Good for you, Kelly......right on!!!!!!!!!

Roger Olstad
Univ. of Washington, Seattle

On Wed, 28 Jun 1995, Kelly Cassidy wrote:

>
> (Sorry, I've ignored this thread for as long as I can, even though
> the broad brush characterization of 'chemicals' is one of my
> pet peeves.)
>
>
> Using the term 'herbicide' to describe a chemical that kill plants
> is a lot like using the term 'animal' to describe something that eats
> plants. There are many, many herbicides, ranging from the very old
> method of salting the ground to glyphosate (Brand names Rodeo or Round-up)
> which has virtually no known toxicity to mammals. Herbicides can
> be broad spectrum (meaning they kill all photosynthetic plants), or
> specific to a group of plants (some herbicides kill dicotyledonous
> (broad-leaved) plants and have little or no effect on monocots (like grasses).
> The important characteristics of a herbicide, or any pesticide, are
>
> a) What is its residence time in the environment and how does that
> vary with soil, weather, etc?
>
> b) How target-specific is it?
>
> c) Does it break down to form materials that mey be more toxic than
> the original? (The famous downside of DDT)
>
> d) In normal manufacturing, are any unintentional products produced?
> (The famous downside of 2,4,5-T, aka, Agent Orange)
>
> e) What is its acute and chronic toxicity to non-target organisms?
>
> I do not own stock in Dow, Dupont, or any other pesticide manufacturer,
> but the knee-jerk response to pesticide use is a fine
> example of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. All pesticides
> should be rigorously tested and used with care, but it doesn't hurt
> to remember that no-till agriculture would be impossible without
> herbicides.
>
> Kelly Cassidy
> U of WA
> Seattle, WA 98105
>