(Beyond Pesticides, July 2, 2010) A study by researchers from Washington State University (WSU) and the University of Georgia suggests that a balanced mix of insects and fungi in organic fields provides for both better pest control and larger plants than in conventional agriculture. The study, which was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and published in the July 1 edition of the journal Nature, shows that organic farming practices lead to many equally-common beneficial species, and that this reduces pest problems. “It’s always been a mystery how organic farmers get high yields without using synthetic insecticides,” says co-author Bill Snyder, Ph.D., associate professor of entomology at WSU. “Our study suggests that biodiversity conservation may be a key to their success.” The study involved 42 potato plots enclosed in fine mesh on the Pullman campus of WSU. The researchers planted both potato plants and Colorado potato beetles (a very problematic pest of the potato) in each of the plots, adding varying numbers of beneficial insects, fungi and nematodes, microscopic soil-dwelling worms that attack beetles’ eggs and larvae. Crops placed in the organic test plots with a more balanced insect population grew […]

(Beyond Pesticides, July 1, 2010) A recent study by Seong Park, Ph.D., published in the Agronomy Journal, demonstrates that manure generates higher economic returns than anhydrous ammonia, a synthetic fertilizer. Dr. Park, a research economist with Texas AgriLife Extension Service found no significant difference in yield between organic and chemical nutrient sources. The long-term experiment conducted in the Oklahoma Panhandle compares the use of pig and beef manure to anhydrous ammonia in irrigated corn fields. The region has seen rapid growth of animal population and density. The use of animal manure for fertilizer not only reduces or eliminates the need for synthetic fertilizers, it also significantly reduces waste management costs. Dr. Park found anhydrous ammonia to be the most costly source of nitrogen, due to purchase price, which is not normally required when using beef or swine manure. Swine effluent had the lowest application costs since it can be applied through existing irrigation equipment. The only additional cost would be equipment to pump effluent from the lagoon where it is stored to the center pivot. Beef manure and anhydrous ammonia require application machinery. Beef manure is however a more economical choice if it is being transported to crops on another […]

(Beyond Pesticides, June 28, 2010) A new report documents high levels of pesticide drift in the California community of Sisquoc. Poison Gases in the Field: Pesticides put California families in danger, released by Pesticide Action Network North America and local community members, presents results of community air monitoring for fumigant pesticides in the central coast area of California, in Santa Barbara County. Using a simple monitoring device called the Drift Catcher, community members measured levels of a fumigant pesticide above the California Department of Pesticide Regulation’s (DPR) “level of concern” — even when all application rules were followed and no equipment failure occurred. “While we were monitoring the air, there were no violations of the County’s permit – and yet we found we were still breathing chloropicrin at high levels,” says Deby DeWeese, one of the community members who collected air samples. “Clearly the rules and regulations do not protect our families.” The Sisquoc monitoring, conducted during and after a soil fumigation in April 2008, found the pesticide chloropicrin in about half of the 57 air samples collected. Two samples had chloropicrin levels higher than DPR’s 24-hour level of concern for children, and the 19-day average level at one sampling […]

(Beyond Pesticide, June 11, 2010) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has refused the state of Ohio’s request for an emergency exemption to use the restricted pesticide propoxur in residential settings for control of bed bugs, stating that the chemical “presents unreasonable risk.” Propoxur is a highly toxic, broad spectrum insecticide. All indoor residential uses of this known neurotoxic chemical and possible carcinogen were voluntarily canceled in 2007. The Ohio Department of Agriculture, deeming the increases in bed bug infestations an emergency, requested an exemption to use propoxur in residential areas and in May the Ohio Senate’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee adopted a unanimous resolution urging the EPA to grant it. Beyond Pesticides, with coalition of environmental and public health groups, opposed the request and asked EPA to deny the exemption, citing the serious public health threat associated with the chemical, as well as the availability of alternatives. EPA determined “the requested use presents an unacceptable risk,” according to Administrator Lisa Jackson, in a letter to Ohio Governor Ted Strickland dated June 2, 2010. “Although EPA recognizes the severe and urgent challenges that Ohio is facing from bed bugs, the results of the risk assessment do not support the necessary […]

