Re: weed chemicals
- To: <i*@onelist.com>
- Subject: Re: weed chemicals
- From: "* S* <s*@lightspeed.net>
- Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1998 07:46:23 -0700
From: "Mike Sutton" <suttons@lightspeed.net>
I had to throw in my two cents worth, probably shouldn't. Aren't most
pesticides just a higher concentration of what is already in plants? I
believe most plants already have a defense against insects and fungus, and
out here anyway, the pesticide used is a stronger concentration of naturally
occurring toxins.
Mike
-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Shear <BILLS@hsc.edu>
To: iris-talk@onelist.com <iris-talk@onelist.com>
Date: Tuesday, September 01, 1998 7:06 AM
Subject: [iris-talk] Re: weed chemicals
>From: Bill Shear <BILLS@hsc.edu>
>
>
>>
>> I believe in freedom of choice and moderation. If a person
>>chooses not to use any form of pest control, that is his right. And, if a
>>person chooses to use chemicals within the limits of the law, then he has
>>the right to do so.
>>
>Exactly right, Walter. But there is a cost involved in pesticide
>use--pollution of the environment with chemicals, most of which we do not
>know the effects of long-term, low-level exposure. And there are many,
>many of these out there. What do they do in combination? A little is
>known, and it is not encouraging, such as the synergistic effects of
>herbicides that transform into hormone-mimics when partially degraded by
>bacteria.
>
>There are costs to "organic" methods, too, such as spotty apples or reduced
>cotton yields. The problem is that these costs are borne by the producers
>and the costs of pollution are borne by us all. It's more economic in the
>short run for the producer to use pesticides and herbicides. Thus without
>regulation and coercion, we wind up with Garrett Hardin's "Tragedy of the
>Commons."
>
>Anyway, my choice is to use pesticides as little as possible. I hope that
>some of you will consider that alternative as well. Our little pest
>problems in our gardens are a pretty small part of the big picture.
>
>Bill Shear
>Department of Biology
>Hampden-Sydney College
>Hampden-Sydney VA 23943
>(804)223-6172
>FAX (804)223-6374
>email<bills@hsc.edu>
>
>How much deeper would the oceans be without sponges?
> -IAQ (Infrequently Asked Questions)
>
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>To unsubscribe from this mailing list, or to change your subscription
>to digest, go to the ONElist web site, at http://www.onelist.com and
>select the User Center link from the menu bar on the left.
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, or to change your subscription
to digest, go to the ONElist web site, at http://www.onelist.com and
select the User Center link from the menu bar on the left.
