Pesticides

California unveils bold plan to sustainably manage pests and eliminate high-risk pesticides by 2050

Leaders representing diverse interests reach consensus on a path to move the state to sustainable practices in urban and agricultural settings The State of California recently joined leaders from a diverse range of backgrounds to unveil a roadmap of ambitious goals and actions to accelerate California’s systemwide transition to sustainable pest management and eliminate prioritized […]

Students nationwide push to rid campus lawns of toxic pesticides

With so many students majoring in environmental studies these days, it’s not surprising they’re re-examining the pristine, grass-filled quads of their alma maters. From University of Michigan to Princeton to UC Berkeley, they have joined forces and now operate through the organization Re:wild Your Campus, which invites 20 or so student fellows each year to […]

FAO promotes dangerous advice on Syngenta’s deadly paraquat herbicide—compromising its independent status

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has partnered with pesticide lobby group Croplife International—and is now nodding approval regarding the formula of a deadly herbicide associated with Croplife member Syngenta. The partnership has been condemned by civil society organizations with critics saying it is like the World Health Organization teaming up […]

New film exposes Roundup’s ubiquity in Napa Valley wine country

Documentary filmmaker Brian Lilla has revealed the motivation behind his new film about the herbicide Roundup in Napa, CA, vineyards—his kids. Since moving to Napa nine years ago, Lilla has noticed the omnipresence of Roundup application—even in a vineyard across from his daughters’ school. “When I learned how toxic wine country is, I needed to […]

EPA risk assessment of dicamba herbicide admits extensive, ongoing damage to plants but falls short of a ban

In August, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its required risk assessment of the widely used weedkiller dicamba. While acknowledging unprecedented drift damage to crops and non-target plants, the agency stopped short of banning the chemical. Bill Freese of the Center for Food Safety calls the recent assessment “schizophrenic.” “EPA must end all over-the-top registrations […]