Wednesday, June 25, 2014

6/24/14 Update

Thank you to all who wrote letters of protest and those who came to speak or support at the County Board of Supervisors at the meeting on Tue, 6/24/14. 

If you'd like to see the video of the public comment period during the meeting, click HERE 
and scroll to 05:20 until 26:45. 

Please continue to contact the Supervisors with detailed complaints if you did NOT receive a flyer from Vector, or hear about it on the radio, or see it in the news before being fogged. We will continue to update you about future foggings here, but Supervisors need to know that Vector is not doing their job of informing the public. 

It would also be great to inform the Supervisors when you find misinformation in the flyers if you do receive one.  If you have questions about the information on the flyers from Vector, please email us.  And it would be good to inform them if you are in a sensitive population- are pregnant, have an infant, are elderly, or are immune-compromised AND you were never informed by flyer, email, radio, phone or TV that you should take special precautions. 

Unfortunately, the Supervisors did not seem to pay much attention while we were talking. Except Sup.Simitian seemed focused the whole time.  The County Executive, Dr Smith, (in response to complaints that people were not receiving notice from Vector) said that they contract with an outside vendor to deliver the flyers and they will look into the problem that not all homes received flyers.  Vector might be missing the point here.

 Sup Simitian commented that while the issue is not on the agenda today, that there have been conversations during budget and other committee meetings, and he wanted those who made public comment to know that they were being heard.

The next Board of Supervisors meeting will be in August..... as they take vacation during July.

We are continuing to work on public awareness and education. 

We have flyers that you can download, print and hand out, everywhere you go.

We are handing out flyers & educating people from 12-2pm at Whole Foods in Campbell on Thu 6/26 before the fogging that night.   Again from 12-2pm at Whole Foods in Los Gatos on Tue7/1 before that night's fogging.  And if we have volunteers to help, we can hand out flyers at the Los Gatos farmer's market on Sun 6/29.  

Please let us know if you can help?   We will give you some information on talking points that we have learned to make it go better.

Sign the petition and keep passing the word.

Asian Hackberry Aphid pesticide

 This is a guest post about another mandatory pesticiding in Sunnyvale. 
Click HERE to email the author- Jennifer Schmid, MSN, RN, CNL

 I'm not sure how many of you are residents of Sunnyvale, but I received a letter last week from the City of Sunnyvale that they will be going around at least my neighborhood (Lakewood) to drench the soil around Chinese Hackberry trees with an insecticide called Criterion 75 WSP to treat the Asian Hackberry Aphid.

 Has anyone else received this type of letter outside of Sunnyvale?

As with the mosquito fogging in Santa Clara County, according to the University of California Dept. of Agriculture at UCD, this insecticide is highly toxic to bees, lacewings, and ladybugs, all beneficial insects.  In addition, it contributes to outbreaks of spider mites and other pests. It also stays in the soil for years so you can't plant there (which means it also stays toxic to the beneficial insects for years). On top of that, we are in the middle of a drought, and they are asking us to water these trees throughout the summer so that the insecticide stays active!

I would ask anyone who has received this letter, ‹ in fact anyone who cares about the environment and bees ‹ to contact:
Joe Gonsalves, Sunnyvale City Arborist, at EMAIL
Leonard Dunn, Urban Landscape Manager in Sunnyvale at EMAIL
as well as your County Supervisor, click here
and State Representatives, click here.
Let's keep the momentum against mandatory insecticide applications going!

Here are my talking points, based on the research I did.  According to the UC Davis Dept. of Agriculture:

1. Insecticides against the Asian Hackberry Aphid are not warranted to protect the health or survival of the tree.  They are only used when the honeydew excretions from the aphids become intolerable to people.
2. The active ingredient in Criterion, Imidacloprid, is toxic to beneficial bees, lacewings, and ladybugs but contributes to outbreaks of spider mites and other pests.
3. Once you apply Imidacloprid, it stays in the soil for years, may infiltrate groundwater, and remains toxic to beneficial insects and plants.
4. The best time to apply Imidacloprid is late winter to early spring when the leaves flush. There are limited studies showing any efficacy during the summer.
5. Dieback of trees tends to be from overirrigation, not from the aphids. The aphids are NOT harmful to the health of the tree.

If you are a Sunnyvale resident, please ask these questions as well:
1. Is there a way to opt out of the drenching?
2. Who made the decision to treat with the insecticide? (I personally have not been inconvenienced at all by the honeydew the aphids produce.)
3. Who is paying for the drenching?
4. Will we receive a rebate on our water bill to water the trees?
5. Are there any other solutions besides using insecticides?

I simply do not understand this rampant use of insecticides and pesticides, which will ultimately severely restrict our access to nutrient dense foods (especially if we're trying to grow them ourselves!!).

Thanks for listening and for your help.

