Fall, 1992 (v5n1)
	From the Director Life and Methyl Bromide Revelations about the fumigant methyl bromide's strong link to ozone depletion remind us once again that everything is connected to everything. Methyl bromide is used for both structural and agricultural pest control. It is an effective fumigant but it has also been linked to health problems and the depletion of the ozone layer. Methyl bromide is a classic example of the way we declare war on nature in our quest to produce food. Previously I have discussed how we tend to want to dominate and control nature. I believe the systems approach, looking at the whole picture rather than at a specific issue, can help provide a strategy for dealing with the problems that have prompted us to use methyl bromide. Will Allen, director of the California Institute for Rural Studies rural toxics project and a farmer representative to a recent United Nations Education Program/EPA international workshop on methyl bromide, reminds us that farmers will not enhance their image with the general public when it becomes known that methyl bromide is an extremely efficient ozone depleter, 30 to 120 times more effective than the notorious chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Unfortunately, the United Nations guidelines for methyl bromide replacements include chloropicrin, Telone-2 and metam-sodium, all of which are in regulatory trouble in California. Solutions to the dilemma of using methyl bromide in agriculture may lie in the adoption of new and existing cultural practices instead of looking for more acceptable chemicals. Good soil organic matter management, crop rotation strategies, cover crops, and experiments with new crop varieties may eliminate the need for soil fumigants. Providing habitat for beneficial organisms is one way to naturally solve crop pest problems. This perspective of the soil assumes that it is an ally rather than a home for pests that must be obliterated with a fumigant. There is much we don't know about soil biology; we have only begun to understand the roles and interactions of various microorganisms. When we work with nature it has a tendency to work with us-which is what we all want in the end. -Bill Liebhardt, director, UC Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education Program.   [ Back | Search | Feedback ]