Massive BLM attack on wilderness areas

if you have an opinion on this, voice it at the link at the bottom. this news was too unbelievable NOT to share!

tf

ALERT: U.S. PROPOSES DOUSING WILDERNESS AREAS WITH HERBICIDES
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has proposed to apply massive amounts of herbicides to public lands in 17 Western states. The BLM claims these pesticides need to be applied to forests, rangelands and aquatic areas in order to reduce the risk of fire and slow the spread of invasive weeds. Under the proposal 932,000 acres would undergo chemical application in 17 western states, including National Monuments and National Conservation areas. An integral part of his proposal involves aerial spraying of toxic herbicides, which increases negative impacts on non-targeted vegetation, wildlife, and people, including recreationists, tourists, and native peoples. The pesticides that would be used include persistent and mobile chemicals, including known developmental and reproductive toxins. Public comments are being accepted until January 9, 2006. Sign the petition here to support the continued use of traditional vegetation management techniques on public lands that do not involve toxic chemicals.: http://www.organicconsumers.org/blm.htm

Thanks for posting this.

thanks!

Texas isn't included in this, but so many other states are! i already signed my name to itk just took a mintue! we simply need to let the govt know we want them to use "option C", which is vegetation management, instead of pesticides. my mom got reporductive cancer from a crop duster here. they are no longer allowed in our area. and think of all the people that will lose their jobs, and be replaced with chemicals, a couple of planes and pilots, and a handful of chemical handlers...

Tamara, thank you for this post. May I also ask anyone reading this to take a look at another link from the link you posted and to express your opinion there, too?

It's about a pesticide study the EPA will be doing. I hope, after reading this article, that anyone reading this will think about who is selling the seeds you buy next spring.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/bytes/111204.cfm

I take a lot of alarmist stuff on the internet with a grain or two of salt, but if this really is true as it is written, I find this even more shocking.


EPA WILL USE POOR KIDS AS GUINEA PIGS IN NEW STUDY ON PESTICIDES
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), led by Bush appointees, plans to launch a new study in which participating low income families will have their children exposed to toxic pesticides over the course of two years. For taking part in these studies, each family will receive $970, a free video camera, a T-shirt, and a framed certificate of appreciation. In October, the EPA received $2 million to do the study from the American Chemistry Council, a chemical industry front group that includes members such as Dow, Exxon, and Monsanto. The EPA's Linda Sheldon says the study is vital, because so little is known about how small children's bodies absorb harmful chemicals. As of press time, none of the EPA's employees are offering to have their own children take part in this research project. The Organic Consumers Association is calling on the nation's citizens to demand the EPA forgo this project before its scheduled launch in early 2005. Sign petition by clicking here and forward this email to family and friends... http://www.organicconsumers.org/epa-alert.htm

...

Are the people coming up with these solutions *human* at all? I'm glad this is posted here.. And I'm sad and fearful that such atrocities seem perfectly justified to our current administration.

This could have the long-lasting and devastating effects that Agent Orange did. The soldiers exposed to Agent Orange have had their lives ruined but the government denied it for years because they didn't want to have to pay military disability. If this is true, there will always be some fools willing to subject their children to this kind of testing because they are either completely into denial or just want a little money.
Everyone who reads about kids medicine at all knows that the idea that a kid half your may react just twice as badly as an adult is wrong. A child half an adult's size may react to some medications and other chemicals 10 times as strongly as the adult, or maybe even worse.
If people are going to crowd into fire-prone areas, they are going to risk losing their homes and maybe their lives. They should not be allowed to damage a large area enviromentally, which will, in return, cause even more problems.

I HAVE GOOD NEWS!

Yes the above post is true, but notice the date on the post and the link.... 11/2004 was the story, and it would have happened in 2005. BUT IT DIDN'T. People signed the petition and WERE HEARD!!!:

"ALERT UPDATE: EPA PROPOSED RULE ALLOWING CHEMICAL TESTING ON HUMANS
Thanks to all of you for responding to OCA's recent alert regarding the EPA proposed rule that would allow studies of chemicals on children. Over 20,000 of OCA's supporters sent letters to the EPA on this issue. Last week, EPA's union of scientists joined our ranks and publicly protested the rule. "The main reason that most people came to EPA was because we wanted to protect public health. This rule is really undercutting what EPA is supposed to stand for," said Dave Christenson, an EPA scientist. The public comment period on the proposed rule closed on Monday, and the ,b.EPA administrative officials are now discussing what to do with the rule. We will keep you posted. ,/b.
Learn more: http://www.organicconsumers.org/Toxic/epa6.cfm"

emphasis mine, sorry i don't have time to edit it...

this update is from THIS WEEK, the same e-letter as the other info i posted. any of you could subscribe and get this in your inbox, so full of important stuff, and it would be handy to print it out, pass it on, tell others, and most important, TAKE ACTION. if everyone who reads this thread and is concerned subscribes, you could widen the number of informed people, and more of these things will be stopped in time. OUR VOICES CAN BE HEARD.

[of coures, it is also a good time of year to give them a donation...]

tf

That one about the EPA looks completely unbelievable---looks every bit as bad as the government experiments on untreated syphilis way back when----the Tuskeegee Study. I tried to find something about it on truthorfiction.com but nothing there. So I made an inquiry, asked them to investigate. Will see what they say.

as i said, it is verified, did we cross post? and currently, the EPA is "undecided" as to how to respond to the public response. let's hope that program gets nixed!

you know, it seems with all the crazy emails and stuff, some of it would turn out to be true. but i guess only the fiction is worth forwarding, LOL

i should submit it to snopes. the more info out there, the more people will read about it.

it ain't over


NOW DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE BLM THING. GO SIGN YOUR NAME FOR OPTION "C", ONLY TAKES A MINUTE...

tf

Tamara, I still don't believe it. No administration could be so stupid as to allow such experimentation on babies/young children.

