Date:
From: Martin Walter <walter@Colorado.EDU>
To: rmpjc <rmpjc@earthlink.net>
Cc: jill sverdlove <JSverdlove@aol.com>,
anne lee maziar <anne.maziar@Colorado.EDU>,
kirsten burris <kirsten.burris@frontrange.edu>,
uma bacso <umabacso@indra.com>, jen sutton <jensutton2@juno.com>,
elsie klassen <asliimp@comcast.net>,
barb patton <barbpatton@earthlink.net>,
marc
osborne <marcovlt@indra.com>, tom
Tim Seastedt <Timothy.Seastedt@Colorado.EDU>,
stephanie
randy weiner <ecolaw@Bsuites.com>,
Mary Louise Chavers <kushi80306@yahoo.com>,
marty walter <walter@boulder.colorado.edu>,
kirk cunningham <kmcunnin@juno.com>,
kathleen christensen <kathjackrose@comcast.net>,
jim morris <jim@jimmorris.com>, cosima krueger <cardamomseed@aol.com>,
caitlin waddick <cwaddick@mindspring.com>,
angela medbery <a.medbery@juno.com>
Subject: report on meeting with state health today
Dear All,
The more I think about what happened today, the more shocked I become.
John Pape from the state health department met with the
Boulder County Commissioners and other interested parties today in
the Commissioners meeting room.
Bottom line: (Scott Spiegle has the audio CDs of the meeting if
what I am about to say sounds ``off the wall.'') John Pape indicated
that the best approach to
controlling west nile virus in
would be wall to wall aerial spraying of the entire county twice in
early July about 3 days apart, assuming that the vector index had
reached a certain point. (The vector index is the numerical product
of the number of culex mosquitos and the rate of west nile infection
of these mosquitos.) Followed up with a spraying in August.
Thus I suppose we are to breathe a sigh of relief if the wall to
wall spraying is done by truck rather than air.
Pape made his case by showing data from
where such saturation aerial spraying was carried out. I asked if
any data was available on
Otter Tail has apparently successfully controlled mosquitos there with
no spraying plus effective larviciding -- and
in common with
Larviciding was not mentioned unless brought up by myself or the
commissioners. Pape implicitly dismissed larviciding by saying that it
is impossible to control all of the vector sites in urban/suburban backyards
and on irrigated farmland. I mentioned that since we have
had a mosquito abatement district in place for over a decade, that
we should know were all of the standing water due to irrigation is located,
and we should have all of this information on maps. I
know where all the standing water within a mile of my house is located
and when it is most likely to be there, and if you pool the information of
all the local farmers
the date set is complete in this regard.
I would have liked to see a presentation showing the effect of
an aggressive larviciding program on mosquito populations in
some designated area of the state's choosing, but just as Bush
cherry picked the data to support
going to war in
cherry picks the data to go to war with pesticides on adult mosquitos.
Predetermined assumptions guides his whole program.
My Bottom Line: If ANY mosquito borne disease is of concern
to someone, that person can follow established proceedures and
reduce their risk to near zero. Avoid exposure from dusk to dawn.
If exposed, wear clothing that covers arms and legs and apply
repellent of choice to face, neck and hands
On the other hand there is no such proceedure for protecting
oneself from biocides broadly cast into the environment, as
attested to by the fact (estabished by the CDC and EWG) that we all
have in our blood all manner of toxic residues some of which
are carcinogenic, some endocrine disrupters etc.
The commissioners did not seem to be taken in by the Pape
presentation. The
was more receptive to the Pape message, I am told.
I am under the impression that our county health department is
on the same page as John Pape.
Best regards,
Marty
P.S. The fact that Dr. Glanz, a leading medical doctor and
proponent of spraying in
died of liver cancer proves nothing,
but it is not an argument FOR spraying.