As the country awaits the results of the Environmental Protection Agency's second review of atrazine since 2003, its manufacturer- Syngenta- is taking advantage of this feet-dragging process, funding research that exonerates the popular herbicide and submitting it to the EPA. According to Mother Jones Food and Ag blogger, Tom Philpott, the case against atrazine has gotten so strong, the EPA is considering j ...

THE PUBLIC NEEDS TO STAND UP NOW (see below) THE APPROVAL OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED grass seed, or more correctly stated "the news of the approval," is apparently having the muted impact it intended. Announced by the United States Department Agriculture back on the afternoon of July 1 — when most people were shopping for beer and burgers for the long holiday weekend — the word that the government was allowing ...

BY DR. WARREN BELL & Dr. GIDEON FORMAN CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF PHYSICIANS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT BRITISH COLUMBIA PREMIER CHRISTY CLARK and Opposition Leader Adrian Dix are to be commended for supporting a province-wide ban on the sale and use of lawn and garden pesticides. Not only will this legislation be hugely popular, it will also have a very positive effect on the health of B.C.’s people, environment, an ...

[caption id="attachment_4129" align="alignleft" width="361" caption="This photo from the Battle Creek Enquirer newspaper shows the devastation wrought by the mistaken application of Roundup."][/caption] This story might be funny if it weren't inherently tragic. Back in early spring, folks in Battle Creek, Michigan, were planning for a great season of baseball and other sports at their beloved Bailey Park Sp ...

We know that pesticides are dangerous when they're applied properly, but the danger is multiplied when the applicators fail to follow proper procedure. Sadly, this happens too often as pesticide businesses dodge legal procedures and fail to educate workers. Just last month, a pest control service in Wenatchee, WA, was fined $3,100 and had its license revoked for improper storage of pesticides, as well as im ...

In a case that has potentially profound implications for not only farmers, but homeowners bothered by pesticide applications, a Minnesota court has ruled in favor of organic farmers whose livelihood has been impacted by pesticide drift. Here's a review of the case by our friends at Beyond Pesticides: http://www.beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/ ...

Over the weekend, hundreds of dead fish appeared along the banks of the Trout and Big Pierre Jacques Rivers in Prince Edward Island. The Star is reporting that Rosanne MacFarlane, a biologist working with the Environment Department, is looking into pesticide run-off as the possible cause. Although about 200 fish have been collected, MacFarlane said that it was likely thousands more died, but predators and r ...

The local Indiana Fox affiliate is reporting that some Purdue agronomy professors are advising lawn care professionals to stay away from Imprellis. The Purdue professors join a number of scientists and landscape professionals who've warned about the broadleaf herbicide's toxic effect on evergreens and ornamentals. The Purdue-based Indiana State Chemist has received 150 complaints against the product, made b ...

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 ...

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 ...