October 6 Statement To Board Of Supervisors: Don’t Use RoundUp

Today I read this statement, modified from my earlier post, in support of a ban on glyphosate spraying in Marin to the Marin Board of Supervisors. 

Good afternoon Board members. I am a neighbor of this county Civic Center. I came home one day to find a flyer on my car window that my house, organic vegetable garden, and car had been sprayed by the county. 

This afternoon I will read from the Executive Summary of Pesticide Action Network’s 2012 Report:  A Generation In Jeopardy, How pesticides are undermining our children’s health & intelligence. 

Children today are sicker than they were a generation ago. From childhood cancers to autism, birth defects and asthma, a wide range of childhood diseases and disorders are on the rise. Our assessment of the latest science leaves little room for doubt: pesticides are one key driver of this sobering trend.

As the recent President’s Cancer Panel reports, we have been “grossly underestimating” the contribution of environmental contamination to disease, and the policies meant to protect us have fallen far short. Nearly 20 years ago, scientists at the National Research Council called for swift action to protect young and growing bodies from pesticides. Yet today, U.S. children continue to be exposed to pesticides that are known to be harmful in places they live, learn and play.

This report reviews dozens of recent studies that examine 

the impact of pesticides on children’s health. Our analysis reveals the following:

• Compelling evidence now links pesticide exposures with harms to the structure and functioning of the brain and nervous system. Neurotoxic pesticides are clearly implicated as contributors to the rising rates of attention deficit /hyperactivity disorder, autism, widespread declines in IQ and other measures of cognitive function.

• Pesticide exposure contributes to a number of increasingly common health outcomes for children, including cancer, birth defects and early puberty. Evidence of links to certain childhood cancers is particularly strong.

• Emerging science suggests that pesticides may be important contributors to the current epidemic of childhood asthma, obesity and diabetes.

• Extremely low levels of pesticide exposure can cause significant health harms, particularly during pregnancy and early childhood.

Many communities across the country have stepped up to create local or state policies to protect children from pesticide exposure…. 

Locally-driven actions are leading the way to healthier childhood environments. 

I urge the board to stop using pesticides. Thank you.