(Beyond Pesticides, June 9, 2010) Residents of New York now have new assistance in maintaining beautiful, green lawns, plants and trees without the use of toxic chemicals. The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has initiated the ”˜Be Green Organic Yard NY” program, where participating ”˜Be Green’ businesses agree to avoid synthetic pesticides and other materials prohibited by the organic ”˜Be Green’ standard. ”˜Be Green’ landscape services utilize an organic approach focusing on preventing problems before they occur, and building a sustainable landscape that is healthy for all -plants, wildlife, pets, and people. Services can range from a simple regimen of weeding, mulching and pruning, to all aspects of yard care, including plant selection and tree and lawn installation and maintenance. DEC expects that, by the fall of 2010, yard care businesses will be able to begin taking the training required to participate in ”˜Be Green’. ”˜Be Green’ businesses sign an agreement with DEC for the right to use the ”˜Be Green’ service mark (logo). In return, businesses agree that, when they provide ”˜Be Green’ services, they will avoid the synthetic pesticides and other materials prohibited by the organic standards in the agreement. “Demand for all types of organic […]

(Beyond Pesticides, June 3, 2010) City lawmakers in Albany, New York want to strengthen an 11-year-old ban on the use of some pesticides on city land after the revelation last week that one such banned chemical was sprayed near a local playground earlier this month. Albany’s Parks and Recreation Commissioner John D’Antonio said last Friday he was unaware of the ban, passed by the council in 1998, until he began researching a recent citizen complaint. The city is now rethinking its use of pesticides and exploring why the ban on city use of pesticides dubbed most toxic by the federal government was not more widely known. The law also required departments using less toxic pesticides to annually report plans to phase them out to the Common Council. TruGreen, a city contractor, used Trupower 3 Selective Herbicide, which is a mixture of 2,4-D, mecoprop-p and dicamba, and is listed in Toxicity Category 1 (most toxic) by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — causing potentially irreversible eye damage, but is also toxic if ingested and can be irritating to the skin. The herbicide has been banned from city land, except in rare circumstances, since 1999. Under the same ordinance, all city agencies […]

(Beyond Pesticides, May 17, 2010) The City of Evanston in Cook County, Illinois has passed a resolution to reduce pesticide use on City-owned and leased property (buildings and grounds) when the City Council unanimously adopted the “Sustainable Pest Control and Pesticide Reduction Policy” on April 26, 2010. The policy requires City employees, agents and contractors to follow natural lawn care and “least-toxic Integrated Pest Management” (IPM) and prohibits high hazards pesticides. It shouldn’t be too difficult for the City, as according to Evanston’s website, the City “has been applying minimal to no pesticides or insecticides in its municipal parks and on City owned properties since the early 1990s.” IPM is described in the policy as, “A pest management technique that gives preference to the safest pest control methods and uses conventional chemical pesticides only when no other feasible alternative exists. It addresses the underlying causes of pest problems, and seeks to find effective long-term solutions that emphasize prevention.” The City will hold a training session at least once every two years for managers and staff responsible for pest management on City property. All contractors engaged in pest management on City property are also required to attend the trainings or must […]

(Beyond Pesticides, May 12, 2010) Disturbed to learn that an advisory committee in his community in Boulder, Colorado had approved two new herbicides for use on city parks, a 9-year-old environmental activist organized a group of some two dozen children to protest the potential use of the herbicides in front of the Boulder County Courthouse last Friday. Xiuhtezcatl Roske-Martinez is a third grader who loves playing kickball and baseball in Boulder city parks. But then he heard that the advisory committee had approved two new herbicides for use on city parks. “I didn’t think it was right,” he said. “The children of this generation should be able to grow up without worrying about the air they’re breathing or the grass they’re playing on.” The Integrated Pest Management Subcommittee – made up of representatives of three city boards – recommended that Boulder add the herbicides, Tenacity and Barricade, to the list of allowed turf treatments. Xiuhtezcatl organized a group of some two dozen children to protest the potential use of the herbicides. They gathered Friday in front of the Boulder County Courthouse on the Pearl Street Mall waving hand-lettered signs that read “Let us play in clean parks,” “We love dandelions” […]

