Earthblog

Local Homeowner’s Experience with “Toxic Trespass” Raises Questions About Our Ability To Learn.
Written by Charlie Malone
Monday, 27 September 2010

Rachel Carson first published Silent Spring on September 27, 1962, forty-eight years ago today. Carson’s book motivated many Americans to question the contents of pesticides, and the effects pollution has on the land we rely on. The importance of Carson’s book is undeniable, as are the effects of the chemicals like DDT she investigated. But now nearly fifty years later the effects of both seem to be wearing off.

Our recent media terror over bedbugs has led some to speculate that DDT decimated the bedbug population and only now are they coming back. I admit the idea of bedbugs is creepy, but they can’t carry diseases. The question now is how do we respond to pests. I know there are terrible chemicals out there to control these problems and I also know the field of Integrated Pest Management has come a long way. Both Terminex and Orkin offer environmentally friendlier extermination options than we would have found in 1962. They can freeze bedbugs with dry ice or cook them in superheated water. That sounds better than DDT. Still, not all of our industries are following the same trends.

At our September 12th screening of “Living Downstream”, a documentary based on Sandra Steingraber’s book by the same title investigating causes of cancer in our environment, Karen Hare came forward with her own heart-wrenching video “Toxic Trespass.” [Publisher’s note: In relation to citizen’s content on our website, such as Karen’s video, please read our disclaimer on our About page.]

Toxic Trespass Organic Gardening from Karen Hare on Vimeo.

Karen’s video raises good questions and asks how far have we really come since Rachel Carson’s book. Some of us just seem not to take any stock in these concerns. We just choose to be ignorant, and, in this case, painfully disrespectful of others’ well-being. All of this eerily echoes Carson’s writing from nearly fifty years ago:

“These sprays, dusts, and aerosols are now applied almost universally to farms, gardens, forests, and homes — nonselective chemicals that have the power to kill every insect, the ‘good’ and the ‘bad,’ to still the song of birds and the leaping of fish in the streams, to coat the leaves with a deadly film, and to linger on in soil — all this though the intended target may be only a few weeds or insects. Can anyone believe it is possible to lay down such a barrage of poisons on the surface of the earth without making it unfit for all life? They should not be called ‘insecticides,’ but ‘biocides.’”

What disturbs me most about Karen’s video is her lack of options — there is no accountability. I’m impressed that she had the courage to create this outlet for her frustration.

I’ve worked in the lawn and tree care industry side-by-side with Davey Tree and the ignorance, or feigned ignorance, of the employees in her video is disconcerting. I’ve worked in Pest Management and always had a healthy fear of the Department of Agriculture I don’t see here. I always knew exactly what I was using, what it’s effects were, what the risks were, and we were required to carry MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets) for everything in our trucks so that if someone, like Karen, came by we could give her everything she needed.

Karen Hare’s video doesn’t necessarily give Davey a fair chance to talk about their practices or how far they’ve come since 1962, they’ve been around since 1880 so they have some perspective. Instead of talking to a field technician Matter Daily is working to talk to the local Manager. Likewise, the Department of Agriculture doesn’t get to answer any claims about their investigation. We’re working to get their perspective as well for part two of this story.

When it comes down to it blame isn’t really the issue here: it’s the cultural conditions that create an industry manufacturing chemicals like Bifenthrin. Tree services are going to use the best, most-cost effective measures to do their work so long as we’re paying them to. When I see the massive application of any chemical to kill an unspecific population of bugs that may or may not kill the hearty trees and shrubs in some one's Colorado landscape, it just seems unnecessary.

Karen Hare’s video asks good questions but the only way we can tell the story of how far we’ve come since Silent Spring is to try to answer some of these question with the help of Davey Tree and the Department of Agriculture. We look forward to doing this in the forthcoming follow up to this story.

If you’d like to reach out to Karen and learn how you can support her and her efforts contact her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . The National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides is online at beyondpesticides.org, and if you’re looking for more information on registering your home as Chemically Sensitive visit: http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/Agriculture-Main/CDAG/1178305699227.