If you have seen the award winning doco on Smart Meters by Josh del Sol, called ‘Take Back Your Power’, you will have heard this story of a young man who occupied a hostel room at his university that was situated near a cell phone tower or mast. The health effects were very sobering and sadly not uncovered until too late. The story is cited in Katie Singer’s book called ‘An Electronic Silent Spring’.
Lloyd Burrell on his website, electricsense, has provided a review of the book:
MEASURE WI-FI RADIATION IN YOUR HOME … CHEAPLY … also from the electricsense website
This is basically an app for your Android or smartphone that will measure Wi-Fi levels in your home for almost free. On this excellent site Lloyd offers a free report on how to protect yourself from EMFs.
Many folks are experiencing health effects today fromEMFs … and many are not aware of the causes. The industry protects business by concealing the exposure warnings in very fine print. It is not about banning the technology so much as learning how to effectively protect ourselves. Children are particularly vulnerable hence the debate that is going on about Wi-Fi in schools. Educate yourself and read the research … and most importantly learn how to protect yourself and your loved ones. This app would be useful it’s explained, to know where to locate your Wi-Fi access point in your office or home to minimize exposure.
There are links there to purchase the app which is 3 euros, around $3.
More on glyphosate … another nation bans it. Since its reclassification by WHO to a class 2A carcinogen, many countries are moving to protect the public:
“Sri Lanka’s newly elected President Maithripala Sirisena announced Friday that the import of the World’s most used herbicide glyphosate will be banned with immediate effect. The release of already imported stocks has also been stopped. Sirisena, a farmer and ex Health Minister, stated that glyphosate is responsible for the increasing number of chronic kidney disease (CKDu) patients in Sri Lanka and added that the move would protect the Sri Lankan farming community…”
On first consideration, to those who are convinced by the IPCC science, this comes as blasphemy almost. However, consider the evidence … as I did. As many others have.
You may be surprized to learn that a total of 9,000 PhDs have signed a petition denying that CO2 is causing global warming. There are 31,000 scientists in total who have signed that petition. In addition, 49 former NASA scientists have written to NASA endorsing the same … (read their full letter at the source)
Add to all of this (plus much more evidence from professionals found at this link) …. the findings of Dr Nils-Axel Mörner who has measured sea levels in person, rather than using computer models … and you may be convinced to read more.
Begin with this article from the Telegraph, by Christopher Booker:
QUOTE:
“If one thing more than any other is used to justify proposals that the world must spend tens of trillions of dollars on combating global warming, it is the belief that we face a disastrous rise in sea levels. The Antarctic and Greenland ice caps will melt, we are told, warming oceans will expand, and the result will be catastrophe….
But if there is one scientist who knows more about sea levels than anyone else in the world it is the Swedish geologist and physicist Nils-Axel Mörner, formerly chairman of the INQUA International Commission on Sea Level Change. And the uncompromising verdict of Dr Mörner, who for 35 years has been using every known scientific method to study sea levels all over the globe, is that all this talk about the sea rising is nothing but a colossal scare story…”
In the following video produced by The Mind Renewed website, you can hear Dr Mörner being interviewed. Read the information at its source and below the video on YouTube.
This is an inspiring report from NZ’s Campbell Live about how waste food from shops and supermarkets, still quite edible, yet destined for landfills, is gathered up and distributed to the less fortunate folks who can’t afford food. This is efficient recycling at its best … with a unique touch of kindness to boot.
“Earlier this year, Campbell Live covered New Zealand’s $872 million food scandal and highlighted the amount of food we waste and the food we buy to eat but never do.
As a nation, we throw away 122,000 tonnes of food per annum, just from households.
That study got us thinking, and many of you too – what about commercial food waste, uneaten food from supermarkets, cafes and restaurants?
Sadly, most of it is also dumped – but not all.
Campbell Live reporter Jendy Harper spent the day rescuing the food and feeding the less fortunate in Wellington.”
