Can We Claim Victory Re. Herbicidal Spraying?

Seagull 1: DID YOU HEAR? NSTAR IS NOT SPRAYING WELLFLEET AGAIN THIS YEAR.
Seagull 2: NO JOKE? BET THAT'S JUST ANOTHER RUMOR.
Seagull 1: REALLY. IT WAS IN THE NEWSPAPER TODAY.
Seagull 2: WHICH NEWSPAPER?
Seagull 1: CAPE COD TIMES, FIRST PAGE. SO WE CAN REJOICE.
Seagull 2: AS LONG AS THEY DON'T SPRAY THIS HARBOR, I'M OKAY WITH IT.
Seagull 1: HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT? THOSE CHEMICALS ARE TOXIC FOR OUR FEATHERS, TOO.
Seagull 2: HOW SO?
Seagull 1: HAVEN'T YOU HEARD ABOUT DRIFT?
Seagull 2: SURE I HAVE. BUT THE POWERLINES ARE A MILE AWAY.
Seagull 1: WHAT ABOUT STREAMS, FLOWING INTO THE BAY? ALL WATER FROM THE GROUND WILL BE CONTAMINATED.
Seagull 2: WHATEVER. AS LONG AS I HAVE MY OYSTERS AND CLAMS ...

The Cape Cod Times reported today that Wellfleet is not one of the 49 towns listed on the NStar's YOR (yearly operational plan), which means more reprieve from herbicidal spraying. Hurray! According to the article, Sylvia Broude of Toxics Action Network said she hopes the merger with Northeast Utilities is seen as "an opportunity for the combined company to act as a leader in reducing the use of herbicides under power lines. We hope this 2012 plan brings us one step closer to a long-term no-spray commitment for Cape Cod that protects the sole-source aquifer from contamination." (Please help Toxic Action Network with a donation.)

Another year without herbicides is good. A decision to abandon the herbicidal plan would be even better.

Meanwhile, in Letters to the Editor, I had another letter published:

Last week Governor Patrick stated that NStar has become "a bigger participant in the green energy generation revolution underway right now." How green can our utility company be as long as it plans to abuse the environment with the use of five herbicides, plus surfactant, to control vegetation under the power lines of Cape Cod? What about the implications of polluting a sole-source aquifer with these endocrine-disruptive chemicals??? Cape Cod activists had hoped Governor Patrick would include a provision in the deal that would prevent NStar’s horrific plan. Our homes sit above a sole-source aquifer. We drink well water. Emerging science indicates endocrine disruptive chemicals can affect humans at lower doses than earlier thought. Senator Kerry is currently sponsoring a Senate bill to protect citizens from endocrine disruptive chemicals. What’s up with the Governor? His office provides protection from higher electricity bills, but chooses not to protect us from toxic-chemical pollution?

Update on Herbicial Spraying on Cape Cod

This weekend, at the Preservation Hall crafts fair, quite a few people asked me for an update on the situation regarding herbicidal spraying. As far as I know, NStar plans to begin spraying four herbicides under the power lines in the spring. The moratorium will be up at the end of the month. The latest news is that the merger with Northeast Utilities has stalled. It is not clear to me exactly why. Northeast did not do such a hot job cleaning up after the storm in Connecticut last month, recent guests told me. They had no electricity for nine days. According to The New York Times, NStar CEO Thomas May will make $8.3 million if the merger does happen. May is not the only one who will become even richer. NStar's top five executives will receive $50 million in severance and change-of-control payments. This is obscene. What happened to corporate responsibility? When did greed take over? Why don't such corporate leaders care about the lives of citizens? You may have seen the NStar trucks out this month, trimming branches. Yes, they care about keeping the power on during winter storms. Why are they unable to extend that empathy to caring about our health?

Today, the Cape Cod Times published an article written by my organic horticulturist friend Laura Kelly in the column My View. Please read and tell your friends to pay attention. Her piece explains why NStar should abandon its plan to use herbicides over our sole-source aquifer.

