pesticide – News Stories About pesticide - Page 4

Honeybees Stung
by Bad Winter,
Pesticides

Mar 24, 2010 4:05 AM CDT

Honeybees Stung by Bad Winter, Pesticides

4-year run of dropping numbers just got worse

(Newser) - Beleaguered honeybees are having a harder time than ever before after an especially harsh winter and heavy pesticides discovered in their hives and pollen. A massive die-off of the valuable creatures is topping off 4 years of troubling population declines. Scientists are trying to nail down the exact mechanism causing...

Pesticide-Busting Brit Super Rats Spark Health Concerns

May 3, 2009 9:26 AM CDT

Pesticide-Busting Brit Super Rats Spark Health Concerns

(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...

Birth Defects May Be
Tied to Pesticide Levels

Apr 6, 2009 2:52 PM CDT

Birth Defects May Be Tied to Pesticide Levels

(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...

Gulf War Illness Is Real: Study

Nov 17, 2008 3:55 PM CST

Gulf War Illness Is Real: Study

Research contradicts previous government denials

(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...

New Fungus
Linked to
Bat Die-Offs

Oct 31, 2008 9:55 AM CDT

New Fungus Linked to Bat Die-Offs

Scientists probe mass deaths in caves

(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 ...

Bayer Knew Pesticide Killed Bees, Critics Charge

Aug 26, 2008 8:35 PM CDT

Bayer Knew Pesticide Killed Bees, Critics Charge

(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...

'Super Termite' Found in Fla.

Aug 2, 2008 3:51 PM CDT

'Super Termite' Found in Fla.

Fast-eating bug known to cause panic among homeowners

(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. "...

Bat Deaths Perplex Scientists

Aug 1, 2008 2:50 PM CDT

Bat Deaths Perplex Scientists

Syndrome could devastate population

(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...

Vanishing Bees Reveal Dangers of Pesticides

opinion

Jul 30, 2008 6:20 PM CDT

Vanishing Bees Reveal Dangers of Pesticides

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

(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...

Celebs Face Off in
Green Arms Race

Jul 10, 2008 2:33 PM CDT

Celebs Face Off in Green Arms Race

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

(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...

It's Time to Give Up Salmon

Opinion

Jun 9, 2008 8:16 AM CDT

It's Time to Give Up Salmon

Populations are decreasing, and farmed specimens aren't healthy

(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 to...

Shoppers Give Up Organics
as Food Prices Soar

May 9, 2008 3:25 AM CDT

Shoppers Give Up Organics as Food Prices Soar

Groceries high, organic even higher

(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...

Wines Tainted With Pesticides

Apr 4, 2008 1:51 PM CDT

Wines Tainted With Pesticides

Large majority of bottles in study contain hazardous substances

(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...

Pesticides Linked to Parkinson's

Mar 30, 2008 2:18 PM CDT

Pesticides Linked to Parkinson's

Risk is greater to home gardeners than via exposure at work

(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...

Bamboo Invades Suburbia

Mar 24, 2008 10:30 AM CDT

Bamboo Invades Suburbia

Plant evades pesticides, machetes, metal sheets in US yards

(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...

Clean Air Rules Squeezing
Berry Farmers

Mar 2, 2008 7:38 AM CST

Clean Air Rules Squeezing Berry Farmers

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

(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...

Sarko: France to Go Green

Oct 25, 2007 7:10 PM CDT

Sarko: France to Go Green

French leader is optimistic about a cleaner future

(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...

Bedbugs Make Bloodthirsty Comeback

Aug 20, 2007 5:36 PM CDT

Bedbugs Make Bloodthirsty Comeback

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

(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...

Pesticide Exposure May Increase Autism Risk

Jul 30, 2007 6:05 PM CDT

Pesticide Exposure May Increase Autism Risk

Limited study posits link between disorder and environmental factor

(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...

Eagle Flies Off 'Threatened' List

Jun 28, 2007 3:32 PM CDT

Eagle Flies Off 'Threatened' List

After 40 years, national symbol returns from brink of extinction

(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...