From Natural Society … this article recapitulates the progress so far in terms of recent mounting evidence:
“It’s not just the WHO that has raised the alarm over Monsanto’s Roundup and its devastating effects on human and environmental health. Instead, the WHO announcement was simply the most widely reported on Roundup study that we have seen. Sadly, it’s not even the most concerning.
It was back in September of 2014 that the International Journal of Toxicology published a much more alarming piece on the dangers of Roundup entitled “Glyphosate Commercial Formulation Causes Cytotoxicity, Oxidative Effects, and Apoptosis on Human Cells: Differences With its Active Ingredient.” As you can gather from its name, the study highlighted the multitude of ways in which glyphosate is wreaking havoc on human cells…”
For Kiwis, remember, New Zealand is an avid user of Roundup and glyphosate. It is recommended in our Tertiary Agricultural textbooks, and touted as being completely harmless. Therefore it is sprayed liberally onto pastures and eaten by the stock headed for the market and our consumption. Hence it is found now in human urine, blood and breast milk. It is used by the keepers of our roads and public spaces in towns, by large contractors as well as small.
Educate yourself, read the data and spread the word. There are currently two petitions circulating in NZ, one for Auckland and one for the Rangitikei. I note that one may be coming for all of NZ, the better option really as it is at government level it needs addressing. Councils continue to repeat that glyphosate is government approved. In the meantime however, please consider signing the petitions and stop the ongoing poisoning of our future.
“Today 190 scientists from 39 nations submitted an appeal to the United Nations, UN member states and the World Health Organization (WHO) requesting they adopt more protective exposure guidelines for electromagnetic fields (EMF) and wireless technology in the face of increasing evidence of risk. These exposures are a rapidly growing form of environmental pollution worldwide…”
Transcript of Dr. Blank’s presentation:“I’m here with disturbing news about our favorite gadgets: cell phones, tablets, wi-fi, etc. Putting it bluntly, they are damaging the living cells in our bodies and killing many of us prematurely.
I’m Dr. Martin Blank, from the Department of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics at Columbia University.
It is distressing for me, and more than 160 colleagues, who today are petitioning the United Nations requesting that they address this problem.
We are scientists and engineers, and I am here to tell you – we have created something that is harming us, and it is getting out of control!
Before Edison’s lightbulb, there was very little electromagnetic radiation in our environment. The levels today are very many times higher than natural background levels and are growing rapidly because of all the new devices that emit this radiation.
An example that a lot of us have in our pockets right now is the cell phone. One study shows that as cell phone usage has spread widely, the incidence of fatal brain cancer in younger people has more than tripled.
We are putting cellular antennas on residential buildings, and on top of hospitals, where people are trying to get well.
Wireless utility meters, and cell towers, are blanketing our neighborhoods with radiation.
It’s particularly frightening that radiation from our telecommunication and powerline technology is damaging the DNA in our cells. It is clear to many biologists that this can account for the rising cancer rates.
Future generations – OUR CHILDREN – ARE AT RISK.
These biologists and scientists are not being heard on the committees that set safety standards. The BIOLOGICAL facts are being ignored, and as a result, the safety limits are much too high. THEY ARE NOT PROTECTIVE!
More protection will probably result from full disclosure of possible conflicts of interest between regulators and industry.
Rising exposure to electromagnetic radiation is a GLOBAL problem. The World Health Organization and
international standard setting bodies are not acting to protect the public’s health and well-being.
International exposure guidelines for electromagnetic fields must be strengthened to reflect the reality of their impact on our bodies, and in particular, on our DNA.
Although we are still in the midst of a great technological transformation, the time to deal with the harmful biological and health effects is long overdue.
We are really all part of a large biological experiment, without our informed consent.
To protect our children, ourselves, and our ecosystem, we must reduce exposure by establishing more protective guidelines.
And so, today, scientists from around the world are submitting an Appeal to the United Nations, its member states and the World Health Organization, to provide leadership in dealing with this emerging public health crisis.”
