To the Editor:

I read your article, “Polluted public water,” by H. Rose Schneider with great interest. I am continually saddened that authorities seem to minimize the cumulative health impacts of poisons found to be within New York State or national health standards that are “acceptable.”

Acceptable in our soil, acceptable in our air, acceptable in our food. What are we doing to our precious natural resources? What are we condemning our children and grandchildren to? It’s widely known that the acceptable levels can be cumulative and especially harmful to children.

Dying vegetation along state roads has recently alarmed many rural residents.

What herbicide poison has been sprayed along the road; around telephone poles and signs; in streams in the Basic Creek watershed that feeds in to one of Albany’s reservoirs, the Eight-mile Creek; along New York Power Authority power line that cuts through the E.N. Huyck Preserve, which is the watershed for the public system of the hamlet of Rensselaerville?

We have private water wells in rural areas if we are not connected to one of the few smaller public systems, such as in the hamlets of Westerlo and Rensselaerville. What is the lasting impact of these sprayed poisons on our rural resources and health?  Do we wait until all of our water is poisoned or our families have increased incidence of serious illness?

A newly published research pamphlet by Louise Johnson — www.diseaseglyphosategmos.info — alerts the public about the rise in diseases related to the increase use of glyphosate (Roundup) and genetically modified organisms in everyday food.

I implore you to go to this site and read this. There are also links to other sites that suggest what you can do to protect your family and environment.

We are running out of time to give our children and grandchildren a healthy, habitable planet.

Jeannette P. Rice

Rensselaerville