Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog

(Beyond Pesticides, October 31, 2007) Beginning in January of 2008, golf course managers around the country will have an opportunity to participate in a survey of their pest and turf management strategies. The three-month survey is part of a larger project, which also maps water use, conservation efforts and playing surfaces. Conducted by the Golf [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 26, 2007) The organic and sustainable farming communities gave mixed reviews for the farm bill adopted by the Senate Agriculture Committee on October 25, 2007. Groups applauded new funding for the Conservation Security Program and organic farming, as well as the strong livestock competition title and the ban on packer-ownership of livestock, [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 29, 2007) European Parliament members voted in favor of tighter pesticide legislation Tuesday, passing the first hurdle to enacting laws that would protect the EU’s most vulnerable communities, ensure high quality food, and prevent residues from accumulating in the environment. The European Commission’s proposal places a general ban on aerial spraying, heavily [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 26, 2007) Aurora Organic Dairy, found earlier this year by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to be in “willful” violation of organic standards, is once again the subject of claims made by the Cornucopia Institute. In its findings, USDA had announced that Aurora “labeled and represented milk as organically produced, [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 25, 2007) In a report it releases every six years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued its School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS) and for the first time considered “the extent to which schools have health-promoting physical school environment policies and programs.” The report’s consideration of environmental health [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 24, 2007) The aerial spraying for eradication of the brown apple moth, which has been disputed by environmentalist and concerned residents, is set to resume this week. This is a result of the lifting of the temporary restraining order against the use of the pesticide, in light of the order given by [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 23, 2007) On October 18, 2007, groundskeepers at one of New York City’s largest apartment complexes released 720,000 ladybugs over its 40 acres of landscaping as an alternative to spraying insecticides to control mites and other insects that feed on its flowers, shrubs and trees. The bugs, hippodamia convergens, were harvested in [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 22, 2007) Twelve North Carolina public school districts received recognition from North Carolina State University’s school IPM program for their work in reducing pest problems while cutting down on the use of chemical pesticides. State and university officials, members of the nonprofit community, and industry representatives attended the third annual School IPM [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 18, 2007) Antibacterial soaps show no health benefits over plain soaps and, in fact, may render some common antibiotics less effective, says University of Michigan public health professor Allison Aiello, Ph.D. The study, “Consumer Antibacterial Soaps: Effective or Just Risky?” appears in the August edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases.
In the first known [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 18, 2007) In a scholarly review written by Theo Colborn, Ph.D. and Lynn Carroll, Ph.D., the authors point to the multigenerational effects of some pesticides that they say demand improved regulation to protect human and environmental health. The review, “Pesticides, Sexual Development, Reproduction, and Fertility: Current Perspective and Future Direction,” appears in [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 17, 2007) The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced its support for a new initiative that would utilize satellite images to develop data that will be used in the registration process for agricultural pesticides across Europe. Currently “efficiency data” from field trials is required for pesticide registration in the European Union (EU). [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 16, 2007) Corn, genetically engineered (GE) to tolerate the pesticide Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), has been found to harm non-target aquatic insects and disrupt the connected food web. A new study by researchers at Indiana University, funded by the National Science Foundation and published in Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences, suggests [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 15, 2007) President Bush signed the Pesticide Registration Improvement Renewal Act (PRIA II) into effect last Tuesday, renewing and amending the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA). Environmentalists, government officials and industry representatives hailed the passage of the law, marking a rare consensus among the groups.
The Senate passed the bill (S. 1983) without [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 12, 2007) One of the nation’s most visible and heavily used plots of turf will be a demonstration site for organic lawn care over the next two years. Over four acres of Washington, DC’s National Mall will be maintained organically in order to determine “whether environmentally friendly treatments . . . can [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 11, 2007) American consumers who buy organic food regularly are still a small minority, but are growing, according to a survey conducted last month. Most people - whether organic consumers or not - consider organic foods to be safer, better for the environment and healthier. In addition, the majority of consumers surveyed [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October, 10 2007) One of the largest chemical companies in the world, BASF Corporation, announced in a press release October 9, 2007 that it will get serious in its campaign against the use of illegal pesticides. The sale and distribution of unregistered or counterfeit pesticidal products is clearly prohibited under the Federal Insecticide, [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 9, 2007) Two state agencies and the U.S. EPA are close to completing an investigation of the poisoning of over 100 farmworkers in Nevada two weeks ago. Chloropicrin, an agricultural fumigant, drifted to a worker-occupied field, sending 121 laborers to Saint Lyon Medical Center (SLMC) for treatment on the morning of September [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 5, 2007) Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, has long been a proponent of organic gardening and sustainability. In his new book, entitled Elements of Organic Gardening, the Prince of Wales illustrates how he maintains 15 acres of immaculate ornamental and vegetable gardens on his Gloucestershire estate, Highgrove. An organic gardener [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 4, 2007) On September 28, 2007, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) delayed approval of the pesticide methyl iodide, a highly toxic replacement chemical for the ozone-depleting methyl bromide (also called iodomethane), after more than 50 prominent scientists objected that the chemical was too dangerous. The decision surprised environmentalists who assumed the pesticide [...]

PLEASE CALL YOUR SENATORS TODAY! Urge them to stand with Senator Harkin in fighting for a farm bill that invests in the future!
Time is of the essence. If your Senator is on the Agriculture Committee (see list of Members and their contact information below) call and ask for their legislative aid that works on agriculture. [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, 2nd October 2007) Target Corp. has been fined over $40,000 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for violating pesticide-labeling rules under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). As part of the penalty, EPA (Region 5) filed a consent agreement and final order with Target to halt the distribution and sale [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 1, 2007) For the second time in ten years, state officials have poured aquatic insecticide and piscicide rotenone into California’s Lake Davis in an effort to control an invasive species of fish, northern pike. Despite the first failure of rotenone to eradicate the pike in 1997, Fish and Game officials felt they [...]