News Room
Publicize pesticide sales: Green Party
CBC News Canada. Prince Edward Island Green Party Leader Sharon Labchuk stated that if elected, she would make public all pesticide sales data. Bulk data is already available, but what makes this different is that sales and use data for individual chemicals will be available to the public. Read the full article at cbc.ca
Breaking: Obama's Big Mistake
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Tell President Obama You're Outraged! Clean Up Our Air Now, Send a Message Today!
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Dear Friend,
Just hours ago, President Obama asked EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to withdraw the proposed new national ozone standards, delaying until at least 2013 a safeguard that would protect our families from dangerous smog pollution.
I am appalled -- this delay will literally cost lives.
This issue couldn't be more urgent: Half of U.S. families live in communities where the air is literally unsafe to breathe -- and President Obama is looking the other way.
A new standard for smog would prevent up to 12,000 premature deaths, 5,300 heart attacks and tens of thousands of asthma attacks and other serious respiratory illnesses each year -- yet the President has simply kicked the can down the road.
The White House's decision is shocking and disappointing to all of us who value breathing clean air. Let the President know that we urge him to stand strong against Big Oil and Coal companies and to protect our communities from pollution.
Despite a year of intense grassroots pressure by Sierra Club volunteers and our allies, President Obama has caved to corporate special interests who put profit above all else, including the health of our families.
Tell the President that a healthy economy requires clean air and healthy people. These protections from smog would have improved our communities and saved billions of dollars in health costs. Letting the polluters off the hook won't save lives, won't create jobs and won't fuel innovation. It will just keep thousands of people sick and kill others prematurely from the pollution in our air.
Thank you for all you do for our environment.
Sincerely,
Sarah Hodgdon
Sierra Club, Conservation Director
P.S. -- We need to send a clear message to President Obama- please forward this message to your friends and family or use share this alert on your social networks!
Report: Roundup is Everywhere in Air, Water
(Safelawns.org) In what’s being called “groundbreaking” research out of Mississippi and Iowa, the weed killer known as Roundup has been found to be virtually everywhere in air and water. This comes on the heels of the June report that shows Roundup, the world’s best-selling and most unregulated pesticide, causes birth defects.
The key aspect of the new report, circulated Wednesday afternoon worldwide by Reuters, is that it comes from a chief United States government scientist.
“(Roundup) is out there in significant levels. It is out there consistently,” said Paul Capel, environmental chemist and head of the agricultural chemicals team at the U.S. Geological Survey Office, part of the U.S. Department of Interior.
Capel found that glyphosate, the key ingredient in Roundup, was found in every stream sample examined in Mississippi in a two-year period and also in most air samples.
MSN Today Health: 5 Toxic Chemicals you should ban from your home
Leah Zerbe wrote this article about 5 common toxic chemicals that have safe, inexpensive alternatives.
Click HERE to read the article in full.
Share your Air Pollution Story - Environmental Defense Fund
The Environmental Defense Fund wishes you to share an air pollution story. Visit their website and share your true story with us!
God and Lawn Care
GOD & LAWN CARE
God said: "Frank, you know all about gardens and nature. What in the world is going on down there on the planet? What happened to the dandelions, violets, milkweeds and stuff I started eons ago? I had a perfect no-maintenance garden plan. Those plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and multiply with abandon. The nectar from the long-lasting blossoms attracts butterflies, honey bees and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see a vast garden of colors by now. But, all I see are these green rectangles."
St. FRANCIS:
It's the tribes that settled there, Lord. The Suburbanites. They started calling your flowers 'weeds' and went to great lengths to kill them and replace them with grass.
GOD:
Grass? But, it's so boring. It's not colorful. It doesn't attract butterflies, birds and bees; only grubs and sod worms. It's sensitive to temperatures. Do these Suburbanites really want all that grass growing there?
Newfoundland Joins other Canadian Provinces with a pesticide ban
Newfoundland has implemented a ban on the use of cosmetic pesticides.
The ban was announced on Thursday by Environment Minister Ross Wiseman, and will take effect in 2012.
Click here to view the video of the announcement.
You can also read the news article on The Western Star website.
LEAH meets The Royal Couple... sort of
MEET UP with WILL and KATE and 300,000 of our new best friends in Quebec and Ottawa!
We also managed to visit Rideau Hall and walk the grounds. Watch as our director enjoys the natural landscape and explains the meaning and origins of the trees and sculptures here.
The rest of the series can be found here.
A View from Ontario
A year ago, my husband and I packed our hiking shoes and swim suits, and headed from our rural acres and organic garden in the outskirts of Ottawa, Canada’s capital, to beautiful New Hampshire. Holidaying, we kayaked on Newfound Lake, and my favourite walk was the Welch-Dickey Loop.
It was not all fun and relaxation. I had volunteered to speak to a Committee of Representatives about pesticides, so I headed south to Concord. The old buildings and history, and commitment of representatives to public service (with the princely salary of $100 per year) are most inspiring!
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: LANDSCAPING PRACTICES on New England STATE HOUSE GROUNDS
Maine:
This is good news! I spoke with Richard Gates, Supervisor of State House Grounds and was told that they do not use chemicals; they follow “Green Practices”. They mow no lower than 3 inches and leave the grass clippings down. No aeration.
Read more: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: LANDSCAPING PRACTICES on New England STATE HOUSE GROUNDS
