“This is the most significant step the EPA has taken in years to increase transparency about pesticides’ harms,” one advocate said. by Johnathan Hettinger, Investigate MidwestJuly 27, 2023 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency posted searchable databases of pesticide harm for the first time in agency history on Thursday. The databases, which include reports of harm to people, […]
Read More
“This is the most significant step the EPA has taken in years to increase transparency about pesticides’ harms,” one advocate said. by Johnathan Hettinger, Investigate Midwest July 27, 2023 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency posted searchable databases of pesticide harm for the first time in agency history on Thursday. The databases, which include reports of harm to people, pets, […]
Read More
Tao Orion is the author of “Beyond the War on Invasive Species: A Permaculture Approach to Ecosystem Restoration.” She is a permaculture designer, teacher, homesteader, and mother living in the southern Willamette Valley of Oregon. I interviewed her on May 18, 2020, for my podcast, “Voices for Nature & Peace.” What follows is a partial transcript of that conversation, edited for clarity. […]
Read More
A terrifying study found that one in three Americans have detectable levels of a toxic pesticide made from the same ingredient in Agent Orange. This pesticide – 2,4-D – is linked to cancers, birth defects, and hormonal imbalances – and could wipe out hundreds of endangered species. It’s now sold as a chemical cocktail alongside glyphosate, […]
Read More
Wildlife officials and ecologists say urgent and drastic measures are needed to eradicate mice, a threat to island’s endemic speciesMaanvi Singh in San FranciscoFri 17 Dec 2021 A plan to eradicate a “plague-level infestation” of invasive mice on California’s Farallon Islands by dropping poisoned bait from helicopters has been approved by state officials. After hours of impassioned […]
Read More
A controversial plan to poison rodents on the Farallon Islands is coming up for a key vote after years of debate. The federal government proposes to airdrop poison pellets on the islands to kill tens of thousands of invasive house mice that have wreaked havoc on seabirds and the local ecosystem. The islands are a wildlife refuge with the largest seabird breeding colony in the contiguous United States. In a twist, the plan has […]
Read More THE MOTHER OF ALL GROUPS August 24, 2021, 11:03AM The misguided proposal by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to scatter a ton-and-a-half of cereal bait laced with the deadly Brodifacoum anticoagulant blood thinner from helicopters, right in the midst of our Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, is unfortunately not dead yet. This controversial […]
Read More
August 18, 2021 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency just took a huge step toward protecting kids and farmworkers from a toxic pesticide linked to lifelong intellectual disabilities. On August 18, the agency announced that it will ban chlorpyrifos from all food crops. Earthjustice represented health, labor, and learning disability organizations in a successful legal battle […]
Read More
Olivia Rosane Aug. 25, 2021 Extreme heat waves have made this a devastating summer for the endangered salmon species of the U.S. West Coast. In mid July, California wildlife officials warned that almost all of the young Chinook salmon in the Sacramento River would likely die because of lower water levels and higher water temperatures. Weeks later, a conservation group further north shared disturbing footage of […]
Read MoreTo All, Below is an appeal by the Environmental Working Group to get the EPA to ban Atrazine. Millions of Americans are at risk of drinking a toxic chemical that can turn male frogs into female frogs with viable eggs! Atrazine, produced by chemical industry giant Syngenta, is one of the most widely used pesticides […]
Read MoreBy Bob Egelko April 19, 2018 A state appeals court on Thursday backed California’s listing of the widely used herbicide glyphosate as a possible cause of cancer and the state’s prohibition against discharging it into public waterways. The chemical is the main ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer, popular with farmers as well as homeowners. Citing […]
Read MoreTo All, Here is one of those serious issues that has not been adequately addressed due to the power of money in politics as well as being an invisible threat. It is past time that the issue of pesticides gets exposed, creates public outrage and forces the invisible poisons into containment. What’s on those vines? […]
Read MoreBy Greg King, Siskiyou Land Conservancy After many years the California North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board has finally released a long awaited report that provides new and devastating data from the Smith River estuary: From 2013-15 state scientists found 17 highly toxic pesticides in surface waters of the lower Smith River. They also found at […]
Read MoreJudge Strips State Food Agriculture Agency of Authority to Use Chemicals SACRAMENTO, Calif – A judge has ordered the California Department of Food and Agriculture to stop using chemical pesticides in its statewide program until the agency complies with state environmental laws. The injunction, issued late last week, is a sweeping victory for 11 public-health, conservation, citizen and food-safety groups and the city […]
