Commercial lobster fishers operating in Long Island Sound off the coast of Connecticut have begun to suspect that the mosquito killing chemical methoprene, sprayed by neighboring New York State as part of its West Nile virus (WNv) control program, is contributing to widespread deaths of lobsters in the sound

Mosquito Pesticide Suspected in Lobster Deaths
(Beyond Pesticides, October 7, 2011) Commercial lobster fishers operating in Long Island Sound off the coast of Connecticut have begun to suspect that the mosquito killing chemical methoprene, sprayed by neighboring New York State as part of its West Nile virus (WNv) control program, is contributing to widespread deaths of lobsters in the sound. Believing that a large amount of the chemical flowed into the sound in late summer due to heavy rains from Hurricane Irene, the lobster fishers are asking New York to follow Connecticut’s example and switch its WNv control method to the less toxic bacillus thuringiensis.

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Herbicide use results in an emergency evacuation of Edgewood Middle School Tuesday morning caused more than a few tense moments for school officials, emergency responders and nearly 50 sickened students.

Herbicide use results in an emergency evacuation of Edgewood Middle School Tuesday morning caused more than a few tense moments for school officials, emergency responders and nearly 50 sickened students.
Students were evacuated outside, but the source of the problem turned out to be coming from there, on a high school athletic field that had been sprayed with weed killer two hours earlier. While students were not on that field, what began as breathing problems and headaches for 11 students eventually spread to 47 students.

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Be aware Be inspired

About 2,300 years ago, Aristotle said this: “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” He is talking about awareness here, of course. Without it, every thought that arises has you in it’s grip and determines what you feel, say and do. With awareness comes a depth, and you feel yourself to be the space in which the thought appears, rather than being the thought. And so not only do you become a more peaceful human being, your thinking becomes more inspired, too

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This is an amazing new prayer asking for us to atone for and care for the environment as a requirement by God for environmental justice and the next generation

For the sin of destroying God’s creation Eternal God, You created earth and heavens with mercy. Not by our righteousness do we make our pleas before You, our God, for we have sinned, ruined, destroyed. May it be Your will that You help us overcome and make atonement:
For the wrong of filling land and ocean with filth, toxins and garbage;
And for extinguishing forever wondrous species which You saved from the waters of the flood;
For the wrong of razing forests and trees, valleys and mountains,
For the wrong of turning the atmosphere into a chastening rod,
And for making desolate the habitats that give life to every living soul.

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DEET use — facts and offer alternatives and then you can make a management decision.

The U.S. EPA estimates that 30% of the U.S. population applies DEET every year.  In the more than 45 years that DEET has been used in the U.S., reports of adverse effects in humans associated with the dermal application of DEET have been relatively rare, given the billions of applications of the repellent.
However the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends caution. It advises no DEET for infants under two months and a maximum concentration of 30% for children over two months (which, to reiterate, is a good cap for adults too). Duke University pharmacologist Mohammed Abou Donia says to avoid DEET on infants altogether for two reasons.
First, a baby’s skin is too thin to act as a barrier to absorption. Second, babies cannot metabolize chemicals as well as older children and adults.

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Cancer Update: an alternative treatment- prevention

1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer  cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after  treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.

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The preponderance of evidence uncovered in our systematic review indicated a positive relationship between exposure to pesticides and development of some cancers, particularly brain, prostate, and kidney cancers, as well as NHL and leukemia

Cancer health effects of pesticides

Pancreatic cancer – Three studies evaluated the relationship between pancreatic cancer and pesticide exposure, and all 3 found positive associations.82–84

Systematic review author affiliations:  K.L. Bassil, MSc Doctoral candidate in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Toronto in Ontario ,C. Vakil, MD CCFP FCFP Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont , M. Sanborn, MD CCFP FCFP Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont, D.C. Cole, MD MSc FRCPC Author Affiliations Associate Professor of Medicine in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Toronto, J.S. Kaur, MD  Associate Professor of Oncology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minn,  K.J. Kerr, MD DIP ENV HEALTH Lecturer in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto

In recent years, few environmental issues have aroused public concern as much as use of and exposure to pesticides, especially with respect to children’s health. Despite many published studies on the relationships between exposure to pesticides and human health, deep controversy surrounds these associations. Since the Supreme Court ruling in 2001 allowing the municipality of Hudson, Que, to pass a bylaw restricting use of pesticides for cosmetic purposes (non-commercial use), many municipalities across the country have passed similar bylaws. Cosmetic use of pesticides remains a complex issue involving arguments about the rights of lawn-care companies and property owners, and increasingly, the effects of pesticides on health. Because randomized controlled trials on the health effects of potentially harmful chemicals cannot be conducted and because of the difficulty of measuring exposure to pesticides and the limitations innate in observational studies, we are still unsure about the effects of pesticides on human health.

As family physicians, cancer specialists, and epidemiologists, we initiated a systematic review of the literature on the effects of pesticide use on chronic health outcomes in order to assess the evidence currently available.

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Pancreatic cancer mortality linked to organochlorine pesticide exposure in California, 1989-1996.

Occupational studies have suggested a link between organochlorine-pesticides and the occurrence of pancreatic cancers. Study suggests increased pancreatic cancer mortality among long-term residents in areas of high application rates of 1,3-d (an EPA-classified probable human carcinogen), captafol, pentacholoronitrobenzene (PCNB), and dieldrin.

Source United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Bureau for Global Health, USA.Copyright 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

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Pancreatic cancer linked to herbicides

Pancreatic cancer linked to herbicides.

A new study links two weed killers with pancreatic cancer in pesticide applicators and their spouses. The authors, most of whom work for the National Cancer Institute, note that they are the first to link this particular malignancy with the farm chemicals — pendimethalin and EPTC — and really don’t know how either would trigger cancer (although they do have a theory). But for now they are recommending that “these findings should be considered hypothesis generating and in need of confirmation.”

Pancreatic cancer is a rare disease and nearly always fatal. Producing few early symptoms, the disease is usually diagnosed once the cancer is advanced. But even where the cancer is found fairly early and removed, only one in five patients survive five years. And there is basically no cure. Which explains why this malignancy is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States.

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