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Behind mass die-offs, pesticides lurk as culprit : Comments
By Sonia Shah, published 11/1/2010Three new diseases have decimated populations of amphibians, honeybees and, most recently, bats.
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It is not only frogs and bees that are threatened by pesticides. My wife works in an in vitro fertilization clinic. More than half of the sterility couples are seeing is due to the man and it is men from the vineyards in South Australia that are very common customers because of their exponsure to pesticides. Another group with reproductive problems are workers from hair salons because of their exposure to chemicals.
Posted by michael_in_adelaide, Monday, 11 January 2010 11:31:11 AM
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Visited Manly in Sydney Harbour the other day , wandered down to a beautifull favourite beach on the harbour side, full of families having fun swimming etc and noticed a small and battered or half defaced, Department of Primary Industry Sign on the boat ramp ,which said basically : "Do not eat more than 150 grammes of fish per month caught here and at surrounding parts ,because of Dioxin contamination ".
There were plenty of fisherman still fishing and keeping their undersize catch ! Do we need a bigger sign ? What in the hell are we doing to ourselves and our Environment !!?? Three cheers for Sonia Shah and thumbs down for the State and Federal Government's Marine Management . Posted by kartiya jim, Monday, 11 January 2010 2:46:07 PM
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Agreed Michael on the vineyards. It's a romantic vision to be living amongst the vines, but when you realise the amount of herbicides, pesticides and even just plain old fertisiliser that need to go on the vines, it might be better for those people planning families or those people with young children who could be exposed, to put a bit of distance between them and the chemicals.
I did wine makers course some years back and the wine-maker running the course was worried about young women's exposure. Clearly from what you say, men need to be aware too. Posted by JL Deland, Monday, 11 January 2010 3:15:51 PM
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A researcher found that colonies of bees fed on GM (Bt pesticide) pollen collapsed far earlier than bees fed on non-GM pollen. Whether it was the Bt pesticide itself, or whether it was the genetic material affecting the immune system the researcher didn't know.
In a way GM pesticides are the invisible pesticides - not necessarily included in the statistics, don't have a label on them, but produced in the plant, present in pollen, in the food, leaching into the environment from the plant residues. This particular research was suppressed, but a link to an interview with the researcher is below. GM Bt maize has been shown to provoke heightened immune response in young and old mice, and it may be that this is another factor weakening the immune systems of bees. GM crops and honey bee research; Monday, 26 October 2009 14:50 http://www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/1-news-items/11621-gm-crops-and-honey-bee-research GM Watch Notes: This interview about GM crops and bee research, taken from the new report 'Risk Reloaded' is doubly interesting. 1. First, it suggests that genetically modified Bt maize could be a possible co-factor in bee die-off. 2. Second, it seems to confirm the recent concern, including pieces in Scientific American and Nature Biotechnology, over the degree of control and interference that the biotech industry and its supporters may be able to exert over the conduct and publication of research. They offer other links on this issue: http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11573:gm-industrys-strong-arm-tactics-with-researchers-nature-biotechnology- http://www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/1-news-items/11406-seedy-research-restriction--global-food-security http://www.gmwatch.org/component/content/article/11311-scientific-american-condemns-restrictions-on-gm-research http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11556:letting-science-do-its-job Posted by Madeleine Love, Tuesday, 12 January 2010 12:43:29 PM
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Well enroll in A TAFE course for organic farming production. I completed mine in two years (one day per week) it examined the use of not only pesticides but certain non organic fertilizers. It concentrated on soil science (a bit difficult) animal husbandry and
health, and improving the environment and biodiversity. Pesticides do I repeat do effect the environment. Run offs from land to rivers effect the biodiversity. Worming treatments can be avoided to a degree (that effect dung beetles too) where as cell grazing can avoid the use of these. I've seen the results, it is refreshing and encouraging. GM seeds from Monstano have been proven to although Round Up resistent, damage bees. And worse, Monstano hold the patent genetic on 27 seeds, and if your crop accidently gets cross fertilized by a GM crop & you keep the seeds produced the next season. Monstano can either make you pay a license for encroaching their copy right or sue you. This has happened in Canada. India is waking up... they refuse to use Monstano seeds, and one type is what they call the terminator seed. If you keep it to resow the next season, it will fail to thrive. That is a crime against humanity. Manipulating people to grow foods they mightn't need. Do a few Googles folks. Posted by Bush bunny, Friday, 15 January 2010 7:49:46 PM
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