Stamping out the Apple Moth
A tiny moth, new to California, is at the center of a controversy pitting state officials against Bay Area residents and politicians. The Light Brown Apple Moth is seen as a threat to California crops. Now the State Department of Food and Agriculture is planning to spray a synthetic hormone over Bay Area neighborhoods this summer to stop the moth from reproducing, but some angry residents are worried it would be unsafe. Rori Gallagher reports.
You may listen to the “Stamping out the Apple Moth” Radio report online, as well as find additional links and resources. Also don’t miss our photo set for this story on flickr.
Andrea Kissack is Senior Editor for QUEST at KQED Public Radio.
I live in Santa Cruz and was sprayed in Nov 07 by LBAM and am still ill as are many others. I am 65 and of course post menopausal.DEC, JAN and Feb I have had spotting menstral cramps and low back pain. PMS also. Among other synptions. I am still so ill and in fear of being sprayed again. We were sprayed from 8pm till 5am it was like a war zone. Very stressful. I was afraid the planes would hit our trees and the 2 story apts I live in. They were 300-500 ft above us. Back and forth back and forth.I am afraid I will have to move and many have left or will be leaving. People will not want to come here not good for the economy. Our health, our lives. There are alternatives. This is all about egos,power,money and lies. Also we had around 100 birds that dies and they said its not from the spray. This is insanity. I feel like I am in the twlight zone. Sincerely Joyce Blessings to stopping the spray.
I live in San Francisco, and am terrified and outraged by this program.
So how does anyone justify spending $74.5MM spraying for the moth, including over urban areas? A sadly common answer: when the manufacturer of the chemical (Checkmate) is a big political donor to our Republican governor, and the donor (Stewart Resnick) stands to make a lot of money while the rest us breathe the toxic fumes.
If you don’t want to be a rat in this giant experiment, sign the petition to fight it: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-fumigation-of-citizens-without-their-consent-in-california
Hello, I’m Rori Gallagher, the reporter on the Light Brown Apple Moth story. I wanted to let you know that since the story aired, the state has changed its plans.
California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary A.G. Kawamura has announced a new primary tool to eradicate the Light Brown Apple Moth. Starting in 2009, the state will release sterile moths to prevent successful mating. The state no longer plans to aerially spray a synthetic pheromone mixture over urban areas. The state still plans to use alternative eradication methods in some areas such as synthetic pheromone twist ties to disrupt the apple moth’s mating process.
The idea behind sterile male moths is that when they mate with female moths, the eggs will not be fertilized.