Weedkillers

A certain brand of weedkiller has been makin’ the headlines following a court case in the USA. I’ve long held a concern regarding the unnecessary use of weedkillers in public places/private gardens (though do admit to occasionally using them on the drive, but not that brand). So much so, I emailed our MP & Defra back in May with my various concerns regarding the environment, among them the use of pesticides/herbicides & their potential effects on people & the wider environment. To which Defra replied with the following:

As pesticides are designed to be effective against pests, diseases and unwanted plants, they therefore pose potential risks to people, wildlife and the environment. That is why there are a wide range of legislative and administrative controls governing their authorisation, marketing, storage and use to manage risks appropriately. The government is determined to ensure that all pesticides are safe for those who use them, neighbours and the environment. Everyone who uses a pesticide has to ensure that all reasonable precautions are taken to protect the health of human beings, creatures and plants, to safeguard the environment and in particular to avoid pollution of water.

  
I’ve worked on various properties in my line of business, where these so called lawn treatment firms have been employed to spray their poison, creating a green desert totally devoid of any life, for days after wards it leaves a nasty smell in the air, to my non-scientific mind, that means if you can smell it, you’re breathing in the fumes. Don’t believe companies when they tell you it’s safe, they have a vested interest, just look at the car manufacturers & how they fiddled the emissions tests (trust no one, question everything).

If we kill the wildflowers with herbicide this has a knock on effect of depriving insects of their food source, which in turn means birds & animals have no food, working all along the food chain until we get to the top… Us Humans. 

Don.