Knapweed, leafy spurge, and other unwanted plants are growing fast and furious along the Wood River Trail in Blaine County, Idaho. But it's not pesticide application that will be taking care of the problem. Rather, the solution walks on four feet and goes, maaaaaa... A partnership between Blaine County's Pesticide Action Network and local citizens are piloting a project that will employ the use of 700 goats ...

Today, California's Department of Pesticide Regulation announced it was awarding grants to two innovative projects meant to educate the public about the dangers of particular pesticides used around homes and schools. “Got Ants? Outreach to Reduce Risks from Pyrethroids to the Environment and Water Quality” aims to protect surface water quality by reducing residential use of pyrethroids- chemical compounds f ...

Reducing lawns needn't mean reducing beauty, and going organic needn't mean going ugly By Ava Middleton Special to The Commercial Appeal Posted June 17, 2011 at midnight Photo by Kyle Kurlick // Buy this photo Ann Frogge had her Germantown front yard designed to resemble the Middle Tennessee terrain she remembers from growing up. The lack of a turf grass lawn eliminates some maintenance, but presents its ow ...

Yesterday, the Denver Post reported that parents are asking the school district to reconsider the chemical applications on school property. A petition drive started last month takes particular issue with 2,4-D, a broadleaf herbicide that has been linked to cancer, reproductive and other health concerns, and was part of the now infamous Agent Orange used during the Vietnam War. The contract with TruGreen nea ...

Composting. It's a traditional part of many home-grown farms and a concept catching on for backyard gardeners as well. But for those who purchase compost, or who choose to compost their own lawn clippings, beware. Clopyralid, bifenthrin, aminopyralid are all agricultural chemicals that have made news for their inability to break down readily in compost. According to Dan Sullivan, in an article written for B ...

For Immediate Release, June 16, 2011 Contact: Heather Pilatic, Pesticide Action Network, (415) 694-8596 Jeff Miller, Center for Biological Diversity, (415) 669-7357 Alliance Calls for Stronger Measures to Protect Human Health, Wildlife From Dangerous Pesticides WASHINGTON— More than 130 groups in 35 states, representing public health, food-security, sustainable-farming, farmworker and conservation interests ...

Posted by Sandi Doughton for A Northwest Nature Blog Supplement to The Seattle Times Seattle Times photographer Steve Ringman snapped this portrait of a plant that's instantly recognizable to everyone. Dandelions inspire strong emotions -- mostly negative in the modern world. But until the rise of the lawn in the early 1900s, the plants were so valued that prize specimens were exhibited at county fairs. Gar ...

With a unanimous vote this week, Port Coquitlam, of British Columbia, became the latest Canadian city to ban the use of cosmetic pesticides on residential property. While PoCo council unanimously supported the pesticide ban, Mayor Greg Moore told The Tri-City News last month he was hoping the provincial government would step in with a B.C.-wide ban. Leaving the issue up to individual municipalities, he said ...

by Laura Roberts - June 15th 2011 05:32pm WABI-TV5 Bangor - Students at Fairmount School in Bangor are taking their environmental message to the streets. Fourth graders have teamed up with the Penobscot County Soil and Water Conservation District for a service learning project. They're using stencils to spray paint storm drains with a message about reducing the use of lawn chemicals. "People should reduce t ...

In the spring, the EPA announced new regulations to protect the public and wildlife against toxic rodenticides. Citing ten specific chemicals, including the highly lethal pesticide, brodifacoum, the EPA enacted the safety measures over concerns for the thousands of children accidentally exposed every year. In addition to pediatric toxicity, rodenticides also pose a threat to wildlife through primary exposur ...