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Pest News:

City Council Backs Off Pesticide Ban

Residents of Lethbridge, Alberta will not be restricted from using herbicides on their property, following a recent city council decision not to impose a pesticide bylaw.
David Ellis, city parks manager, provided a litany of reasons for not adopting the bylaw during an hour-long presentation. Ellis, explained all pesticides must be approved for use by Health Canada and when the substances are used properly, they have been deemed safe by the agency.
   “These products are regulated by Health Canada very vigorously and, if used appropriately, they don’t have a negative result on personal health or the environment,” Ellis said, adding it’s difficult for a community the size of Lethbridge to determine how safe the chemicals are.  “We just don’t have the resources to have a complete understanding of these products and whether they’re safe or not.
“That’s a role that Health Canada plays, they do have the resources to do the research.”

  Family Evicted After Complaining About Bedbugs

 Firefighters Vs. Bed Bugs
 

  Health Canada confirms again "2-4-D is safe to use"

Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) again concluded in its final re-evaluation of the popular herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), that the herbicide can be used safely according to label directions for lawn, turf, agriculture, forestry and industrial applications.
In a news release issued about the decision, the PMRA stated, “Health Canada also consulted an independent science advisory panel comprised of government and university experts/researchers in toxicology, epidemiology and biology. The Panel agreed with Health Canada’s assessment that 2-4-D can be used safely when used according to label directions.
Jim Gray, executive director of the Industry Task Force II on 2,4-D Research Data based in Kansas City, said, “After reviewing an unprecedented depth of scientific data and expert panel reviews regarding the impact 2,4-D may have on children, adults, animals and the environment, Health Canada determined the herbicide meets all of Canada’s pesticide health and safety regulations, which are among the toughest and most stringent in the world.”
In 2007, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Decision Not to Initiate a Special Review after more than 21 years of research and agency review.
“These most recent findings by the PMRA are consistent with previous decisions made by
authorities including the World Health Organization, European Commission, U.S. EPA and recent studies by the U.S. National Cancer Institute that deem 2-4-D to be a valuable and useful herbicide that does not pose human health or environmental risks when used according to label instructions,”
Gray added. This conclusion supports the 2005 and 2007 draft assessments issued by PMRA which found that 2,4-D can be used safely on lawn, turf, agricultural, forestry and industrial sites, when label directions are followed. The Health Canada 2,4-D Re-evaluation decision can be viewed at www.pmra-arla.gc.ca/english/pdf/rvd/rvd2008-11-eng.pdf
2,4-D is the ingredient used the most popular herbicides worldwide, applied to increase yields  in food  crops such as wheat, corn, rice, soybeans, potatoes, sugar cane, pome fruits, stone fruits and nuts. It is also a component of herbicides used to protect turf grass from weeds and environmentally sensitive areas from erosion and invasive species.
It is expected that elected municipal officials will consider this scientific evidence before passing laws that ban pesticides with the 2-4-D active ingredient.  This final study could curtail some environmental activist's propaganda based on fear rather than fact.

  Interesting quote:   "pop environmentalism"

"That's why I left Greenpeace: I could see that my fellow directors, none of whom had any science education, were starting to deal with issues around chemicals and biology and genetics, which they had no formal training in, and they were taking the organization into what I call 'pop environmentalism,' which uses sensationalism, misinformation, fear tactics, etc., to deal with people on an emotional level rather than an intellectual level.

—— Patrick Moore,
Co-founder of Greenpeace, explaining why he no longer supports the organization in an article from Newsweek

Malaria Kills An African Child Every 30 Seconds

Was Rachel Carson wrong about DDT?  Read the opinions of those who think so.

  "The effect of Malaria right now is equivalent to crashing
       seven jumbo jets filled with children every day". 
Professor Wen Kilama of the African Malaria Vaccine Testing Network in Tanzania
Read Full Story

. The rates of death and illness caused by malaria has not abated.  http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news/malaria/index.cfm

This is one of many questions posted on the "What is this pest" page

1513  This bug was found in Rosedale, Chilliwack, BC.  Angela..  This is a giant water bug (Hemiptera: Belostomatidae), a.k.a. toe biter or electric light bug. They are voracious predators on aquatic invertebrates as well as the occasional tadpole or small fish, and can deliver quite a painful ‘bite’ if mishandled. See nos. 1498, 1457, and 1378 for other examples. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.

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