This commentary was written by Michael Bald, a Royalton resident.
The pull of gravity and the cycles of moon and seasons, as well as the corresponding light conditions, are the environmental constants from which animals and plants evolved. There is variation within normal ranges but the earth’s environmental constants are generally consistent with their historical range windows. There is a reliable predictability.
However, global warming has distorted our sense of normal with shifting temperatures regimes and intensified weather events. But, Vermont has had a silent, new environmental constant since the 1940s.
It is now a fact, an absolute certainty that Vermont will see thousands upon thousands of pounds worth of pesticides over the growing season. Tons of toxin, often in the same hotspots. 2020: Seventeen tons of Glyphosate and 31 tons atrazine.
Because we never speak of it, I say that this happens in silence.
The annual migrations of billions upon billions of birds were a major factor in the adaptation of plant species that have inhabited Vermont’s landscape since the Ice Age. These migrations would have included the passenger bird, whose overflights were a regular fertilization event for the forests and swamps below. All that excrement of large bird populations was a resource. It was a juicing effect on the ecosystems that no longer occurs.
Similar nutrient-transfer functions are played by salmon spawning runs. How does a forestland complex respond to nutrient-transfer events such as annual nutrient rains that gradually diminish and flocking bird populations disappear? Those showers were a common, regular occurrence.
It was clear that the change was significant and synchronized almost seamlessly in tandem with the Industrial Revolution’s aerial pollutants. However, the industrial substances that were falling from the sky were not beneficial or nutritious. Acid rain deprived the soil of essential ions like magnesium and calcium, which are essential elements for every tree. Acid rain was a reliable environmental constant for over a century.
Vermont’s landscape has seen the end of the regular fertilizer program since the mid-1800s. This was accompanied by the extinction the passenger pigeon and a century worth of injurious acid rainfall. Although pollution laws provided some relief from the constant acid rain, new toxins soon arrived.
After two world wars, new pesticide products appeared in stores, some new and some repurposed. Many were made for gardens and homes.
Our annual cumulative pesticide total is today one of the most destructive environmental constants. Why? Why? Because pesticides do not always break down over time. However, these products accumulate and increase their impact year after year.
The soil and water we use to make our soil are contaminated with the products of breakdown. The end result is debilitating soil, contaminated waters, and broken food webs. This is the toxic legacy.
The secret ingredients in pesticides are not tracked by pesticide data In the formulations. These additives may be added to more than 2,000 formulations.Chemicals that penetrate waxy leaf coatings and supposedly even PFA compounds). Why is this kept secret? Why is glyphosate allowed to remain secret in our cereals, beverages, and honey (FDA Studies)? What is the impact on immunity and human health?
2022 will be a year in which the environmental impact of humanity will be a constant. Seasonal windows now make distinctive noises (think leaf-blowers), but the growing season is markedly affected by our toxic signature. Because the St. Lawrence Seaway, from a jet stream perspective is the tailpipe of North America, this issue is magnified in Vermont.
We are not only responsible for our own mess but also suffer from the Midwest’s rainwater carry-in. U.S. Geological Survey data show that growing season rainfalls carry an insecticide, fungicide, and herbicide signature. Multiple contaminants are common. The most prominent toxin is dicamba (a relative of Agent Orange).
What can Vermonters do after pesticides are established? Let me make a clear first step. We can stop pretending. Do not pretend that other people have caused this disaster on you. Instead, acknowledge your own responsibility for fixing it.
Yes, farms use large quantities of pesticides but so do colleges, golf courses, and utility companies. We spray poison ivy on state parks and apply herbicide to native beech trees in the national forests. Agency of Agriculture figures are only representative of pesticide use reported by professional applicators. We do not know what individual pesticide purchases are.
Citizens use synthetic chemicals to clean cracks in sidewalks and manage vegetation, fungi, and insects wherever they are found. In arrogant, misguided attempts to restore habitat for our beloved birds and mammals, we even use herbicides. It’s odd that even birds can see the danger in causing damage to their nests.
Is it possible to change this new environmental constant? Yes. We are problem-solvers, and there are already solutions to our pesticide addiction. We have other tools and creative ideas. We have the purchasing power to support visions of clean water and uncontaminated landscapes.
It is possible to make informed environmental stewardship decisions for the benefit of our children. For decades, however the constant has been our inability to make the choice.