Blessings,
Jennifer Schmid, MSN, RN, CNL
Oasis Wellness
Santa Clara, CA

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

7/1/14 Fogging- Los Gatos, San Jose, Campbell, Monte Sereno

The announcement below is from Vector Control today:

The Santa Clara County Vector Control District confirmed on June 24 that adult mosquitoes from areas of the cities of Campbell, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, and San José tested positive for West Nile virus (WNV). The detection of mosquitoes infected with WNV has prompted the scheduling of a mosquito fogging treatment in the surrounding area in an effort to prevent human cases of WNV.  Weather permitting; the ground fogging is scheduled for Tuesday 7/01/2014 at 11:00 pm-4am. The zone is centered at Los Gatos Blvd. and Lark Ave. A map of the area  here.

Fogging may occur at a later date if weather conditions are not favorable, or if additional positive mosquitoes are found after the fogging.

The recommendations below for protecting yourself and your family are from the WONDERFUL article by folks in the NE at ToxicsAction.  See the article HERE.
(Our comments are in the parentheses)

1. Keep windows closed during and immediately after spraying. If possible, also turn off air conditioners (that circulate outdoor air back inside).
2. Stay inside and keep children and pets inside during spraying and until the next morning after spraying.
3. Bring in or cover portable outdoor furniture, toys, laundry, pet dishes and tools.
4. Cover larger outdoor items such as barbecue grills or sand boxes. Swing sets and items that cannot be covered should be rinsed (or wiped down)  thoroughly after the spraying.
5. Cover fish ponds because pesticides are highly toxic to fish (and other aquatic life).
6. Cover vegetable (and fruit) gardens if you can with plastic sheeting; wash any exposed vegetables before storing, cooking or eating.
7. Remove shoes when entering the home after spraying because pesticides can be tracked indoors and remain toxic for months in synthetic carpet fibers. Pesticides used for mosquitoes are most easily degraded in direct sunlight and are sheltered when inside where they do not degrade quickly.
8. Hose off (or wipe down) window screens, door handles and hand railings after spraying occurs to avoid direct contact.

Again, the chemical in the pesticide takes 1.5 days in water or 4.5 days on ground/foliage to degrade to HALF toxicity. According to pharmacokinetic principles, it takes 3 half lives for something to be considered cleared, so that would be 13.5 days on the ground!  This makes the 8th fogging since5/22.

Please contact us to help stop the fogging of toxic pesticides.  We need help with research, protests, printing flyers/signs, contacting and collecting professional letters/testimonials, etc etc.


Please help us stop this blatant misuse of our County Parcel tax funds! 

Friday, June 20, 2014

6/26 Fogging San Jose & Campbell

This is the email from Vector Control. 

WEATHER PERMITTING, Beginning at 11:00 PM on Thursday 6/26/2014 the Santa Clara County Vector Control District will fog portions of zip codes 95125, 95126 and 95128, Supervisorial District 4, Cities; San Jose and small portion of Campbell. Fogging may occur at a later date if weather conditions are not favorable, or if additional positive mosquitoes are found after the fogging. A map of the proposed fogging area HERE


These hints for protecting yourself and your family are from the WONDERFUL article by folks in the NE at ToxicsAction.  See the article HERE.
Our comments are in the parentheses.

1. Keep windows closed during and immediately after spraying. If possible, also turn off window air conditioners.
2. Stay inside and keep children and pets inside during spraying and until the next morning after spraying.
3. Bring in or cover portable outdoor furniture, toys, laundry, pet dishes and tools.
4. Cover larger outdoor items such as barbecue grills or sand boxes. Swing sets and items that cannot be covered should be rinsed (or wiped down)  thoroughly after the spraying.
5. Cover ornamental fish ponds because pesticides are highly toxic to fish (and other aquatic life).
6. Cover vegetable (and fruit) gardens if you can with plastic sheeting; wash any exposed vegetables before storing, cooking or eating.
7. Remove shoes when entering the home after spraying because pesticides can be tracked indoors and remain toxic for months in synthetic carpet fibers. Pesticides used for mosquitoes are most easily degraded in direct sunlight and are sheltered when inside where they do not degrade quickly.
8. Hose off (or wipe down) window screens, door handles and hand railings after spraying occurs to avoid direct contact.

Again, the chemical in the pesticide takes 1.5 days in water or 4.5 days on ground/foliage to degrade to HALF toxicity.  So it can take up to 2-6 weeks for toxicity to disappear totally.  We are being fogged twice a week over the next 2 weeks, so there is more residue from wind drift.


Thursday, June 19, 2014

Update- How you can help?

Please sign the petition and tell everyone you know to sign too. When we are able to ban pesticides in Santa Clara County, it will set precedence for the rest of California and our Country and World......