(Beyond Pesticides, May 10, 2010) The environmentally friendly ladybug is alive and well in Ocean Township, New Jersey, thanks to a newly adopted Township resolution that declares parks, playgrounds, and fields as “Pesticide Free Zones;” requires Township property to be managed with Integrated Pest Management (IPM), a program that manages and prevents pests using environmental information, with a focus on non-chemical pest management methods and tools (sanitation, mechanical, biological and, as a last resort, “least toxic” chemicals) that are least likely to impact human health or the environment. The Township’s goal is to eliminate the use of pesticides, while encouraging citizens to do the same. According to Ray Pogwist, Chair of the Ocean Township Environmental Commission, the IPM policy for the township identifies key sensitive areas like the village parks to be managed without harmful chemical pesticides. These areas will be posted with a sign indicating that chemical pesticides have not been applied to the site. “Ocean Township’s action reinforces their commitment to protecting parks and open spaces and reducing its pesticide use,” said Jane Nogaki, program coordinator for NJ Environmental Federation (NJEF). “Since IPM is now the law on all New Jersey school grounds, it makes perfect sense to […]

(Beyond Pesticides, May 4, 2010) On April 30, 2010, despite significant cancer and reproductive health risk, especially to farmworkers and people living near agricultural fields, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) proposed the use of a new and highly toxic pesticide, methyl iodide, for widespread agricultural use in California. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registered methyl iodide in 2007 as a replacement for the ozone-depleting pesticide, methyl bromide. Environmental and public health advocates believe that blocking methyl iodide registration in California will prevent its use elsewhere, since the state will account for the vast majority usage and profitability nationwide. Public comments may be sent to [email protected]. If registered, methyl iodide will be used primarily to fumigate and sterilize the California’s strawberry fields, although the pesticide will also be used in nurseries and nut tree production. DPR’s proposal does not require neighbor notification before use of this extremely toxic chemical. As evidenced by California’s thriving organic industry, alternatives to fumigants exist and are in use in California. In a hearing on February 8, 2010, before the California Senate Committee on Food and Agriculture, two panels of California growers and researchers discussed a number of safe and effective alternatives to […]

(Beyond Pesticides, April 29, 2010) Pest control officials in Wyoming are prepared to spray swaths of U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) property with insecticide if the state experiences a grasshopper outbreak this summer as predicted by officials. Based on adult grasshopper surveys conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service(APHIS) unit in fall 2009, APHIS is expecting that the 2010 summer season of grasshopper infestations will be significantly higher than past seasons. It is estimated that 6.7 percent or 1.2 million acres of the 18 million acres of lands in Wyoming administered by the BLM are currently threatened by a predicted infestation of grasshoppers. Pest control officials consider outbreak levels to be about 15 grasshoppers per square yard – enough to cause economic problems. Such an infestation, according to BLM, would result in substantial loss of vegetation and ground cover that is vital to providing food and habitat to wildlife and livestock populations and maintaining properly functioning ecosystems. While the insects are native to Wyoming, outbreaks of certain pest species can be problematic because of their voracious appetites for grass. In discussions with APHIS and local county weed and pest districts, the BLM […]

