Roundup in Salmon Arm streets

When you walk the streets of downtown Salmon Arm do you notice the poor condition of the trees? In contrast, the sidewalk trees in Nelson or Revelstoke are strong and healthy and provide their many benefits to the local people and environment. Even Calgary, where the hardiness zone and conditions for plants are very poor compared to Salmon Arm, healthy, beautiful tree arches adorn the streets. Salmon Arm has great natural conditions for tree growing, so why is there an issue?

Management of the Corporation of Salmon Arm decided to control vegetation on sidewalks, tree bases, ball diamonds, etc. using a chemical mix of highly toxic Roundup herbicide. For that purpose, in 2022, bureaucrats purchased 1290 litres of this herbicide of total cost $ 3,990.

Illustration picture: source www. sustainablepulse.com

Roundup is a glyphosate-based herbicide which was developed in the U.S. in 1973 by Monsanto. In 2018, the company was bought by German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology giant Bayern AG. This was the only way to get into the European market because of strict rules concerning herbicides. The main active ingredient in Roundup is isopropylamine salt and the surfactant is polyethoxylated tallow amine. The lethal dose {indication of lethal toxicity of a given substance or type of radiation} of glyphosate varies and depends on surfactants used. For example, formulations intended for terrestrial use that include the surfactant polyethoxylated tallow amine are more toxic than other formulations.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roundup_(herbicide)

Toxic Roundup was applied in various locations within the civic boundary of Salmon Arm, including Marine Park at the wharf, McGuire Park near the hospital and downtown streets.

When Roundup is sprayed directly onto plants it is absorbed by the leaves and enters the plants’ sap stream and is then carried to the roots and shoots. In this way Roundup kills the entire plant. Roundup stays active in the soil from one to 174 days, depending on the soil structure and amount in the application. After the application is absorbed into the soil it can then leach into the water table.

The high toxicity of Roundup was proven in a San Francisco law suite in 2019, when a judge ordered Bayer AG to pay $80 million to Edwin Hardeman who claimed he developed the cancer after using Roundup. The verdict came down after the jury found Roundup to have been a “substantial factor” in causing Hardeman’s cancer. Hardeman’s lawyers were able to present previously excluded internal documents allegedly showing the company’s effort to influence scientist and regulators about the widely- used product’s safety.  

Photo source: www.seattleorganicrestaurants.com

The trial was only the second of more than 11,200 lawsuits set to be tried in the U.S.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bayer-glyphosate-lawsuit-idUSKCN1R82KY

Glyphosate herbicides are now banned or restricted in 21 countries, including France, Italy, Austria, Mexico, Vietnam and Thailand. Some U.S. cities including Key West and Los Angeles have taken steps to do the same.

https://sustainablepulse.com/2019/05/28/glyphosate-herbicides-now-banned-or-restricted-in-17-countries-worldwide-sustainable-pulse-research/

Unfortunately, Salmon Arm and British Columbia are moving in the opposite direction. In 2022, the BC government signed a new 5-year agreement with BC Forestry to spray a herbicide containing glyphosate over BC forests. Almost 40,000 acres will be sprayed every year to eliminated vegetation deemed unwanted by BC Forestry. This project has been running in BC for decades.

https://stopthespraybc.com/

The words of politicians, officials and other representatives who talk about sustainability, planet protection and environmental importance are only window dressing to appear sympathetic to the public. They don’t care at all. They just follow the agenda and support the narrative keeping their highly paid, cozy positions. We live in a fake world and the majority can not even recognize it.

DB, CB