02
Aug
(Beyond Pesticides, August 2, 2024) In a recent study published in Science, a team from the University of Massachusetts and Yale University provides quantitative insight into the significant effects of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on the nationâs water quality. This research highlights the essential role of ephemeral streamsâwater sources that flow temporarily after rainfallâin transporting pollutants, including pesticides, sediments, and nutrients from land to larger water bodies. This comprehensive study underscores the devastating risk to U.S. water quality, stemming from the May 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which dramatically limits the agencyâs ability to protect ephemeral streams as well as critical wetland ecosystems under the Clean Water Act (CWA). As a May 2024 report by Clean Water for All Coalition notes, âThe [Sackett] decision has endangered the drinking water sources of at least 117 million Americans by stripping protections from over half of the nationâs wetlands, as well as up to nearly 5 million miles of rain-dependent and seasonal streams that feed into rivers, lakes, and estuaries.â At a time when an immediate response to the climate crisis and chemical pollution is more urgent than ever, the U.S. Supreme Courtâs judicial decisions are seen […]
Posted in California, Cancer, Clean Water Act, Colorado, contamination, Deleware, Disease/Health Effects, Drinking Water, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Fertilizer, Florida, Herbicides, Litigation, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, New Mexico, Nitrates, Nitrites, North Carolina, Parks for a Sustainable Future, Pesticide Regulation, South Carolina, State/Local, Synthetic Fertilizer, Tennessee, U.S. Supreme Court, Washington, Water Regulation, Wisconsin | No Comments »
03
Jun
(Beyond Pesticides, June 3, 2020) While wearing a mask is an important practice to help reduce the chance of Covid-19 infection, a mask produced with pesticide-laden material for Tennessee residents has been identified as elevating the virusâ health risks. The state of Tennessee began last week and then stopped this week providing residents with free face masks made from sock fabric incorporated with antimicrobial silver pesticide. The investigative unit of NewsChannel 5 Nashville uncovered that the masks contain a toxic antimicrobial pesticide. Because of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencyâs (EPA) interpretation of federal pesticide law, textiles and other materials, typically plastics, infused with toxic antimicrobial substances are not evaluated by the agency for the wide range of exposure patterns associated with the use of these toxic products. In addition, the silver product in the sock material, Silvadur 930 Flex, states on its label that over 99% of product ingredients are âother ingredientsâ and provides no disclosure on their potential hazards. Beyond Pesticidesâ board member Warren Porter, PhD, environmental toxicology professor at University of Wisconsin at Madison, in an interview with NewsChannel 5, assessed the situation bluntly. Dr. Porter told reporters over a Zoom interview, âI wouldnât wear one,â after explaining […]
Posted in Antimicrobial, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Tennessee, Uncategorized | No Comments »
09
Aug
(Beyond Pesticides, August 9, 2016) Farmers in Missouri, Arkansas, and Tennessee are confronting widespread crop damage and bracing for lower yields as a result of agrichemical giant Monsantoâs botched roll-out of new genetically engineered soybean and cotton crops. The company, whose current line of glyphosate-tolerant crops are failing to control weeds throughout the U.S. and across the globe, developed a new line of soybean and cotton with traits that make it tolerate applications of an older herbicide dicamba. However, while its seeds are available for purchase on the market, and Monsanto is encouraging farmers to grow them, the company has yet to receive EPA regulatory approval for the dicamba herbicide meant to be used with the plants. A spate of news reports over the past two  months in southern soybean growing regions finds that many farmers are illegally applying off-label dicamba-based herbicides to Monsantoâs new GE crops in an effort to control weeds resistant to glyphosate. Use of this highly volatile herbicide is causing widespread crop damage not only to soybeans that donât carry the resistance trait, but other crops in the region, including peaches, melons, and tomatoes. Dicamba has a strong propensity to volatilize small particles of the herbicide […]
Posted in 2,4-D, Agriculture, Arkansas, Dicamba, Dow Chemical, Glyphosate, Missouri, Monsanto, non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, Tennessee, Uncategorized | No Comments »
23
Oct
(Beyond Pesticides, October 23, 2014) Lawsuit filed against Environmental Protection Agency for approval of 2,4-D use on genetically engineered corn, soy crops in six Midwest states.A coalition of farmers and environmental groups filed a lawsuit to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today on behalf of six Midwest states where a toxic herbicide cocktail called Dowâs Enlist Duo, a blend of glyphosate and 2,4-D, was approved on October 15 for use on genetically engineered (GE) crops. Approved for use on GE corn and soybeans that are engineered to withstand repeated applications of the herbicide, the creation of 2,4-D-resistant crops and EPAâs approval of Enlist Duo is the result of an overuse of glyphosate, an ingredient in Monsantoâs Roundup. The misuse resulted in an infestation of glyphosate-resistant super weeds which can now be legally combatted with the more potent 2,4-D. Dow Chemical has presented 2,4-D resistant crops as a quick fix to the problem, but independent scientists, as well as USDA analysis, predict that the Enlist crop system will only foster more weed resistance. âThe toxic treadmill has to stop,â said Jay Feldman, executive director of Beyond Pesticides. âEPA and USDA cannot continue to ignore the history, science, and public […]
Posted in 2,4-D, Agriculture, Announcements, Arkansas, Chemicals, Corporations, Dow Chemical, Farmworkers, Glyphosate, Kansas, Litigation, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, State/Local, Tennessee | No Comments »
25
Oct
(Beyond Pesticides, October 25, 2012) In stark contrast with last weekâs decision in the midwest, a federal court ruled in favor of halting cultivation of genetically engineered (GE) crops in all national wildlife refuges in the Southeastern U.S. on Tuesday. The suit, filed by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), Center for Food Safety (CFS), and Beyond Pesticides, is a part of a series of legal actions taken against the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services (FWS) for entering into cooperative farming agreements for GE crops on wildlife refuge sites without the environmental review required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and refuge management laws. This latest ruling bars FWS from entering into cooperative farming agreements for GE crops on the 128 refuges across eight states, including the 25 refuges currently growing GE crops. The requirement of environmental reviews will likely prevent the planting of crops in 2013 and 2014, and may result in a permanent end to the practice, as native successional grasses reclaim fallow refuge tracts. This ruling is the third in a series of victories against FWS. In March 2009, the same groups won a similar lawsuit against GE plantings on Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge. In […]
Posted in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Genetic Engineering, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Wildlife/Endangered Sp. | No Comments »
10
Nov
(Beyond Pesticides, November 10, 2011) Two new studies released last week add further proof that the popularity of organic food is not just an elitist trend. One report by the Organic Trade Association (OTA), The 2011 U.S. Familiesâ Organic Attitudes and Beliefs Study, finds that 78 percent of U.S. families purchase organic food. Another study by SCALE, Inc. finds that organic food is generally cheaper at farmers markets than at grocery stores in Southeast U.S. OTA partnered with KIWI Magazine, and polled nearly 1,300 U.S. families about their attitudes and behaviors relating to organic food. The total sample reflects the target population of U.S. households with a confidence interval of +/-3% at the 95% confidence level. This is the third year the study has been conducted. According to OTA, it contains in-depth information about organic consumersâ demographics, purchase motivation, understanding of organic, willingness to substitute when organic is not available, and attitudes about genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The other study, Is Local Food Affordable for Ordinary Folks?, compares farmers markets and supermarkets throughout 19 different communities in six Southeast states, including Virginia, Tennessee, West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina and South Carolina. Though the study focuses on local foods, it did […]
Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Kentucky, Tennessee | No Comments »
