthetic pesticides. With our Pesticide Free Lawn Campaign, VPIRG is urging all Vermonters to take a positive step for the environment and public health. By eliminating the use of toxic chemicals to maintain your home environment you can take a significant step to protect your family and your community from the potentially serious consequences of pesticide exposure. And by publicizing your action with our “pesticide free lawn” sign, you can help to spread the word about reducing pesticide use to protect the environment. VPIRG can provide consumers with information on organic lawn care, and referrals to organizations that maintain vast stores of information on nontoxic pest control. We are also developing a list of lawn and garden stores and landscapers in Vermont that provide organic lawn care products and services. These efforts will help provide the tools and information Vermonters need to go chemical free. People all over the world are realizing that the potential dangers of lawn and garden pesticides far outweigh their benefits. Join with them in eliminating a serious environmental and public health danger, and celebrate by posting your “Pesticide Free Lawn” sign today! Pesticide Free Lawn Campaign Steps: Pledge to use no synthetic pesticides on your lawn this year Post a lawn sign letting others know you’ve taken the pledge Talk to your friends and neighbors about joining you in this campaign to reduce the impact of pesticides on Vermont’s environment and public health For more information or to order lawn signs call VPIRG at 802 223 5221. Check the VPIRG web site for links to information on effects of pesticides and actions you can take to reduce the use of pesticides in Vermont www.vpirg.org * Active ingredient can compose as little as 1% of a given pesticide product, and so-called “inert” ingredients can be substances listed as health and environmental toxins. With our Pesticide Free Lawn Campaign, VPIRG is urging all Vermonters to take a positive step for the environment and public health. By eliminating the use of toxic chemicals to maintain your home environment you can take a significant step to protect your family and your community from the potentially serious consequences of pesticide exposure. And by publicizing your action with our “pesticide free lawn” sign, you can help to spread the word about reducing pesticide use to protect the environment. vpirg.org