Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Musings: Statewide Pesticide Sales

Though it's often claimed that Kauai is the Islands' hellhole of agricultural pesticide use, state disclosure reports tell a very different picture.

A total of 906,891 pounds of restricted use pesticides were sold statewide in 2014. Hawaii County reported total RUP sales of 138,632 pounds, Maui County 334,097 pounds and Oahu 418,213 pounds, while Kauai reported just 15,949 pounds.

The total does not include RUPs applied for structural pest control or termite treatment, because for some odd reason, the anti-GMO and anti-ag groups have not called for those companies to disclose their pesticide use.

The statewide sales report is in addition to the much more specific monthly RUP use reports that are voluntarily disclosed under the Kauai Agricultural Good Neighbor Program.

Chlorine, which is used to treat drinking water and wastewater, accounted for 459,936 pounds of the statewide total, or slightly more than half. Some 8,508 pounds of chlorine were purchased on Kauai.

Statewide sales of chlorpyrifos were reported at 7,279 pounds, with Kauai accounting for 1,300 pounds of that total. As for atrazine, some 55,103 pounds were purchased statewide last year, with Kauai accounting for 1,138 pounds of that total. And Kauai accounted for just 856 pounds of the 15,706 pounds of paraquat sold statewide.

In short, far fewer agricultural RUPs are being bought, and ostensibly applied, on Kauai than any other island. Yet it is here that folks are raising the loudest — and still undocumented — claims of birth defects, asthma and cancer. 

If ag pesticides actually are harming human health, wouldn't it make sense that the other islands, which have much greater use, would be suffering proportionately more health problems than Kauai? They also have people living in close proximity to agriculture.

Or is it just that Kauai has been the squeakiest wheel, in keeping with Vandana Shiva's exhortations that the fight to rid the Islands of the seed companies must start here?

The statewide sales reports are required under Act 105, a bill introduced by Kauai Rep. Dee Morikawai that passed the Legislature in 2013.

The law also required the state Legislative Reference Bureau to conduct a study of how other states handle reporting requirements. Its findings:

After reviewing the laws and regulations of other states, it appears that the majority of states do not impose ANY reporting requirements on pesticides that do not fall within the definition of a restricted use pesticide. Among the seven states that address general use pesticides to any extent, there is some variation as to whether the reporting requirements imposed by a particular state apply to the sale, use, or both the sale and use of general use pesticides. Further, there appears to be a great deal of variation between the extent to which these reporting requirements are applied and enforced from one state to another.

It should be noted that, in addition to the fact that each of these states employs a different approach with regard to reporting requirements, the Bureau could not find any sort of comprehensive evaluation on the effectiveness of any of the various reporting programs. Therefore, it is difficult to determine whether and to what extent any of them have been successful in achieving the objectives for which each program was established.

The Bureau was unable to secure detailed information regarding the costs incurred by these states in establishing and maintaining their various reporting programs.The Bureau offers no conclusions regarding the budgetary requirements of such programs, other than to note that, as discussed previously, both Oregon and New York appear to have encountered difficulties resulting from the cost of maintaining their reporting programs.

Oregon has subsequently abandoned the implementation of its reporting program, due to high costs.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

So refreshing to see the FACTS, just the facts, and not some trumped up claims and outrageous numbers conjured up by the phony "non" profits set up here to confuse the public and steal their time, energy, and money.

Anonymous said...

The truth hurts and Joan is the punisher. Keep it up

Keith said...

At last, real data. In the end you cannot perpetuate lies, the truth will always come out. The seed companies "devils" are not so. And the anti-GMO saviors are not saving anything but reeking havoc on our once beautiful plantation community. Lets get back our community and relegate anyone anti-GMO back to their organic state.

Anonymous said...

You mean my "stay away from Kauai, it's a toxic wasteland" campaign has no basis in fact? I'm doing it anyway.

Anonymous said...

Joan- You are misinformed. Gary Hooser is a Councilman, former State Senator and a very successful business man. He has a proven track record of honesty, humility and selfless dedication to the spirit and the people of Kauai.
He has formed symbiotic relationships with Mason Chock and JoAnn Yukimura. These two individuals also share service to the people.
Why would Gary lie about this? How could he head an inspirational and wealthy group like HAPA if he is a liar?
Gary really cares for the local way of life and with his intelligence, integrity and knowledge has many wonderful plans for Kauai. The local way of life may be ignored in this process, but Gary knows best. In the long run the uneducated locals will understand that what he, JoAnn and Mason are really doing is the best thing.
Some things are just beyond the regular local guy's grasp. Gary knows this and is providing the locals with what is best for them.

Anonymous said...

I sure as hell hope that 3:26 is joking. If not, the last part is just a sad perpetuation of how outside influences are meddling in local issues.

Dawson said...


3:26 PM wrote:
Joan- You are misinformed. Gary Hooser is a Councilman, former State Senator and a very successful business man. He has a proven track record of honesty, humility and selfless dedication to the spirit and the people of Kauai.
He has formed symbiotic relationships with Mason Chock and JoAnn Yukimura. These two individuals also share service to the people.
Why would Gary lie about this? How could he head an inspirational and wealthy group like HAPA if he is a liar?


Now STOP that! I laughed so hard that coffee snorked out my nose and short-circuited my keyboard. You're a fiend of satire! A fiend, I say! Do you have any idea what Folgers and snot do to one's F5 key?

Ohhh, the gooey horror of it....

Anonymous said...

September 30, 2015 at 3:26 PM said “Gary Hooser is a … very successful business man.”

