Cape Cod Commission Obtains One-Year Moratorium

The Provincetown Banner brings official news that the Cape Cod Commission has achieved its goal with regard to our utility company, whose officials have agreed to a one-year moratorium. One year will provide more time to oppose the foolhardy plan of spraying up to five herbicides under the power lines. Hard not to think about water with all the ponds that surround us here in Wellfleet. Even on the beach today, the environment was on my mind. How much better to have a wind farm than an oil rig that can pollute the ocean! The stark beauty of nature, the crisp clean air ... it's tragic that corporations measure success in monetary gain alone. What happens to a community down the road does not seem to matter to corporate bosses, who live elsewhere.

Now Cape Cod has one year to find a way to stop N. I only hope future generations will not look back, aghast, at the way we will have allowed our groundwater to become polluted, despite massive opposition by citizens to N’s herbicidal plan and all the knowledge we already possess about body burden.

Over the past ten months, I have been able to fully comprehend the loss of our local newspaper, a dozen years ago. Following the issue of herbicidal spraying has made me understand how certain newspapers cannot be counted on for unbiased reports or the printing of letters of opinion. Fortunately some influential writers, like Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times, have begun connecting the dots. See his editorial yesterday on the probable link between chemicals and cancer.

Regular readers have heard me sound off on our local herbicidal spraying issue since the fall, so I thought it would be interesting to hear a few new voices:

Chris writes, “Congressman Delahunt’s eloquent letter to the EPA should be a cornerstone towards moving forward, along with the recent shout-out in Congress to revise the Toxic Control Substances Act, which has woefully failed the health of Americans and the environment for over the past 30 years. In my humble opinion, this decision is a ‘band-aid’ because it’s an election year. As a transplant, I am not encouraged after personally doing the tour of N's 'dog and pony show' in Eastham, Brewster, Harwich, Dennis, Cape Cod Commission ... because the citizens of Cape Cod, as well as the selectmen, are so uneducated. Golfers’ rights override citizens’ rights for access to Clean Water. Will Cape Cod turn into the next Love Canal?”

Irene: “I may be a non-resident but I’m a taxpayer and my family is incensed that N. would be allowed to do something that is counter-intuitive for good health and responsible environmental protection of the earth and the citizens that are living here on Cape Cod, particularly the people who live right under and near the right-of-ways.”

Laura: “We are talking about human health here. Why wasn't more testing required by a third party? N’s testing is over 30 years old and done on soil in Carver, which has six inches of organic matter - not like our sandy Cape Cod. Plus mixing the proposed five herbicides together has not been tested – ugh! With honeybees dying due to overuse of pesticides, why add more toxins to our environment?”

Michelle: "There is no end to the movement now. One year means one year of continued education, awareness, and advocacy for the discontinuing of toxic chemicals in the home and on our ground. Large corporations and no-faced lawmakers must now be on the level of the families that they wish to interact with and work within their wishes for a better world. It is time to start a revolution on all levels to create healthy environments to live in and healthy food to eat. We have been a society and a culture of 'unawares'- but now, as we become aware of the big picture and that all things are connected, I know we can learn to work together for the common good."

How do you feel about the spraying of up to five herbicides in a place with sandy soil, where residents drink well water? Have you contacted Congress regarding revision of the Toxic Control Chemicals Act? What's your reaction to the Kristof editorial??