HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0491.067 2020-2022 ill 91
COUNTY CLERKI
COUNTY OF HAWAII
1071 1
Support for Bill 91 as amended re.glyphosate
for Hawaii County Council, 1 PM Wednesday, December 8, 2021
from Cory Harden, Sierra Club, Hawaii Island Group
We continue to be in strong support of this bill.Thank you to Councilmember Rebecca Villegas for
patiently re-working this measure,and working with Mayor Roth and Parks and Recreation Director
Maurice Messina to obtain their support.
i
According to Politico, "Soil experts, academics and scientific studies are...establishing clear links between
the use of substances such as glyphosate with drops in soil fertility and the collapse of microbe
ecosystems essential to healthy soil....glyphosate can kill specific fungi and bacteria that plants need to
suck up nutrients...[Aj study from 2015 carried out by researchers from the University of Natural
Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna...showed that casting activity of earthworms had nearly
disappeared from the surface of farmland within three weeks of glyphosate application. Earthworms I
redistribute organic material in soil and are essential for soil fertility...the chemical appears to damage 3
I
microbes that aid in plant decay, mineralization,and soil's vital carbon and nitrogen cycles. "
https:J/www.politico.eu/article/glyphosate-concerns-pass from-human-health-to-soil]
It was suggested at the first reading of Bill 91 that glyphosate use just be reduced over time. This bill fits
with that approach, since it only applies to parks, but alternatives that are developed can be used for
other departments in the future.
It was suggested that glyphosate is safe when used as directed. But the number of successful lawsuits
over health problems caused by glyphosate indicates safety is difficult, if not impossible,to achieve.
It was also suggested that the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) should be acting, not the County.
But the EPA has been called to task for failure to act on the Flint water crisis,the Clean Water Act,
asbestos,ozone hazards,and more.
Bill 91 will save countless children and adults from exposure to hazardous substances, increase the
health of our soil and everything that grows in that soil, and lead to broader knowledge of
environmentally friendly approaches to caring for our land.That knowledge can be used by other
County agencies,and also by local businesses such as farms and nurseries. Mahalo.
Coram.
Ref. To: Ocuuviti
Ref. Date—DEC 221