Germany’s state consumer protection ministers are calling for an EU-wide ban on the leading global pesticide Glyphosate, after it was categorized as carcinogenic by the WHO. However, the federal government sees no need for action. EurActiv Germany reports.
Major oat buyer says no to glyphosate: no more shipments of crops sprayed pre-harvest with deadly herbicide
(NaturalNews) One of Canada’s leading manufacturers of conventional and organic whole grain ingredients used in cereals, breads, bars and many other products served around the world has decided to stop accepting oats sprayed with Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide (glyphosate) prior to harvest, noting consumer preference as a major contributing factor to this decision.
This case is shocking. As I recall, Johnson & Johnson was always a trusted brand. I spoke recently with some women in their senior years who all nodded at that name as being trusted. Trust unfortunately is a word that doesn’t feature so prominently nowadays. Corporations regularly fail in their promises it seems … and if you doubt this please watch the doco entitled ‘The Corporation’. You will find it here on the Corporations page. It will explain to you how this all happened … how a corporation functions … to whom its first loyalties are. Be aware, it is not you, the customer by any stretch of the imagination. And so here, we have a big corporation being ordered to pay $50 million to an injured child, when in the bigger picture, in light of the profits made, that sum of money is not all that large. And not compared to the suffering this child and her family have endured. As always with these sad and unfortunate stories, we need to be aware to read the very fine print and do our own private research on medications. The information is there but is seldom given to us unless requested.
“(NaturalNews) The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld a lower court’s judgment that pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson should be required to pay $50 million to a girl who suffered a rare but devastating side effect from Children’s Motrin when she was seven years old. The judgment took more than a decade to be reached.
Samantha Reckis experienced toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), which burned off 90 percent of her skin, destroyed 80 percent of her lung capacity and left her blind. Only luck and the efforts of her doctors prevented her from dying or suffering permanent brain damage…”
I’m not faintly surprised at this decision. The day I attended the hearing and heard the ‘independent’ Chair’s Freudian slip … “When the consent is granted …” illustrated quite graphically for me, the extent of the independence of the commission. In addition, all the concerns that any community would naturally have … leachate, trucks, property values … all these were effectively taken off the table. Hamstrung from the start. It is the neighbors of the landfill in particular who will have to live with this. And all those conditions … I’ll be watching keenly to see how strictly they’re adhered to. If it’s anything like the vigilance we have with other consents and pollution of our environment of late, it’s going to be an interesting road forwards.
“The Bonny Glen landfill expansion has been given the go-ahead.
The landfill’s owners, Midwest Disposals has been granted all resource consents to expand the operation.
The decision, released yesterday afternoon, granted the consents for 35 years with land use consents in perpetuity.
It means the size and life of Bonny Glen, near Marton, will increase significantly over the next four decades. The capacity will increase almost five-fold….”
Currently in the Rangitikei, as in many other places, Roundup is the herbicide of choice for cleaning up weeds. Recently however, the World Health Organization (WHO) has taken recognition of the decades of independent research that warns of its health risk. WHO is warning people of the fact that it probably causes cancer. Check out the Glyphosate page on this site for further information on that.
Roundup, the herbicide of choice that contains glyphosate and is toxic to our bees
Personally I approached the Rangitikei District Council (RDC) twelve months ago to warn them of these dangers and make known to them the vast amount of research that exists linking it with not only cancer but many other illnesses including birth defects. Now, add to this another damning factor … its toxicity to bees. Bees are essential for pollinating our plants. As the poster above conveys,experts confirm that if the bees die off, we humans could well follow. Our toxic environments are destroying the very organisms that ensure the continuation of life on planet earth.
That said, the RDC is not convinced by either the extensive research or any announcements by WHO. Currently in fact, going by the last time I heard them discuss this (March 2015) they are of the opinion that I am the only person in the Rangitikei who is concerned about this. We now have a petition that indicates there are in fact another 97 who are. Good news. If you are connected with the Rangitikei, spend any time visiting, live here or intend to, please consider signing the petition.
Watch for further updates and information on the role of bees in our food chain.
