As we reported earlier this week, the Environmental Protection Agency has decided to ignore the pleas of beekeepers and farmers and allow synthetic nicotine pesticides to stay on the market — despite overwhelming evidence that proves the materials are the primary catalyst in Colony Collapse Disorder in honeybees. That's not a good enough answer for Kirsten Gillibrand, the United States Senator from New York ...

[caption id="attachment_5451" align="alignleft" width="540"] This is the appearance of a typical drought-stressed lawn in many parts of North America right now. In all likelihood, however, it will recover when the weather cools and rain returns.[/caption] As the news continues to build about the now-epic drought conditions sweeping the nation, my neighbor was outside this afternoon applying more fertilizer ...

Thanks to WCSH6 in Portland, Maine, for this rousingly good segment about our book, Tag, Toss & Run: http://www.wcsh6.com/news/health/fit_at_five/article/208319/223/Fit-at-Five-Lawn-Games. The piece was filmed, incidently, in Maine in my mother's back yard where we moved and have been playing lawn games as a family since 1972 — the year the first video game, Pong, was introduced. As I said in this piece, wh ...

[caption id="attachment_5421" align="alignleft" width="540"] Poor installation and/or maintenance of a sprinkler system causes excessive weeds (unwanted plants including grass) to grow on this school track in California.[/caption] This post comes with a warning: we are going to pick on some people. Some folks in California apparently hold themselves up as grounds professionals and caregivers of children. We ...

Two weeks since SafeLawns announced the historic pesticide protection legislation passed at the Nation's Capitol, numerous other municipalities have been calling us for information about how it happened. We won't mention them here; at this point that would only tip the hand of the chemical pesticide lobby groups. Your every step is important. First off, here's the DC bill; the wording is critical: dcpestbil ...

In a stunning evasion of its responsibilities, the Environmental Protection Agency has told a million people concerned with the fate of bees that they didn’t prove their case. While admitting that the pesticide known as clothianidin — a synthetic nicotine — is acutely lethal to bees, the EPA said not enough evidence was presented to tie the chemical to the "imminent danger" of colony collapse disorder that ...

[caption id="attachment_5403" align="alignleft" width="396"] From the Mosquito Squad web site[/caption] By Nancy Alderman, president, Environment and Human Health Inc. Although the franchise pesticide spraying business, "Mosquito Squad," (http://www.mosquitosquad.com) has taken down its coloring book for toddlers — its cartoon pesticide spraying mascot, "Dred Skeeter," is all over YouTube — he is at parades ...

[caption id="attachment_5397" align="alignleft" width="540"] Did you know that badminton is named for a 19th century duke in England? We'll discus these and other fun game facts on Friday on Wisconsin Public Radio. [/caption] Our book Tag, Toss & Run: 40 Classic Lawn Games and our campaign Lawn Games for Life will be featured by host Joy Cardin on Wisconsin Public Radio on Friday morning at 6 a.m. central t ...

Historic Pesticide Bill Aims to Protect Children, Waterways [caption id="attachment_5394" align="alignleft" width="540"] Though the bill passed today only applies to the District of Columbia, its significance may be felt nationally. [/caption] WASHINGTON, D.C. — After more than a year of strategic planning and fierce opposition from synthetic chemical lobbying groups, a Washington, D.C., councilor today was ...

[caption id="attachment_5382" align="alignleft" width="540"] This is the lawn at Glenstone two years after all synthetic fertilizers and pesticides were removed and replaced by composts and other natural products.[/caption] Little more than two years ago I received what seemed to be an innocuous phone call from a woman who asked me if I could come to Maryland to help with an organic lawn renovation. As a re ...