HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0491.030 2020-2022 IC C
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From: Diane Koerner
Sent: Monday, November 15, 2021 9:51 AM
To: Council Testimony
Subject: I Support BILL 91
Aloha Council Members,
I Support BILL 91,prohibiting the use of glyphosate-based pesticides by the County or its contractors in
County parks and facilities listed in Section 15-68. 1 of the Hawaii County Code, effective July 1, 2022.
As a member of Greener Hawaii, in 2016, our volunteers took over the management of six County Parks from Kona
to Honoka'a to Pohoiki, showing how the parks could be maintained without spraying Roundup or other herbicides.
The county has since taken over management of the park in Honoka'a following the success of the hard-working
volunteers there. The paradigm shift to creating healthier soil that won't grow weeds was shared... and it is the future
we need.
Why change, when change is difficult? According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, pesticides such as
Roundup are linked to childhood cancers, neurobehavioral and cognitive deficits, adverse birth outcomes, and asthma.
In adult populations, in addition to acute exposure symptoms such as headaches and asthma attacks, pesticide
exposure has been linked to Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, bladder and colon cancer, Parkinson's disease, depression,
and disrupting our endocrine systems, according to the Hawai'i Center for Food Safety.
A jury in California in August of 2018 awarded a man millions of dollars after agreeing with his allegations that
Monsanto's Roundup caused his terminal cancer. A judge upheld the verdict for Lee Johnson (who met with the Parks
Dept officials and others here on the Big Island and across the islands causing the state DOE to ban Roundup use near
schools). Why not protect our keiki when they go to the park as well?
Why put our keiki, our residents, our visitors and our ecosystem in danger from the use of chemical
herbicides/pesticides? Please push this Bill forward and make life a little safer for those on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Mahalo,
Diane Koerner
Greener Hawaii Steering Committee Member
https://dianekoemer.wixsite.com/greenerhawaii
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