How a new class of pesticides transformed the agrochemical landscape for bees
Even as Europe enacts a 2-year precautionary ban on neonicotinoid pesticide use on crops attractive to bees, the pesticide makers are crying foul—claiming that there is insufficient evidence for such supposedly drastic measures. With each new study, however, such claims are being increasingly tested. Whether it’s evidence that exposure to seed insecticide dust leads directly to bee […]
5 Ridiculous Myths People Use to Trash Local Food — And Why They’re Wrong
Articles “debunking” the local food movement are stale, shallow and often incorrect. It’s become predictable. At nearly regular intervals, someone, somewhere, will decide it’s time to write another article “debunking” the local food movement. The latest installment is by Steve Sexton, posted on theFreakonomics blog (which also treated us to a previous post called “Do We […]
Gardeners can help safeguard imperiled plants
Plants are pulling a vanishing act, and gardeners may have to play a larger role on the world stage if vulnerable species are to be preserved and restored. Imperiled animals and birds generally get top billing, said James Wandersee, a botanist and educator at Louisiana State University, who called the appreciation gap between flora and […]