If you'd like updates on future foggings from Vector Control, you can sign up for their announcement-only Yahoo group.  Click here
We will also post the announcements here too.

Please help us distribute informational flyers to everyone.  We are placing them on doormats (put a small rock on top to keep it from blowing away) in our neighborhoods.  We will post them at local stores, community centers, libraries, health clubs, parks, where ever we go.  The more folks we educate about the pesticide toxins and our environment, the bigger our protest will grow.
Download and print the flyer from Google Docs.

Speak during Public Comment period at the beginning of the County Board of Supervisor's Meetings listed below.   We are happy to help you with talking points, just send an email.

Tuesday, June 24th at 9:00 AM – Board of Supervisors Meeting 
Location:  70 West Hedding in San Jose on the first floor in the Board Chambers Room.
We will meet early to talk about a strategy.  Please arrive by 8:30AM. 
Parking is available at street meters for 2 hours at $1/hour, bring quarters.
       Each person must fill out a request to speak card when you arrive. They will call speakers to line up by name.  You are given 1 minute to address the Board. It's more effective to say less words very clearly than to rush through a lot of information too quickly. 
       Try to focus on a rebuttal to how we assume Vector Control will answer the questions below.  During the 6/10/14 Board Meeting, after many public comments, Supervisor Simitian asked the following questions that Vector Control must answer in a concise report before the Board reconvenes after July Vacation, or sooner.    

1. Before you undertake an effort like this, the legitimate question is, do we need to do this?
2. Is it effective?  Are there other ways?
3. Is it safe?
4. Has the public been informed & engaged in meaningful discussion?
5. Have we been mindful of the sensitive populations, for example,  infants and elders as well as those who have preexisting medical conditions?
6. Are  Vector Control and the folks at Integrated Pest Management, talking to each other? Are they coordinating?

Wednesday, June 25th at 4:30PM - Meeting with Supervisor Dave Cortese
Location:  70 West Hedding in San Jose on the 10th floor.
(Please note you must call Brandi at 408-687-5958 to RSVP, limited space)
If you reside in County District #3, this is your chance to talk with your Supervisor.

Please  help by calling, writing and emailing the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors (who serve as the Board of Directors for Vector Control) and let them know that you want the pesticide fogging to stop.  
 Contact information for the County Board of Supervisors:  
Email Mike Wasserman     (408)-299-5010   District 1
Email Cindy Chavez          (408) 299-5020    District 2
Email Dave Cortese           (408) 299-5030    District 3
Email Ken Yeager              (408) 299-5040     District 4
Email Joe Simitian             (408) 299-5050     District 5

Postal Address: 70 West Hedding St., 10th Floor, San Jose, CA 95110

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

6/24/14 Fogging Sunnyvale, Los Altos, and Mountain View

Below is an email announcement from SCCVector Control..... with our comments after the map. 

The Santa Clara County Vector Control District (SCCVCD) confirmed on June 17 that adult mosquitoes from areas of the cities of Sunnyvale, Los Altos, and Mountain View tested positive for West Nile virus (WNV). The detection of mosquitoes infected with WNV has prompted the scheduling of a mosquito fogging treatment in the surrounding area, in an effort to prevent human cases of WNV.  Weather permitting; the ground fogging is scheduled for Tuesday 6/24/2014 at 11:00 pm. The zone is centered at St. Mary Ave. and Fremont Ave. A map of the area can be found HERE .
Fogging may occur at a later date if weather conditions are not favorable, or if additional positive mosquitoes are found after the fogging.
From Ban Pesticides Southbay.....  We HIGHLY recommend that you protect yourself from the pesticide fogging.


1. If you are sensitive to pesticides or chemicals or are pregnant, have an infant, are elderly, are immune-compromised, or have low-functioning liver, you might consider staying out of the area for a day or more.

2. If you stay home, on the night of fogging from 11pm to 4am (or better, an hour after full sunshine, as sunlight helps to degrade what is left in the air) be sure to :
      Close doors and windows & turn off A/C.
      Bring in pets, food/water dishes & bird feeders, toys, furniture, and cover the BBQ.
      Cover food plants & pollinator flowers, drain bird baths.    

3. Turn off sprinklers that go off late evening or early morning before fogging. Wet surfaces might allow the pesticide to revaporize if it's warm the next day......

4.  Avoid sitting on grass or ground at parks that were in/near the fogging for at least a couple days.

The chemical in the pesticide, Etofenprox, takes anywhere from 2-45 days to degrade.  So, it's still on the ground, plants, your shoes, car, door screens, etc for weeks after fogging.

Help us stop the ineffective & unnecessary pesticide fogging.  Please volunteer to help by sending us an email.

Sign the Petition


"Spreading toxic pesticides by truck mounted fogger throughout Santa Clara County many times throughout the summer must stop.  The toxic pesticides cause far more injury and damage than the West Nile Virus has ever done.  Members of the Board of Supervisors please stop funding this dangerous activity."

