PREVENT PESTS NATURALLY
Many pesticides
are used for cosmetic purposes only.
BACKGROUND
When DDT was introduced in the40s,
it was regarded as a miracle; after thousands of years of fighting agricultural
pests, human beings had finally devised a ÒsafeÓ and "effective" way
to keep them at bay. With DDT, scientists believed, agricultural land would
become more productive and the world's hungry could be fed.
But that's not what happened. DDT proved to be toxic not
only to insects, but to all life. As Worldwatch puts it, DDT "contaminated
the food chain, pushed bald eagles and other predatory birds toward extinction,
and accumulated in fish, wildlife, and people."
The DDT story is an apt metaphor
for all chemical pesticides. Once they seemed ideal; now the evidence is
mounting that they are an ecological disaster. Although they're designed to
eliminate specific "target" pests, they often poison birds and other
wildlife instead. They are seeping into groundwater and contaminating drinking
water. They are even destroying the soil itself by killing essential organisms,
from microbes to earthworms. And they are harmful to humans‑‑‑especially
children.
Yet, pesticide use grows. We dump an estimated 2.7 billion
pounds in the American environment every year. Homeowners spend $1 billion a
year on them. Some 300 million pounds of pesticide poisons are used right
around the house, often in the kitchen or bedroom.
Fortunately, there are effective
natural alternatives to chemical pesticides. As consumers, we should encourage
farmers to use them. And we should learn to use them around our homes.
DID YOU KNOW
Ironically, pesticides don't seem
to be improving agricultural yield; before their use, farmers lost about 33% of
their crops to pests. Today, farmers still lose the same 33%.
According to the EPA, at least 74
pesticides have been found in the groundwater of 38 states.
Over 100 active pesticide ingredients are suspected to cause
birth defects, cancer, and gene mutation.
Fact of life: Sooner or later, targeted pests develop
resistance to specific pesticides, rendering the chemicals worthless. More than
440 species of insects and mites, and 70 types of fungus are now re, sistant to
pesticides.
Home pesticides are just as lethal
as agricultural ones. According to Harrowsmith magazine, for example:
"Just five tiny granules of di, azinon, among the most widely used
chemicals in consumer pesticides, are enough to kill a house sparrow or a
redwing blackbird."
SIMPLE THINGS YOU CAN DO
Learn about alternatives
They work. In 1982, for example,
the city of Berkeley, California, officially banned the use of herbicides and
pesticides on its property. Since that time the city has successftilly managed
its extensive parks and gardens without toxic chemicals.
You can do it, too. The best
technique seems to be IPMIntegrated Pest Management, which focuses on using
natural pest controls, such as natural predators. See source below for details.
Buy organically grown produce and
grains.
If you can't find a local store
that carries organically grown food, make a special request. You're not the
only one who'll be asking.
Demanding organic food bears
fruit: In California, for example, organic food production has gone from a $20
million business to a $100 million business in only 4 years‑and it's
still growing.