I live in a humble house on an historic street with very expensive homes and perfectly manicured lawns. Our lawn has clover and dandelions and has never bothered me at all. My daughters have noticed that ours is the only house that is full of birds. All the birds feed in our yard and if you look at all the other yards, they have no birds. Not a single bird. My friend told me that this is what the book 'Silent Spring' is about, though I've yet to read it. It apparently was an early push for the environmental movement.
Lawn Fact: During a typical year in neighborhoods across the country, over 102 million pounds of toxic pesticides are applied in pursuit of a perfect lawn and garden. This figure, up from 90 million pounds in the year 2000, continues to grow despite the growing body scientific evidence of the public health and environmental consequences.
My daughter has asthma, many food allergies, and I've just put in my organic garden. The previous neighbor was OCD and compulsively sprayed weekly, but never blanket treated after I spoke to him. I called the company to complain the day they sprayed the yard with my daughters standing outside on the porch, waiting to go to school. The chemicals filled the air like a blanket and lingered for hours.
The new owners are carrying on with the same policy and I've tried to talk to them about possibly going only for the spot treatment and not the neighborhood 'blanket' that covers almost an entire block. Despite being lawyers, they had no idea what was being sprayed or in what manner. Nor do they care. I would at least do my research. I would ask for the MSDS toxicity data sheet and all the chemicals being used. Upon research of this company, they are using pesticides that they aren't even submitting to the EPA or FDA (not that this makes a bit of difference) because they need something stronger. This information came from a former employee.
Of course, the neighbors have every right to contaminate their health with known carcinogens. Of course, they do. It's their choice. How and why is it legal that a company can spray airborne known reproductive toxins? I went over to the new neighbors with a very good bottle of wine to discuss this and yet today, the blanket pesticide treatment was worse than ever. Forty eight hours have passed and the smell has not subsided at all. You can smell it to the end of the block. A friend stopped by with his face covered in his own shirt asking what was that chemical smell. I've now collected doctor's notes, testaments from neighbors and have filed with the Metro Health Board in the Air Pollution department.
Do we have any rights at all? Why is this allowed to penetrate my home? We've been sitting inside and our sinuses are burning. It's like inhaling a container of clorox. And to think, I saved their dog, Gillie, from the street, the day they moved in.
A perfect lawn is not worth the price of our children and our environment.
What recourse do we have? I have no rights to a safe environment for my children.
My heart is heavy.....
Long live the dandelions. They are happy and cheerful and natural. They are delicious in salads and make excellent necklaces.
I'll take the birds and the clovers and dandelions and a procession of marching ants any day....
