SV: herbicides: a rant

Agree, Agree    great words Bill.!!!!

I have heard that in order to produce apples without any 'errors' and get
an maximum crop
the trees must be sprayed with different chemicals about 10 times  year....
No wrong now it exist more effective chemicals and its only need for 6
times a year.

I have some apple trees myself, but I wouldnt dream of spraying anything on
them!!!!!

And the iris, that cant take the swedish bugs, are bound to die....thats
it.


Have you heard that now when we joined the EU its forbidden to sell seeds
here from outside 
EU!!  <g> what will this end. 

Gunnar A. 

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/2261/

----------
> Fren: Bill Shear <BILLS@hsc.edu>
> Till: Multiple recipients of list <iris-l@rt66.com>
> Dmne: herbicides: a rant
> Datum:  den 27 mars 1998 23:51
> 
> 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>
> 
>
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