“Six years ago, Dr Erica Mallery-Blythe moved to the country, stopped carrying a mobile phone and sacrificed a successful career in emergency medicine to focus on a new medical interest – radiation emitted by Wi-Fi, mobiles and other wireless devices.
She is now one of the country’s few professional advisers on medical conditions related to radiofrequency (RF) radiation and other electromagnetic fields (EMFs)…”
More news on the glyphosate front as more and more people wake up to the toxicity of glyphosate based herbicides. May the trend continue until it is hopefully banned altogether.
“Colombia will suspend aerial fumigation of illegal coca plants in light of a number of studies linking the herbicide involved to cancer, a move that marks the end of a decades-long strategy in the country’s fight against drug trafficking.
Spraying coca leaves, which are used to make cocaine, has been a key part of Colombia’s efforts to curb production of some 300 tonnes of cocaine a year that make it one of the world’s biggest producers of the drug…”
This signals a warning to folks with money in the bank. Banks are not averse to trimming your accounts as they already did in Greece. That was the Open Bank Resolution (OBR). When their poor practices fail it is you the customer who tends to be paying for their mistakes. Educate yourself and be warned. Here your savings will be taxed.
“The new compulsory control is provided in the 2015 Australian budget, so that everyone who has any savings must pay taxes on their savings. The measure is expected to serve as a global test balloon for Europe and North America, who will watch for the outcome in Australia. If there is no massive resistance of Australian savers, the rest of the world should expect this outright confiscation very rapidly…”
This is from the Feed the World website and via GM Watch, by Claire Robinson.
“The International Society of Doctors for the Environment (ISDE) has written to officials of the EU Parliament and Commission asking for an immediate ban on glyphosate herbicides and four insecticides judged by the World Health Organisation’s cancer agency, IARC, to be probable carcinogens.
The letter states that glyphosate herbicides are associated with health problems such as birth defects, infertility, damage to the nervous system, Parkinson’s disease and several forms of cancer.
The letter adds, “for safeguarding the health of European populations, ISDE states that the rational basis is already strong enough” to justify an immediate and permanent ban…”
This is alarming to say the least … is it a sign of things to come? As yet New Zealanders are not prevented from collecting rainwater … and may it remain that way. On the other hand, as per my previous post, the competition here is hotting up with corporations already extracting our precious water resources and selling them abroad.
This article is from Natural News:
(NaturalNews) You might be aware that it is illegal to collect rainwater on your own property in some states, but did you know that doing so could actually land you in jail? That is exactly what is happening to Gary Harrington of Eagle Point, Oregon. He is now facing a 30-day jail sentence and fines of more than $1,500.
His crime? Harrington has been collecting rainwater in three reservoirs on his property, and the government doesn’t like it. In Oregon, all water is considered property of the state whether it flows from the tap or falls from the sky.
Most people who subscribe to truth sites similar to this one will be aware that water is becoming the new ‘gold’. This was ‘prophesied’ in a sense by Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke in their book called ‘Blue Gold the Battle Against Corporate Theft of the World’s Water’ (2001), a very interesting and informative read. (The documentary of the same name is on Bitchute.)
Here in NZ recent news items have questioned ‘who owns our water?’ https://www.nzherald.co.nz/kahu/debate-who-owns-the-water/VIVM3S5TCFZ3R5M75H67ORJ3NA/
‘Nobody’, says the current PM John Key … and yet a Hawkes Bay bottling plant (Chinese owned) has been sold pretty cheap rights to bottle and export 900 million liters per year. While locals who wish to water their orchards are required to pay for it. Read the explanations for this and to the average citizen they sound like gobbledy gook … citing the Resource Management Act (RMA) and spun in legal rhetoric most of us can’t understand. This is the way of big business.
