Economics
ERADICATION PROGRAM COSTLY
The minimum cost of the proposed Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM) eradication program in California for 2008 is $74 million.
The Monterey County Weekly quoted Jay Van Rein of the CDFA saying that the first two sprayings of Monterey in 2007 "cost roughly $3.7 million, $3.1 million of which was used to buy ... CheckMate."
IMPACTS ON LOCAL INDUSTRY
Foster Gamble, retired business executive from Silicon Valley and the California Alliance to Stop the Spray (CASS) Economics and Politics Action Team, recently published an in-depth Economic Impacts & Solutions Report. The report predicts that tourism, real estate, and organic farming of California would likely be heavily impacted by repeated aerial or ground spraying for LBAM:
TOURISM
"California is the most visited state in America, earning over $88 billion in travel-related income per year. There are already reports of tourists opting to stay away from the Monterey and San Francisco Bay areas if the spray is resumed. Tourism is San Francisco’s number one revenue generating industry, with visitor spending reaching $7.37 billion in 2005…even 1% of lost revenues would be deeply felt."
REAL ESTATE
"Real estate commissions [could drop] at the same rates of loss …[as could] housing prices."
The Board of Directors of the Marin Association of REALTORS® (MAR) voted unanimously to oppose the scheduled aerial spraying to eradicate the Light Brown Apple Moth…noting that the aerial spraying "would be harmful to the quality of life in Marin County." Further, they have added new language to the Marin County Disclosures and Disclaimers Advisory form alerting buyers "that there may be aerial and/or ground spraying throughout the county for certain specified pests…" and advising buyers "to consult with environmental health specialists and physicians for further information regarding pesticide spraying."
FARMING
"Monterey and Santa Cruz counties are frequently referred to as the epicenter of organic farming in the US. Even though the USDA has technically allowed organic growers to continue to qualify their food as organic even after it’s exposed to the pheromone-pesticide spray, discerning shoppers are not buying it - the logic or the food."
On March 10, 2008 the California Certified Organic Farmers joined the Marin County Farm Bureau and Marin Agriculture Commissioner Stacy Carlsen in opposing the aerial spray.
Read the Economic Impacts & Solutions Report HERE..
