There is an advertisement currently being shown on television in which a woman stands in front of a lush, green lawn with young children scampering in the background declaring her personal hatred of dandelions. She is championing the use of a popular one-step product which contains grass seeds and a herbicide that kills weeds with one easy application. But if Assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli's proposed legislation, Aesthetic Pesticide Ban, (Assembly bill A. 5565 and Senate bill S. 6561) wins the approval of both houses, the lady in the ad may be ridding herself of the reviled dandelions the old-fashioned way, by digging the pesky scoundrels up, by using an organic alternative or by accepting imperfection in her lawn.

The proposed law would put public health as a higher priority than the aesthetic of perfect lawns by banning certain categories of pesticides that are classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as known, probable, or possible human carcinogens; likely endocrine disruptors, or pesticides that present a hazard of groundwater contamination. Assemblyman DiNapoli says, "This legislation provides a comprehensive and precautionary approach to protecting public health and will reduce the use of pesticides on lawns and in our neighborhoods. Under the pesticide registration program, the state has banned the used of certain pesticides, such as DDT and chlordane. This bill seeks to expand the state's regulatory approach from a piecemeal chemical-by-chemical strategy to a comprehensive approach."

Environmental and health advocates are organizing letter writing campaigns in support of the legislation and have been systematically educating the public about the hazards of pesticides when used with abandon. Laura Weinberg of the Great Neck Breast Cancer Coalition said, "Since there is a body of evidence that links certain pesticides to cancer and hormone disruption, the use of highly toxic pesticides for frivolous reasons is indefensible."

Neal Lewis, executive director of the Long Island Neighborhood Network whose organization has been providing information about organic alternatives to pesticides, said, "We are excited about this legislation. Now that Tom DiNapoli has been named chairman of the assembly's Environmental Committee and Senator Ken LaValle, who is a senior senator and is co-sponsoring this bill on the senate side, are working together, we are hopeful of its passage."

The ban, amending the pesticide usage law, would apply to home gardens, school grounds, and golf course maintenance, but agricultural purposes would be exempt. The New York State Department of Environmental Protection (NYSDEC) would be responsible for promulgating rules and regulations to carry out the intent of the law. It is unclear whether such products would be pulled from the shelves or not and a spokesperson from the DEC said that it would be improper for them to comment upon the bill before it becomes law.

The Record tried repeatedly to talk with Pat Boges who is president of the Nassau-Suffolk Landscape Gardeners Association, but our phone calls were not returned.

Bob Riley of Green Pro, who has been in the business for over 40 years and who uses organic products extensively, although not exclusively, in his business says that environmentalists are partially right and partially wrong in their attempt to "return to the Garden of Eden." He does believe that some gardeners and most golf courses have overused chemicals, killing good microbes in the soil and leaving it non-fertile and chemically dependent.

But Mr. Riley says that if a concerted effort is made to restore health to soil, a propitious use of specific chemicals for specific purposes is not always a bad thing. He believes that the non-professional reaction of his professional colleagues to the environmentalists has fueled the movement to ban pesticides. And he is also critical of the DEC saying that they should be making more of an effort to educate the public in the proper care of lawn and garden. He also raises a question about how such a law would apply to pesticides that have dual uses, for aesthetic purposes and for control of pests that pose a danger to humans such as ticks.

Jim Sherry speaking for State Senator Michael Balboni said that the senator has not yet taken a position on the legislation, but has in the past championed legislation restricting pesticide usage.

Meanwhile, some things never change. Little children still love to blow the seeds of the dandelions attached to their gossamer wings and watch in wonder as they float away.