NZ’s Maori King, King Tuheitia says Maori “have always owned the water.” In August 2012, the Waitangi Tribunal found that Māori still have residual proprietary rights in water and the Crown would breach the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi if it went ahead with the sale of State owned power company share sales. Maori customary title, according to the 2003 “Ngati Apa” decision of the Court of Appeal, must be lawfully extinguished before it can be regarded as ceasing to exist. Customary rights, although not ownership in a Lockean sense, says the NZ Herald, still represent more than the relegation of Maori to being non-owners of non-ownable water. Indeed, when acquiring the land for the Crown, the Queen solemnly agreed for Maori to retain “full exclusive and undisturbed possession of their Lands and Estates Forests Fisheries and other properties which they may collectively or individually possess…”
Still it appears perfectly legal in the case of Hawke’s Bay, for the local council there to sell an offshore corporation the rights to extract large quantities, even though, as John Key argues, nobody owns it.
For the purposes of introduction here, water and one’s right to it is becoming somewhat complicated. There are places on the planet where the powers that be have integrated into law the prohibition of collecting it for personal consumption. As insane as this may sound it is factually true. As always, follow the money trail.
Corporations are seeking to privatise our water commons for a profit (and yes it was always considered one’s right to water is sacrosanct). Exemplifying their typical avarice for more and more profits, they seek to gobble up all the water resources and rights to them it seems, and sell them back to us at exorbitant prices.
This is the way of corporations. They are seldom for the people and always for their shareholders. Separate entities with legal personhood they manage to do just about anything their shareholders wish for them to do whilst escaping accountability for any damage they incur.
A few years back in Cochabamba Bolivia, a large corporation had privatised the water and was charging around half the income of the poor to buy it off them. So oppressive did this become it ended up with riots and even loss of life to oust the corporation and return to the previous status quo. If there is anything you should learn on this site it is that corporations are not generally kindly companies that wish to help people. (Please watch ‘The Corporation’ movie). Any intimation from them that they wish you well is generally just rhetoric to appease you or persuade you you to buy. This attack on the rights of people to drink the essence of life, (and it is well established that water is essential to life itself) is a huge attack on our ultimate freedoms. Fifty years ago this line of thinking would be unheard of … unthinkable. As I’ve pointed out often here, fifty years ago most households had their own water tanks to collect rainwater. That was standard practice. And yet, today it is being put to us as being right and proper that we should not be collecting it at all. We have been seriously duped by little increments that corporations can, but not we the people. Lest I be misunderstood here, I am not against water conservation. I simply believe, like most ordinary folks, that water should not be virtually given to corporations to profiteer with, at the expense of locals who need it for day to day survival.
Welcome then to the water wars. And I’ve not even touched on water pollution and our health. In the meantime, be sure to stand up for water rights wherever they are being quietly, or not so quietly, whittled away. Next we will be charged for the air we breathe. Such is life in the twenty first century. If the water wars are new to you begin by watching the documentary Blue Gold.
From the NaturalNews website … more damning information on glyphosate. The stream of articles on this product is constant. Bear in mind, scientists have been raising this alarm for years, spending a great deal of time researching this supposedly safe herbicide ingredient, their warnings falling largely on deaf ears. WHO’s recent public recognition and acknowledgement of its toxicity is now opening a floodgate of reaction world wide.
“(NaturalNews) Key data outlining the toxicity of glyphosate (Roundup) was recently uncovered, revealing that Monsanto knew about the cancer-causing effects of its best-selling herbicide more than 35 years ago, as did the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and yet neither entity chose to make this information known in the interest of public health. Both Monsanto and the EPA knew full well, at least as early as 1981, that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup herbicide causes cancer in mammals….”
Bermuda has joined the ranks of countries banning this ‘probable carcinogen’. WHO’s reclassification of glyphosate to Class 2A is creating a knock on effect around the world. Nations are re thinking the risk involved.
“Effective immediately, all importers of glyphosate/Roundup will be notified that the approval for all glyphosate products has been suspended, pending the continuing assessment of the emerging research.” – Jeanne Atherden, Bermuda Minister of Health
Bermuda’s farmers are also backing the Government’s decision stating it “would not have a significant effect on Bermudian agriculture as alternatives can easily be used.”