Will you sign this petition?  It's quick and easy, just takes a minute.
Click here (MoveOn.org)

Protest pesticide fogging

If not you....  then who? 

Will you join us?   We are meeting to protest the pesticide fogging on Tuesday, June 17th from 4:30 to 6:30pm.  Meet at the Walgreen's parking lot at the South-West corner of the intersection of E. Hamilton Ave and Meridian Ave, San Jose. 

Wear brightly colored clothing, maybe bring a colorful flag? 

Bring a sign with large bold lettering that says "Warning!  Pesticide Fogging tonight" 

We will have flyers with a map of the fogging area to hand out and a few extra signs.

Come even for a few minutes. The more support, the better the protest. 

Despite what Vector Control claims, the Director of the County Department of Environmental Health states that the fogging pesticide (Zenivex E4) DOES leave a residue, but as they will not test it, they don't know the concentration level of the residue.



Our goal is to warn residents of the pesticide and distribute flyers with more information on how to protect yourself from pesticide fogging from 11pm-4am and the following week.   
 
1. Close doors and windows.  Turn off A/C.
2. Bring in kids' toys, furniture, pets and pet food dishes.
3. Bring in laundry, cover the BBQ, cover food plants.
4. Pregnant women, infants, elderly, and immune-compromised must take extra precautions. Babies are not able to detoxify this chemical and others have limited detoxification ability. 
5. Don't allow babies in the grass.  Wash hands after touching things left outdoors. 

We need your support to make a change.

More fogging June 17 & 19


Do you know . . .
We are being fogged at night with toxic pesticides?
Beginning in May 2014, Santa Clara county trucks drove through various cities fogging with a toxic chemical pesticide, Zenivex E4. Spraying of pesticides will continue, as often as they deem necessary. They have already fogged: Santa Clara, Cupertino, Campbell, San Jose, Sunnyvale.  Willow Glen & Los Gatos are next.  With your help, we can stop the ineffective, toxic pesticides.
Next foggings are Tue 6/17 & Thu 6/19 at 11pm-4am !   

 
Why are they fogging with pesticides?  
Pesticide fogging is to kill adult mosquitoes. Vector Control claims that this is needed to protect the public from West Nile Virus (WNV), which maybe transmitted when infected mosquitoes bite people.
How dangerous is WNV to human?  
WNV causes mild or no symptoms similar to a cold or flu in most people. Of those infected, less than 1% suffer serious symptoms.  After the first exposure, you become immune to WNV. Many people are already immune, as the virus has been around for several years.
Is fogging effective? 
 A 2006 Harvard study has shown fogging to be INEFFECTIVE at controlling adult mosquito populations. It only kills some adult mosquitoes, not the larvae. New generations of mosquitoes continue to hatch from larvae after the fogging.
Is the pesticide safe?  
Zenivex E4 is a toxic pyrethroid (synthetic nerve toxin). The manufacturer claims it is safe, but infants, elderly and immune-compromised cannot detoxify this chemical, and must avoid exposure.  Even at ULV (ultra low volume) application rates, the toxin kills other beneficial insects. Many are mosquito predators and part of the balance of our eco system. The Director of the Department of Environmental Health stated that fogging leaves a chemical residue. This residue is toxic to bees and is present at unknown levels on flowers and beehives, adding more toxins to bees that are suffering from Colony Collapse. The pesticide is toxic to aquatic life as well.  The fogged pesticide drifts in the wind and gets into our streams and oceans, where the toxin continues to poison aquatic life as the chemical does not degrade easily in mud. No long-term studies on humans, pets, or the environmental impact of this pesticide have been done!
How can I protect my family?  
Before fogging, it is vital to close windows, doors, and turn off AC. Bring in laundry, kids’ toys/furniture and pets and their food/water dishes. Susceptible populations (pregnant women, infants, elderly, and immune-compromised) should take extra precautions as the ability to detoxify the toxin is not developed in babies and is insufficient in these populations.
How can I help STOP toxic pesticide fogging?
Call, email or write all the County Supervisors.  Ask that they stop the pesticide fogging. 
Contact information for the County Board of Supervisors by District:

       District 1   Mike Wasserman email      (408) 299-5010
       District 2   Cindy Chavez email           (408) 299-5020           
       District 3   Dave Cortese email            (408) 299-5030 
       District 4   Ken Yeager email               (408) 299-5040  
       District 5   Joe Simitian email              (408) 299-5050 

Mailing address:  70 W. Hedding Street, 10th floor,  San Jose, CA 95110 

Here's a map to find your Santa Clara County District number:  Click here for District map

Questions or Volunteer signup?   Click here to send an email

With your help, we can Ban Pesticides and protect our health and environment!