I write about solutions to air
pollution and clean air getaways, and when on the road I frequently
uncover toxic hotspots.
Driving from British Columbia to Los Angeles last fall, I passed Red Bluff and Redding (between Mt. Shasta and Sacramento), and I met folks who'd fled Southern California's air pollution to find toxic pesticides in their farmland.
Now no thanks to our EPA and California's Department of Pesticide Regulation, DPR, this area may become ground zero for the highly toxic pesticide, methyl iodide, which can seep into water, release into the air, and cause birth defects, cancer, and is banned in most the rest of the world.
Get involved!
Send your comments to:
Everyone has til June 14th to write
California's Department of Pesticide Regulation, which I want you to do, too. Especially if you breathe and drink water in California. (If this regulation passes, these folks along with the EPA will approve the poison's use without need
for companies to inform nearby residents)
Over 50 scientists sent a letter to U.S. EPA about methyl iodide explaining,
"Because of methyl iodide's high volatility and water solubility, broad use of this chemical in agriculture will guarantee substantial releases to air, surface waters, and groundwater and will result in exposures for many people.
In addition to the potential for increased cancer incidence, US EPA's own evaluation of the chemical also indicates that methyl iodide causes thyroid toxicity, permanent neurological damagae and fetal losses in experimental animals."
I'll write along with many
outraged residents I know around Redding.
I met a couple there who moved from Southern California's air pollution to raise their kids in safety up north. Apparently, no safety there. They're looking to flee agricultural toxins now.
Here's a relevant article I wrote about toxic pollution while driving through Red Bluff last year.
Photo of Sacramento River flowing through Redding, an area sure to be negatively impacted should this poison methyl iodide seep through.
P.S. If you live in a polluted city and have ever questioned traffic and smog, and whether respecting your health means escape for cleaner air, you might contribute your thoughts on this blog and join me.
My journey began on a Santa Monica mountaintop cloaked by city smog, when winds seemed to whisper,
"Let's go! Out of Los Angeles and into the world, chasing clean air, beauty, and a sustainable life."
I returned to my West Los Angeles apartment where black soot grew on my windowsill much like grandma grew African Violets on hers. (In San Francisco.) I wondered how black were my lungs.
Enough.
I packed my bags. Stored my belongings. And hit the road, maintaining a base at a friend's Los Angeles home.
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