Here’s good news. With the topic now heating up since WHO’s recent announcement that glyphosate ‘probably causes cancer’, this is another good decision for the public.
If you haven’t already signed our petition to ban the use of glyphosate in the Rangitikei’s urban public places, please go to the petition page and consider signing.
” ‘As a responsible company, it is important to regularly review our entire range and seek to protect the environment and nature with alternative and more sustainable options. Toom Baumarkt is constantly and consistently developing a more sustainable portfolio of products,” explains Dominique Rotondi, General Purchasing Manager for toom Baumarkt….’
The 350 ‘toom Baumarkt DIY’ stores belonging to the REWE Group will carry no glyphosate-containing products later than September 30, 2015. From Monday such products cannot be re-ordered for the stores. By the end of 2013 toom Baumarkt had begun to switch the range and had removed about 60 percent of glyphosate-containing products from sale. Toom Baumarkt offers its customers alternative environmentally acceptable products. Thus toom Baumarkt was well ahead of the upcoming decision on the extension of the EU approval for glyphosate.”
If you’re convinced these are simply contrails from jet aircraft flying from A to B please be open minded and at least read the plentiful research on the matter.
Images like these don’t lend themselves to that theory:
Captured in the Rangitikei, 1 Oct 2014, 9:31 am
Follow the links on the Geoengineering page. The practice of Geoengineering is well documented and has been happening since the 1940s. Visit Climateviewer.com for a detailed timeline of that.
Test results have revealed that herbicide-tolerant swedes planted as stock feed have unnaturally high levels of toxins that cause liver damage in livestock.
The test results have raised questions as to why farmers have been allowed to plant the crop again this season.
Documents obtained by Radio New Zealand show the Southland Swedes Working Group was told in October there was a problem with the herbicide-tolerant swedes….”
More damning evidence about glyphosate from the Natural News site.
“A class action lawsuit, (Case No: BC 578 942) was filed in Los Angeles County California and alleges that Monsanto is guilty of using false advertisement when they say the herbicide is harmless to humans….The lawsuit points out that glyphosate targets the EPSP synthase enzyme, which is found in human and animal intestines. If this enzyme is being wiped out over time, then humans and animals lose their ability to fight off disease. If the CDC is so concerned about the herd immunity of the human race, then why aren’t they taking a stand to stop the mass application of glyphosate?…”Because it kills off our gut bacteria, glyphosate is linked to stomach and bowel problems, indigestion, ulcers, colitis, gluten intolerance, sleeplessness, lethargy, depression, Crohn’s Disease, Celiac Disease, allergies, obesity, diabetes, infertility, liver disease, renal failure, autism, Alzheimer’s, endocrine disruption, and the W.H.O. recently announced glyphosate is ‘probably carcinogenic’.”
It was announced recently, that WHO has concluded that glyphosate ‘probably causes cancer’ …. they have classed it 2A. It is surely well past the time for NZ authorities to reconsider its approval of this widely used herbicide. There comes a point we have to consider prevention and not closing the gate when the horse has already bolted. The damage is already done given this product is now found widely in blood, urine and breast milk, and cancer statistics are one in three. People need to read this research, study it carefully and take action. France’s highest court ruled around six years ago that the product is carcinogenic following the research of Professor Seralini. If you are from the Rangitikei, live in the Rangitikei or have connections with the region, please sign our petition at this link: https://www.toko.org.nz/petitions/ban-the-use-of-carcinogenic-chemical-in-rangitikei-towns-public-places-now-7
“In March, 2015, 17 experts from 11 countries met at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC; Lyon, France) to assess the carcinogenicity of the organophosphate pesticides tetrachlorvinphos, parathion, malathion, diazinon, and glyphosate (table)…”
If you follow the link, to download the pdf file you’re required to register (it’s free).
Following on from the RDC meeting in late March 2015 where the topic of eliminating the spraying of glyphosate in urban Rangitikei’s public places was discussed following a report by Council into cost effective alternatives. If you missed the previous parts, follow the links to Part 1 and Part 2 before continuing here.