Here's Laura:

"NStar plans to begin herbicidal spraying throughout Cape Cod's rights of way in 2012. The second moratorium ends Dec. 31, and there has been no update from our utility company.

As an organic gardener, I've been active in the effort to prevent contamination of our sole-source aquifer through the unnecessary overuse of herbicides. For the past three years, NStar has listened to thousands of Cape residents like me, as well as nonresidents, all requesting the use of alternatives, but NStar executives haven't budged. They'll move forward with spraying 120 miles of Cape power lines with a combination of herbicides: Accord (glyphosate), Krenite S (fosamine ammonium), Escort XP (metsulfuron-methyl), Arsenal (imazapyr) and Garlon 4 (triclopyr), a combination never tested together or with a surfactant on Cape's sandy soils.

These chemicals come from the same company that brought us Agent Orange, DDT, dioxin and genetically modified crops. As usual, Monsanto claims its product is safe, based on its own testing. Will this happen with Roundup/glyphosate as well? I guess it already has, right? Here we are repeating history by making the same mistakes.

I suggest our state representatives adopt the precautionary principle to protect our environment and the habitats that naturally thrive on Cape Cod. Once these toxic chemicals are released onto our land, there's no turning back. Manual labor is sufficient to prune vegetation. It's only a matter of keeping up with new growth. But NStar prefers toxins. Considering these chemicals have not been tested together, or on sandy soil, I worry about our drinking water.

Many consumers believe Roundup is safe. Until recently, researchers focused solely on the health effects of a single active ingredient, glyphosate. New research at the University of Caen, as reported in Green Living Ideas, has shown that the "inert" ingredients amplify the toxic effects on human cells. Turns out "inert" ingredients are sometimes highly toxic, too. (Disclosure of "inert" ingredients isn't required on labels).

People have asked me if glyphosate is in the Roundup brand herbicide. Yes, it is. And one of its "inert" ingredients, called POEA (polyethoxethylene-alkylamine), has been found to kill human cells, especially embryonic and placental cells. POEA is a surfactant derived from animal fat, added to help Roundup penetrate plants' surfaces, making it more effective.

Researchers have discovered that POEA amplifies glyphosate's toxicity. Even at low exposures, Roundup is unhealthy for people. Evidence of its harmful effects keeps piling up: The University of Caen research found that Roundup causes birth defects, infertility, and malformations in newborns whose mothers are exposed to glyphosate during pregnancy. Also, the herbicide continues to be active much longer than we were led to believe.

According to a report in Earth Open Source, industry and regulators knew the truth about Roundup in the 1980s, but corporate executives failed to inform the public. I look upon this situation as an environmental health disaster in the making. Future generations will look back and say, how could you allow this? What were you thinking?

Like Roundup, Accord contains glyphosate. I want to be able to consume drinking water from Cape Cod's sole-source aquifer. How about you? What if spraying herbicides by NStar contaminates our water? We don't have a pipeline from a quarry or another fresh water source close by.

Help protect local drinking water by telling your state representatives to ban Roundup/glyphosate altogether and protect pets, children and the future of Cape drinking water.

We also need to do our part and not spread synthetic chemicals or fertilizers onto our own land. I use chicken manure, which works quite well.

Time's running out. As an organic gardener, I know alternative methods exist to control vegetative overgrowth. Suggest that NStar seek alternatives. Let them be creative and forward-thinking. May they look outside the chemical box for a truly greener future."

Time to Let Our Voices Be Heard ...

Wellfleetians may have noticed new banners recently, created by Clean Water Art Action Cape Cod. There’s one outside Box Lunch for all to admire. Another is strapped to the trees at the intersection of Main Street and Long Pond Road, above. I know some of you depend on me for regular updates on the herbicide situation, so here goes. The end of the moratorium is coming up fast, December 31. Our legislators are well ware of this deadline. In fact, Laura Kelley reports that she spoke with Senator Dan Wolf and Seth Rolbein at the celebration for the Harwich Conservation Trust last weekend. I cannot share their exact words but did get the message: now is the time to get loud again and make sure our voices are heard on this important issue, the possible contamination of our sole-source aquifer by NStar. (Anyone who would like my help with a letter to the editor, let me know.)

