Apr 22 2008
Pesticide Ban for ‘09
Happy Earth Day!
Last summer I was disappointed to find that our next-door neighbour had hired a non-organic company to take care of their lawn. Graham and I would sit out back, drinking our coffee in the morning, and then suddenly the powerful, sickening smell of the pesticide/herbicide cocktail would waft into our yard. Annoyed, disgusted, we’d head back indoors to finish our coffee.
I put a little sign in our garden in the hopes it would start a dialogue between us and our neighbour, but it didn’t seem to phase them at all, which I just can’t understand because he grows FOOD in their yard.
I was pleased this morning to discover an article in the paper (Pesticide ban set to grow, The Toronto Star, April 22, 2008) detailing our provincial government’s plan to ban the cosmetic use of pesticides and herbicides, to be enforced beginning in the spring of 2009. The City of Toronto’s ban took effect on September 1, 2007, but in the smaller cities and town around Ontario, it’s been legal to spray lawns and yards with toxic chemicals. It’s hard to believe that with all of the information available about the health effects of these kinds of sprays, people continue to use them in the very space their children play.
The new ban will mean that my next-door neighbour won’t legally be allowed to spray their yard with pesticides and herbicides. The ban won’t affect farmers, golf courses or managed forests, and the legislation will also force the manufacturers of pesticides and herbicides to reduce the level of toxins they produce.
I’ll be pushing this information on my neighbour this year…they might as well get started with organic methods this year, since next year they’ll be out of luck!
(Cross-posted at BlogHers ACT Canada and Moms Speak Up!)
Don’t forget to visit BlogHers ACT Canada to participate in the Official BlogHers ACT Canada Earth Day Kids Gardening Photo Contest!
4 responses so far
It is nice to hear of some actual legislation regarding these chemicals and not just expecting people to “do the right thing”
That is such good news for you. Here in Oklahoma, people would have fainting spells if their pesticides were taken away. I hate that smell too. That Organo-Phosphate smell that to me just makes me feel like my cells are mutating in some dangerous new direction. YUCK!
I am hoping for our pollinator’s sake that Americans in the US figure it out {get a clue phone} about why the bees + 40 percent of our wild pollinators are disappearing! They cant figure out that just because you are spraying for one bug, that your poison doesnt kill all bugs {good or bad}. And they have no concept of water conservation or that whatever you put on your yard, you eventually eat and drink!
The dangers of moronic compartmentalized thinking.
So good for Canada!
Wow those last two sentences look wrong together.
US: The Dangers of Moronic Compartmentalized thinking.
But as for the Pesticide Ban in your area, Good for Canada!
So glad to see someone else writing about this. As earlier comments show, Americans don’t know about the Canadian movement, and can’t fathom either the motivations of the consequences. I did a couple posts on Toronto’s bylaws, but the more people can write about this, the more likely people in the US will hear and perhaps even imitate.
Blog on!
–kate
theManicGardener’s last blog post..While the gardener’s away, hot pepper holds the fort–mostly.