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A crucial point going unmentioned in this article is the fact that Coillte, Ireland's semi-state forestry business, have been fully complicit in this for decade

A crucial point going unmentioned in this article is the fact that Coillte, Ireland's semi-state forestry business, have been fully complicit in this for decades. People have petitioned that entire time to manage our forests better, or at least provide more transparency (ie, into how they use pesticides), with little success. Instead, Coillte actively work to hide their practices - not just the blankets of monocultured sitka spruce mentioned, but things like drenching those areas with glyphosate (over a ton per year [0]) which then leaks into water supply, or secretively selling off huge tracts of sovereign land to foreign interests. Ireland's national parks have faced similar issues [1] despite some strong advocates and obvious solutions. I wish I knew why the two political parties responsible for this hate trees so much. 0 - https://irishriverproject.com/2022/08/16/coillte-use-of-cypermethrin-and-glyphospate/ https://irishriverproject.com/2022/08/16/coillte-use-of-cype... 1 - https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/outdoors/arid-41479216.html https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/outdoors/arid-414792...

deleted 2y ago
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anotherhue 2y ago
Here's a steetview image of the town the linked advocate/author lives in. It would be desolate if it wasn't for the greass. https://www.google.com/maps/@51.6853372,-9.9542862,3a,75y,181.7h,94.23t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sTwdGPxRHTWsufgRsrwsGPA!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D-4.228027139871898%26panoid%3DTwdGPxRHTWsufgRsrwsGPA%26yaw%3D181.6991959128175!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTIxMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D https://www.google.com/maps/@51.6853372,-9.9542862,3a,75y,18...
0_____0 2y ago
300 milligrams per hectare isn't drenching an area with glyphosate. Weed control in fields uses an application rate that can be thousands of times higher! I've applied 300mg with a hand wand in a matter of seconds to do noxious weed control before. Edit: source for application rate: https://www.pioneer.com/us/agronomy/glyphosate_use_optimum_field_performance.html https://www.pioneer.com/us/agronomy/glyphosate_use_optimum_f...
- mandmandam 2y ago
  They're not equally distributing glyphosate in an average mist across every hectare of land each year. > “In 2021, Coillte treated [circa] 2,300 hectares with glyphosate for vegetation control, which equates to 0.006% of our estate [0] That works out to a lot more than 300 milligrams; closer to 430,000. I've seen the desolation with my own eyes. The ecosystem doesn't recover from that. Coillte also use glyphosate and a raft of other chemicals in their nurseries and along the roadsides, as do local councils, with little if any oversight. 0 - https://www.thejournal.ie/in-the-weeds-roads-forests-5864314-Sep2022/ https://www.thejournal.ie/in-the-weeds-roads-forests-5864314...
  - 0_____0 2y ago
    I take your point, they're intentionally reporting an average to sort of obscure the true application rate. What's the the right amount of glyphosate (and others) to use, and under what conditions? Where I live (and have lived) we have pretty nasty invasive broadleaf species for whom glyphosate and triclopyr are first line choices for destroying the plant, i.e. mechanical removal does not work or is counterproductive. So, clearly it has a place in the defense of ecosystems. What standard and protocols do we hold the users of these chemicals to (including yours truly)?
    - mandmandam 2y ago
      > Where I live (and have lived) we have pretty nasty invasive broadleaf species for whom glyphosate and triclopyr are first line choices for destroying the plant, i.e. mechanical removal does not work or is counterproductive. > So, clearly it has a place in the defense of ecosystems. Why would that be clear? Do you live in the land of 'Always Right'?
      - 0_____0 2y ago
        It's best practice for certain weeds e.g. morning glory, where breaking the vine tends to just spread it, and digging it up flat out does not work - you'll be at it for years. Here's King County's factsheet for morning glory. How would you handle it in your own yard? How would you handle it if you were managing 100s of acres? https://www.nwcb.wa.gov/pdfs/Bindweed_factsheet_King.pdf https://www.nwcb.wa.gov/pdfs/Bindweed_factsheet_King.pdf

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

anotherhue 2y ago

Here's a steetview image of the town the linked advocate/author lives in. It would be desolate if it wasn't for the greass. https://www.google.com/maps/@51.6853372,-9.9542862,3a,75y,181.7h,94.23t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sTwdGPxRHTWsufgRsrwsGPA!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D-4.228027139871898%26panoid%3DTwdGPxRHTWsufgRsrwsGPA%26yaw%3D181.6991959128175!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTIxMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D https://www.google.com/maps/@51.6853372,-9.9542862,3a,75y,18...

0_____0 2y ago

300 milligrams per hectare isn't drenching an area with glyphosate. Weed control in fields uses an application rate that can be thousands of times higher! I've applied 300mg with a hand wand in a matter of seconds to do noxious weed control before. Edit: source for application rate: https://www.pioneer.com/us/agronomy/glyphosate_use_optimum_field_performance.html https://www.pioneer.com/us/agronomy/glyphosate_use_optimum_f...

mandmandam 2y ago
They're not equally distributing glyphosate in an average mist across every hectare of land each year. > “In 2021, Coillte treated [circa] 2,300 hectares with glyphosate for vegetation control, which equates to 0.006% of our estate [0] That works out to a lot more than 300 milligrams; closer to 430,000. I've seen the desolation with my own eyes. The ecosystem doesn't recover from that. Coillte also use glyphosate and a raft of other chemicals in their nurseries and along the roadsides, as do local councils, with little if any oversight. 0 - https://www.thejournal.ie/in-the-weeds-roads-forests-5864314-Sep2022/ https://www.thejournal.ie/in-the-weeds-roads-forests-5864314...
- 0_____0 2y ago
  I take your point, they're intentionally reporting an average to sort of obscure the true application rate. What's the the right amount of glyphosate (and others) to use, and under what conditions? Where I live (and have lived) we have pretty nasty invasive broadleaf species for whom glyphosate and triclopyr are first line choices for destroying the plant, i.e. mechanical removal does not work or is counterproductive. So, clearly it has a place in the defense of ecosystems. What standard and protocols do we hold the users of these chemicals to (including yours truly)?
  - mandmandam 2y ago
    > Where I live (and have lived) we have pretty nasty invasive broadleaf species for whom glyphosate and triclopyr are first line choices for destroying the plant, i.e. mechanical removal does not work or is counterproductive. > So, clearly it has a place in the defense of ecosystems. Why would that be clear? Do you live in the land of 'Always Right'?
    - 0_____0 2y ago
      It's best practice for certain weeds e.g. morning glory, where breaking the vine tends to just spread it, and digging it up flat out does not work - you'll be at it for years. Here's King County's factsheet for morning glory. How would you handle it in your own yard? How would you handle it if you were managing 100s of acres? https://www.nwcb.wa.gov/pdfs/Bindweed_factsheet_King.pdf https://www.nwcb.wa.gov/pdfs/Bindweed_factsheet_King.pdf