Daily Blog Feed

• Why Ban Lawn Pesticides? The List of Reasons Keeps Growing
  
  With several states and additional Canadian municipalities considering bans on synthetic pesticides used to maintain landscapes, we’re often asked to summarize all the reasons why we advocate for legislation that makes certain products illegal. Here’s the primer: LAWNS AND SAFETY The industry that manufactures and applies synthetic chemical pesticides (weed-killers, insecticides and fungicides) hides behind EPA blessing [...]

• The Glenstone Model: A Landscape Plan for Businesses, Municipalities Everywhere
  
  Make it a Point to Visit Maryland Museum in 2012 At the core of transformative learning theory, according to Wikipedia, is the process of “perspective transformation” with three dimensions: psychological, convictional and behavioral. True transformation in this world, according to many sources, is rare. It has taken place, however, at a magnificent facility known as Glenstone, an [...]

• The Money Trail . . . It’s Tough to Keep the Path, and Hands, Truly Clean
  
  For nearly two decades the New England Grows trade show has been among our favorite annual dates on the calendar. For me, it’s where I cut my proverbial teeth in the horticulture industry, first as a landscaper, then as a publisher and television host and in recent years as an activist. When you’ve been going [...]

• Manitoba Set to Join Canadian Pesticide Parade
  
  Big news out of Canada this morning. The province of Manitoba’s prime minister said he plans to implement a ban of pesticides used for aesthetic purposes on lawns and gardens. That would leave just three provinces without bans. Here’s the story: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/cosmetic-pesticides-face-ban-in-province-138465249.html

• Common Ground: The Ocean, Lakes, Rivers & Streams
  
  SafeLawns, Surfriders Share Common Goals of a Healthier Planet If there’s one truism we’ve found as we begin our seventh year at the SafeLawns Foundation, it’s to expect the unexpected. To that end, last week we enjoyed a lengthy conversation with Surfrider Foundation, a group that initially came together in 1984 to protest threats to their [...]

• Citing Guilty Plea, Wildlife Federation Ends Agreement with Scotts
  
  SafeLawns followers are celebrating a victory today. Succumbing to a barrage of criticism from the environmental community — and in the wake of a guilty plea from Scotts Miracle Gro in federal court — the National Wildlife Federation announced to members this afternoon that is would end its sponsorship deal with the world’s largest purveyor of [...]

• Amidst Wildlife Federation Firestorm, Scotts Miracle Gro Fined $4.5 Million for Toxic Bird Seed, Falsifying Records
  
  UPDATE: Petition Asks NWF to Say No to Scotts’ Sponsorship: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-nwf-from-partnering-with-scottsmonsanto/ HOW’S THIS FOR SUSPICIOUS TIMING? On the same week Scotts Miracle Gro tried to buy an image upgrade by sponsoring the National Wildlife Federation, word has come out of a federal court that the company will pay millions of dollars in fines for selling bird seed [...]

• As Wildlife Federation Defends Its Greed, Scotts Continues to Assault Our Sensibilities
  
  UPDATE: Petition Asks NWF to Say No to Scotts’ Sponsorship: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-nwf-from-partnering-with-scottsmonsanto/ Did any of you catch the beleaguered CEO of the National Wildlife Federation defiantly attempt to justify his recent deal with Scotts Miracle Gro that we reported on earlier today? Looking more like a man who will probably be forced to resign soon than someone [...]

• Miracle Gro Deal with Wildlife Federation Outrages Environmental Community
  
  NOTE: Here is an update on this story, posted at 4 p.m.: http://www.safelawns.org/blog/index.php/2012/01/as-wildlife-federation-defends-its-greed-scotts-continues-to-assault-our-sensibilities/ The attempted whitewashing by the chemical companies has been rampant lately. First TruGreen ChemLawn tried to buy public opinion by sending millions of dollars to Earth Day. Then Scotts Miracle Gro did buy out Major League Baseball. SafeLawns and its allies were able to [...]