The second study has been grossly mischaracterized: http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_epa_guinea_pigs.htm

The links contained in that article include a press-release by a spokesperson for the EPA who has been there since 1980 or thereabouts.

Thank you, Terry! I saw a movie recently, titled, "Miss Evers' Boys." It was based on the true story of the "Tuskeegee Study," a study that could easily be described as insane and cruel.

For any administration to ever allow a study to be done that could compare with the "Tuskeegee Study," and the way this "new" EPA study has been described, it could, would be beyond comprehension.

Thanks for clarifying things!

Yes, thanks again Terry. So many shrill voices today and so much political jockeying for advantage is destroying trust and cooperation.

Hey, Indy! How's it goin' out Indian way? Looks like it's going to finally be a cold, snowy winter here in Illinois. Good for the farmers and for gardens. Will kill off lots of bad insects, grubs and other plant-destroying critters!

Well, I think we have had enough cold and snow for a spell. I didn't have the drought that some in parts of the Midwest had last summer. Also we had NO mosquitoes all year!!

I hope it doesn't get much below 0° as it can take a toll on my peaches, blackberries, and English walnuts. Anyway we will take what we get I guess.

Thanks for writing.

i'm soryr nobody believed me. maybe you would like to READ the info on Terry's link. i will post it here:

"Important Update: The email flier discussed on this page is different from the November 2005 alert issued by the Organic Consumers Association entitled "EPA to Allow Pesticide Testing on Orphans & Mentally Handicapped Children." [so we are talking about two different things here: One a REAL study, which was cancelled beacuase people signed the petition, and TWO an email which "grossly mischaracterized" the proposed study.] The newer alert pertains to proposed regulations on the testing of chemicals and pesticides on human subjects generally. Critics argue that the proposed rules fail to adequately protect children, especially those designated as neglected, abused, or mentally handicapped, from being used as guinea pigs in environmental studies. Read more...

Comments: Though its implementation was postponed and ultimately canceled due to public controversy, the EPA program known as CHEERS ("Children's Environmental Exposure Research Study") would have measured the effects of toxic pesticide use on small children in family homes.

As originally designed, the plan called for the EPA to supply clothing, a camcorder and $970 to participating families. Critics, including some within the agency itself, objected that the plan was ethically flawed — that, for example, it lacked proper safeguards to prevent poverty-stricken parents from exploiting their own children by purposely exposing them to hazardous chemicals.

Even if those objections were justified (and my purpose here is not to argue otherwise), it is misleading to characterize the study, as the above message does, as one in which "participating low-income familes will have their children exposed to toxic pesticides." Among the stated requirements for participation is the following:

"Maintain your normal pesticide or non-pesticide use patterns for your household. We will not ask any parent to apply pesticides in their home to be a part of this study."
An April 18, 2005 statement by acting EPA administrator Stephen L. Johnson includes the following remarks:

The Children's Health Environmental Exposure Research Study was designed to fill critical data gaps in our understanding of how children may be exposed to pesticides (such as bug spray) and chemicals currently used in households. Information from the study was intended to help EPA better protect children. EPA will continue to pursue the goal of protecting children's health.
Last fall, in light of questions about the study design, I directed that all work on the study stop immediately and requested an independent review. Since that time, many misrepresentations about the study have been made. EPA senior scientists have briefed me on the impact these misrepresentations have had on the ability to proceed with the study.

I have concluded that the study cannot go forward, regardless of the outcome of the independent review. EPA must conduct quality, credible research in an atmosphere absent of gross misrepresentation and controversy. "

and the links there:
Sources and further reading:

CHEERS, Children's Environmental Exposure Research Study
Environmental Protection Agency Website
Factcheck: CHEERS
About U.S. Politics, 11 April 2005

Pesticide Study to Tempt Poor to Risk Kids' Health, Critics Say
Washington Post, 31 October 2004

Organic Consumers Association Action Alert
Press release and petition

Environmental Group Calls Local Pesticide Study 'Racist'
News4Jax.com, 8 November 2004


Last updated: 11/22/05 "

well, the links own't paste, but those are the titles to the links.

i think the only thing snopes is referring to here is the "circulating email", and its content. the link posted above by bluespiral and Kelli is not only factual, bu validated by Urban Legends dot com. it is liekly though, that bluespiral was pointing out the info on the ENTIRE page, not just the pesticide/children study, as she referred to "who is selling the seeds you buy next spring."

REMEMBER WHEN I SAID CHECK THE LINK FOR UPDATES TO SEE HOW THE EPA RESPONDS TO THE PUBLIC PETITION? Well, i just clicked the link again, in Kelli's post, and it has a brand new update:




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"NOTE TO READER: THANKS TO PRESSURE FROM CITIZENS AND THE SENATE THE EPA HAS CANCELLED THIS STUDY. READ MORE HERE:

4/12/2005 - Responding to Consumer and Senate Pressure, EPA Finally Drops CHEERS Study

Sign petition to end human testing of known toxins "

they are still asking for signatures to the petition, to prevent this coming up agian in the future, end it ONCE AND FOR ALL.

please take this serious and sign the petition, and the First one i mentioned, which is still NOT CANCELLED, which is endangering many people, animals, and vegetation. i had thought to post it in the wildlife thread, guess i should have...

thank you for your careful reading, unbiased consideration, and thoughtful posts,

tamara
edited to fix the bold...










This message was edited Dec 19, 2005 5:16 PM