Pass Pesticide Bill -Testify today!

SUBHEAD: Sample written testimony supporting Gary Hooser's GMOO / Pesticide Bill 2491.

By Phoebe Eng on 23 June 2013 for Island Breath -
(http://islandbreath.blogspot.com/2013/06/pass-pesticide-bill-testify-today.html)


Image above: Kauai comes out against GMO in Hawaii in Poipu. From (http://www.runningthecountry.com/hawaiians-fight-for-their-land-and-lives-against-biotechnology/#.Uci4Yuuihwn).

Aloha friends,

The Kauai County Council will review Bill 2491 this week, which requires disclosure from the heaviest users of pesticides to report on their pesticide use. It also requires buffer zones and other measures that can protect your children and families from pesticide drift.

If you want this Bill to pass, please send in your testimony as soon as you can today and tomorrow in time for Wednesday's first hearing! The first meeting of the County Council to discuss this bill is Wednesday, June 26. We need a strong west side voice, at least in emails, to show how much we care about the pesticide issue. To pass this bill, the Council needs to know that you want them to help protect your children's health and the future of our island.

Here's suggested wording, below, if you only have a few minutes. Feel free to cut and paste. The blue text can be replaced with your own information and words. If you have more time, you can write your own letter, use your own voice and tell your own story. The Council members want to hear from you! Send your letter to: CouncilTestimony@Kauai.gov

Here's a website that describes the bill, with facts about pesticides and children's health, and information about the County Bill 2491.

www.StopPoisoningParadise.org

Feel free to let me know if and when you send your letter!

Thanks much,

Phoebe

SAMPLE TESTIMONY BELOW

[Your Name]
[Your City]
[Your Zip Code]

Re: Strong SUPPORT for Bill 2491. Please vote YES on this Bill.

Aloha Kaua'i County Council Members Furfaro, Yukimura, Rapozo, Hooser, Bynum, Nakamura and Kagawa:

I strongly support Bill 2491 Relating to Pesticides and Genetically Modified Organisms and urge you to vote YES to this legislation.

I am a [describe your job, whether you are a parent, grandparent, etc.] and am very concerned about the large-scale use of restricted use pesticides on Kaua'i. The provisions of Bill 2491 help protect that residents of Kaua'i from the real but hidden impacts of continuous pesticide spraying, including short and longterm health impacts, and degradation to the land and water.

[In 3 sentences or less, tell the Council members why you believe that people have a Right to Know what, when,and where pesticides are sprayed, and/or why there should be buffer zones between schools/homes, and the GMO fields. If you live near a GMO field, witnessed dust storms in the fields, or experience breathing or other health problems, describe them. If your child experiences nosebleeds or other effects after spraying, please describe and let the Council know that you want to know what is being sprayed.]

I urge you to protect our children, communities, and natural resources from the harms of hazardous “restricted use” pesticides by the heaviest users on our island.

[Optional- Feel free to include or delete any part of this section]
In Generations In Jeopardy: How Pesticides are Undermining our Children's Health and Intelligence (2013, Kristen Schafer and Emily Marquez: Pesticide Action Network) reports that:

Neurotoxic pesticides are clearly implicated as contributors to the rising rates of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism, widespread declines in IQ and other measures of cognitive function.

Pesticide exposure contributes to a number of increasingly common health outcomes for children, including cancer, birth defects and early puberty. Evidence of links to certain childhood cancers is particularly strong.

Emerging science suggests that pesticides may be important contributors to the current epidemic of childhood asthma, obesity and diabetes.

Extremely low levels of pesticide exposure can cause significant health harms, particularly during pregnancy and early childhood.

Kaua’i people have a right to know:
What pesticides are being used, where and when they are being used and how much is being used;
What impacts on our environment and our health are occurring, or are likely to occur, as a result of pesticides being applied by the large industrial agribusinesses on our island;
The potential impacts of their pesticides drifting into our schoolyards, residences, waters and recreational spaces; and
What GMOs are being grown on our island and where they are being grown.
I support the banning of open air GMO field testing, along with a thorough and independent study of the local impacts of GMO crop production on our island.

And I support our island’s local farmers who practice malama `aina principles and work with respect for the life of our island’s land, its water and the food security of our island’s people.

Please do the same by casting your YES vote to protect the children and families of Kaua'i from health-harming pesticides.

Mahalo nui,
[name]

Email sent to Council Services Staff as testimony:
CouncilTestimony@kauai.gov

For non-testimony email messages to council members:
Jay Furfaro, Council Chair (JFurfaro@kauai.gov)
Nadine K. Nakamura, Council Vice Chair (nnakamura@kauai.gov)
Tim Bynum, Councilmember (tbynum@kauai.gov)
Gary L. Hooser, Councilmember (ghooser@kauai.gov)
Ross Kagawa, Councilmember (rkagawa@kauai.gov)
Mel Rapozo, Councilmember (mfrapozo@kauai.gov)
JoAnn A. Yukimura, Councilmember (jyukimura@kauai.gov)

For non-testimony email messages sent to all Council members:
Councilmembers@kauai.gov

For a PDF of Gary Hooser's proposed bill 2491 click here:

See also:
Ea O Ka Aina: Re-election Contingent on GMO Vote 6/24/13
Ea O Ka Aina: My testimony on GMO Bill 2491 6/24/13
Ea O Ka Aina: Hooser Asks for GMO Support 6/23/13
Ea O Ka Aina: Hooser's GMO Bill 6/22/13

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