(Beyond Pesticides, April 20, 2010) Communities from six states filed a lawsuit last month in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois against Swiss chemical giant Syngenta AG and its American counterpart Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc., the makers of Atrazine. The 16 municipalities in the states of Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, and Iowa want Syngenta to pay for the expensive carbon filters needed to remove atrazine from their drinking water supply. The United States’ largest private water utility, American Water Company, has also joined the suit, representing 28 additional communities. Atrazine is used to control broad leaf weeds and annual grasses in crops, golf courses, and even residential lawns. It is used extensively for broad leaf weed control in corn. The herbicide does not cling to soil particles, but washes into surface water or leaches into groundwater, and then finds its way into municipal drinking water. It has been linked to a myriad of health problems in humans including disruption of hormone activity, birth defects, and cancer. Atrazine is also a major threat to wildlife. It harms the immune, hormone, and reproductive systems of aquatic animals. Fish and amphibians exposed to atrazine can exhibit hermaphrodism. Male […]

(Beyond Pesticides, April 19, 2010) Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour last week signed a childhood asthma management and prevention bill into law that includes provisions requiring all public school districts to implement an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program and prohibiting the use of hazardous substances such as cleaning products and pesticides. Although the bill reads as though it will do a lot for children with asthma, with regard to the actual eliminatiion or significant reduction of toxic pesticide use at schools, the bill is weakly worded and will need strong regulations to be meaningful in protecting children from pesticide-asthma triggers. Specifically, this new law, effective July 1, 2010, requires schools to allow students to self-administer asthma and anaphylaxis medication; recommends students with asthma to have an Asthma Action Plan on file at the school; provides training for teachers, nurses, and all other school staff on asthma; requires buses to minimize idling time; requires local school health councils to adopt and support the implementation of a local school wellness policy that includes minimizing children’s exposure to pollutants that can aggravate asthma and prohibits the use of hazardous substances such as cleaning products and pesticides in and around school buildings during the hours […]

(Beyond Pesticides, April 13, 2010) While the number of Minnesota school districts purchasing fresh food from local farms has more than doubled in the last 15 months, according to a survey released last week by the Minnesota School Nutrition Association (MSNA) and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), there is no mention of organically produced food as a priority to protect children, local health or the local environment from the pollution and contamination caused by pesticide use. Communities, such as Olympia, Washington have turned to local organic food in their school lunch program. According to the Rodale Institute, “[W]hile it’s true that food produced locally generally has a smaller carbon footprint than food transported across the country (or from another continent), the carbon emitted by transporting food is smaller than that released by growing it with chemical means. In fact, PepsiCo recently documented that, for its Tropicana orange juice, transporting the product accounted for only 22% of its carbon footprint.” Rodale suggests local organic food as the gold standard because it eliminates petroleum-based fertilizers and reduces fossil fuel use in the farming operation. Rodale suggests the following priority for food purchasing: 1. Local certified organic food, 2. Local […]

(Beyond Pesticides, April 7, 2010) Although the city stopped using chemical pesticides in much of its public spaces nearly four decades ago, village officials expect to pass a resolution prohibiting their use on public property, including parks, fields and playgrounds. The hope is that the local law, once publicized, will have a trickle-down effect on private property owners. “If we can do it, why can’t people do it on their own lawn?” the village president, Douglas Newman, asked last week. On April 1, at Meadowland Park, village officials and local and state environmentalists unveiled a sign featuring a ladybug that will soon be posted in the village’s 10 parks, fields and playgrounds. James McGowan, of the South Orange Environmental Commission, which is credited with spearheading the village’s initiative, said inorganic pesticides and their use still pose a danger. “There is some serious effects from these things,” he said. “People have good alternatives,” such as integrated pest management, which uses biological controls, such as plants that are resistant to common pests.” The village’s program, he said, “brings together a lot of environmental initiatives.” Eric Benson, canvass director for the New Jersey Environmental Federation, said the benefit of announcing the plan right […]

