I read Marty Weilâs letter about lawn treatments in the October 19 edition of My Sunday News. Mr. Weil makes some excellent points. Itâs Winter now, so we are not thinking about lawn treatment, but with the coming of Spring, we will once again be subjected to the overpowering smell of chemicals.
We should, however, be concerned about more than the odor. As Mr. Weil stated, these chemicals can be very harmful to the environment, ourselves and our pets. Broad leaf weed killers are used to enhance lawns, but trees and flowers are also broad-leafed plants. How are we impacting them? Pesticides donât just kill âbadâ insects, but beneficial ones as well. Insect populations have dropped substantially in recent decades, to the point where we are warned of an insect apocalypse. Besides being pollinators, insects are eaten by birds. Since the 1970s, we have lost approximately three billion birds in this country. That should be alarming to anyone.
It seems that the landscapers in our community have not changed their practices in response to these concerns. It is well past time for all of us to reconsider how these chemicals are used.
Richard J Quigley
Sun City resident
