greenLEEP Love our Environment Eliminate Pesticides
The City of Surrey
14245 56 Avenue ,
Surrey , BC
V3X 3A2
June 28, 2008
We, the petion signers, would like to present to you at least 10 good reasons why you should support greenLEEP initiatives and adopt a pesticide free City.
1) Pesticides do not stay in one yard - they contaminate neighboring yards, are washed into storm drains and rivers, and travel as far away as the Arctic.
2) Exposure to pesticides is increasingly linked by medical authorities to several cancers, and especially leukemia and lymphoma. Pesticide exposure has been proven to be responsible for birth defects and death. In children have been linked to autism, impaired brain development, and lowered IQ, shortened attention span and behavioral problems.
3) Chemical pesticides accumulate in biological cells, alter DNA and harm the organism. These poisons are passed on from one tropic level to the next. All plants, herbivores, phytoplankton and zooplankton are consumed by humans in the food chain.
4) Our bodies and especially those of our children are already carrying an unacceptable load of toxic contaminants which are reinforcing each other.
5) Supporters of a pesticide ban include:
The BC Canadian Cancer Society, The BC Medical Association, The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, The BC The Registered Nurses Association of BC, The BC Lung Association, BC Childrens Hospital and several smaller community based groups as well.
6) The Humane Society of Canada supports a ban on the non-essential use of pesticides, because pets are harmed by Canine Malignant Lymphoma (CML), poisonings and some countries including Germany have banned household pesticides to save the honey bees.
7) Across Canada, pesticide bylaws already protect 138 communities, including the entire Province of Quebec; and Ontario.
8) There are healthy, effective and economical lawn and garden care alternatives.
9) Natural lawn care is cost competitive, and studies done in Halifax, Montreal and Toronto show that employment in the lawn care sector has increased following their pesticide bans.
10) Bylaws get everyone%u2019s attention and support education in organic lawn and garden maintenance.
