pesticides

11.22.09

The Amphibial Canary is Dead

'Cocktails of contaminants' prove lethal in new study

By Taylor Hengen Posted 11.23.2008 at 1:26 pm 7 Comments

While canaries are yet to raise the red flag on pesticide exposure, new research from the University of Pittsburgh shows that "ten of the world's most popular pesticides can decimate amphibian populations when mixed together even if the concentration of the individual chemicals are within limits considered safe." 'Decimate', here, is not hyperbole.

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Make Your Garden Greener

Some environmentally sound approaches to getting rid of garden pests

By the Editors of E - The Environmental Magazine Posted 07.07.2008 at 2:58 pm 0 Comments

Dear EarthTalk: What green-friendly lawn and garden pesticides are available today? I'm particularly interested in options that won't harm my cats.
-- Nancy Blanchard, via email

Pesticides have greatly boosted agricultural yields over the last half-century, so it is no wonder, given the commercial availability of many of these synthetic chemicals, that American homeowners apply 100 million pounds of the stuff each year to make their own gardens grow bigger and faster, too.

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Car Crashes . . . Criminals . . . Cancer . . . Black Swans? AAAAAIIIEEEH!

Sometimes our biggest fear is not knowing what to fear most. Fortunately, the weird science of risk analysis can teach us to judge better and fear smarter

By James Vlahos Posted 06.13.2005 at 10:00 am 0 Comments

On December 27, 2004, while the world was focused on the Indian Ocean tsunami, a few astronomers were contemplating the possibility of an even deadlier disaster: that of a massive asteroid striking Earth. A fifth of a mile wide—heftier than the space rock that leveled a vast swath of Siberian forest in 1908—Near-Earth Asteroid 2004 MN4 had grabbed the attention of NASA scientists just before Christmas. They put the chance of an April 13, 2029, collision at 1 in 2,700 and two days later upped the odds to 1 in 165.

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