Poison Parks Kill: Malibu agrees to ban pesticides in public spaces after five hours of testimony from concerned citizens

Thursday, July 21, 2016 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer
Tags: glyphosate, public parks, children

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(NaturalNews) It might be impossible at this point, short of an armed revolution, for the People of the United States to regain control over their federal government, which has been taken over by rogue tyrants with no regard for the rule of law. But local citizens from the California city of Malibu recently experienced the sweet taste of freedom, after several dozen of them successfully persuaded their city council members to put a stop to the poisoning of their public parks.

In a unanimous vote of 5–0, the Malibu City Council agreed that continuing to spray pesticides, rodenticides and other chemicals in public parks isn't conducive to the health of the community, and that other, safer measures of pest control should be instituted instead. This, after more than five hours of testimony by concerned citizens, many of whom explained why they don't want their children to be exposed to chemical toxins while playing outdoors on public property.

Reports indicate that more than 24 Malibu residents showed up at a recent hearing in support of a ban on the use of chemicals in public parks and on city property. One of these was Kian Schulman, founder of the group Poison Free Malibu, who gave a presentation on the effects of pesticide chemicals in children, including how they can cause neurological problems like ADHD and Alzheimer's, as well as various types of cancer.

Schulman showed the Council photographs of hired workers wearing full hazmat suits as they sprayed chemicals in Malibu city parks, all while young children on bicycles passed them by in the background. Because the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has failed to enact proper safeguards governing the use of these chemicals in public areas, Schulman explained, it is up to local councils to step in and take action.

"I think it's our responsibility that we shouldn't be using these in our parks, and stop this experiment on our kids," council member Skylar Peak, who wore a "Poison Parks Kill" t-shirt to the meeting, is quoted as saying. "The buck stops with us."

Pesticides are 'evil,' insists Malibu mayor

The City of Malibu's Environmental Sustainability Committee developed an action plan more than a year ago that sought to address the problem of chemicals, as well as other unsustainable park management practices. But only now has the Council decided to make any formidable changes, and this because local citizens decided to get involved and prod them along towards enacting new policies.

Along with the banning of pesticides in city parks, the Council is also urging Southern California Edison, the electricity supplier for most of Southern California, to stop using pesticides around their electric utility poles, many of which are located in and around city parks where chemicals are now off-limits.

"I think pesticides are evil," stated Malibu Mayor Laura Zahn Rosenthal, in favor of the ban. "It's not going to cost a million dollars [to switch to other methods]," she added, referring to complaints by some city workers that pest control alternatives will be too expensive to implement properly.

"I think that's outrageous. I think we can do it and that should be our goal and I wish we could start it tomorrow."

Other groups, including the Malibu Monarch Project which advocates on behalf of butterflies harmed by pesticides, are likewise supportive of the ban. Malibu, which prides itself on being progressively conscious of environmental concerns, should be a leader in this area, much like Portland, Oregon, where the city council developed a 60-page manifesto on how to create a cleaner, safer and more environmentally friendly public parks system for its residents.

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Sources for this article include:

MalibuTimes.com

Patch.com