The Cost Effective Alternative
Returning to the Council discussion that day, Cr Ash raised the issue regarding cost effective alternatives to spraying Glyphosate. As outlined there, the alternatives were explored in the Council report however some of the detail was incorrect. It was claimed hot water treatment is fifteen times more expensive than chemical spraying. In fact, a company in Auckland, whose contact details I had supplied prior to the completion of the report, was prepared to present information to Council on their system that can operate at the small margin of 10-15% more than chemical spraying. That price, says the company director, is set to drop even further by the end of 2015 to be on a par with that of chemical spraying. This option however was never pursued and by all appearances isn’t going to be. According to the recent Rangitikei Mail article, Mayor Andy Watson, who was not available for comment, “endorsed the council’s position based on the commissioned report”. The RDC will only be establishing a no-spray register where those who wish to opt out can, and they take responsibility themselves for keeping that area weed free. A no-spray register is standard practice in many cities. If you wish to avoid any other exposure to public spraying activity, basically you can’t, and I’ve seen folk spraying in fairly high wind around here. I’ve also observed children walking on the regularly used track that they take to school … within minutes of being sprayed. The label on Roundup packaging warns about spraying on calm days and waiting for the product to dry before touching what is sprayed. My initial presentation had also included a request for warning the public of imminent spraying and/or the placing out of signs saying spraying is in progress. Nobody has been agreeable to this either. Neither the contractors nor RDC.
The Market
One of the bonuses we’ve been told about market competition is that prices will be driven down. In this respect I’ve suggested in previous discussions with those concerned here that surely the Council need only seek quotes for chemical free treatment from several competing contractors then secure the most favourable price. During my own research a contractor in one city who applies a salt solution to hardstand areas, said they were simply told to submit a quote for chemical free treatment. For some reason that remains unclear to me, the RDC prefers to lean favourably towards helping the current contractor, Fulton Hogan, to continue the status quo, and are not willing to introduce any competition. Surely this would benefit the rate payers. It is possible a local contractor may go even lower than the current one. The Auckland company is willing to look at working with and training a suitable contractor to establish its system of hot water and foam here in Marton.
In Summary
The important matter for me in all this, is health. There is a very long list of health issues with glyphosate and research clearly states it is a ‘probable carcinogen’. Class 2A. I’m left wondering, are people really interested in figuring out what causes cancer?
Bear in mind also, this product is sprayed all over pastures so it has to be in much of our food. It has been found in blood, urine and even breast milk. As I pointed out in my presentation, the cancer stats are now ONE in THREE. So one third of your friends / acquaintances / family will statistically be affected by this terrible
The Seralini Rats
plague, and plague it is. I personally can name three brushes with it in my close family. In one branch of my extended family, three deaths from it. In another, two. Among friends, two deaths. These stats are very high. Common sense should be telling us to err on the side of caution and when an organization like WHO is sounding warnings, why are we not listening? Or should I say, why are they not listening?
So, in summary, should you be interested in curbing the spraying of chemicals in your vicinity, be prepared for possible unpleasantness and vilification. Not for the faint hearted. I have received similar from the contractors themselves, one, when I asked him not to spray near my flat, walked right by me spraying within inches of my feet. The company has now agreed to a compromise and they are weed whacking again. I am spraying a non toxic spray under the trees, at their request and at my own expense.
For further information on glyphosate visit the glyphosate page on this site. You will find direct links to the extensive research near the bottom of the page. (You can view the actual research reports by the researchers themselves). There is also the very defining video by Professor Seralini illustrating his research conducted for two years on lab rats, after which France’s highest Court ruled Monsanto had deceived the public about the safety of their product.
This is from the Environmental Working Group (EWG), and an important reminder we carefully scrutinize the labels on our food, but research the chemicals present in our cookware. Be warned…EnvirowatchRangitikei
This article is by By David Andrews, Senior Scientist and Bill Walker, Consultant.
