BY NICOLA GROBE
Please bring your trash items to the nearest waste management facility. Please recyle: Separate plastic items, metal, wood, paper in different containers. Carefully keep hazardous waste in designated container with the label Hazardous Waste to prevent pets and humans from getting injured. Hazardous waste: Batteries, motor oil, paint, paint thinners, pesticides, medication, computers and other electronic material. Bring the hazardous waste when container is full to hazardous waste facility. Find out where the nearest facility is located by calling or emailing your local community officials. Their phone numbers and email addresses are on their websites or in the phone books. In Crescent City, the transfer station is located on Elk Valley Road and run under Del Norte County Solid Waste. Go to the Del Norte County website to get further information. They are open seven days a week excluding some holidays. It is critical that hazardous waste in particular does not end up in watersheds nor natural environments because it is highly toxic and can cause damage to living cells including animal and human cells and it can contaminate the ground water and the water wells.
Please do not burn trash. It is illegal in California and Oregon to burn trash items like plastics, metals, and hazardous waste.
Open burning of garbage poses health risks to those exposed to the smoke. It especially affects people with sensitive respiratory systems, as well as children and the elderly. In the short term, exposure to smoke can cause headaches, nausea, and rashes. Over time, it can increase the risk of developing heart disease. Some of the pollutants contained in the smoke from open burning of garbage can include Dioxins, Furans, Arsenic, Mercury, PCBs, Lead, Carbon monoxide, Nitrogen oxides, Sulphur oxides, and Hydrochloric acid. Many of those listed chemicals can be released through burning of plastics, metals and hazardous waste including wood and tree materials which had been treated with pesticides like glyphosate and other highly carcinogenic toxins.
It is not necessary to treat bark beatle infestations with glyphosate injections or other applications. The treatment will not prevent bark beatle infestations from being reduced. Burning of wood treated with glyphosate will not eliminate the problems and instead will increase them through spreading mold spores and other pathogens in the infected trees as well as contaminating the air even further with toxic chemicals and affect not only plants but also animal and human health. The drastic pesticide increase since 1950 has created an increase of over 300 percent in cancers including testicular cancer. (Cancer Research UK, and other websites around the world)
What causes the insect infestations, fungus and other infections in trees and other plants? A healthy tree or other plant has a highly functioning immune system and it can defend itself against any type of pathogen or insect. The problem occurs when the tree or other plant is permanently exposed to environmental pollutants like automobile exhaust from gasoline, coal burning, radiation, and toxic dust particles and gases. Over time, ususally over long term exposure for decades, certain plant species will become overwhelmed with the permanent exposure to toxic air and their immune systems will not be able to keep up with the defense against the toxins. When that happens the plant will not be able to keep itself free from mold and fungus infections. When the fungus spreads inside of the plant then the plant will not be able to defend itself against parasitic invasions like bark beetles and other pest insects. This is the last stage of a plant’s immune dysfunction. Much has to happen before this takes place. When a plant is very sick its visible for us humans but then its often too late for the plant or even the entire plant species. For example Port Orford Cedar trees have been infected along the entire North West coast. Many plant species do not have the genetic disposition to handle pollution.
What can be done about this problem of plants dying from illness? Each person can do their part to reduce the risks of trees and other plants dying. Driving less, bicycling more, walking more when possible, more passengers in one car to get from A to B, local shopping, local business, trading more like trading work for food or services, less energy consumption, clean energy use, electric motorvehicle use, no trash burning at any time and any place, recycling, composting, no use of pesticides nor chemical fertilizers, making your own healthy soil from compost, less material consumption, less packaging, reusing items, buying eco friendly products, using only plant based soaps for household, only plant based shampoos, no glitter items because they end up in the ocean and inside of ocean animals causing them health problems, no bleach use, natural hair conditioners only, plant based hair coloring only, growing plants that are native to local area, growing different plant species side by side with others to ensure healthy diversity and a reduced risk of infestations, less meat comsumption because life stock animals are a major cause of pollution, vegetarian food is best and healthiest, use of recycled paper and cardboard, use of cloth shopping bags instead of paper and plastic bags, never cutting trees because each tree ensures the health of the air and eco system, plants are natural air detoxifyers but they are overwhelmed when exposed to too many toxins for too long.
