Life
is short, and can change in an instant. We all hurt each other, and
usually, we don't mean it, so perhaps we can do less of it if we try harder. Forgiveness is always good, even if you
can't forget.
Just some basic life lessons that we all keep re-learning.....
I've
heard a number of people asking about and talking about the
Department of Water's settlement in the atrazine lawsuit. There seem
to be a number of misconceptions, including that the lawsuit is
related to current Syngenta operations.
I
recently did a short article on this for Honolulu Weekly, which I'll
reprint here, in hopes of clearing up some of the confusion:
The
Kauai County Department of Water could be eligible for $5,000 to
$10,000 in settlement funds in a national class-action suit against
Syngenta, which produced atrazine, an herbicide detected in
groundwater at Lihue and Hanapepe, says Deputy Manager Bill Eddy. The
money would be used to cover the costs of testing for atrazine, an
endocrine-disrupting pesticide heavily used in sugar cane
cultivation.
Though
denying any wrongdoing, Syngenta has agreed to create a $105 million
fund to settle litigation initiated by the City of Greenville, Ill.
The suit claimed Syngenta knew atrazine would enter drinking water
supplies, and sought costs to pay for its removal.
Eddy
said Kauai County conducts regular water monitoring and atrazine has
not been detected since 2007, when it was found in trace amounts in a
Lihue water source. “We don’t believe it is currently in wide
use,” he said.
It
is also used on corn, which Syngenta cultivates on the island’s
west side, but officials did not respond to a call asking whether
atrazine is being used on that crop. If the settlement is approved,
Syngenta would be released from all claims that were or could have
been asserted in the litigation for the next 10 years.
However,
that does not release Syngenta from liability in any other
litigation, just this particular case. It seems to me that this is an example of why the public and the agencies that serve us need to know just what pesticides the big agricultural operations are using.
Munitions R us!
ReplyDeletePlease vote for candidates in OHA that donʻt want these lands poisoned and abused anymore:
ReplyDeleteWalter Ritte - OHA At-Large
Leland Yadao - OHA Kauai seat
Keʻeaumoku Kapu - OHA Maui seat
They will be a united front in stopping the abuse. Only one of them wonʻt be enough for votes to be effective. But three will stop the status quo.
If not these guys, then nothing will change and it will be all over for Hawaii.
OHA has more say on the land use than people realize.
OHAʻs current board doesnʻt want anything to change and the candidates they are propping up will be grateful servants.