HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0489.708 2018-2020 From: billgail anretiredinparadise.net
To: Chuna,Aaron;Council Testimony;David,Maile;Eoff,Karen; Kanealii-Kleinfelder,Matt;Kierkiewicz,Ashley; Lee
Loy,Sue; Poindexter,Valerie;Richards,Tim;Villegas.Rebecca '
Subject: In support of Bill 101 f
Date: Monday,January 06,2020 11:01:16 AM
Aloha council members,
My husband and I live in Waikoloa.
Please override Mayor Harry Kim's veto of Bill 101.
From Wikipedia: •
•
From the late 1970s to 2016, there was a 100-fold increase in the frequency and volume of
application of glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs) worldwide, with further increases
expected in the future. This was partly in response to the global emergence and spread of
glyphosate-resistant weeds,requiring greater application to maintain effectiveness. The
development of glyphosate resistance in weed species is emerging as a costly problem.
Emergence of resistant weeds __•
In the 1990s, no glyphosate-resistant weeds were known to exist.i=1By 2014, '
glyphosate-resistant weeds dominated herbicide-resistance research. At that time, 23
glyphosate-resistant species were found in 18,countries.[�7?1 "Resistance evolves after a
weed population has been subjected to intense selection pressure in the form of repeated
use of a single herbicide."[1711[173]
11,11
Lawsuits claiming liability for cancer
In June 2018, Dewayne Johnson, a 46-year-old former California school groundskeeper who
is dying of,non-Hodgkin lymphoma, took Monsanto (which had been acquired
by Bayer earlier that month) to trial in San Francisco County superior court, alleging that it
has spent decades hiding the cancer-causing dangers of its Roundup herbicides. The judge
ordered that jurors be allowed to consider both scientific evidence related to the cause of
Johnson's cancer and allegations that Monsanto suppressed evidence of the risks, with
possible punitive damages.[23 -1[2321 In August 2018, the jury awarded Johnson US$289
million in damages. Monsanto said they would appeal, z33 saying they were confident that
glyphosate does not cause cancer when used appropriately. 234 In November 2018, the
award was reduced to 78 million on appeal.12351
In August 2018, the potential for additional cases was estimated at up to 4,000.12361 Bayer
announced in April 2019 that over 13,000 lawsuits related to Roundup had been launched in
the US.
In March 2019, a man was awarded $80 million in a lawsuit claiming Roundup was a
substantial factor in his cancer,[2371[2381 resulting in Costco stores'discontinuing
sales.12-3a1 In July 2019, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria reduced the settlement to $26
million. 24o Chhabria stated that a punitive award was appropriate because the evidence
"easily supported a conclusion that Monsanto was more concerned with tamping down
safety inquiries and manipulating public opinion than it was with ensuring its product is
safe." Chhabria stated that,there is evidence is on both sides concerning whether
glyphosate causes cancer and that the behavior of Monsanto showed "a lack of concern
about the risk that its product might be carcinogenic." 240
Comm. N NA:101b
Ref. To:'F l U)UnG I
Ref. Date JAN - 8 20211
On 13 May 2019 a jury in California ordered Bayer to pay a couple $2 billion in damages
after finding that the company had failed to adequately inform consumers of the possible
carcinogenicity of Roundup..2411 On July 26, 2019, an Alameda County judge cut the
settlement to $86.7 million, stating that the judgement by the jury exceeded legal
precedent.[2421
Using litigation discovery emails it was later revealed that in 2015 when Monsanto was
discussing papers they wanted to see published to counter the expected IARC glyphosate
results they wrote in an email, "An option would be to add Greim and Kier or Kirkland to
have their names on the publication, but we would be keeping the cost down by us doing
the writing and they would just edit &sign their names so to speak. Recall that is how we
handled Williams Kroes & Munro, 2000."[243]
Mahalo nui loa,
Gail W. Jackson & William B. Simonsma
68-1907 Lina Poepoe St
Waikoloa, HI 96738