NOTHER CHEMICAL HASSLE

I didn’t research this one in any great detail, so please forgive any glaring errors that may show up later. But – – when I saw the Reuters report on Chlorpyrifos (pronounced (klor peer uh fos)) I couldn’t help but think, uhoboy! Yup! Instantly I was thinking Monsanto and Bayer and glyphosate and Roundup, and, after years of use, we’re now looking at prospects of direct relationships to human health problems.


For years now, chlorpyrifos, which is an insecticide, has been applied to crops like strawberries, corn, and citrus. This insecticide, we are now told, has been linked in certain studies to neurological disorders in children, and has been called a threat to wildlife.


The EPA has declined to ban the product, insisting further study is needed. Some states, however, won’t wait for the EPA to act. Care to guess who’s going ahead with the ban!?!?! “You guessed ‘er, Chester!” California!! California says farmers can’t use chlorpyrifos after December 31st; Hawaii has also banned the use of the product, but that ban doesn’t take effect until 2022!


Actually, all this banning business might be seen as closing the gate after the horse has been stolen, because a spokesman for Corteva, leading manufacturer of the product – – his name is Gregg Schmidt – – he says demand for the product has been slowly dwindling over the last twenty years, and it is that, he says, that led to the decision to stop manufacturing, not safety concerns. Environmental groups are said to be happy with the Corteva decision, but are quick to note there are other manufacturers of the same stuff.


Linked, as they say, “to neurological problems”. Well, it’s an insecticide – – it kills insects. Generally speaking insecticides work on the nervous systems of the targeted insects. I don’t find it strange that effects potential show up in other species. And then, “They” also say the product is a threat to wildlife. I imagine that is a reference to birds, and whatever other animals eat insects – – – especially dead insects. The insecticide kills the insect, birds eat the dead insects, and – – well, you get the rest.