To 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 MoreCategory: Pesticide pollution
State can Label Widely used Herbicide as Possible Carcinogen
By 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 MoreThe Invisible Poisons: Where are They?
To 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 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 waters of the lower Smith River. They also found at […]
Read MoreCalifornia Court Ruling Ends Decades of State Pesticide Spraying
Judge 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 MoreAction to Help Pesticide Contamination in the Smith River
Help 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 MoreBig Unknowns: What Legal Marijuana Means for Water in Western States
Six 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 MoreHealth of California’s Streams, Rivers, and Lakes
To 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 MoreA New Study Suggests Even the Toughest Pesticide Regulations Aren’t Nearly Tough Enough
As 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 MoreEpigenomics: From Soil to People’ workshop, Jan. 9-13
To 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 MoreLong-Term Effects of Common Pesticides on Aquatic Species
16 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 More“Vineyard Infection” Letter and other wine industry comments
Following 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 MoreWill Parrish Comment on Glyphosate
Dear 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 MoreWine Industry Impacts: Wine and Water Watch (WWW)
I 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 MoreDiscussion on Herbicide Spraying in the Laguna de Santa Rosa
Hello 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 MoreA Profile of MRC Timber Harvests and Herbicide Use
by 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 MoreChemical Exposure Linked to Billions in Health Care Costs
Researchers 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 MoreFacing Imazapyr Head-On
by 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 MoreState Water Board Stream Pollution Report Shows Trends in Chemical Contamination, Toxicity
Detections 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 MoreTHE RUSSIAN RIVER: ALL RIVERS Screenings
To 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 MoreObama Administration Agrees to Stronger Protections for Salmon From Pesticides
Fishing 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 MoreCitizen Group Sues Paul Hobbs
By PAUL PAYNE THE PRESS DEMOCRAT November 26, 2013 A citizens group is suing Sebastopol winemaker Paul Hobbs and Sonoma County over a 48-acre vineyard conversion project it says was approved in violation of state environmental laws. Watertrough Children’s Alliance alleges in court papers filed Monday that Agricultural Commissioner Tony Linegar erred in issuing a permit June […]
Read MoreAction: Red Wine or Redwoods? Your choice…
Dear All, You know what California has plenty of? Wineries. You know what it’s rapidly losing, and what it can never replace? Its ancient redwood forests, some of which have trees that are more than 2,000 years old.<http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/AhZwZ/zoLT/AJaEt> A Spanish winemaker wants to chop down 154 acres of coast redwoods and Douglas firs to make […]
Read MoreAction to Strengthen not Weaken the Clean Water Act
To All, Right now, 117 million Americans are at risk of drinking contaminated water. It sounds outrageous, I know. But a Bush administration loophole for polluters means that huge amounts of our nation’s streams, rivers, and wetlands are not currently covered by the Clean Water Act. Oil companies can dump crude into a stream, factory […]
Read MoreHow Pesticides Change the Environment
Universitaet Tübingen, August 16, 2013 The number of humans on the planet has almost doubled in the past 50 years — and so has global food production. As a result, the use of pesticides and their effect on humans, animals and plants have become more important. Many laboratory studies have shown that pesticides can harm […]
Read MoreReport Finds “Probably Carcinogenic” Chemicals in All Municipal Water Samples Tested
August 21, 2013 By Dr. Mercola The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has once again released a report that should grab your attention. After analyzing water samples from 201 municipal water systems from 43 states, EWG found chemicals considered “probable human carcinogens” in every single water system they tested. The watchdog organization wants the government to […]
Read MoreAction against Artesa’s Large Forest Conversion Project
To All, FYI: I’m forwarding a little experiment direct emailing to Keith LaVine, the CEO of Artesa who was hired in 2011, and inherited the Artesa vineyard project in Annapolis. It’s aim is to precipitate a prelude to what we expect will be a wave of public relations aimed at Artesa coming this summer, in […]
Read MoreWest Coast Salmon Show Up in East Coast Courtroom
by Lori Abbott | Posted: Thursday, October 25, 2012 11:30 am A federal court in Virginia is being asked today to overturn a decision with major impacts on salmon and steelhead in California and three other western states. The National Marine Fisheries Service recommends buffers of at least 500 feet where certain pesticides can’t be […]
Read More“Low-Dose” Effects of Environmental Chemicals
To All, Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE) Partnership call: The Dose Versus the Poison: “Low-Dose” Effects of Environmental Chemicals Thursday July 21, 2012 at 10:00 am Pacific / 1:00 pm Eastern RSVP for this call Earlier this year, a landmark paper appeared titled Hormones and Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals: Low-Dose Effects and Nonmonotonic Dose Responses, published […]
Read MoreRegarding GMO Farming and Glyphosate
To All, According to the California Pesticide Department (www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/pur/purmain.htm ), in 2009 Sonoma County used 43,763 pounds of glyphosate and in 2010, 54,690 pounds in 2010, which is in line with national averages of increasing yearly amounts due to resistance from super weeds. Ag Commissioner Tony Linegar did support the use in some cases at our tech […]
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