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.
