Saturday, May 19, 2007
TOPIC 7: Pesticides: Good or bad?http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/politics_show/3873761.stmPeople in the countryside east of England are facing air problems with pesticides clouding their areas. Families have fallen ill due to the pesticides that are being sprayed on the crops. With fields surrounding their homes, Mrs Wadey is one of the victims who's family and home is being damaged by these spraying. Her first child was born partially sighted and asthmatic. When she was having her second child, she approached the farmer to ask if the sprays were safe, but the farmer couldn't answer her. Another victim was Sally Brown. Unfortunately, her dog and herself was being caught in a cloud of chemicals when a farmer was spraying nearby. Immediately, she brought her dog inside the house and gave it a bath, then she had a through shower. What happened next was her dog died of cancer and she was caught with cancer. Environmentalists and campaigners requested the impose of buffer zones between homes and fields that has to be sprayed, but failed.
No one could give a sure answer on whether pesticides are really good or bad. The reason they are good is because they keep pests away from the crops, leaving them in a better condition when being sold. The reason they are bad is because they are harmful to the human body. What we can do to control this is impose buffer zones between fields and homes, so the people living in the area won't be affected by the pesticides.
