<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small">Thanks very much for your Sustmar posting regarding the NS Minister of the Environment's approval of the proposed forest spraying of VisionMax by Northern Pulp.  I was very glad to hear of the efforts of <span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">MLA Lenore Zann and other community leaders to raise concern about this ill-conceived plan.</span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small"><div><br></div><div>FYI, <div class="gmail_default" style="display:inline">​there is additional information about glyphosate risks in the comment I added after signing the petition.   </div></div><div><div class="gmail_default" style="display:inline">(I forwarded this for distribution to Sustmar, but that may take some time.)</div></div></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small"><div class="gmail-nH gmail-aHU" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><div class="gmail-nH gmail-hx"><div class="gmail-nH"><div class="gmail-h7 gmail-ie gmail-nH gmail-oy8Mbf" tabindex="-1"><div class="gmail-Bk" style="width:733px"><div class="gmail-G3 gmail-G2"><div id="gmail-:119"><div class="gmail-adn gmail-ads"><div class="gmail-gs"><div id="gmail-:11n" class="gmail-ii gmail-gt gmail-adP gmail-adO" style="font-size:12.8px"><div id="gmail-:1iz" class="gmail-a3s gmail-aXjCH gmail-m156f67f28cbd3ae8"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr"><div style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8px"><a href="https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/Nova_Scotia_Environment_Minister_Margaret_Miller_and_the_McNeil_Government_Save_NS_from_the_pesticide_glyphosate_a_known/?kfZdglb" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.8px">https://secure.avaaz.org/en/pe<wbr>tition/Nova_Scotia_Environment<wbr>_Minister_Margaret_Miller_and_<wbr>the_McNeil_Government_Save_NS_<wbr>from_the_pesticide_glyphosate</a><br></div><div style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small">Regards,</div><div style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small">Helen Jones</div><div style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small">My comment:</div><div style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:18.4px">Minister Miller, the harm from Glyphosate in VisionMax goes way beyond the serious known risk of being a “probable carcinogen.” </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:18.4px"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:21.4667px">A recent major MIT review paper on Glyphosate (active ingredient in VisionMax and Roundup) cited in #1 below contains a huge amount of research documentation on the harm caused by glyphosate to human health.  This includes d</span><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:21.4667px">amage to detox pathways (Cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYP)), as well as significant negative impacts on mental health, neurotransmitters, and</span><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:21.4667px"> real implications for irritable bowel syndrome and gut inflammation, nutrient deficiencies, autism, cancer, disturbances in serotonin and  dopamine levels linked to neurological conditions, memory problems, depression, Alzheimer’s, ALS, Parkinson’s, and a great deal more.  </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial"><i><span style="font-size:14pt;color:black"> </span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-size:14pt;color:black">1.  <i>Entropy</i></span><span style="font-size:14pt;color:black"> <b>2013</b>, <i>15</i>(4), 1416-1463; doi:<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/e15041416" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(147,78,78)">10.3390/e15041416</span></a></span><span style="font-size:14pt"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6pt;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial"><i><span style="font-size:14pt;color:black">Review</span></i><span style="font-size:14pt"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6pt;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial"><b><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:arial,sans-serif;color:black">Glyphosate’s Suppression of Cytochrome P450 Enzymes and Amino Acid Biosynthesis by the Gut Microbiome: Pathways to Modern Diseases^†</span></b><span style="font-size:18pt;font-family:"courier new""></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;vertical-align:bottom;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial"><b><span style="font-size:14pt;color:black">By </span></b><span style="font-size:14pt"><a href="http://www.mdpi.com/search?authors=Anthony%20Samsel" target="_blank"><b><span style="color:black">Anthony Samsel</span></b></a></span><b>^{<span style="font-size:14pt;color:black"> 1</span>}</b><b><span style="font-size:14pt;color:black"> and </span></b><span style="font-size:14pt"><a href="http://www.mdpi.com/search?authors=Stephanie%20Seneff" target="_blank"><b><span style="color:black">Stephanie Seneff</span></b></a></span><b>^{<span style="font-size:14pt;color:black"> 2,</span>}</b><b><span style="font-size:14pt;color:black">* </span></b><span style="font-size:14pt"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-size:14pt"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-size:12pt">The study's abstract can be read at   </span><span style="font-size:12pt"><a href="http://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/15/4/1416" target="_blank">http://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300<wbr>/15/4/1416</a></span><span style="font-size:12pt"> .<br><br>The complete study is available at </span><span style="font-size:12pt"><a href="http://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/15/4/1416/pdf" target="_blank"><span style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial">http://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/<wbr>15/4/1416/pdf</span></a> .</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-size:12pt"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-size:12pt"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:18.4px">2.  Considering just one of these findings:  The Cytochrome P450 enzymes are in plain language the liver detox pathways we (and many other animals) all depend on to keep us healthy.   Since glyphosate damages these enzymes, any toxin will last longer in the body<i>. </i>For this reason alone, cancer is a greater risk<i> </i>when <i>ANY </i>carcinogen from <i>ANY</i> source is encountered and taken into the body.  This is a significant additional risk to public health.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:18.4px"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:18.4px">3.  A shocking truth is that the NS Provincial Government DOES NOT KNOW where all the drinking water wells <i>are</i> in Nova Scotia.  The careful GPS records for well locations that we should have on file do not exist. Therefore approving a glyphosate spray program will with certainty be poisoning the drinking water of a percentage </span><span style="font-size:12pt;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial">of Nova Scotian</span><span style="font-size:12pt">​ familie​s<span style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial"> (from direct residue, from drift and from the inexorable movement of toxic underground plumes travelling through rock fissures</span></span>).</p><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:18.4px"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:18.4px"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:18.4px">4.  Our imperfect regulatory structure means that you cannot know the identity of the unlisted ingredients in VisionMax because they are proprietary secrets.  These can<i> legally include</i> additional pesticides, endocrine disrupting surfactants (soaps), heavy metals and other toxins. Approving a blank slate of toxins seems worth avoiding.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:18.4px"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:18.4px"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:18.4px;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial">There is no shame in </span><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:18.4px;color:black;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial">your withdrawing you permission to Northern Pulp to spray VisionMax</span><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:18.4px;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial"> </span><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:18.4px;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial">– you will appear thoughtful, responsible, independent minded and diligent about doing your homework.  It’s a Win/Win/Win for you, the environment and the public.   Please do the right thing.</span><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:18.4px"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:18.4px;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:18.4px;color:black"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:18.4px;color:black">Sincerely,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:18.4px;color:black"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:18.4px;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial">Helen Jones</span><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:18.4px"><br><span style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial">MSc., Hon. Zool. (UBC), Ed.D. (Col. Univ.)</span><br><span style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial">Past Member, Pesticide Bylaw Advisory Committee</span><br><span style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial">Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM)</span><br><span style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial">Past Member, Pesticide Free Nova Scotia</span><br><span style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial">Board Member, Real Alternatives to Toxins in the Environment (RATE)</span><br></span><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:18.4px"><span style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial"><a href="http://www.ratens.ca/" target="_blank">http://www.ratens.ca</a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:18.4px"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:18.4px"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:18.4px"><br></span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>