Update on Herbicial Spraying on Cape Cod

Anyone who has been to the Orleans rotary over the past week was able to admire goats prancing along the fence, proxies for real goats that would love to eat vegetation under the power lines. These marvels were created by Clean Water Art Action Cape Cod. Someone "complained" (NStar execs?) and made the Department of Transportation take down the banner. A shame. Still, it was up for almost a week.

I decided to ask GreenCAPE’s Sue Phelan for an update on the situation with our local utility company. Here it is: “It is disappointing that NStar appears not to have followed through with the goat pilot project this year. Searching for the ‘ideal’ test plot for the goats' appetites, they have failed to recognize there is very little that isn't ideal for goats. A missed opportunity.....Some cutting and mowing would still be needed when goats are part of the rights-of-way maintenance, but less often. Bottom line remains – NStar has chosen to spray large quantities of mixtures of untested designer poisons that a homeowner wouldn't be allowed to purchase much less spray on property they don't own – without consent of the owner (as NStar does). What would you prefer to see in your back yard or behind your child's day care-goats or goons in moon suits?”

Scott Michaud, at the Cape Cod Commission, told me that he is anticipating the release of NStar’s vegetation management plan for 2012 but has received nothing yet. He reminded me that NStar “did not agree to not apply the herbicides,” although the Cape Cod Commission was able to obtain two moratoriums of one year each, which expire at the end 2011. Scott suggested I contact his colleague Martha Hevenor.

Martha said she had asked NStar if it would consider a pilot project with goats, the one Sue refers to above. Martha located a local grazer, who is a contract herder, and sought out a potential location for the pilot project. Now she is waiting to hear back on scheduling. The ball is in NStar's court, in other words. Unfortunately, she has been waiting "a long time." Martha remains hopeful, especially since this option has been proved to work for municipalities across the country.

Next I spoke to Seth Rolbein, Senator Dan Wolf’s senior advisor. Seth said Wolf remains optimistic. There was a presentation on Wednesday to the County Commissioners by Chip Osborne from Marblehead. GreenCAPE had brought Chip in to go over his approach for alternative lawn care that does not involve herbicides. The presentation was well-received, and the hope is that the broader issue of pesticide application across Cape Cod can be addressed. “But the clock is ticking,” Seth admitted. He pointed out Senator Wolf was present at the Bourne Canal press conference in August. The spraying was postponed, which Seth called only an incremental step, adding, “We need to continue the conversation to be sure to get a permanent change in policy.”

Senator Dan Wolf is on our side. Rep. Cleon Turner and Rep. Sarah Peake are both on our side. Dozens of banners have been created. We have collected thousands of signatures. We have proposed other options, like goats, that work perfectly well at Google’s corporate headquarters. NStar persists in its foolhardiness. They base their decision to spray on antiquated science. Glyphosate, one of the herbicides, has recently been shown to cause birth defects and has also been linked to ADHD.

A couple weeks ago I discussed how the mentality that corporate powers have a right to do whatever they please – which in this case is contaminate a sole-source aquifer – ties Cape Codders into the Occupy Wall Street movement. Does NStar’s CEO Tom May care about the Cape Codders who will drink well water contaminated by herbicides? Until the utility company abandons its plan to spray under the power lines, I must conclude he does not, and we must continue to defend our sole-source aquifer, as EPA New England suggests.

What have you done recently to protect Cape Cod drinking water?

Are there any private property owners, preferably along well-traveled roadways, who would be willing to sport a banner, custom-made according to what he or she wants to express about NStar?

What all of you can help with is spreading the word. Educate friends on the dangers herbicides pose to health. Many local stores still sell Roundup, the retail version of glyphosate. Tell merchants to replace the poison with alternative products that are safe. We are the 99% for clean water. Say so now, before it's too late ...

