April Flowers — 2012, by Suzan Bryher Dill (published by permission) The yellow truck is coming around, putting its poisons into the ground. The man who drives it is dressed to kill – goggles, gloves, boots, and a hat with a bill. He injects a liquid that milky white next to the plants, to stop any blight. The law says a paper must tell of the mix, but the one he provides dates 2006. It states to wear prote ...

Here is a new study that suggests the environmental toxins we inhale, touch or ingest have the potential to harm not only our children, but also our grandkids, great great great grandkids: http://esciencenews.com/articles/2012/03/02/effects.environmental.toxicants.reach.down.through.generations ...

A group of community and health advocates and legislators will gather this Thursday, March 8, at 1 p.m. to draw attention to a bill in the state legislature that would revoke Connecticut's 2005 law that restricts the applications of pesticides on school grounds. "Connecticut's landmark law banning the use of toxic pesticides on elementary and middle school fields in Connecticut is in danger of being elimina ...

SafeLawns 2.0 officially begins today as we add the element of children's outdoor play to our "Lawn Games for LIfe" campaign. As a father of two daughters, ages 5 and 2, I'm a daily witness to their urge to nestle on the couch in front of the TV. I'm both concerned and proudly astounded by their dexterity on the iPhones and IPads. I feel it's my job to make sure they find a balance in their life that includ ...

Center for Food Safety Asks for Public Comment to Fight Increased Use of 2,4-D What would you think of a product that had these types of warnings on the label: "EMERGENCY OVERVIEW: WARNING-POISON . . . Keep out of reach of children . . . Avoid contact with skin, eyes and clothing . . . Do not inhale fumes?" What if the product can cause these kinds of ailments, as described by the manufacturer on the Materi ...

Anti-Pesticide Activists Ask for Support at Feb. 22 Hearing The state that made pesticide history in 2005 may roll back its protection of children if a new bill supported by the chemical industry is successful. Bill 5155 — "AN ACT MODIFYING THE BAN ON PESTICIDE APPLICATIONS ON SCHOOL GROUNDS" — is sending shock waves through the environmental and health community that has worked diligently to keep the origi ...

With several states and additional Canadian municipalities considering bans on synthetic pesticides used to maintain landscapes, we're often asked to summarize all the reasons why we advocate for legislation that makes certain products illegal. Here's the primer: LAWNS AND SAFETY The industry that manufactures and applies synthetic chemical pesticides (weed-killers, insecticides and fungicides) hides behind ...

Will you help? It's been five years since SafeLawns blew the whistle on the fact that a group of pesticides was responsible for the sudden die-off of bees known as colony collapse disorder. We were threatened with lawsuits and endured a smear campaign, but ultimately our bee story has been picked up by thousands of other media outlets. It's been a year since America's top bee scientist finally agreed with u ...

We received this personal note recently. We receive dozens of notes weekly that arrive like little pep pills to carry us through the days, but this one reached out and grabbed us even more than usual — maybe because it reminded us of a poem we have cited here before by Drew Dellinger titled Hieroglyphic Stairway. The poem's classic last line . . . "what did you do once you knew?" . . . is evoked at the end ...

Long-time chemical industry shill Jim Jones has been named acting head of the EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP), which has the responsibility for regulation of pesticides. He replaces Steve Owens, the current OCSPP director, who announced he will leave the position at year end. Jones, who has been at the EPA for 30 years, has steadfastly defended the agency against assertions ...