NPMA Legislative Day 2014: Observations From the Back Row

By Rich Kozlovich

First, I would like to say it was nice to see and talk to a number pest controllers I have met and become friends with over the last few years. This NPMA Legislative Day was, in my opinion, the best I’ve attended for a number of reasons, but mostly because the response on the hill was so positive. In days gone by our people had to meet in the hall with lower level aides, but everyone came back with positive reports, giving the impression pest controllers were really making an impact until the air was let out of that balloon when it was pointed out this is an election year. While I don't think that aspect can be dismissed, what I think we're witnessing is a paradigm shift, which I will address further on. Either way, it appears legislators are listening positively.

I didn’t attend all the sessions or committee meetings but I did attend the By-Laws and Constitution Committee meeting, which the Executive Vice President Bob Rosenberg attended. I think that was the most informative meeting I’ve ever attended. NPMA has had to go through some changes due to concerns of how the association was being run. Those issues were addressed and continue to be addressed. I have to say I’m impressed at the direction we’re going and the people who are taking the lead. It’s clear it will take a couple of years for everything to play out, but it’s also clear to me they have a positive vision for NPMA regarding transparency, member concerns and accountability and they are putting things into place to assure those concerns are met as much as humanly possible. I wish them the best!

The interesting speakers that deal with issues over which I have concerns are something I really enjoy. Richard Keigwin from the Environmental Protection Agency spoke about a number of things, including endocrine disruptors (ED’s) and Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). That’s where I come in. I asked how they were going to assess the impact of ED’s - which was mandated by the Food Quality Protection Act in 1996 and to be completed in 1999 – when even in 1996 it was acknowledged it was impossible to determine what the impact is from so many naturally occurring compounds that are alleged to be ED’s versus synthetic compounds. Especially in light of the fact the famous – or infamous – Tulane ED study (which at the time played a large role at EPA in FQPA legislation, although they now claim otherwise) was shown to be fraudulent and the much touted alligator study was poorly designed and poorly carried out data dredging. Both the EPA representatives acknowledged it is a challenge.

This challenge is one that needs to be eliminated because any negative studies about ED’s and pesticides will be not be data in search of a conclusion. Based on history, it will be conclusions in search of date, i.e., junk science. I ran, or posted, a number of articles on the junk science behind this issue in years gone by, but I think this is going to be an issue again and it’s time to resurrect this topic.

I then asked about his presentation regarding CCD. The honey bee population is not decreasing worldwide and in point of fact, it’s increasing. He noted that countries around the world using neonicotinoids are not having a problem with their honey bee populations. He also noted that pathogens and parasites are of serious concern and it seems to me he understood this to be the real problem, which impressed me. I asked him why he didn’t mention anything about the impact a parasitic phorid fly is making on honey bee colonies since the actions of bees parasitized by the larva of this fly exactly duplicates the symptoms of CCD. He said he wasn’t aware of it. I agreed to send him the material and did. After receiving the material he said he would forward this to his colleagues and keep me informed. I was pleased at his attitude! Please take the time to read this article from Scientific America.

I won’t go into the debate between Pat Buchanan and Donna Brazil because we all know what information we need to take home from that event except to say that Donna - an incredibly likable woman of impeccable taste - is a master of logical fallacies, and misdirection.

People are what make any organization what it is.  Organizations can be messy or great, but always imperfect, and that’s the key to understanding. If we can find the perfect organization – we need to join it – but remember once we’ve joined it, it has now become somewhat less than perfect. Imperfection is the natural state, so imperfection is what we must be prepared to deal with at all times in all organizations. When our leaders mess up we need to say so. When they do good things, we need to say so. It really is in our hands as to how our state and national organizations function. Ohio is – and I’m quoting from someone prominent at this Legislative Day – “the most in your face association in the country”. Well, someone has to be first in line.

We need to answer this question. What is it we want and what is our vision? And that’s the rub isn’t it? We no longer agree across the board. The activists win the battle of emotion, they always have. We win the battle of facts, we always have. To win the war we need to win the battle of emotion and the battle of facts. In my writings I have made an effort to win that war based on real science, logic, history and what we see going on in reality. Most importantly, it has to be presented with a degree of passion in order to touch people emotionally. That’s what creates a paradigm shift.

The activists were thought to be pure in their pursuits.  More and more people no longer have that view and are in fact suffering from "green fatigue"!  As a result the activists no longer have such a firm grip on society. 

People mostly don’t have a logical foundation they can articulate as to how they think the world works, but they do have an emotional understanding of how the world should work. It should be our job to provide the logical and emotional foundation for society’s views, and facts are easy! It’s the passion that’s difficult, but passion is what changes hearts. But passion is also what draws the fire, and heterodoxy isn’t for the faint of heart.

As for me, the contacts and conversations with people from around the country is where I take real pleasure, including manufacturers. All in all, I found those three days interesting, exciting, informative and exhausting. For me it’s a six hour drive home and my travel partner has another three hours to go. It took me a day to recover and a day to catch up. I think we need to start looking at flights in the future.