Re: herbicides: a rant

>I know I'm definitely in the minority, but I'd like to say a word about
>herbicides.
>
>My basic principle is--I'm agin 'em.
>
>If you can't weed your garden by hand, maybe you have too much garden.
>
>We have already seen how the creation of strong selective pressures through
>the use of antibiotics have produced new strains of bacteria that are
>resistant to just about everything we can throw at them.  This happened in
>around 50 years.  Vancomycin is our last antibiotic defense against
>Staphylococcus aureus, a major wound-infecting bacterium that causes
>serious problems and many fatalities in hospitals (post-surgery).  Now
>vancomycin-resistant Staph have been reported in Japan and North America,
>just 8 years after the antibiotic was introduced.
>
>Similarly, insects (whiteflies are a case in point) have developed
>resistances to many of the most heavily-used insecticides.  Why? Because we
>have saturated the environment with them, so it now becomes crucial to
>their survival to have genetic resistance.  Charles Darwin would be ashamed
>of our ignorance, but of course we hesitate to teach natural selection in
>our schools because it is "controversial" for a few.  Turns out it might
>have been helpful to know about it....
>
>Bacteria multiply rapidly and have enormous populations, so they can
>develop resistance fast.  Insects are a little slower, so they are next.
>Weeds (and this is the point) are slower still, but from reports out of the
>tropics and Europe, the super-weeds are on the way--resistant to pretty
>much every herbicide.
>
>Meanwhile, what do these substances, repeatedly applied, do to desirable
>plants, to animals and to us?  Do we know what low concentrations of (yes)
>Surflan and other similar compounds, in combination, and repeatedly
>exposed, can do to animal or human life?  We are assured they are "safe,"
>but these assurances come from an establishment that is bought and paid for
>by the companies that make the chemicals.  The "revolving door" between
>agribusiness, the ag schools, and the USDA is well documented.
>
>We're now living Rachel Carson's 'Silent Spring.'  My garden this month is
>full of flowers.  Five years ago it would also have been full of bees.
>This afternoon, a disturbing quietude...no eager buzzing.  Indiscriminate
>application of insecticides nearly has wiped out our native bees (mason
>bees and the like) which pollinated the native flora.  Bumblebees are
>everywhere in decline.  And now our domestic companion, the honeybee, has
>succumbed to parasites and disease.  The destruction of habitat and
>wintering grounds in the tropics has cut deeply into songbird populations.
>There are fewer species at our feeders, and fewer individuals of them.
>
>The mill of nature grinds slowly, but it grinds exceeding fine.  The
>momentum of our actions of a few decades ago is catching up to us.
>
>It is my intention to use insecticides and fungicides only when absolutely
>necessary, and never to use herbicides.  I'm into growing plants--why
>should I spread about substances that destroy them?  Millions of pounds of
>insecticides and other potentially harmful substances are dispensed
>annually by home gardeners like us.
>
>So let's get a grip on this.  Please limit your use of agricultural
>chemicals to the minimum possible.  Each of us must take individual action
>to save our common heritage--the natural world.
>
>OK--that's off my chest.  Let the flaming begin!
>
>Bill Shear
>Department of Biology
>Hampden-Sydney College
>Hampden-Sydney VA 23943
>(804)223-6172
>FAX (804)223-6374
>email<bills@hsc.edu>
DEAR BILL:  NO FLAMES, JUST PRAISE! Thank you for saying it. Lloyd Zurbrigg
in Durham SC where the temp got up to 80 F today.
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