• First Stop, Sacramento: SafeLawns Spring Tour Rounding into Focus
  
  With a new book (Tag, Toss & Run) and campaign (Lawn Games for LIfe) on the way for the spring of 2012, the SafeLawns spring calendar is quickly filling up and taking shape. Please take a look below and note when we’ll be in your area. The season gets off to an early start this weekend, [...]

News

Beware the Phrase "Organic Based"... As I’ve traveled around the nation to talk about our new nonprofit organization SafeLawns.org, I’ve sensed a tremendous amount of confusion about organic products. “What’s really organic, and what isn’t?” more.......

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Good Morning America: Fertilizer Segment [Read Article]

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Banned in Canada - Why Not Here? A Chemical Reaction - Set for New Jersey Film Festival [Read Article]

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Dr. Earth Joins Safelawns Mission - See How to Get Dr. Earth's Gardening Guide - Free. [Read Article]

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Paul Tukey on Good Morning America reports on "Earth-Friendly Lawn Mowers" [Read Article]

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A Relentless Doctor and a Compassionate Mayor [Read Article]

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More Discovery News - Products Help Gardeners Go Greener [watch video]

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Discovery News - Greenest Grass Grows on the Mall [watch video]

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Sprig.com - Meet and Expert - Green Lawn Guy [read article]

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Do Lawn Chemicals Make Us Age Quickly? CHICAGO — Thanks to America’s most popular talk show host, Dr. Mehmet Oz is quickly becoming the nation’s go-to physician when it comes to diet and aging. more.....

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Product Puts Beekeepers, Lawn Growers at Odds The onset of autumn always brings heightened advertising for grub control products for lawns. With the winter of 2007-2008 not far off, however, comes an urgent reminder from beekeepers about Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), which wiped out tens of thousands of hives of bees across North America last winter and spring. more.......

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Florida County Bans Chemical Fertilizers SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. — Taking one of the boldest moves of any metropolitan area in the United States, officials in Sarasota County in Florida voted this week to ban business owners and residents from using chemical fertilizers during the rainy season. more.......

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Good Morning, America If you caught my appearance on ABC on Friday morning, July 6, and are looking for more information about the equipment I showcased, or my book, you've come to the right place. more.......

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Drought Alert: Keep Lawns Green by Going Organic The median strips have gone to straw and the baseball diamonds have lost their shimmer of green. Weeds thrive where grass once flourished and topsoil blows away with the slightest breeze. The scene is the same everywhere across most of America these days with the nation gripped in one of the most severe early summer droughts in history. more.......

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The Soil Test When we talk about the importance of soil tests on our SafeLawns.org tour across America, people seem to get it. You wouldn't take medication, other than an aspirin or Tylenol, that your doctor didn't prescribe, so why would you feed products to your lawn without a soil test? That point seems to hit home. more.......

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Lawns and your Carbon Footprint Americans (and the rest of the world) are finally waking up to what may well be the largest environmental challenge humanity has ever faced: the fact that we have reached the carrying capacity of the planet to recycle our wastes. more.......

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Lawns Always Need Enough Soil Among the many tenets of good gardening and lawn care that we've been preaching in our nationwide SafeLawns.org tour is the necessity and advantage of having enough soil depth. New research from the Texas Cooperative Extension Service, released April 17, shows just how important proper soil can be. more.......

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Questions for Your Natural Lawn Contractor How do you tell if that ad in the local paper for organic lawn care is for real? One way to rank lawn care providers is by whether they comply with standards like the Organic Land Care Standards developed by the Northeast Organic Farmers Association in 2004. But outside the northeast, what can you do to make sure your provider is indeed providing care that keeps your kids and pets – and the environment – safe? You can ask them the questions that occurred to SafeLawns.org founder Paul Tukey when he first embraced organic methods. more.......

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	The Top 10 Benefits of Organic Lawn Care
	1.	Safety for humans, animals, insects and the planet
	2.	Better health, for humans, animals, the lawns and the planet
	3.	Water Conservation and Preservation. more.......

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The SafeLawns Initiative: SafeLawns.org is mounting a national campaign this month to push for environmentally friendly lawn care, built around Home and Garden TV host Paul Tukey's new book, The Organic Lawn Care Manual. more.......