July 24 Give them an inch, they'll take your yard The best way to minimize backyard pests is to have the most naturally healthy lawn and garden you can. By Ray Routhier rrouthier@mainetoday.com Staff Writer, The Portland Press Herald There's a reason your backyard is full of pests. Lots of reasons, actually. If you know when beetles lay their eggs, you can avoid population explosions the next year. Slugs ar ...

The Guardian is reporting that scientists from Canada and Norway have discovered via air measurements that persistent organic pollutants (POPS), banned under the 2004 Stockholm Convention, are seeping out from Arctic ice as global temperatures rise. The researchers warn that the amount of the poisons in the polar region is unknown and their release could "undermine global efforts to reduce environmental and ...

This summer, the EPA is organizing its final round of evaluations for the popular broadleaf pesticided, atrazine. According to the EPA's website, the evaluation process began in 2009 and should conclude this summer. 19 scientists, selected by the EPA, will review recent data "relevant to evaluating potential sensitivity to infants and children". Atrazine is a suspected hormone disruptor and new studies have ...

Want to win $250? You can do that by being the winning t-shirt design entry for the new "Pesticides Bug Me" campaign, launched this week by the online education and fundraising intiative group, California Certified Organic Farmers. In 2009, over 156 million pounds of pesticides were applied in California alone. This week saw the first sprayings of the highly toxic methyl iodide, a pesticide linked to cancer ...

Genetically-modified foods are banned in Hungary, and seeds are supposed to be checked prior to entering the country, yet somehow a supply of tainted seed made it in and was planted, unwittingly, by farmers. Now the country is making good on its legislation and destroyed 1,000 acres of gm-corn this week, plowing it under before any pollen could be released. Read more here: http://planetsave.com/2011/07/21/h ...

Scientists from the USDA's Agricultural Research Service, in collaboration with the University of Maryland and the University of Delaware, established air quality monitoring stations in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. From 2000-2003, the team tested rain and air samples for several legacy pesticides. All of the pesticides tested for were detected in at least one air sample. The persistent chemicals, all of wh ...

Change.org is reporting that more than 16,000 California residents have contacted Governor Jerry Brown, urging him to revoke approval of methyl iodide, a pesticide linked to cancer, late-term miscarriages, thyroid and kidney disease, and other health issues. John Froines, a leading toxicologist at UCLA, has referred to methyl iodide as "one of the most toxic chemicals on earth". Three California farms have ...

Genetically modified lettuce has existed for years, but in limited form and not as part of the public produce line. If Syngenta has its way, however, this will change. The Packer is reporting that the biotech firm, in addition to its purchase of two North American seed companies two years ago, has recently entered into several confidentialy agreements with growers-shippers interested in customizing lettuce ...

The biotech industry has long claimed that genetically-engineered foods would reduce the need for pesticides and increase food production necessary to feed an ever-growing population. Scientist Charles Benbrook, a pesticide policy expert and weed resistance specialist, argues against these claims. In an interview with Earthjustice, Benbrook refers to reports presented by The Organic Center, showing that her ...

In a quiet, eastside suburb of Seattle, a revolution is taking place. Residents of Sammamish are turning their yards into havens of native plantings, limited patches of lawn, and organic gardens. In the Pacific Northwest, where rainfall averages several feet a year, storm water runoff is a major concern. Pesticides and other chemicals in the run-off threaten marine life in streams and lakes. For Gail Twelve ...