From: "Michael Parenti" = Subject: Forced toxic spraying of urban Northern California

[L. Coyote]

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 ...
From: "Michael Parenti" ..@...
Subject: Forced toxic spraying of urban Northern California

Starting in June, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) plans to aerial spray pesticides
over the Bay Area and Central Coast to address the Light Brown Apple Moth(LBAM) issue. The moth has a record
of being relatively harmless and manageable in New Zealand and Hawaii. Leading scientists now say that it
would be impossible to eradicate the moth,and the best strategy would be ground traps that sterilize the moth.

Areas slated for spraying include: all of San Francisco, large parts of
Alameda (including Oakland and Berkeley), Contra Costa, Marin, and San
Mateo Counties, and Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties (all politically
progressive areas incidentally). The January spraying of Santa Cruz and
Monterey caused over 600 cases of respiratory illness, rashes, nausea,
and the like. People with compromised immune systems may be especially
at risk.

This is the first-time ever aerial spraying of the proposed pesticides
has occurred over densely populated areas, and no studies have been done
on the health or environmental impacts of such aerial spraying in urban
areas. If not stopped, CDFA plans to continue spraying each month for up
to 3 years or indefinitely until the moth is eradicated.

Please write to the Assembly Agriculture Committee Members and Governor
Schwarzenegger to urge them to support an immediate moratorium on aerial
spraying until safer non-aerial alternatives can be identified, and to support
proposed legislation to ensure the informed consent of the people that would be affected.

You can take action on this alert via the web at:
http://ga3.org/campaign/LBAM/

Visit the web address below to tell your friends in
California about this (this action will only work for California residents).

http://ga3.org/campaign/LBAM/

We encourage you to take action by April 9, 2008 to Stop Aerial Pesticide Spraying in the Bay Area!

INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA THE WEB:
If you have access to a web browser, you can take action on this alert by going to the following URL:

http://ga3.org/campaign/LBAM/

Your letter will be addressed and sent to: California Assembly Committee on Agriculture (if you
live in California)

----THIS LETTER WILL BE SENT IN YOUR NAME----
Dear ,

I am very concerned about the proposed aerial
spraying for the Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM). This is the first-time ever aerial spraying of a
proposed pesticide might occur over densely populated areas. What is most troubling is that no
studies have been conducted on the long-term health or
environmental impacts of such aerial spraying in urban areas. The spray has not been tested for
long-term human toxicity yet it could pose respiratory and inhalation risks, especially given that
the proposed plan would include multiple aerial sprayings over a short period of time, and over
several years.

In addition, the California Department of Food and
Agriculture (CDFA) does not have an adequate public notification system in place to ensure that
all affected individuals would be notified of the date and time of any control or eradication
efforts. This lack of public notification is completely unacceptable and denies the public the right to
protect themselves and their children from pesticide exposure.

I urge you to support an immediate moratorium on any aerial spraying over urban populations in
California. In addition, please support the proposed legislation (AB 2760, 2763, AB 2764, AB 2765, AB
2892) as a package to ensure public notifications and informed consent of the people who would be
affected by the implementation of a control or eradication program.

Thank you for your consideration of this urgent request.

> ----END OF LETTER TO BE SENT----

> cc:
> Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (if you live in California)
> Your Assemblyperson (if you live in California)