Read MoreHelp Stop Pesticide Contamination in Smith River Estuary By Greg King, Siskiyou Land Conservancy After many years the California North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board has finally released a long awaited report that provides new and devastating data from the Smith River estuary: From 2013-15 state scientists found 17 highly toxic pesticides in surface […]
Read MoreSix western states now allow recreational use of marijuana, creating a huge new legal market for cannabis farmers. But the implications for water supplies remain a big unknown. “It looks like a mess right now,” one expert says. Written by Matt Weiser Published on Jan. 3, 2018 Read time Approx. 10 minutes States throughout the West have rushed to legalize […]
Read MoreTo All, Are our streams and rivers healthy? Below is a link to a government site that gives general and specific information on this subject with links to specific databases on California’s streams. http://www.mywaterquality.ca.gov/eco_health/streams/index.html Larry
Read MoreAs in most states, regulators in California measure the effect of only one pesticide at a time. But farmers often use several pesticides together—and that’s a big, toxic problem. By Liza Gross California officials have long touted their pesticide regulations as the toughest in the nation. But a new report from the University of California, […]
Read MoreTo All, Dr. William Battaglin, US Geological Survey, will speak about ‘Glyphosate and other Contaminants of Concern in Water, Sediment, and Soil in the United States’ at the ‘ONE HEALTH Epigenomics: From Soil to People’ workshop at Plant & Animal Genome Conference, San Diego, January 9-13, 2016: https://pag.confex.com/pag/xxiv/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/21483 His presentation will be the highlight of […]
Read More16 November 2015 Wiley New research indicates that commonly-used insecticide mixtures continue to impact aquatic invertebrate species over multiple weeks, even when the chemicals are no longer detectable in water. Through experiments meant to generally reflect runoff from a multiple-homeowner watershed, investigators found that pesticide mixtures had negative effects on the abundance of certain snails, […]
Read MoreFollowing is Dr. Laura Morgan’s “Vineyard Infection” letter on the possible coastal invasion by more vineyards, published in today’s PD, as well as my response. The link to read the letters and respond also follows. Let’s keep the pressure on. Since some of you were also at the Timber Cove workshop, this letter opens a […]
Read MoreDear friends in Napa/Sonoma: In March 2015, the World Health Organization's (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon, France ruled that the broad-spectrum systemic herbicide glyphosate — the active ingredient in Round-Up — is a likely carcinogen. Studies have linked the herbicide, which is widely used in agribusiness to control weeds, to […]
Read MoreI began sending out my article on the founding of the Wine and Water Watch (WWW) group yesterday. It has already been published in at least the following places, which include India and Virginia. It will likely be published elsewhere in the next few days. If you google the words “wine and water watch” with […]
Read MoreHello Patrons and Neighbors of The Laguna, I hope everyone is having a good week and enjoyed their weekend. I’ve been slowly settling in to Sonoma County (moved here from VA about a month ago), and am continuously amazed by all that this part of the country has to offer. First I want to apologize […]
Read Moreby Will Parrish, July 8, 2015 Perhaps more than any large private timber company in the history of California’s redwood coastal region region, Mendocino Redwood Company (MRC) has branded itself as an environmentally responsible land steward. The company’s main goal, according to the About Us section of its web site, is “to demonstrate it is […]
Read MoreResearchers conclude they are 99 percent certain that hormone-altering chemicals are linked to attention problems, diabetes, other health problems. Elizabeth Grossman for National Geographic Published March 5, 2015 Exposure to hormone-disrupting chemicals is likely leading to an increased risk of serious health problems costing at least $175 billion (U.S.) per year in Europe alone, according […]
Read Moreby Franklin Graham, March 11, 2015 On Thursday evening, March 5th, 120 Mendocino residents met at the Comptche Community Center to discuss Imazapyr (a broad spectrum persistent herbicide) used to control/eliminate tanoaks on Mendocino Redwood Company timberlands. The concerns most people have about toxic substances in the environment are immediate and visceral. “Stop it.” “Don’t […]
Read MoreDetections and concentrations of pyrethroid pesticides are increasing in California stream sediments, according to a new report by the Stream Pollution Trends Monitoring Program of the State Water Resources Control Board. The program is a statewide effort to measure trends in pollution levels and toxicity in major California watersheds. The latest report, “Trends in Chemical […]
Read MoreTo All, Don McEnhill, Executive Director of Russian Riverkeeper is a featured interview in: THE RUSSIAN RIVER: ALL RIVERS – THE VALUE OF AN AMERICAN WATERSHED “The time of using greed to justify degrading our environment is over.” “We need to get very honest with the amount of water we have in the worst year. […]
Read MoreFishing and conservation groups praise stronger stream buffers from toxic sprays This is a huge step forward for the health of our rivers and salmon fisheries. Before this agreement, we lacked effective ways to keep these poisons from entering our rivers and streams. EPA and the Fisheries Service can now continue to work together toward […]
Read More