(Beyond Pesticides, April 6, 2010) A new report analyzing regulations from California’s 25 top agricultural counties finds that many counties do more to protect crops than children from potentially harmful pesticide drift. The report, Pesticide Protection Zones: Keeping Kids Safe at School, finds that eleven counties have no protection zones around schools at all, while another six only limit spraying when school is in session. By contrast, the report notes that nearly 25% of the counties have larger pesticide buffer zones for crops than for schools. “It seems insane to have stringent rules protecting nuts and peaches while schoolchildren remain at risk from chemicals that can cause cancer, birth defects, and other serious health problems,” said Paul Towers, director of Pesticide Watch Education Fund and a co-author of the report. “But that’s exactly what’s happening in counties across California. It is past time for a simple, statewide rule that protects all California children from pesticide drift at school.” “Our children deserve to be protected from these cancer-causing chemicals,” said Assembly member Sandré Swanson, who has introduced AB 1721, the Health and Safety School Zones Act, to fix the problem. “The people of California have made it clear that clean air […]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 22, 2010) New York State has fined TruGreen, the world’s largest professional lawn and landscape company, half a million dollars for numerous violations for misapplying pesticides and inaccurate recordkeeping, according to the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) consent order filed last week. In related news, the unlikely sponsorship agreement between TruGreen and Earth Day Network has finally been dropped. The potential sell-out of Earth Day to TruGreen created such a backlash in the environmental community that due to a tremendous amount of pressure, Earth Day Network has retracted its sponsorship agreement with the company. Beyond Pesticides received the following statement today from Earth Day Network: “Earth Day Network had previously announced an educational sponsorship with TruGreen in respect to organic and sustainable lawn and landscape care. Due to unanticipated events, Earth Day Network and TruGreen regrettably announce their relationship for the 40th anniversary event has been suspended. TruGreen continues to respect the commitment Earth Day Network is making to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, and Earth Day Network recognizes TruGreen’s efforts on behalf of organic and sustainable lawn and land care.” New York State is demanding a civil penalty of $400,000 be paid by […]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 16, 2010) The New Hampshire House of Representatives passed a measure last week to study the passage of a bill, HB 1456, that would establish a New Hampshire General Court committee to study the use of pesticides and their alternatives in areas where children may be exposed. Yes, that’s right; they passed a bill to study a study bill. The House majority committee proposed the interim study bill as an alternative to seeking a floor vote on HB 1456 itself because of the bill opponents’ view that the safety of pesticides is unquestionable and fear that HB 1456 would lead to a moratorium on lawn pesticides, much like what has been done throughout Canada. HB 1456 is the first state bill in the country to be successfully introduced and have a hearing with intent to restrict toxic pesticide use on public and private property, showing the momentum that is building throughout the country on this issue. At the House Environment and Agriculture Committee hearing on HB 1456 in February, the issue of studying the impact of pesticides, mainly herbicides, on children where they are commonly used in residential neighborhoods, on school grounds, playgrounds, and other places where […]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 11, 2010) The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) determined that a pair of bald eagles were killed and a host of other wildlife were injured after an Allegany County farmer applied a highly toxic pesticide that has been canceled for use by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Following an investigation, the state DEC determined that the two bald eagles were poisoned after ingesting the improperly applied pesticide Furadan, or carbofuran, on his farm. The farmer and landowner, Richard Sekoll, was charged with and pleaded guilty to violating state pesticide laws and fish and wildlife laws and paid $3,000 in fines. After receiving a call that two dead bald eagles were found near the Genesee River last fall, DEC began an investigation and sent the eagles to the department’s Wildlife Pathology Unit. Lab results showed that the birds died of poisoning from consumption of carbofuran, which occurred after the eagles consumed prey that had ingested the pesticide. State officials with the DEC’s Division of Pesticides and the Division of Wildlife, as well as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service assisted in the investigation, which found that a farm within 500 yards of where the […]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 9, 2010) The 28th National Pesticide Forum, Greening the Community: Green economy, organic environments and healthy people, will feature “green entrepreneurs,” who are making a living while making a difference in the community. This panel is the latest addition to the exciting speaker line-up at Beyond Pesticides’ annual conference, which will be held April 9-10 at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Take advantage of the reduced advance registration rate and sign-up online today. The panel will feature founders of Good Nature Organic Lawn Care (organic lawn care), Mustard Seed Market and Café (organic grocery store and café), A Piece of Cleveland (deconstruction company which ”˜recycles’ unwanted materials into furniture and other products), D’Bug Lady Pest Management (least-toxic pest control), Green Clean Inc. (environmentally-friendly cleaning), and Expedite Renewable Energy (helps companies reduce their carbon footprint). The Forum will also feature session on organic gardening and community spaces, lawn pesticide bans, health impacts of pesticides, the health benefits of organic food, green local government efforts and much more. It officially kicks off Friday afternoon with a tour of the Cleveland Botanical Garden and its affiliated community gardens, with sessions officially starting Friday at 5:30pm, and will conclude […]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 2, 2010) A lawsuit filed March 1, 2010 in federal court against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service seeks to compel the Service to uproot genetically engineered (GE) crops from its Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware. As many as 80 other national wildlife refuges across the country now growing GE crops are vulnerable to similar suits. Filed in the U.S. District Court for Delaware by the Widener Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic on behalf of Delaware Audubon Society, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and the Center for Food Safety, the federal suit charges that the Fish & Wildlife Service had illegally entered into Cooperative Farming Agreements with private parties, allowing hundreds of acres to be plowed over without the environmental review required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). In March 2009, the same groups won a similar lawsuit against GE plantings on Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge. Ironically, Prime Hook has now been administratively incorporated into Bombay Hook, meaning that the same refuge management that is overseeing execution of the Prime Hook verdict is violating its tenets on Bombay Hook. In August 2009, several environmental groups led by the Center for Food […]

