Karl Breyman, the Green Party candidate for Rensselaer County Legislature in District 2, today called upon the Legislature to immediately adopt the Pesticide Neighbor Notification Law. He also urged parents to write to their local schools to ensure that they are notified before pesticides are used.
"It is outrageous that it took state legislative leaders so many years to even agree to notify residents before toxic chemicals are applied next door to them in order to keep lawns looking green. Unfortunately, Senator Bruno would only agree to even this minor step if each county had to then hold their own vote on whether to adopt these notification requirements, forcing environmentalists to fight the issue all over again with the 58 county legislatures in New York. Now we find chemical lawn applicators from outside our community coming in and use scare tactics so they can continue to poison our neighborhoods without even taking the simple step of notifying adjoining residents," stated Breyman, who has been Community Outreach Coordinator for the Citizens Environmental Coalition the last few years.
Breyman noted that one his opponents in the race, Keith Hammond, has led the legislative fight to block action on the bill, citing the potential impact to farmers in the future, even though agriculture use is exempted from the pesticide neighbor notification law. Breyman noted that Albany County has already adopted the notification law. Following industry lobbying, the Rensselaer County Legislature several months ago decided to create a committee of chemical applicators and environmentalists to study the proposal. It appears the County Legislature may delay a vote on the law until after the November election.
"I support using county and state resources to do more to allow family farms to continue to flourish, such as paying for development rights. But we need to also promote sustainable farming practices that reduce the use of toxics that can threaten our groundwater while ensuring the long-term health of our agricultural system. For instance, runoff from agriculture fields utilizing pesticides and fertilizers is one of the largest sources of pollution in our rivers. Organic farming is our future," added Breyman.
Breyman noted that the European Union has adopted the sustainable agriculture practices long promoted by the Green Party, and has also made their implementation a condition for any of the former eastern bloc countries seeking to enter the EU or NATO. The Greens advocate a phaseout of pesticide along with the use of practices such as integrated pest management, crop rotation, and the use of beneficial insects to control predators. Breyman is an advocate of Community Supported Agriculture, where consumers buy a share of a farmer's crops, receiving fresh produce each week while ensuring a market for the farmer and protecting them from unexpected crop loss or damage
. Breyman has been active in the effort to convince the state legislature to impose a five-year moratorium on the planting of genetically engineered crops so that independent scientists have time to evaluate the public health and environmental risks associated with this radical new technology. Europe, Japan, and even a growing number of American companies refuse to buy genetically engineered crops. Most GE crops are grown in the U.S. The United States also remains the only industrial country to allow the use of Monsanto's genetically engineered Bovine Growth Hormone to stimulate increased milk production in cows. Among the various health risks associated with the use of BGH is the increased production of the insulin growth factor which has been linked to various forms of cancer. At a minimum the Greens believe that genetically engineered crops should be labeled. Breyman is urging local school boards not to serve milk with BGH to children.
District 2 includes Poestenkill, East Greenbush and North Greenbush.
