Space is limited at the Unitarian Church in Brunswick, Maine, for the highly anticipated Maine Pesticide Summit this Saturday presented by the Toxics Action Center. Click here to reserve your space: http://www.toxicsaction.org/mainepesticidesummit ...

[caption id="attachment_2334" align="alignleft" width="563" caption="This article, from Buffalo, N.Y., cable station YNN, shows children wearing Debug the Myths T-shirts planting donated plants from the lawn chemical industry."][/caption] As we reported here in March, the lawn pesticide industry's leading lobby firm from Washington, D.C., has launched a propaganda campaign aimed directly at children. During ...

Rep. Suzanne Smith, who introduced the infamous pesticide study bill HB 1456 in 2010, was re-elected to her seat in the New Hampshire legislature on Tuesday. She has vowed to introduce legislation in the next session later this month that would reduce and/or ban the applications of pesticides to kill weeds around schools and daycare centers — similar to legislation already passed in Connecticut and New York ...

We suggested a while back that folks ought to start state chapters of SafeLawns.org in the U.S. and provincial chapters in Canada and we're delighted to announce the first organization to the starting line, SafeLawnsMontclair, will hold its first educational meeting later this month with an all-star lineup. A forum titled “Non-toxic Lawn Care Practices” will be held Oct. 27 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Hear what mak ...

[caption id="attachment_2178" align="alignleft" width="590" caption="Legislators often veered off course Tuesday in their discussions of lawn chemicals. (Tom Kelly photos)"][/caption] NOTE: Tom Kelly of New Hampshire was co-founder of one of the largest chemical lawn care companies in New England. Recently he launched an all-organic lawn care supply company, Fire Belly Organics, in response to his belief th ...

As reported here Sept. 22, numerous organizations across the United States are furious about a government grant to promote the use of pesticides in California. Today the Environmental Working Group issued this press release calling for the grant to be rescinded: More Than 50 Groups Challenge Government Grant to Pro-Pesticide PR Campaign WASHINGTON - October 5 - More than 50 organizations concerned about the ...

Environmental groups are furious about a federal grant designed to “correct the misconception that some fresh produce items contain excessive amounts of pesticide residues." The Alliance for Food and Farming, a Watsonville, California, trade association representing more than 50 large produce growers and marketers and pesticide and fertilizer suppliers, is slated to receive $180,000 administered through the ...

We came across this fantastic post this morning from our friends at the Pesticide Action Network. It's a great primer for anyone trying to understand the myriad issues concerning pesticide use: http://www.panna.org/issues/pesticides-101-primer ...

Camden, the first town in Maine to pass an ordinance restricting certain pesticides on public property, launched this web site: http://www.citizensforagreencamden.org/. It's a nice simple model for other towns to follow. ...

The web site http://www.empowher.com/leukemias/content/childhood-leukemia-and-pesticide-exposure picked up on an April report yesterday that slipped through the cracks for us concerning the association between leukemia and household pesticides: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/716413. After examining the available data from 1950 to 2009, researchers concluded that the incidence of leukemia was higher for ...