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From: roger harris
To: Richards,Tim
Cc: Council Testimonv
Subject: Please vote Yes for Bill 101
Date: Monday,November 04,2019 11:15:34 AM
Pineapple
Aloha to Honorable Tim Richards and the Hawaii County
Council,
Please vote in favor of Bill 101 to limit the County's use of
chemical herbicides.
Why do I care?For the sake and safety of the keiki, the kupuna, pets,
livestock, the 'aina,the ocean, streams and rivers and the creatures
that call the air and the sea home,
Children have unique susceptibilities to the potential toxicity of
herbicides, yet they are still being exposed every day when they go to
County parks or walk or ride along the roads.
Long-term exposure is linked with increased risks of cancer
including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, as we learned from the recent
visit by Dewayne Lee Johnson, the school groundskeeper who won
the lawsuit against Monsanto for the connection between Roundup
and his cancer, It is also connected to miscarriages, attention deficit
disorder and reduced production of sex hormones. It can also trigger
aggressive breast cancer when combined with other risk factors.
Studies indicate that glyphosate can contaminate streams, which
empty into our oceans, and affect sea life including fish and coral.
Problems with drift of glyphosate herbicides occur frequently.
Fortunately, the County has chosen alternatives to toxic chemicals,
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such as the choice to use goats to clear brush at the Hilo Soccer
Field. It was more cost-effective than regular maintenance, and safe
.for our communities, streams and coastline ecosystems, too! Let's
expand these non-toxic alternatives, and transition away from the use
of toxic chemicals for land management.
Lastly, if you disregard the above, numerous court judgements have
awarded Millions of dollars to plaintiffs subjected either directly as
applicators, or indirectly as common area users such as schools and
parks. Highway safety is next, and you as a documented supporter of
scientifically-proven-to-be toxic herbicides can be held by the Court
as personally liable.
I say all this not as a scare tactic and the truth, but to urge you to
think long and hard, realizing that voting for Bill 141 is not only
pono and the right thing to do, but that it is the will of the voting
public who placed you in the position you currently occupy.
So, please vote Yes for Bill 101 and empower Hawaii County to be
not only be pro-environment throughout the state but over our great
countiv.
Thanks for listening.
Roger Harris
Wailua. Hawaii (formerly of Pahoa before the Puna lava flow)