Santa Cruz Gets Sprayed

There's an interesting article in the L.A. Times today about aerial spraying being done a little bit south of here in Santa Cruz County in an attempt to eradicate the light brown apple moth that has the entire state's agricultural industry chewing their nails. This moth has proved to be hugely destructive when it's taken hold in other countries, so their fears are understandable. The spraying, however, is controversial to say the least. I haven't heard any talk of spraying here in Alameda County, but it could come to that. The disturbing thing is that the opinions of the public and local governments appear to have no influence in the debate over the spraying. The Department of Agriculture supports the spraying plan and apparently doesn't recognize the fact that government agencies have lied about and endorsed the use of dangerous pesticides so many times in the past that they have absolutely no credibility now when they say that this spray is perfectly safe. Here's hoping that this time, they actually know what they're talking about.