Herbicides

The rivers that serve as the lifeblood of the Great Lakes abound with organic waste compounds, including pollutants from car exhaust, factory smokestacks and tar, insecticides and herbicides and detergent ingredients. And three Michigan rivers are among the worst of the worst for the compounds: the Clinton and Rouge rivers in Southeast Michigan and the St. Joseph in Southwest Michigan, according to a recently published study by the U.S. Geological Survey — the most comprehensive look yet at organic waste compounds in Great Lakes tributaries. The Clinton, Rouge and St.

Everyone knows not to eat yellow snow. But what about the seemingly harmless, white fluffy stuff? According to research by Claudia Sheedy of the Lethbridge Research Centre, and others, snow is full of pesticides. Sheedy, a research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, was one of several experts who shared their findings from a variety of studies, including the investigation of pesticides in the snowpack. Sheedy said scientists have been studying and finding pesticides in surface water since about 2006, including pesticides that aren’t even used in Canada.

Der Rat für Landwirtschaft hat einen Kommissionsvorschlag zum Verbot von Pestiziden abgelehnt. In der Diskussion zeigt sich auch die generelle Debatte um eine Reform der Gemeinsamen Agrarpolitik (GAP). Unter der Gemeinsamen Agrarpolitik müssen Bäuerinnen und Bauern bestimmte ökologische Standards für eine umweltverträgliche Landwirtschaft einhalten. So sollen 5 Prozent der bewirtschaftungsfähigen Flächen als ökologische Vorrangflächen behandelt werden. Der Vorschlag der EU-Kommission sah nun vor, den Einsatz bestimmter Chemikalien wie Pestizide auf den Vorrangflächen zu verbieten.

Since 1994, Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella) numbers have declined by 57% in Wales. The Yellowhammer is often thought of as a bird of arable farmland, with declines linked to agricultural intensification in this habitat specifically. However, the decline monitored by Breeding Bird Survey volunteers in Wales suggests the problem is a wider issue, as shown in the latest Breeding Bird Survey report.

You do not need to be a naturalist to love butterflies. Dolly Parton sings about them. So does Miley Cyrus. Tracy Morgan says he used to be an angry young man in a cocoon, but “now I’m a beautiful black butterfly.” And the poet Robert Frost once celebrated the “blue-butterfly” days of spring. But hold the lyrics. The butterflies are vanishing, according to an article in this week’s edition of the journal Science, and it’s happening even in protected areas.

A new study by the Xerces Society showed a 74 percent decrease in the number of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) over the last two decades. Butterfly conservationists at the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History monitor the monarch numbers on the Monterey Peninsula and said the study's results come as no surprise. They are similar to a trend conservationists are seeing locally. Their numbers are going down," museum representative Patrick Whitehurst said. Whitehurst said that between 2014 and 2015, the monarch population at Pacific Grove's sanctuary was cut in half.

Die Europäische Kommission hat jetzt Kriterien zur Bestimmung endokriner Disruptoren im Zusammenhang mit Pflanzenschutzmitteln und Biozidprodukten vorgelegt. Die Kommission schlägt dem Europäischen Parlament und dem Rat vor, bei der Identifizierung von endokrinen Disruptoren einen soliden wissenschaftsgestützten Ansatz zugrunde zu legen und der Definition der WHO zu folgen. Endokrine Disruptoren sind – sowohl natürlich vorkommende als auch chemische – Stoffe, die die Funktion des Hormonsystems stören und dadurch schädigende Wirkung bei Menschen oder Tieren hervorrufen können.

Industry association PlasticsEurope has joined MEPs, health campaigners and other industry groups in criticising long-overdue criteria to define endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) which the European Commission published this week. While the comments themselves differed, there was agreement that the criteria, required to determine what substances should be banned as hormone-shifting endocrine disruptors under European Union biocides and pesticides regulations, were not in line with the legislation.

Today the European Commission presents criteria to identify endocrine disruptors in the field of plant protection products and biocides. The Commission proposes to the Council and the European Parliament to adopt a strong science-based approach to the identification of endocrine disruptors and to endorse the WHO definition. Endocrine disruptors are substances, both natural and chemical, that can alter the functions of the hormonal system and consequently cause adverse effects on people or animals.