Malathion and head lice

[Paul Cherubini]

I think all sides all agree NABA is not a scientific organization. 

I think all sides agree U.S.Federal and State governments have approved
butterfly releases because the environmental risks are negligible.

I think all sides agree Federal, State and City agencies approved
the aerial spraying of Malathion over New York City to combat 
mosquitoes because the environmental risks to non-target 
insects and vertebrates were negligible.

My point is that NABA frightens the public with statements
about the great harm caused butterfly releases and mosquito 
spraying on its website that are not backed up by science. 
Examples (capitols my emphasis):

1. " Releasing commercially-raised butterflies into the
 environment is an act of ANTI-ENVIRONMENTAL TERROR"

2.  "The seductiveness of aerial pesticide spraying, DEVASTATING
TO BUTTERFLIES and other non-target species....

The public accepts these unsubstantiated claims of serious harm
(by NABA and other environmental activist organizations) quite
readily.

This can be seen in the following post to the Carolina
leps-l two days ago:

From: "bonnie forbes" <bjgforbes at yahoo.com>
To: <carolinaleps at duke.edu>
Sent: Friday, June 22, 2001 10:05 PM
Subject: Re: Beth Wiley's email on spraying

"The health department would be able to tell you what
they're spraying for.  It may be for mosquitoes; in
any case, spraying chemicals doesn't work and puts
people and others at risk."  

"Recently in the news, spraying was being done in
Mexico (for mosquitoes?), and it wiped out a
population of over a million monarch butterflies." 

"In New York, to combat the West Nile virus (a form of
encephalitis), spraying has been going on, and people
were going to their doctors with symptoms of the
disease that turned out to be poisoning effects of the
spraying.  Also birds, an indicator of the presence of
the virus, were dying more from the pesticide
poisoning than from the disease."

Bonnie Forbes

 
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