N.I.M.B.Y.

As we watch oceans of toxicity flow out of the rivers, stream and lakes of China and across the land as crops are irrigated with these unclean flows, sickness and pre-mature death spread throughout the land. And despite powerful lobbies from agribusiness to allow more efficient, if somewhat dangerous, insecticides, fungicides and other crop-and-livestock-threatening chemicals on our farms here in the United States, we have been relatively successful in stemming most (but definitely not all!) of the truly high-risk pesticide and disease control chemicals that would make farming easier but much riskier for consumers. And our Environmental Protection Agency, facing fierce resistance from anti-regulation conservatives and well-funded chemical and agricultural lobbies, continues to investigate those dangers as the evidence of toxicity mounts.

But while this may induce a touch of undeserved smugness in our government’s seeming care of our well-being (hey, West Virginia, this was supposed to include you, but King Coal trumps your safety), we might just have a bigger problem in our own backyards, in our own little gardens, growing our own “healthy organic” vegetables and flowers… at least what we think are healthy, home-grown crops. With spring settling across the land, it’s time for many homeowners to trek down to the local garden supplier and stock up on the necessaries.

“Many of us will be using chemicals like glyphosate, carbaryl, malathion and 2,4-D. But they can end up in drinking water, and in some cases these compounds or their breakdown products are linked to an increased risk for cancer and hormonal disruption.

“Some of those chemicals are also used by farmworkers, and there is a growing recognition that they can be hazardous. The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing regulations that will limit farmworkers’ exposure to dangerous pesticides and is accepting comments on these changes through June 17. These new rules are meant to reduce the incidence of diseases associated with pesticide exposure, including non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, prostate cancer, Parkinson’s disease and lung cancer.” Diane Lewis writing for the New York Times, May 10^th.

But homeowners are less experienced than professional farmers, tend to overreact when pest descend on their precious flower boxes and gardens, and wind up polluting themselves beyond all reason. “The United States Fish and Wildlife Service says homeowners use up to 10 times more chemicals per acre than farmers do. Some of these chemicals rub off on children or pets, but most are washed with rainwater into our streams, lakes and rivers or are absorbed into our groundwater. These are the sources of our drinking water, and tests show these chemicals are indeed contaminating our water supply.

“A study by the United States Geological Survey released in 1999 found at least one pesticide, and often more than one, in almost every stream and fish sample tested, and in about half of the samples drawn from wells throughout the country. These pesticides are going from our lawns and gardens into our drinking water and into our bodies…

“What we put on our lawns and down our drains winds up in our drinking water, and it is not removed by water treatment. Bottled water is not a solution because it comes from the same sources and is susceptible to the same contaminants. But if we don’t put these chemicals in our yards, they won’t be in our drinking water.

“In the last decade or so, plenty of homeowners have been rejecting the emerald green lawn and planting with species that do not demand chemicals and constant watering. But not nearly enough of us have taken that step. We need to see a perfect lawn not as enviable, but a sign of harm.

“Natural care of our yards and gardens is surprisingly easy. Increasing diversity in a lawn by adding clover helps supply nutrition naturally because clover fixes nitrogen from the air and makes it available to other plants. Leaving grass clippings not only returns nitrogen to the lawn, but also prevents it from drying out. Letting grass grow to four inches allows the roots to grow long so the grass can absorb more water and excess nutrients during a storm, and withstand a drought. Plants that are native to your region require less water and care and support animals and wildlife, so you will see more birds and butterflies.” NY Times. It’s clear that we have the power to change at least what we have within our own immediate control, to make one small local change that could aggregate to a massive benefits across our entire nation.

 I’m Peter Dekom, and responsibility starts in our own backyards.