Environmentalists appear ready for another round of attacks on private property including water as 2003 comes to an end.
At Prince Edward Island, Can., CTV national television produced a documentary, which claimed pesticides were responsible for “declaring dead” 17 rivers.
Claims made on W-Five, said pesticide use on the Island province had increased 600 percent. It stated that there was an increase in asthma rates.
None of the statements were true, Mitch Murphy, minister of agriculture, said. He said he and Ivan Noonan, potato official, and others were interviewed for the program but nothing from their interviews was used.
Calls to the station have not been returned. Growers responded with angry mail.
In fact, no rivers on PEI have been declared dead; pesticide use has decreased, not increased; and asthma rates have decreased by 75 percent over the past two years.
In the United States, Senate Bill S-990 is moving through the Chamber. Backers, which are after millions of dollars to seek out more endangered species and close rivers and land to the public, are trying to “back-door” the bill before this session of Congress ends.
An alert was put on today, advising parties that could be affected by the action to notify their senators so that a “hold” can be put on the bill, effectively killing it this session. It was passed in the House after 2 a.m. without a full body present in “unanimous consent” action without any vote being taken.
The bill would authorize over $1 billion for enviros to use for grants to discover more and cinch down on endangered species for land control, and to buy land through eminent domain without any compensation hearings.