Sep. 2, 2020

Trimming Roadside Bushes with Defoliant

Everytime I see defoliant sprayed on roadside bush growth I think of Agent Orange in Vietnam and its aftermath of cancer among the veterans.  I know that it is pronounced safe by the road maintenance people, being used because it is cheaper, but it concerns me that a substance that will turn leaves brown and cause that portion of the bush to die would not have some effect on the birds, bees, chipmunks, deer, etc. who come in contact with it.  It seems that regular contact with a low-toxicity substance would add up over a period of time.  While I have been putting these concerns on this blog, it occurred to me that when I was a child and we were walking the roads in this area, we came in contact with roadside plum bushes with loads of wild plums for us to eat.  I can't remember the last time I saw wild plums on the roadside.