(Beyond Pesticides, February 25, 2010) To include more grassroots activists and community members in Greening the Community: Green economy, organic environments and healthy people, Beyond Pesticides announced a new $25 “recession rate.” The conference, Beyond Pesticides’ 28th National Pesticide Forum, will be held April 9-10 at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. To take advantage of the reduced registration, register online today. We are also pleased to announce exciting additions to our speaker list including: journalist, author, democracy and environmental activist Harvey Wasserman; ecologist, ecological engineer and 2004 Stockholm Water Prize laureate William Mitsch, PhD; and several others. These speakers join Jeff Moyer, organic farming and gardening expert with the Rodale Institute; Melinda Hemmelgarn, award-winning “Food Sleuth” journalist who encourages people “think beyond their plates”; David Hackenberg, beekeeper who first discovered colony collapse disorder; Canadian organizers who played a key role in the effort that banned cosmetic pesticide use in Ontario in 2009; and, cutting-edge scientists focusing on endocrine disruption, cancer, learning disabilities, and the link between birth defects and season of conception. Harvey Wasserman is a journalist, author, democracy activist and environmental advocate. He is author of a dozen books, including Solartopia! Our Green Powered Earth. Harvey helped […]

(Beyond Pesticides, February 17, 2010) In the largest study of its kind, researchers searched hundreds of Salinas Valley, California homes for pesticide compounds sticking to dust layers and discovered widespread residues of 22 residential and agricultural-use products. The study, “Pesticides in Dust from Homes in an Agricultural Area,” was conducted by an investigator from the California Department of Public Health and researchers with the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS) with the University of California, Berkeley. CHAMACOS began recruiting pregnant women in the Salinas Valley for a long-term study of prenatal and infant chemical and allergen exposure in 1999. The center sampled study homes in 1999 and 2000 with a modified vacuum cleaner. The most common pesticides found were permethrin (467ppb) -a popular insecticide against home insect, and chlorpyrifos (74ppb). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned chlorpyrifos for home-use in 2000, but it is still used in agriculture. Other pesticides frequently detected include the herbicide dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate (DCPA), methomyl, diazinon and a fungicide, iprodione. Household dust concentrations are significantly associated with nearby use of these chemicals on agricultural fields in the month or season prior to sample collection. The study reported that in […]