Rhino is traveling until November 5th. He will post to the Blog as possible.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"No man made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little."
- - Edmund Burke
RHINO HERE:
With all the threats of war with Iraq, and the sniper killings in Washington for the last couple weeks, so many important issues are being ignored by the media. Like the Navy's audio blasting in the oceans as detailed yesterday, another piece of business tending to slip under the radar is shrub & company's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule allowing hazardous wastes to be used in fertilizers.
Under the rule, toxic heavy metals, including lead, arsenic, mercury, and cadmium may be recycled into zinc-based fertilizers. The hazardous waste-derived fertilizers would not be labeled and may be applied to farm lands and home gardens without further restrictions. While industries have long been disposing of their hazardous wastes through fertilizers, the practice was not officially authorized until this rule.
Many of the heavy metals that will be recycled into fertilizers are highly toxic substances. Lead has been known to cause behavioral problems, learning disabilities, seizures, and even death. Mercury may also cause neurological abnormalities, including cerebral palsy in children and severe deformations in animals. Arsenic and cadmium may damage internal organs, skin, and nerve function. The rule would allow these heavy metals to be applied to farms and gardens in concentrations that exceed the limits set for disposal of the hazardous wastes in lined and monitored landfills.
Several watchdog groups are concerned that farmers and consumers could unknowingly buy and use hazardous waste-derived fertilizers, because the fertilizers will not be labeled. Once applied, heavy metals in the fertilizers could migrate through the soil, run off into streams, and leach into waterways, affecting neighboring lands."
I've posted links below if you're interested in learning more about the problem and the groups doing something about it - and how you can help.
Duff Wilson's investigative report in The Seattle Times, "Fear in the Fields: How Hazardous Wastes Become Fertilizers." has become a book, "Fateful Harvest: The True Story of a Small Town, a Global Industry, and a Toxic Secret"
http://www.safefoodsandfertilizers.com
Family Farm Defenders (FFD) is a coalition of organizations and individuals committed to the creation of a farmer controlled and consumer-orientated dairy industry. FFD adheres to the principle of democracy by empowering farmers to speak for and represent themselves in the quest for economic justice and sustainable agricultural policies.
http://www.supermarketcoop.com/ffd.htm
CALPIRG monitors government and corporate decisions and advocates on the public's behalf. The mission of CALPIRG's toxics program is to stop the dumping of toxic chemicals into our air, water and on our land, reduce the use of toxic chemicals, and guarantee citizens the right-to-know about toxic chemical use and exposure.
http://www.calpirg.org/
The Western Environmental Law Center (WELC) is a not-for-profit public interest law firm providing litigation services to grassroots groups, Native American Tribes, and local governments seeking to enforce our nation's environmental laws.
http://www.welc.org/
The Pesticide Action Network of North America (PANNA):
http://panna.igc.org/campaigns/docsPops/docsPops_021018.dv.html
An article in Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health:
http://press.psprings.co.uk/jech/november/ch02165.pdf
And an article from the Toronto Globe and Mail:
"Many Conventional Foods Contain Toxic Levels of Pesticides"
http://www.organicconsumers.org/Toxic/conventional101502.cfm
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rhino@kifaru.com
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8:28:35 AM 
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