Chicago vs. Bed Bugs

Now available to the public on this EPA Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee webpage:

• Final summit agenda
• Public docket (EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0190), on which summit attendance sign-in sheets, public comments recorded at the summit, and comments recently submitted to the public docket will appear
• The webinar, which we viewed, briefly, presented during the first half of the first day of the summit
• Summary of summit workgroup results
• Summary of recommendations developed at the summit

We’re so grateful to the EPA for making all of this information available to the general public.  It’s a huge step in the right direction.  We are all in this together, after all.

In today’s Bedbug Conference article, The Post Chronicle features this Associated Press YouTube video, taken at the EPA National Bed Bug Summit yesterday:

My favorite line from the video?  Environmental Protection Agency’s Lois Rossi on the purpose of the summit:

We felt at this point in time it was necessary to bring interested stakeholders together to collaboratively try and solve a problem or come up with some solutions that might lead to the resolution of this problem.

Perfect.  This, my friends, is how strategic plans like the one we advocate for the City of Chicago begin.  It’s the first thing I’d ask our city to do, if I could share my Bed Bug Wish List with the officials responsible for addressing the spread of bed bug infestations in Chicago: invite interested local stakeholders (public health agencies, community organizations, pest management professionals, entomologists, housing authorities, city council members, streets and sanitation officials, apartment associations and others) to participate in a collaborative brainstorming session and generate ideas about how to solve the problem.  It’s the best first step our city can take; it’s the first step many other cities and states have already taken.

Chicagoans, if you’d like to send a message to your aldermen, you can do so quickly through our CitizenSpeak Campaigns.  We’re all in this together, remember.

*Pete Grasso of Pest Management Professional posted live updates from the EPA summit here and here.  Check it out!

Our friends at New York vs. Bed Bugs just broke the news– you can read Renee Corea’s post about the groundbreaking EPA Bed Bug Summit here and view the EPA’s information sheet here.

As Renee tells us, the summit will take place on April 14th and 15th, 2009 in Washington, D.C.  It’s free and open to the public, but seating is limited to 125; RSVP is recommended.

*Update: EPA National Bed Bug Summit Venue Change*

The EPA has changed its venue in order to accommodate more attendees, and RSVP is no longer required.  Here’s a link to the updated EPA announcement (PDF), with details about the venue change, courtesy of New York vs. Bed Bugs.

The purpose of the summit?  According to the info sheet:

Meeting Goals and Objectives:

• Share information on topics including the expanding effect of bed bugs on the housing, hospitality, and other industries/sectors; factors contributing to the growing problem; and the response of public health and government.

• Provide a venue to communicate with others in the diverse community affected by the growing bed bug problem.

• Identify ideas and options for bed bug prevention, control, management, and strategies for outreach and education. Develop recommendations for action for participating and affected stakeholders.

This is music to our ears, my friends.  Music.  To.  Our.  Ears.

*Stay tuned for much, much more information about the other upcoming bed bug conference in Washington, DC:  “Stop Bed Bugs DC”– a DC Department of Health-sponsored conference spearheaded by the incredibly resilient, resourceful, determined co-presidents of the Norwood Tenants Association.