Another Letter to the Editor Published Yesterday

Here is my latest letter to the editor of the Cape Cod Times: "Every week there’s new evidence showing pesticide use is injurious to people. Today brings an article in the journal Pediatrics reporting a probable link between exposure to pesticides and ADHD. Glyphosate, sold retail as Roundup, is an endocrine disrupter that affects reproductive health and may also cause chronic disease in children, prostate cancer, Parkinsons … The list goes on and on. Glyphosate needs to be banned. What? ... The National Seashore plans to apply glyphosate to the phragmites in Wellfleet’s Herring Pond? What?! Glyphosate is one of the herbicides NStar intends to spray under the power lines? It's widely used in the USA, so that proves it must be safe? Ha, ha. Think again. Recently researchers found glyphosate in water and air in the Midwest. This is bad news for humanity. Don't use this poison. Cape Cod is a sandbar. We drink water from a sole-source aquifer. What goes into the ponds, or into the ground, will go into us. The latest research shows that even trace amounts wreck havoc with the hormone system in the developing fetus. Pesticides are more dangerous than previously believed. How many new studies do we need before these toxic chemicals are banned?"

In Which I Respond to Commissioner Soares

Don't forget to mark your calendars and attend the Truro Ag Fair on Sunday, September 4, a fantastic Outer Cape event. Last year, at the Ag Fair, I met DAR Commissioner Scott Soares, above with Francie Randolph, one of the organizers. A letter I wrote recently on herbicidal spraying was forwarded to Commissioner Soares, rather than reviewed by Governor Patrick. I responded to the Commissioner's response.

Here's the letter I am sending out today:

Dear Commissioner Soares,

Thank you for your letter of August 3 in response to mine to Governor Patrick about NStar’s plan to spray herbicides on Cape Cod over our sole-source aquifer. I met you at the Truro Ag Fair. I was also one of the hundreds of Cape citizens who sent in last year, at your request, “one scientific fact” to explain why herbicides should not be sprayed under the power lines. Did you, at least, read these letters?

I know about the moratorium on herbicidal spraying.

I know about the Ad Hoc Committee meetings. I attended one or two of them. From your letter I deduce you have accepted its conclusions. How can you take this committee seriously as most attendees were pro-NStar before the discussions began? I know for a fact that the three herbicidal spraying opponents resigned when a vote was proposed, since voting was not part of the original deal. There were 20 attendees total. Therefore, I am shocked you put forward their conclusions as evidence herbicidal spraying should be part of NStar’s vegetation management plan. Is this what you truly believe?

As I told Governor Patrick’s aide Matthew over the phone yesterday, I regret to say the response from the Governor’s office to my letters is unacceptable. Herbicides are toxic chemicals. Emerging science indicates that traces, in our drinking water, can present serious problems for pregnant women. Traces of herbicides affect the developing fetus. Glyphosate has recently been linked to birth defects. Think faulty wiring rather than deformed babies. Endocrine disruptors do this. They create hormonal havoc that translates, in children, to chronic diseases like ADHD and perhaps even autism.

Glyphosate is only one of the four herbicides that will be used. No one has tested the combination for toxicity, nor the surfactants for that matter. Traces will filter down through the sandy soil of Cape Cod into our drinking water. Herbicides are endocrine disruptors. In July, John Kerry introduced a bill in Congress to reduce exposure to endocrine disruptive chemicals. I respectfully suggest the Governor’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs align its policies with this initiative from our senior senator. Please urge Governor Patrick to oppose NStar’s plan to spray four herbicides under the power lines of Cape Cod and save our drinking water from contamination.

Sincerely,
Alexandra Grabbe

Update on Herbicial Spraying on Cape Cod

Some of you may have noticed that I have not posted about herbicidal spraying recently, but not because the issue isn't on my mind. I think about the risk toxic chemicals pose to our environment every day. This spring I went with Laura Kelley, of Littlefield Landscapes, to speak with the Cape & Islands District Rep. for our new Congressman, Bill Keating. Here we are, outside the office in Hyannis. You probably remember how we held "pruning parties" last year to demonstrate other means of vegetation management are a viable option. In the photo to the left, Town Administrator Paul Sieloff and Health Agent Hillary Greenberg, participate in a pruning party. Although the Cape Cod Commission did succeed in obtaining a second moratorium, the risk to our sole-source aquifer remains a serious threat.

