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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: pesticide

pesticide stories: 20 news summaries

(Newser) - Britain's surging rat population is becoming immune to common poisons, spurring public heath concerns and calls for stronger pesticides, reports the Guardian. Rodents in at least two towns are impervious to normal control methods. In addition, years of mild winters and wet summers have boosted vermin populations by 66% in... More »

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rats • poison • Britain • pests • pesticide • pest control

(Newser) - Babies conceived between April and July—the period when surface-water concentrations of pesticides are at their highest—run an increased risk of having a birth defect, Reuters reports. “Our study didn't prove a cause and effect link,” the lead researcher said, but “the fact that birth defects... More »

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pregnancy • conception • summer • scientific study • pesticide • birth defect • Spring

 Gulf War Illness Is Real: Study 

Research contradicts previous government denials

Nov 17, 08 3:55 PM CST
(Newser) - Gulf War syndrome is real, and "few veterans have recovered or substantially improved with time," according to a scientific study commissioned by Congress. Nearly a quarter of the 700,000 troops who served in the first Gulf War suffer from neurological problems related to exposure to chemicals during... More »

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Iraq • veterans • Middle East • US military • brain damage • nerve gas • Gulf War • Gulf War Syndrome • pesticide • neurotoxin

 New Fungus 
 Linked to 
 Bat Die-Offs 

Scientists probe mass deaths in caves

Oct 31, 08 9:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists have identified a new fungus that might be responsible for the mass deaths of bats in the Northeast. If the findings are borne out, they could help researchers understand and eventually stop the contagion—dubbed white-nose syndrome—that has wiped out entire colonies in their caves, the Los Angeles ... More »

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DNA • bats • hibernation • pesticide • mass deaths • Bat Conservation International • Thomas H. Kunz • U.S. Geological Survey • National Wildlife Health Center

(Newser) - A German prosecutor is investigating allegations that chemical giant Bayer CropScience knowingly sold a pesticide that kills honeybees, the Raleigh News & Observer reports. The investigation follows complaints from German beekeepers and environmentalists that the company covered up incriminating data on chlothianidine. In the US, meanwhile, an environmental group sued... More »

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colony collapse disorder • honeybees • Environmental Protection Agency • Natural Resources Defense Council • Bayer • pesticide • chlothianidine

 'Super Termite' Found in Fla.

Fast-eating bug known to cause panic among homeowners

Aug 2, 08 3:51 PM CDT
(Newser) - One of the world's most feared termites has been caught gnawing on a Florida Gulfport home. Exterminators say they have saved the house, but admit that the "super termites"—or Formosan subterraneans—included winged swarmers, which indicates that that colony has existed for more than 5 years. "... More »

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Florida • University of Florida • insects • homeowners • pests • exterminators • pesticide • termite

 Bat Deaths Perplex Scientists 

Syndrome could devastate population

Aug 1, 08 2:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - Experts are still in the dark about what’s causing the deaths of vast numbers of bats in the Northeast, but some theories have emerged, Salon reports. Some scientists believe white-nose syndrome is driven by global warming, while others are looking hard at pesticides. In either case, humans may have... More »

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bees • global warming • ecology • illness • fungus • bats • hibernation • animal • pesticide

opinion

Vanishing Bees Reveal Dangers of Pesticides

Why won't the US
do the right thing, ban dangerous products?

Jul 30, 08 6:20 PM CDT
(Newser) - The rapid, mysterious deaths of billions of honeybees demand a closer look at how we use and control pesticides, Al Meyerhoff writes in the Los Angeles Times. A family of toxic chemicals called neonictonoids—led by two Bayer pesticides called Gaucho and Poncho—may be killing off the insects, but... More »

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bees • chemicals • honeybees • insects • pesticide

 Celebs Face Off in
 Green Arms Race 

Bill Nye, Ed Begley compete for smallest carbon footprint in Calif. neighborhood

Jul 10, 08 2:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - It could only happen in California—a pair of celebrity neighbors, actor Ed Begley Jr. and "Science Guy" Bill Nye, are involved in a contest of environmental one-upsmanship, the AP reports. Since Nye moved onto Begley’s block in Studio City 2 years ago, the two have been competing... More »

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California • carbon footprint • environmentalism • green technology • solar panel • pesticide • AstroTurf • Ed Begley Jr. • Bill Nye

Opinion

 It's Time to Give Up Salmon 

Populations are decreasing, and farmed specimens aren't healthy

Jun 9, 08 8:16 AM CDT
(Newser) - Salmon is supposed to be the perfect indulgence: low in saturated fats, high in omega-3 fatty acids, cheaper than ever at your local supermarket. But Taras Grescoe thinks you should stop eating it anyway. Wild salmon populations are dying off, he writes in the New York Times, thanks mostly... More »

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environment • salmon • fish • omega-3 fatty acids • pesticide

