Protect Children from Pesticides—PACTPA! >> Tell EPA to ban carcinogenic pesticides. Tell your Congressional Representative and Senators to support S. 269 and H.R. 5085, the Protect America’s Children from Toxic Pesticides Act of 2023 (PACTPA).

Take action this #EarthDay! #Cancer remains the  leading cause of death from disease among #kids as research links risk with environmental or occupational pesticide exposure! >>Tell @EPA to ban carcinogenic pesticides & urge #Congress to support #PACTPA!

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6/8: It is time to #takeaction for ourselves and #future generations! #PACTPA #pesticides #reform #publichealth #local #forourchildren @HouseDemocrats @HouseRep_Caucus @SenateDems @SenateGOP #Congress

3/8: Notably, #PACTPA does include a provision that grants communities #local authority to restrict #pesticides on all public & private property in their jurisdiction, allowing towns, cities, & counties to move society away from pesticide dependency and transition to #organic!

Agricultural Pesticide Use the Primary Driver of Bird Declines in Europe - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog (Beyond Pesticides, May 19, 2023) Agricultural intensification is the leading factor driving declines in bird populations across Europe, according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) this week. Among all potential anthropogenic impacts, agricultural intensification, in particular pesticide and fertilizer use, was found to be more dramatic than forest alterations, urbanization, and climate change. “I don’t think a study has looked at all these factors in one go, in such a sophisticated fashion, correcting for one variable alongside another; and it comes out with a very clear message,” lead author Richard Gregory, PhD, of UK nonprofit The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, told The Guardian. Researchers utilized data dating back to the early-1980s, including annual bird surveys and national and supranational analyses, as well as information on land use cover, farm inputs, and temperature changes within the time frame. Bird habitat and ecological traits were also considered in the context of declines, and a statistical analysis aided researchers in capturing trends over time. Results confirmed that birds are overall experiencing significant declines in Europe, with data recording 25% losses in bird abundance since 1980. However, certain groups of birds are faring worse […]

#Agricultural #pesticide use found to be the primary driver of #bird declines in #Europe, according to researchers from across the continent. There is a clear message... We can do more @EPA #Senate in the #USA! 🐦 🐦 #PACTPA #DailyNews #Organic Blog Post:

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Harming Wildlife, Pesticides in Waterways Run into the Great Lakes Year-Round - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog (Beyond Pesticides, February 14, 2023) The waterways that flow into the Great Lakes are experiencing year-round pesticide contamination that exceeds benchmarks meant to protect aquatic life, according to research published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry by scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). “What you use makes it into the water,” study coauthor Sam Oliver, PhD, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. These data buttress growing calls from pesticide reform advocates that new laws are needed to protect the nation’s increasingly threatened waters. USGS scientists conducted their analysis on 16 tributaries that feed into the Great Lakes, including sites that correspond to urban, agricultural, and undeveloped land. Samples were taken at locations closest to the lake the tributary flowed into over a period of roughly one year from October 2015 to September 2016. Each sample was tested for 231 pesticides and their breakdown products. Researchers used aquatic life benchmarks set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and created a relative hazard index (RHI) for the study to evaluate whether specific sites should be prioritized for further protections.   Across every sampled tributary, pesticides were found. Accordingly, 96% (190 out of 198) of samples taken contained pesticides or their breakdown products. […]

#DN: @USGS scientists state that #GreatLakes waterways exceed #pesticide #contamination #benchmarks meant to protect #biodiversity and aquatic #life. The #toxic soup is unsustainable; we need a holistic approach to pesticide reform. #organic #PACTPA

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Pesticide Reform Bill Reintroduced in U.S. Senate, Advocates Call Changes Major But Not Systemic Ones Needed - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog (Beyond Pesticides, February 7, 2023) U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) reintroduced legislation last week to increase protections against exposure to toxic pesticides. The Protect America’s Children from Toxic Pesticides Act of 2023 (PACTPA), S.269, addresses many of the controversial issues with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), which governs the registration and use of pesticides in the U.S. This major reform legislation tackles some of the documented deficiencies in the regulation of pesticides and removes a number of loopholes in the law. The legislation, introduced with Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Brian Schatz (D-HI), also includes a ban on all organophosphate and neonicotinoid insecticides, as well as  the weed killer paraquat, which is known to cause Parkinson’s disease and lung fibrosis. Despite these reform provisions, the legislation does not touch the core of FIFRA’s pesticide registration process and chart a path for the systemic, transformative change that Beyond Pesticides says is essential to meet the existential challenges of current times—devastating health threats, biodiversity collapse, and the climate crisis. FIFRA, which is under the jurisdiction of the agriculture committees of Congress, has long been criticized for failing to protect the public and workers […]

#DN: @SenBooker reintroduced #PACTPA to better #protect #farmworkers, #children and #ag #communities from #pesticide #exposure: a step in the #rightdirection re: #preemption! #health #biodiversity #climatechange #10yearban #organic #nextsteps #thankyou

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