The corporate powers in charge of NStar/Northeast Utilities still intend to spray herbicides across 150 miles of Cape Cod. These toxic chemicals will enter our sole-source aquifer. Toxic chemicals are endocrine distruptors. Emerging science shows that even traces can harm the developing fetus.

This spring we had B&B guests from Change.org. When I explained our predicament here on Cape Cod, our guests suggested creating a petition. Today I learned that GreenCape has already done so. Therefore, I urge you all to take a minute today to sign their petition at Change.org. Thank you!

My Letter to the Editor Published by the Banner

"Thanks go out to Cape Cod delegation members Cleon Turner, Sarah Peake, and Timothy Madden who, last week, filed House Docket 3587, An Act Relative to Vegetation Management. As citizens in Wisconsin grapple with legislators, Senator Scott Brown crosses the country, absorbed in memoir promotion, and Governor Patrick visits Israel, after trips to Colorado and the nation's capital, it was refreshing to have local legislators conduct business that truly matters to their constituents.

Reps. Turner, Peake, and Madden took steps to stop NStar from spraying up to five herbicides under power lines. (Federal law obliges the utility company to remove vegetation but does not require the use of endocrine-disrupting chemicals.) Cape Cod has reason to rejoice because local legislators care about the potential contamination of our sole-source aquifer, from which we draw drinking water, listen to concerned citizens, and take action on our behalf. Bravo!

A day later, the Cape Cod Commission obtained a moratorium with NStar through December 2011. This is good news, but not enough. We need to insist that the utility company use alternative means of vegetation management. It is time for everyone to look into alternatives regarding their own use of herbicides as well. This week 40,000 scientists urged greater oversight over chemicals by federal agencies, mentioning subtle impact on the human body. I have learned so much since I started studying this issue in 2009 due to NStar's spraying plan. Traces of toxic chemicals in our bodies disrupt our endocrine system and lead to disease.

Support a healthy Cape Cod. Join the movement to reject herbicides and other toxic chemicals today!"

My Letter to the Editor Published by Cape Cod Times

It's pouring rain here in Wellfleet this morning. At noon, I will go to hear the latest conclusions of the Silent Spring Institute, to be announced in Barnstable, an event publicized by the Breast Cancer Coalition and GreenCape. Researchers have been analyzing pond water for several years, trying to figure out why Barnstable County has such a high breast cancer rate, a rate similar to Marin County in California. GreenCape is trying to prevent the utility company from spraying herbicides under the power lines, but a handful of individuals on the Outer Cape, like myself, are also working hard on their own. Emerging science shows allowing herbicides to contaminate our sole-source aquifer would be extremely short-sighted. Here's my latest letter to the editor, published yesterday by the Cape Cod Times, and once again, I have abbreviated the name of the utility to simply N:

"The Nov. 8 letter from two professors of environmental health at Boston University's School of Public Health frightened me.

The professors expressed concern about our sole-source aquifer and the fact that we have no other water source if herbicides are allowed to contaminate our water. Whoa! This is serious.

Cape Codders, are you listening? Our well water will contain trace amounts of toxic chemicals. The latest research indicates trace amounts can disrupt the hormone system. Need a quick crash course on Hormones 101 and why endocrine disruptors are so bad? OK: Synthetic chemicals can mimic natural hormones, upsetting normal reproduction and developmental processes. Male sperm counts have dropped. Breast cancer is up. Endometriosis has become more widespread. Synthetic chemicals are affecting the environment in a negative way and will make Earth a dramatically different place for our grandchildren.

At least we can have an effect on choices made locally. Rise up. Protect our drinking water and precious Cape Cod. Nontoxic means of vegetation control do exist. The federal government does not require herbicidal spraying. Take heed, as Professor Clapp and Madeleine Scammell suggest. Precaution is indeed the best approach. Don't let N contaminate our drinking water!"