LOL!!! I fell for it man!! Mainly cause I responded before reading to the end! Good job! Here’s what I wrote:

Gary lost his business due to mismanagement. He also pocketed the G.E. taxes he collected from his customers for the State. He was caught by the State and made a settlement of less than he owed and which cheated the other taxpayers of this State. Gary is a loser as a businessman and a tax cheat! He is self-centered and will to ANYTHING to advance his personal career. A liar and a cheat! He heads HAPA because he’s a founder and he’s a “personality”. Screw anyone else. If it weren’t so, he’d sue for liable. Is this the man you support? Wise up and quit being so gullible. He says what you want to hear and you eat it up. Learn the facts! Get informed! GAWD!

It’s all still valid but good show man!

Anonymous said...

Why do people gravitate to leaders who are “lying narcissists” even though the best leaders exhibit qualities such as modesty, authenticity, truthfulness, trustworthiness and concern about the well-being of others?

Sure, for complex issues, it's difficult to assess the accuracy of what we hear. And it's easier not to engage in much due diligence. Made-up stories are often much more catchy and persuasive than cold statistics. The problem is that the stories are often exaggerated or completely fabricated, and followers of narcissistic liars don’t bother to do any fact-checking.

Just as we hold people and companies responsible for their environmental pollution, we should hold our narcissistic lying leaders accountable for their social pollution.

Anonymous said...

3:26 Thank you.
Joan, thank you.

Anonymous said...

Let me guess. You don't think much of some people and organizations because they're full of it or themselves. I think I get it. Yes, now I understand. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

3:26 o my god you sound like Gary himself or maybe his big body guard Fern. What a joke Hooser barely made it last election and now he going teach the younger white birds how to do it. Barf bag please.

Dawson said...

5:59PM wrote:
Why do people gravitate to leaders who are “lying narcissists” even though the best leaders exhibit qualities such as modesty, authenticity, truthfulness, trustworthiness and concern about the well-being of others?

An excellent paper on the behavior and appeal of demagogues is "Characteristics of Demagoguery" by Prof. Patricia Roberts-Miller, University of Texas at Austin.

Even though it's a study of demagogues in general, you'll see Hooser, Barca and their ilk leaping off every page.

http://www.drw.utexas.edu/roberts-miller/sites/www.drw.utexas.edu.roberts-miller/files/demagoguery.pdf

Anonymous said...

Reality is that the anti-gmo movement is ultimately backed by developers who want more land so they can build more housing and make $$$. I read an assessment, I think in Hawaii Business mag, that Oahu developers consider Oahu to be 80% developed, while the outer islands are in the 20% developed range, so they are looking to the outer islands to make their $$$$. Getting a bunch of hippies to front your organization while you increase your $$$ and power in the background is standard operating procedure for many decades. Lenin called them useful idiots.

Anonymous said...

Hi Joan,

You wrote that "The total does not include RUPs applied for structural pest control or termite treatment, because for some odd reason, the anti-GMO and anti-ag groups have not called for those companies to disclose their pesticide use."

Such hypocrisy! The antis don't care about those pesticide uses because THEY ALL USE IT! Can you imagine if these rich folk were told they can't protect their million dollar plus plus homes from being destroyed by termites? And since all the State legislators don't want to lose their homes, well we'll just exclude that use from the reporting law.

And where are the hotels on pesticide use? Shhhh...we don't talk about spraying for bed bugs, no one wants to know about that.



Anonymous said...

The sad thing is that the antis are at it again and trying to tear apart the North Shore community on Oahu. It's so wrong that they use misinformation, intimidation, and scare tactics to further their agenda. We have to also remember that CFS is not a local agency at all so they don't care about the damage they do to people's relationships. That makes them an invasive species.

Anonymous said...

Suggestion to all: We should use words that Ross will understand and I don't think narcissism is one of them.

Anonymous said...

9:36pm Get the facts straight Hooser has 2 big body guards Fern Rosenthiel and Malia Chun (Mason Chock's sista). There you go local people, wondering why Mason follows Hooser, poof's in the pudding. All these cartoons preach healthier living, no-gmo's, exercise is critical, hell with the gmo or non-gmo's. Lead by example, hit the treadmill.

Anonymous said...

@10:01 - Nailed it. The anti-GMO movement is doing its darndest to eradicate local ag. Pollyannish prognostications of a utopian organic community aside, they have no plan for what happens after their crusade leaves us even more dependent on imported food than we are now.

Gonna free up lots of land for 2nd and 3rd homes that cost more than locals can afford, though!

Anonymous said...

It's reassuring to know that Kauai really is the pristine paradise we all moved here for.

Anonymous said...

That's just too high scholish to be going this low to be bringing up someone's weight. I agree that Hoosier is a terrible leader, but to be bringing up Malias weight is awful and shame on you! Everyone is entitled to an opinion and what she does monthly at huleia deserves respect. She is in my opinion making a difference on the cultural end by being a great example.

Anonymous said...

11:31 am So it's okay for Malia to lie at the 2491 public hearings to say that people on the westside are dying and getting cancer from the seed companies but we can't call her out on it because she works monthly at Huleia??? Not happening. She will forever be remembered.

Chuck Lasker said...

Which is easier to believe - that a number of state employees are committing a felony by falsifying data, or that a politician who cheated on his taxes for a decade and who has staked his future on anti-GMO activism is lying? For some conspiracy theorists and those with serious confirmation bias, they believe the former, that government employees risk prison for a simple paycheck. Sad.

Anonymous said...

Why don't you run for office Chuck? You are such a clever smart guy, am sure you could get elected and then lead the county properly down a path to green prosperity. Lasker is a wanna be armchair quarterback who like so many commenters on this blog is all talk but no action.