Thanks for your Mother’s Day call.
Did Christopher sell his business? I’m praying.

Are you still in the Bay Area? Have you heard about the plans to blanket the entire San Francisco Bay Area and Monterey/Santa Cruz Peninsula with pesticides?

Most people talk about it as the aerial spraying of “pheromones”, but there’s a lot more going on than just aerial spraying: They want to put the same synthetic chemical in the form of 250 twist ties per acre throughout some neighborhoods (about 30-40 per home), and apply it, mixed with permethrin, to 3,000 utility poles and trees per square mile, just overhead and in easy reach of curious and climbing children and other critters. They already hosed down entire neighborhoods with Btk.

They claim it’s all because of the Australian light brown apple moth, considered a Class A pest, requiring quarantine under their capitalist trade agreements, even though it has done no damage and is unlikely to. It’s being used as an excuse for a major greenwashing campaign by the U.S. and California Ag Departments to legitimize a new breed of pesticides as “organic”, and further dilute organics standards. Of course all these formulations have secret “inert” ingredients often even more toxic than the “active” ingredients. The toxicology of all parts of this program is on our website: http://www.dontspraycalifornia.org

Monterey and Santa Cruz got sprayed in the Fall, and hundreds of people got sick, and several pets, and hundreds of birds died. Several people in our community have described negative effects from exposure to the twist ties as well.

People had been organizing non-violent civil disobedience trainings, but some recent legal and legislative wrangling, has caused a lot of confusion and many people think the program has been canceled because the courts won a couple of delays. But the Ag Department is determined to proceed, and it’s merely bought us a little more time to organize effective opposition.

I know you’re trying to avoid too many stages, but if you’re still in the area, could we persuade you to come strategize with us a bit?

On Thursday, June 5th, we’re going to have an event at the Berkeley Fellowship of Universal Unitarians (1924 Cedar/Bonita, in Berkeley), with exotic plant expert Dan Harder, director of the Santa Cruz Arboretum, who found that pesticides were the cause of the much cited problems with the moth in New Zealand. Biologist David Theodoropoulos, author of “Invasion Biology: Critique of a Pseudoscience”, who debunks the invasive species movement and exposes its connections to the pesticide industry, will also be there.

We would so love to have you join us, especially since there are currently a couple of tree sits going on in affected areas, in Berkeley and Santa Cruz, and if this program moves forward, they will be vulnerable to a whole new assault by the powers that shouldn’t-be.

Could you please get in touch, and let me know if you’d be up for participating? Your insight would be very appreciated. Thanx so much.

In Solidarity,

Isis

since we all need to reduce consumption, it’s hard to figure out ways to survive in this world without becoming part of the destruction.. somehow, we must inspire more people out of this false economy and into a a life of simplicity and communion with nature.. and we will need to inspire a whole new generation of small scale organic farmers as we leave the petroleum age… how that happens, i’m not sure..

My name is Michelle Mrdeza and I just finished reading your book, ‘The Legacy of Luna’. My eyes are swollen from crying. I am so very humbled and inspired by your perseverance and unwavering faith. I only hope that in my lifetime, I can touch merely a tip of the iceberg that you have climbed so gracefully.

I walked in Muir Woods yesterday and hugged about a dozen trees. Imagining what you might have felt and endured brought me to tears.

I am so touched by your efforts and your wonderfully positive attitude. I find it hard to remain optimistic and I mostly have very little faith in this world. I am so sensitive and wear my heart on my sleeve, so often i am hurt and let down. I hope I can always be reminded of your struggles as well as your victories and pray that those things will keep me going.

Thank you a million times over for sharing with me your story and allowing me to enter into that part of your self discovering journey. I am honored to have read your book and I am forever changed because of it.

My undying support goes to you always.

Much love and respect,
Michelle

Your right, it’s easier said than done. In our day to day lives it’s easy to forget we even have a choice in how we relate to circumstances and things happening. Thank you for reminding us.
Today I first heard about you and Luna. That is truly inspiring and beautiful.

Love,
Rick