By Shepherd Bliss
"We are poisoning our well here in Sonoma County," declared Sonoma City Council member Larry Barnett to a crowd of nearly 400 at the first public meeting of the growing No Spray Action Network. Barnett cited the increasing number of pesticides and other chemicals being used in the county.
No Spray opposes the government's plans for forced spraying of pesticides to control the glassy-winged sharpshooter on private and public properties against the will of residents. This tiny insect is harmless to people but can damage grape vines. The group gathered Jan. 16 at the Summerfield Waldorf School west of Santa Rosa in rural Sonoma County.
An infestation has not yet occurred in the North Bay, but last year various California counties were infested and forced spraying followed. A single adult sharpshooter arrived in Healdsburg during 2000 on a landscape plant from Southern California, which is typically how they travel long distances.
"The government is planning a war against this insect," observed Councilor Barnett. "They are on a search and destroy mission. This is reminiscent of the Vietnam War. The government is also spawning an anti-war movement." He called on people "to get involved politically against putting the profit of one industry over public health and safety. We need to make it more costly for them to spray than not to spray."
Toxicologist Dr. Marc Lappe, the former head of the State of California's Hazards Assessment Program, declared, "You should say no to anyone wanting to chemically trespass at your home or on your property. We need a state initiative against forced spraying."
Twenty years ago Dr. Lappe was a state health official when a decision to forcibly spray the pesticide malathion against the Mediterranean fruit fly was made. He determined that the risk to human health was too great, but he was over-ruled by the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Malathion was sprayed and has since been proven to cause cancer and other health problems. Dr. Lappe resigned his position over the incident.
Dr. Lappe criticized the three specific pesticides used last year in California to combat the sharpshooter--carbaryl, chlorpyrifos, and permethrin--as highly toxic and dangerous to human and animal health. He suggested that "wine should be tested for the presence of these pesticides." Dr. Lappe documented certain geographical areas in North America which are cancer clusters, which can be traced to pesticide concentrations.
Over three million pounds of pesticides are used in Sonoma County each year--87.7% of which are used on wine grapes, according to Dr. Lappe. "Over a hundred pesticides are used on grapes in Sonoma County, including some that are carcinogens," observed the director of the Center for Ethics and Toxics in Gualala, Mendocino County.
Dave Henson, Executive Director of the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, an 80 acre organic farm and garden, explained No Spray's single objective of opposing the forced spraying of pesticides, adding, "Growers have the right to spray on their own lands, but not to come to our homes." Henson said No Spray welcomes "anyone who agrees with this single purpose and is willing to commit themselves to nonviolence."
Following the politician's call to action and the scientist's description of the pesticide threat, author Starhawk described the ongoing non-violent direct action trainings that the group is hosting. "What do you do when your government won't listen to you? What do you do when you try all the legal and polite means?" the activist asked. "Direct action" responded the enthusiastic audience. Throughout the evening the crowd was good-humored--serious but happy to be together.
"Direct action workshops teach the basic skills of making democracy work," Starhawk observed. "Non-violent direct action fights a system, not individuals. It is about support and solidarity. We want to act not out of rage but out of love. The trainings are fun." Starhawk described direct action as "getting in the way of what they do with your body. We plan to organize a vast campaign involving hundreds of small affinity groups."
The No Spray meeting occured a couple of days after the celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday. On the previous weekend the No Spray group hosted two non-violent direct action trainings at the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, lead by Henson, where Dr. King's legacy was evoked. Those trainings filled up rapidly, so the group has scheduled six additional sessions. A training at Sonoma State University last weekend was attended by nearly 100 people.
Over a dozen speakers addressed the Summerfield meeting, including Emily Platt of Pesticide Watch in San Francisco and Wendy Blankenheim of Community Action Network in Mendocino County. Both activists pledged the ongoing support of their groups and members to the struggle in Sonoma County. "We have stopped Caltrans from spraying pesticides on our roadsides and have been active to defend forests," noted Blankeheim. "We will come down here to help you fight this battle. The sharpshooter is a warning to monoculture and conventional agriculture."
The next public meeting of the No Spray group is Feb. l5, also at Summerfield School. All day non-violent direct action trainings will occur on Feb. 4, l8, 24, and 25. No Spray is organized into seven committees that meet regularly.
For Further Information: No Spray Action Network, nospraymail@yahoo.com
www.freestone.com/nospray, (707) 874-3119