In a perfect world....
Shame we don't live in one, not even close.
I disagree to an extent. Like antibiotics, glyphosate is frequently misused, overused, and abused. But also like antibiotics, glyphosate can improve our lot in life but only through restraint and prudent use. I believe there do exist situations in which a product containing glyphosate should be used. I would prefer it be Rodeo or Aquamaster after all other more environmentally friendly options have been exhausted. Volunteers simply aren't jumping out of the woodwork standing in line to commit to volunteering endless hours under land stewards to mechanically control invasive species in natural areas and one thing is for sure, delaying control of invasive species because of a lack of manpower has major consequences. "Like an out-of-control wildfire, the cost of fighting invasive species increases each year. Among those who work with invasive species, the consensus is that for every year control is delayed, the costs of control increase two- to three-fold."
https://www.weedcenter.org/inv_plant_info/impacts.html
Comparing a natural resource manager or conservationist with formal education and/or experience as pertains to our natural world to the average homeowner is akin to comparing apples to oranges. We mustn't fault the natural resource manager for not being a good homeowner and conversely we mustn't fault the land owner for not being a good resource manager but... we can all learn from one another. Education is paramount.
If you find a natural resource manager grabbing their "fireant-be-gone" without assessing the environmental impacts and weighing the pros and cons, it's time for that individual to find a new job. The goal of the NRM and conservationist is to protect the environment through sound decision making. Sometimes, the best that can be hoped for is that we come out ahead when the score is tallied.
Quote:
There's no greater proof that monocultures are "bad" than the fact that the natural world which supports all life forms selects diversity over monocultures. Organic farming successfully avoids the use of pesticides by not planting crops in monocultures - no doubt an idea copied from nature. We use herbicides in our natural areas to maintain or restore those systems back to their previously un-infested state, so that we won't have to apply billions of gallons of pesticides every year. Healthy functioning ecosystems are the best "pesticide" there is.
Quote:
Hundreds and thousands of years of evolution could and will create new systems from our currently invaded ones if left unmanaged, however, there are very real threats to the environment and humans happening right now and in the meantime. For instance, fire is a huge problem out west and in many parts of the world because invasives have altered fire regimes or in some cases have added fire when there was none previously. These invasive plants have altered fuel type and load, burn frequency and intensity among many other factors. Not only does that change in fire regime have serious consequences to those ecosystems and our planet overall, but to the health and economy of those communities and states that live in and depend on those functioning systems and all the resources they provide: food, clean water and air, erosion control, flood prevention and on and on.
It's easy to say chemicals are bad but we must think of what happens when entire ecosystems are left to invasion. Who will don a shovel and help me hand dig 40,000 acres of Knapweed? Please know NRMs and conservationists don't enjoy exposing themselves to chemicals or dealing with public outcries. Chemicals are hopefully the last resort after everything else has failed.
I believe with all my heart that we are not really disagreeing with each other as much as what would appear to the casual reader. I doubt anyone here is not sincerely concerned about changes taking place that have modified habitats of native flora and fauna that will negatively impact human health. I know I won't be around to see if anything I am doing will have made a difference 100 years from now but my epitaph will be able to read that I tried.
RoundUp is well capable of killing many plants when used consistently with the label. Problem is a disproportionately low percentage of people are using it consistently with the label while there are others who "see unwanted green" and begin to twitch while indiscriminately grabbing for their beloved bottle of RoundUp. RoundUp will not kill Glechoma hederacea, just to name but one of hundreds that it will not kill, yet people are out there trying to kill it with RoundUp and similarly formulated knock-off and generic products.
Single greatest concern to me is that Monsanto isn't exactly using mineral oil or comparable as a surfactant in RoundUp and I don't exactly see them educating the public on environmentally friendly options. To do so is certainly not good for business. Now compound this by tossing in all those knock-off and generic RoundUp products such as UltraStop jockeying for their market share that are formulated similarly that when used inconsistent with labeling collectively take a toll on the environment equal to if not greater than the toll taken by RoundUp and one has to really wonder why single out RoundUp?
The tremendous amount of misinformation spreading around the net saddens me. Inarguably, RoundUp is "bad stuff".... but it's not the only "cheaply" formulated glyphosate product taking an unprecedented toll on the environment because of incomplete and inaccurate information being dolled out so readily these days. Inarguably, we need to be focusing on more environmentally friendly options but we can not ignore that there are going to be isolated instances where the use of glyphosate products are the "best science" available.
Let's all try to take into consideration that all this RoundUp bashing does have an impact... yup, there are people out there who are now avoiding RoundUp like the plague while reaching for Bayer Advanced, Bonide's Brushkil Poison Oak & Ivy Killer, and Ortho's Weed-B-Gon. The active ingredient in Bayer Advanced is imidacloprid while one of the active ingredients in the Bonide product is dicamba and one of the active ingredients in Weed-B-Gon is triclopyr.
Imidacloprid-
https://www.pesticideinfo.org/Detail_Chemical.jsp?Rec_Id=PC35730
Toxicity to humans, including carcinogenicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, neurotoxicity, and acute toxicity.
Dicamba-
https://www.pesticideinfo.org/Detail_Chemical.jsp?Rec_Id=PC32871
Toxicity to humans, including carcinogenicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, neurotoxicity, and acute toxicity.
Triclopyr-
https://www.pesticideinfo.org/Detail_Chemical.jsp?Rec_Id=PC36359
Toxicity to humans, including carcinogenicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, neurotoxicity, and acute toxicity.
The above doesn't even mention chemicals people are getting their hands on that are mutagenic nor does it factor in the surfactants used. Scary, very scary given these chemicals are leaching into our water and food supply and we humans are equally dependent on the environment to sustain us as a snake or a vulture.
I've found the use of chemicals to be inappropriate in about 99 out of 100 scenarios. In my opinion; it is equally as irresponsible to use any chemicals when environmentally friendly options haven't been exhausted as it is to knowingly plant an invasive species, noxious weed, or naturalized non-native. And there are now many of us who take great care in reducing our dependency on chemicals as well as many of us who take great pride in not unwittingly introducing non-native species to natural environments. One person's efforts in this regard is a drop in the bucket but if enough people begin believing that subscribing to these practices can make a difference, collectively we will be a force with which to contend.
Is our continued dependency on RoundUp and similar products appropriate behavior given all that we know? I don't think so. We should all be taking the time to properly identify our foes to able to intelligently discuss management strategies and we should all be carefully researching what exactly it is that we're REALLY planting out in our gardens.
That being said, wouldn't it be nice if every chemical on every shelf came with a warning label like a pack of cigarettes and wouldn't it be nice if class action suits forced chemical companies to broadcast environmentally friendly options on national tv? Come to think of it, wouldn't it be nice if many plants being sold came with warning labels? Wonder how many of us would feel comfortable standing in line with our pot of Thymus praecox, Coriandrum sativum, Artemisia annua, Anethum graveolens, or Mentha spicata if we thought we might run into a neighbor or friend from Church?
"We are now at a point where we must educate our children in what no one knew yesterday, and prepare our schools for what no one knows yetâ€
, came and cleared every bit of "brush" at the base of the trees. Now, the undergrowth is overrun by poison ivy and thorny vine with shiny heart-shaped leaves that keep coming into my yard.
) 
) -- anyway, I found this: https://www.bellewood-gardens.com/04-2007.html (scroll/search down to Thursday, 5 April 2007 "Coping with Invasive Vines") I normally don't like to use herbicides, but I might give this a try. 
... maybe I'll reach over with my loppers (my favorite tool right now