I have lived in the Boundary for a good 20 years. Weed spray programs date back at least that long. Memories of the Vietnam War even longer.
There, to this day, there are special hospitals for children born with life-incapacitating diseases and defects due to Agent Orange of which 2,4-D (previously applied in the Boundary) is an active ingredient.
To this day we proudly announce massive grants for weed spray programs that are repeated every year. Is there something someone just does not get? The programs are not effective.
If you repeat something for that long and it does not work, is there a learning deficit? Why can all those dollars gifted to the likes of Monsanto, Dow, and Bayer not be invested in sustainable projects?
There is no away on this planet. These poisons do not just evaporate. They are absorbed by every life form, from the fragile tree frog to the cattle and deer on the range. Do we have to be like the Great Poisoners of Florence?
These are erroneously called spray programs. Please in the future call them by their real name: poisoning programs. Shame, blasted shame for such inconsiderate treatment of the earth. Only one planet to muck. What will we do to make a buck?
Angelica Herlihy, Grand Forks
