There are laws ensuring the safety of children, including
wearing protective helmets, but why isn’t there
legislation
prohibiting the use of chemicals on public grounds that our
children are playing on? Well,
Paul Tukey is changing
that.
As with most cause movements, the motivation is personal. Paul Tukey was diagnosed with acute chemical sensitivity brought on by years of applying weed and insect killers on his customers’ lawns. Though it’s a lifelong affliction, he has been able to manage its severity by avoiding the toxic lawn chemicals in his daily life.
Unfortunately, the condition is believed to have carried over to Paul’s son, who was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Armed with the knowledge that chemical lawn care was again the probable culprit for this disorder has set Paul off on a mission against these poisons that has lasted for longer than 15 years.
"My son’s doctor pointed out that I had been inadvertently exposing my son to the
lawn chemicals by bringing them into the home on my skin, my clothes and shoes.”
says Paul. “This happened from the moment of conception, during his mom’s
pregnancy and in the first two years of his life. When the doctor pointed out the
studies that have linked exposure to lawn chemicals to everything from ADHD to
autism and other childhood neurological disorders, I knew I would not be able to
rest until I did everything in my power to stop this kind of tragedy from happening
to other children.
After a decade of traversing the country giving speeches about avoiding lawn chemicals, Tukey founded the 501(c)(3) non-profit SafeLawns Foundation in 2006 to formalize his pesticide reduction efforts in conjunction with others across North America. The arrival of the award-winning website Safelwns.org along with the publication of Organic Lawn Care Manual, the nation’s best-selling lawn book from 2007-2010, has been credited with transforming an entire industry.
For tireless Paul Tukey, recently called "The Godfather of the Organic Lawn Movement" by the New York Times, the work has just begun. An award-winning documentary film, A Chemical Reaction, was recently released to chronicle his work and he still gives more than 100 speeches a year to groups large and small.
“The fact is that 80 million pounds of toxic weed and insect killers are still applied to lawns in the United States,” he said. “That means millions of children are being exposed to these products by parents who don’t know any better. There are a lot of environmental toxins that are difficult to do anything about, but lawn chemicals shouldn’t be one of them.”
He looks to Canada, where lawn weed killers have been banned in more than 75 percent of the nation, for his inspiration. “That has happened in just the past 10 years,” said Tukey. “I like to dream that — if everyone who cares about this issue works together — we can achieve those results in the United States, too.”
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of my sculpture is donated to Safelawns.org.
As a small business consultant, I observe the negative effect of the consumer mindset where “instant gratification isn’t quick enough.” This short-term ideology has a long-term damaging spillover on our environment. As a father and a sculptor, environmental conservation plays an important role in my life. How do we help?
~Legislation is the cure for complacency - Vote green and communicate with your local
representative to keep it clean and create chemical free zones.
~Education and the next generation - Teaching our children the importance of protecting our
environment (http://www.epa.gov/kids)
~Support ambassadors like Paul Tukey.
For more information and to learn how you can directly help this important and life-changing cause, please visit: www.safelawns.org
Thank you.
Paul Shampine
To order Paul's best-selling lawn care book:
