(Beyond Pesticides, August 31, 2007) According the results of a survey by Mambo Sprouts research services released August 20, 2007, consumers are torn between buying local and buying organic food, but in the end want both. The results show that 36.1% of natural product consumers said they would choose local produce over organic items, while [...]
(Beyond Pesticides, August 30, 2007) Vetiver grass, a species native to India, may provide protection against two plagues facing recovery in New Orleans: termite infestations and floods, according to Dr. Gregg Henderson, Ph.D. Already known for its effectiveness in erosion and sediment control, vetiver is both a repellent and toxicant to termites, which cause an [...]
(Beyond Pesticides, August 29, 2007) Entomologists have recently begun studying whether increasing temperatures will attract more insects to the New England region, as scientists have begun reporting the appearance of new and more numerous unwanted insects. The colder winters of the New England region have historically limited insect populations, but in recent years as temperatures [...]
(Beyond Pesticides, August 28, 2007) In a new study published in the August 2007 issue of the Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health (Vol. 33, No. 4), researchers from the Central American Institute for Studies on Toxic Substances (IRET) in Costa Rica find parental exposure to pesticides linked to the increased risk of leukemia. [...]
(Beyond Pesticides, August 27, 2007) Santa Clara County agriculture officials are hopeful that “mating disruption technology” - not pesticides - will eradicate the light brown apple moth, a tiny invasive pest that has been found in several areas of the county and is a threat to crops and plants.
Eight-inch “twist-tie” dispensers, which contain an odorless, [...]
(Beyond Pesticides, August 24, 2007) The Wisconsin Natural Resources Defense Board recently passed stricter limits on allowable groundwater levels of alachlor-ESA, the breakdown product of the herbicide alachlor, cutting in half the standard to 20 parts per billion (ppb). The reduction from the previous standard of 40 ppb was prompted by the state Department of [...]
(Beyond Pesticides, August 23, 2007) With the joint release on July 31, 2007 of Principles for the Oversight of Nanotechnologies and Nanomaterials, a broad international coalition of 40 consumer, public health, environmental, and labor organizations called for strong, comprehensive oversight of the new technology and its products, citing risks to the public, workers and the [...]
(Beyond Pesticides, August 22, 2007) At least one farm in Sacramento, California, has been contaminated with aerial spraying of pesticides to control mosquitoes that may carry the West Nile virus (WNv). This claim is verified by lab results released Monday, which were carried out by an independent lab commissioned by a group against aerial spraying.
Insecticides [...]
(Beyond Pesticides, August 21, 2007) Last week, The Cornucopia Institute announced that Aurora Organic Dairy, one of the largest organic dairies in the United States, could soon lose its organic certification. Based on a private investigation as well as United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) documents, Cornucopia claims the industry giant does not comply with [...]
(Beyond Pesticides, August 20, 2007) Environmental groups launched a public campaign last Wednesday to urge state officials to stop applying toxic herbicides for vegetation control along state roadways. Members of the Massachusetts Coalition for Pesticide Reduction maintain that herbicides, which the state resumed using in 2003, are harmful to people and the environment.
Sylvia Broude, community [...]
(Beyond Pesticides, August 17, 2007) The widespread presence of pesticides and other agricultural runoff has been confirmed in the world’s largest coral reef system. Degradation of the system threatens not only a natural treasure but also the region’s economy.
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is the subject of a recent report by the Great Barrier Reef Marine [...]
(Beyond Pesticides, August 16, 2007) The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recent decision not to go through with a Special Review of 2,4-D’s carcinogenic properties is being touted by industry as the final word that the toxic chemical “has been found to have no human carcinogenic effects,” despite significant evidence to the contrary. The Special Review [...]
(Beyond Pesticides, August 15, 2007) As the popularity and demand for organic food has and continues to increase, so too is the popularity of organic lawn care, as an increasing number of people are seeking out alternatives to conventional lawn chemicals.
Organic products are making inroads into the $35 billion lawn- and garden-care industry, which [...]
(Beyond Pesticides, August 14, 2007) In an August 8, 2007 Federal Register Notice (72 FR 44510-44511), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its decision to not initiate a Special Review for the commonly used herbicide 2,4-D, as well as the related herbicides 2,4-DB and 2,4-DP (dichlorprop). Despite evidence to the contrary, according to the FR [...]
(Beyond Pesticides, August 13, 2007) Greenland sharks, which inhabit some of the least populated regions on Earth in seemingly pristine Arctic waters, contain high amounts of human-manufactured industrial waste in their bodies, including toxic pesticide byproducts. The findings are available online in Marine Pollution Bulletin (in press), entitled “Dioxins and PCBs in Greenland shark (Somniosus [...]
(Beyond Pesticides, August 10, 2007) As the face of agriculture in America changes with rising prevalence of herbicide-tolerant crops, farmers in Mississippi and Arkansas are also facing challenges caused by increased herbicide resistance. A recent press release by the Delta Research and Extension Center (DREC) blames glyphosate-resistant weeds for increased costs in Mississippi, while a [...]
(Beyond Pesticides, August 9, 2007) China reports it is cracking down on the use of recently banned pesticides and is taking additional actions in an effort to counter concerns about the country’s food safety. The major exporter has been the subject of frequent reports of contaminated products, including several foods imported by the U.S.
Reuters [...]
(Beyond Pesticides, August 8, 2007) For the first time, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a report in July on children’s heightened vulnerability to chemical exposures at different periods of their growth and development. The organization cites over 30% of the global burden of disease in children can be attributed to environmental factors, including pesticides.
The [...]
(Beyond Pesticides, August 7, 2007) In a study that examines the influence of age of exposure on the magnitude of the association between DDT and breast cancer risk finds that women who were exposed to DDT before the age of 14 are five times more likely to develop breast cancer later in life. In contrast, [...]
(Beyond Pesticides, August 6, 2007) On July 20, 2007 the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Farm, Nutrition and Energy Act of 2007 (H.R. 2419), commonly known as the Farm Bill, on a vote of 231-191, with 10 Representatives not voting. The vote fell generally along party lines with 19 Republicans (just six from the [...]
(Beyond Pesticides, August 3, 2007) Maine is no longer the only state to prohibit the use of genetically altered corn. Despite concern from the organic farming community, Maine joined the rest of the nation last Friday when the Board of Pesticide Control (BPC) ruled to allow Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn to be grown and sold [...]
(Beyond Pesticides, August 2, 2007) According to the Associated Press (AP), a new study finds frogs in Vermont living near farms are more than twice as likely as those living elsewhere to have deformities like missing legs. Yale University ecologist David Skelly, Ph.D., told the AP he decided to look at Vermont frogs because the [...]
(Beyond Pesticides, August 1, 2007) Farm workers and advocate groups, including Beyond Pesticides, filed a lawsuit yesterday against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to stop the continued use of a deadly pesticide called chlorpyrifos. Chlorpyrifos is a highly neurotoxic insecticide developed from World War II-era nerve gas. Exposure can cause dizziness, vomiting, convulsions, numbness in [...]
Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog is is proudly powered by Wordpress
Navigation Theme by GPS Gazette