EDITOR: A typical l8 hole golf course uses 50,000 pounds of dry
and liquid chemicals per year. This is seven times what a corporate
farm in the Central Valley uses per year. On average a golf course
uses 20 different insecticides, 15 different herbicides and 25
different fungicides per course.
EDITOR:
A typical l8 hole golf course uses 50,000 pounds of dry and liquid chemicals per year. This is seven times what a corporate farm in the Central Valley uses per year. On average a golf course uses 20 different insecticides, 15 different herbicides and 25 different fungicides per course. There is a documented risk of increased cancer and neurological problems for golf course superintendents. Assembly Bill 5553 and Senate Bill 2940 would require golf course operators to post notices and inform the public of specifics of pesticide use on the course.
The Math Institute Course is not “typical.” Instead of 50 acres of turf, it has 128 acres of turf to maintain. The City Council after an hour and a half of discussing the red-legged frog endangerment, voted Wednesday to make the Math Institute (John Fry’s course) legitimate, two years after it was built and is being maintained by this “non-profit” corporation.
The few residents that asked questions and gave their concerns were given three minutes a piece. The Math Institute coterie of professional lawyers, “scientists” and “environmentalists” were given all the time they needed to plead their position. After I expressed concerns about their lack of concern to public health from use of pesticides and fertilizers, Michelle Yesney of Environmental Consultants and Planners spoke up and said that the Institute golf course was indeed committed to using integrated pest management and mentioned the “Champ” plan.
After the council voted to give the golf course a green light, the Math Institute group was elated. I asked Ms. Yesney to tell me what Champ meant and if I could have a copy of the IPM plan. “Oh,” she replied, “that hasn’t been done yet.” She implied that this was not a part of their business.
She told me to contact Jim Rowe, the city planner, to find out about it when it was submitted. These high-powered consultants are not working for $15 an hour and it’s no wonder they left looking like the cats that ate the canaries.
I spoke to a woman who lives next to the course and whose two dogs have died of thyroid disorders. Another gentleman asked a question about this “monitoring” of runoff and pesticide and fertilizer levels in the ponds. He wanted to know how often this would occur and who would pay for it. No answers to these important questions as of now. At the end of this amazingly unclear and prolonged presentation by the “experts” I felt mystified, manipulated and exhausted.
I can only conclude that once again we live in a society where money talks and the bemused and befuddled public walks, in this case the Morgan hill public and our public servants, the City Council. The oldest recorded proverb in the world predates ancient Egypt. It is “Big Fish Eat Little Fish.”
Natasha Wist,
Morgan Hill