Shoppers Give Up Organics
as Food Prices Soar

Groceries high, organic even higher

May 9, 08 3:25 AM CDT
(Newser) - With a gallon of organic milk costing a whopping $7 and a conventional gallon going for $2.99, cash-strapped shoppers are skipping organic groceries. That means the $19 billion industry, which has ballooned 150% since 2001, may now be shrinking, Newsweek reports. “I miss it terribly,” said one... More »

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organic food • ethanol • Whole Foods • organic • groceries • grocery stores • Wal-Mart • pesticide

 Wines Tainted With Pesticides 

Large majority of bottles in study contain hazardous substances

Apr 4, 08 1:51 PM CDT
(Newser) - A large majority of European wines are tainted with pesticides and other toxic substances, a study by a consortium of environmental groups has found. Thirty-four of 40 bottles sampled, including grands crus from some of Bordeaux's most prestigious vineyards, contained hazardous pesticides, the Telegraph reports. But of the six organic... More »

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wine • pesticide • Bordeaux • organic wine

Pesticides Linked to Parkinson's

Risk is greater to home gardeners than via  exposure at work

Mar 30, 08 2:18 PM CDT
(Newser) - People exposed to pesticides ran a 1.6 times higher risk of developing the neurological disease Parkinson’s, reports a new study of 600 participants. "Recreational pesticide use in the home and garden was more of a source of exposure than occupational use,” says one researcher. Experts now... More »

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health • Parkinson's disease • brain • organic • neurological disorder • chemical • health research • pesticide

 Bamboo Invades Suburbia 

Plant evades pesticides, machetes, metal sheets in US yards

Mar 24, 08 10:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - Suburbanites are fighting to keep bamboo at bay in backyards all over America, but the tropical grass is winning. The Asian import grows fast and has become a popular, environmentally friendly way to screen out the neighbors. But with roots like steel cables, the relentless spreader resists pesticides, pickaxes, and... More »

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backyards • pandas • bamboo • pesticide • horticulture • polyethylene

Clean Air Rules Squeezing
Berry Farmers

Strawberry growers rip EPA pesticide limits as 'too much, too soon'

Mar 2, 08 7:38 AM CST
(Newser) - California strawberry farmers fear that EPA efforts to curb pesticide pollution could kill most of this year's crops, the AP reports. Ventura County growers, who produce 25% of the nation's berries, say the pesticides are needed to increase crop output. Requirements that fumigants be cut as much as half could... More »

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California • Clean Air Act • Environmental Protection Agency • crops • farmer • air pollution • cash crops • Ventura County • strawberries • pesticide

Sarko: France to Go Green

French leader is optimistic about a cleaner future

Oct 25, 07 7:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - Nicolas Sarkozy called for a greener France today, including higher taxes on polluters, a 50% reduction of pesticide use, and the eradication of genetically modified crops. The French president spoke at the close of a national environment summit that counted Al Gore in attendance. But the conference failed to generate... More »

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Al Gore • greenhouse gases • Nicolas Sarkozy • France • fossil fuel • green energy • green technology • green transportation • pesticide

Bedbugs Make Bloodthirsty Comeback

Once thought gone for good, pests are
on the rebound in US

Aug 20, 07 5:36 PM CDT
(Newser) - Despite admonitions about not letting the bedbugs bite, Americans are doing just that, and infestations are being reported across the country. Once thought wiped out by the now-banned pesticide DDT, the insects have been found in hospitals, schools, and even high-end residences, the Times of London reports. "Saturday Night... More »

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Saturday Night Live • carbon dioxide • bug • infestation • Maya Rudolph • bedbugs • insects • DDT • pesticide • carbon emissions

Pesticide Exposure May Increase Autism Risk

Limited study posits link between disorder and environmental factor

Jul 30, 07 6:05 PM CDT
(Newser) - Certain pesticides may be partially responsible for causing autism, a small study reveals. The autism rate among the children of 29 women living near California fields sprayed with organochlorine pesticides was six times higher than that in kids of women living farther away, the LA Times reports. But researchers warn... More »

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environment • California • disease • autism • organochlorine • health study • pesticide

Eagle Flies Off 'Threatened' List

After 40 years, national symbol returns from brink of extinction

Jun 28, 07 3:32 PM CDT
(Newser) - The national bird is no longer threatened with extinction, an achievement the Interior Department celebrated today by letting a bald eagle frolic in the skies above the Jefferson Memorial. Thanks in large part to conservation laws, the number of nesting pairs has grown more than 20-fold since 1963; the bird... More »

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endangered species • environment • conservation • list • Department of the Interior • eagle • hunting • animal • pesticide

Modified Corn Could Be Killing The Bees

 "Built-in pesticides"  linked to disappearing honeybees

Mar 29, 07 10:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - Genetically modified corn is the culprit in the disappearance of honeybees, according to a theory offered by a beekeeping expert, says Salon.  In a German study, the corn itself, which contains built-in pesticides, didn't kill the bees, but it seems to have damaged their intestines, making them vulnerable to... More »

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bees • Germany • genetic modification • corn • honeybees • pesticide

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