What's Lurking in the Air?

Spring Break is over and we are getting back into routine. After dropping Emily off to school this morning Sahara and I went for our daily walk. I truly felt liberating to be in the brisk air. However, we didn’t venture to far before I was consumed by an odd scent attacking my olfactory system.

I looked around for fresh mulch… nope. We passed a few more houses and I thought that it might be our neighbor's paint fumes; I saw the professional painter’s truck in the driveway as we passed. They must have the windows open for venilation… nope. (Well, they should.)

What was it?

Sahara seemed oblivious to the familiar yet undefined smell. She laughed as she chased birds in between driveways, she hesitated while she pointed to an airplain in the blue sky, and stopped to sit on a bench in someone’s yard for a rest. That was when I noticed a truck down wind of us. Pesticides! The wind was blowing the fumes right in our direction. I couldn’t help but notice the rest of the way home that the neighborhood was riddled with signs posted in the post-winter yards. I had flashes of facts flashing before me as I nudged her to hurry home.

Did you know that these pesticides are actually cousins to the government Agent Orange – a nerve gas? Some of these chemicals are not even permitted to be sprayed on government lawn because of its level of toxicity. The label is not allowed by Federal law to say, “Safe when used as directed", yet some labels do say, "This pesticide is toxic to birds and extremely toxic to fish and aquatic organisms".

(read more at http://www.cqs.com/elawn.htm or read The Autoimmune Epidemic by Donna Jackson Nakazawa.)

SO, why do we continue to spray this substance on our lawns? The same lawn our children and animals play in, roll around on, and sometimes chew like a piece of straw?

I have to wonder, if I could smell this substance 2 blocks away how potent is this stuff? What are the side effects of breathing it in? Is it necessary to have a perfectly manicured lot? What environmental backlashes might occur? Will this compromise our health? It did for Brenda Jones.

I don’t have the answers to all of these questions, but I do know I am not willing to take the risk of applying those chemicals to my lawn just so it can look pretty and I will be mindful to keep the girls and cats inside when the neighbors lots are being treated.