Friday, November 14, 2008

UK LANDMARK ENVIRONMENTAL LEGAL VICTORY

An environmental activist in the UK has won the right to have the use of pesticides in England and Wales reviewed.

Georgina Downs has suffered from reactions to pesticides since she was a child. A high court judge's ruling will force Environmental Secretary Hilary Benn to start a review of their use.
A High Court judge said award-winning Georgina Downs had produced "solid evidence" that rural residents had suffered harm from crop spraying with toxic chemicals. He ordered the Government to reconsider how to protect the health of countryside communities.

Miss Downs, who lives on the edge of farm fields near Chichester, West Sussex, launched her independent UK Pesticides Campaign in 2001 and was recently named a "woman of the year". To support her campaign, she collected evidence on DVD from other rural residents reporting health problems including cancer, Parkinson's disease, ME and asthma they believe could be linked to crop spraying.


This is welcomed news, even on this side of the pond. Burlington's Board of Health has been reviewing the city's pesticide ordinance for well over a year. There is unanimous agreement of the board that the ordinance should be changed to make Burlington pesticide-free.

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