POISONED LEGACY
Ten Years Later, Chemical Safety and Justice for DuPont’s Teflon Victims Remain Elusive
DuPont’s Dirty History
In 2005 the Environmental Protection Agency fined chemical giant DuPont a record $16.5 million over its decades-long cover-up of the health hazards of C8, also known as PFOA. One of a family of perfluorinated chemicals, or PFCs, PFOA was a key ingredient in making Teflon, the non-stick, waterproof, stain-resistant “miracle of modern chemistry” used in thousands of household products….
DuPont had long known that PFOA caused cancer, had poisoned drinking water in the mid-Ohio River Valley and polluted the blood of people and animals worldwide.
It’s been 10 years since the EPA’s history-making judgment against DuPont and PFOA, but its victims are still seeking justice. DuPont has failed to clean up water supplies, is shirking its promise to monitor the health of the communities it poisoned and is gearing up to fight in court against paying damages to its victims. EWG – and the victims of DuPont
Read the article at EWG’s website & download pdf guide to avoiding PFCS:
Following on from the RDC meeting in late March 2015 where the topic of eliminating the spraying of glyphosate in urban Rangitikei’s public places was discussed following a report by Council into cost effective alternatives. If you missed part 1, read it HERE first.
The Outcome
Fast forward to the day of the meeting in March when the outcome was given. Council read out their report, embedded in the Order Paper [on page 26, Council Agenda 26 March 2015 electronic version.compressed (1)] which states, briefly, that a no spray register will be established so that those who wish to opt out can, and any areas thus opted out of will be kept weed free by that person. There was then some discussion around the issue and other possible options put forward. Cr Sheridan suggested that the no spray areas could be sprayed by the current contractor using a non chemical spray. Mayor, Andy Watson however, foresaw difficulties price-wise with that, potentially incurring more expense for ratepayers, so the idea was dropped. Cr Sheridan asked why the report had not addressed the initial health issues raised at the forum in November. CEO Ross McNeill responded that he had only been directed to research what alternative options other Councils used … not the health issues. More discussion ensued and Cr Ash tried to point out the recent findings by WHO and Canterbury University regarding health risks. She was promptly reminded that this was question time, not discussion time. Seconds later (still question time) another Cr expounded on the safety of glyphosate with nods of agreement all around.
So you will see here, the way Council operates, there is no room for discussion or dialogue, except by Council of course, amongst themselves, whilst you sit and listen only. There is no opportunity to correct any misconceptions, or to raise any other issues. Your five (rather four) minutes … is it. There ends your input.
Would it not have been pertinent to research the health issues which, after all, were the point of the whole exercise? It seems the RDC takes the three monkeys approach (if we don’t look at, hear or speak about the research then we won’t need to be concerned … even if it is by Doctors and Professors). By virtue of one very specific Mayoral direction here, the whole health issue is effectively sidelined. I feel this is a very lop sided way of interacting with the community … the very people who elect these representatives. You may or may not agree.
Two Other Questions Raised by Councillors
I should add here, in the mix of the discussion, two other questions were raised by other Crs. One was the cost of preparing the report, specifically … how many hours did it take [waste] in preparation? A very pointed question to which of course I was unable to respond in any way.
So here, a person is vilified for daring to raise health concerns for the public, health concerns the public are unaware of because, as has been established by France’s highest Court, the manufacturer has lied about its safety. Everybody believes it is safe.
It clearly isn’t.The other question was, ‘who else was concerned about this issue or was it just one person?’ [that would be me presumably].I was unable of course to respond to that either … had I been able to I could have said there were, as far as I knew, at least ten other persons anyway. Quite likely more but we shall see.
An UPDATE here: There are currently, as at 16 July 2015, 111 others who are concerned. If you happen to be concerned also, please sign the petition HERE. You could also ‘like’ our glyphosate FACEBOOK PAGE and stay informed with regular updates on this issue.
Environmental Health Watch NZ 
You must be logged in to post a comment.