Steve Tvedten comments on Ronald Bailey Article
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Reasons article in Chemically Speaking
Date:
Tue, 3 Sep 2002
From:
Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization: Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)
To: Paul Helliker <phelliker@cdpr.ca.gov>
Director, State of California, Department of Pesticide
Regulation
cc: Christine Whitman whitman.christine@epa.gov
Dear Mr. Helliker, I just received the following e-mail and I thought you might be interested:
Steve:
Have you seen the article by Ronald Bailey, the science correspondent for Reasonline, that claims the environmental movement launched by Rachel Carson's on the hazards of pesticides is all based on ignorant facts and imaginary risks. He bases his views on DDT and a 1996 report by the National Academy of Sciences which concludes that natural diet components may prove of greater concern than synthetic with respect to cancer. He dismisses the entire environmental movement because DDT was not proven to be a major health threat. But he does admit it thinned the shells of raptors. I came across a reference to Reasons article in Chemically Speaking, the University of Florida newsletter that the Pesticide Information Office puts out. I hope you will address Reasons article in a future email. Fred
Dear Fred,
Benjamin Disraeli once stated: "Lies, damn lies, and statistics." I would like to start by using his same response. I would like to note that I almost died from my personal exposures to cyclodiene chlorinated hydrocarbons. I would also like to note that the original intent of FIFRA was to "register" only those economic POISONS that were being used to "control" pest problems. Only the active POISON ingredient was to be considered - so up to 99% or more of the POISON formulation was and is still totally ignored and is obviously untested! Many of the various unknown ingredients in this untested POISON formulation (called "inerts or other ingredients") are individually far more deadly to you and yours than the active "registered" ingredients. No one can honestly say how dangerous the total POISON "brew" is, especially when you fail to consider the various/myriad synergistic health effects, all of the untested "inerts", any/all contaminants (like dioxin), all of the various untested metabolites, etc. will be to all of the various people, pets, animals and other non-targer species who are even acutely much less chronically exposed to literally thousands of different combinations. No small wonder that it is against the federal law to say that even the labeled use of any "registered" POISON is "safe". There are about 10 million insect species, we have named about one million, there are only about 1,000 species that are considered to be pests - of this group over half have become resistant to DDT and these other "registered" pesticide POISONS. We now use 4.5 BILLION pounds of "registered" POISONS every year in just the USA trying to "control" pest problems! Dr. Leaky has estimated that we now lose 50,000 to 100,000 species of plants, insects and animals every year because of man's "footprint". I would like to point out that in spite of waging chemical warfare for over 6o years and suffering all this needless contamination, we have never "controlled" much less eliminated even one pest species. We now lose much more to insect damage than we did before we had any "registered" pesticide POISONS! In 1993, EPA, USDA and FDA all agreed to find alternatives to their "registered" economic POISONS. Yet today no one in any of these agencies can even define the word "alternative". Common sense should tell you that if something is not a POISON (like food-grade and/or GRAS materials) it can not and should not be considered to be a (registered or unregistered) pesticide POISON. I have developed, field tested, researched and/or formulated over 2300 safe and far more effective (food-grade and/or GRAS) alternatives that actually control even resistant pest problems. Until the government "legally" allows their use - no one can "legally" use any of these safe and far more effective alternatives, and there are "some regulators" who demand that only their dangerous "registered" POISON cocktails can be used/misused in ever increasing amounts to "control" pest problems. We now all "normally" have 500 to 1,000 POISONS in us that were not in our grandparents. It is time to get clean and sober. Obviously common sense is not too common and "sound science" is not too sound!
Rachel Carson, noted in Silent Spring, 1962: "We should no longer accept the counsel of those who tell us that we must fill our world with poisonous chemicals; we should look about and see what other course is open to us."
I have posted a free pest control book on the web that uses safe and far more effective alternatives, it is entitled: THE BUG STOPS HERE. You can download it for free at: http://www.thebestcontrol.com .
Respectfully, Stephen L. Tvedten
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