While al-Qa'ida and the Taliban are grabbing all the headlines, there is a bigger threat to all of us, and it’s costing us billions of dollars, polluting our environment with more pesticides and even costing lives. It’s invasive pests, insects and diseases imported here from other parts of the world - West Nile fever, Asian tiger mosquito, gypsy moth, Japanese dodder, light brown apple moth and the list goes on and on.
In California alone it is expected that 10 new pests will be introduced each year from 2010 to 2020. And each one will have the potential to devastate crops and spread diseases. This means that the cost to produce all the food you buy at the supermarket will go up. Your neighbors who have gardens will be spraying more pesticides to protect their plants. You might also have to start spraying pesticides to protect your yard and keep it looking nice. (Or you could just let the bugs eat it all.)
Unfortunately, most of the pests come in because we bring them in. People who try to sneak some fruits or plants in or bypass border and customs inspections when they travel can bring the pests in. Even traveling within the U.S. can move natural pests from an area where it belongs to somewhere it doesn’t and wreak havoc in the process.
And what happens when these pests arrive and are discovered in someone's backyard? Government officials move into action and set up eradication efforts. However, some well-meaning yet short-sighted people have stopped eradication efforts for some of the pests. This has resulted in devastated crops, higher prices and increased use of pesticides. Imagine if there was a sign in the produce section of the store that said, “Sorry, we had to raise the price on all items because of damage caused by the light brown apple moth.” The price increase is there - they just don't post the sign.
What can people do? For more information, visit the Invasive Species Web site.
Ken
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