Friday, October 3, 2008

Smells Like Soccer

Up until this fall I have could been labeled a dance and violin mummy. Both activities take place in a nice, climate-controlled space. Comfortable in any weather. Safe for little ones too.

Now I can add soccer and football mummy to my resume.

I'm not thrilled about it.

I woun't mention the rain, bugs, blazing sun and freezing wind. It is that smell that has be running scared. You know that smell. The smell of freshly applied pesticides.

Thousands of kids and parents sit walk, run and roll around in the pesticide laden grass every weekend. Thousands of my neighbors exposing themselves to toxic cocktails all in the name of good, clean fun.
Recently Connecticut enacted a law banning dangerous pesticides on elementary school fields. Great for the few kids who only play at the elementary schools. What about my kids and the countless others who practice at the high school and the town field? Doesn't their health count? What about the water supply, wild creatures and families who live near the upper-level schools?

In a few hours I will be off to sit and cheer in the middle of a sea of chemicals. I will try to keep reminding myself that I am doing it for Little Guy. Still, I can't help but wonder if I am doing more harm than good.

4 comments:

ourgreatgreenglobe said...

You know what has me scared? All the new info about lead in turf fields. My sons play lots of hours of soccer on turf fields and reports are just starting to surface about their high lead levels. It makes me nervous! but I am not sure what to do about it!

Jeri Ann said...

Yikes! How in the world did a bill get passed to only detox elementary school lawns? Wrong, just wrong.

Anonymous said...

I wonder what the point of all those pesticides is supposed to be. To repel bugs? Isn't grass their natural habitat? Maybe they're just trying to protect against the kind of bugs that destroy the grass, but I'm not sure which kind that would be. It's too bad we can't learn to live in harmony with insects. It seems to me that is the point of playing outside.

~GreenOfficeBlog

Donielle said...

I always seem to think just about my own lawn, not the lawns of others. But 'nice looking' lawn usually has a toxic dose or two. I guess one thing we should be doing is washing the kiddos as soon as we get home.