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U.S. workers sue Monsanto claiming herbicide caused cancer
Posted by Reuters: Carey Gillam on September 30th, 2015
Reuters: A U.S. farm worker and a horticultural assistant have filed lawsuits claiming Monsanto Co.'s Roundup herbicide caused their cancers and Monsanto intentionally misled the public and regulators about the dangers of the herbicide. The lawsuits come six months after the World Health Organization's cancer research unit said it was classifying glyphosate, the active weed-killing ingredient in Roundup and other herbicides, as "probably carcinogenic to humans." One suit, filed in U.S. District Court in...
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Fears over Roundup herbicide residues prompt private testing
Posted by Reuters: Carey Gillam on April 10th, 2015
Reuters: U.S. consumer groups, scientists and food companies are testing substances ranging from breakfast cereal to breast milk for residues of the world's most widely used herbicide on rising concerns over its possible links to disease. The focus is on glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup. Testing has increased in the last two years, but scientists say requests spiked after a World Health Organization research unit said last month it was classifying glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic to humans."...
Swimmers beware: water at some U.S. beaches may make you sick
Posted by Reuters: Carey Gillam on June 26th, 2014
Reuters: Every summer millions of American families head for beaches, but few stop to think of the possibility that the water they swim in may harbor enough bacteria to cause stomach flu and a host of other illnesses.
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) found that 10 percent of water quality samples collected from nearly 3,500 coastal and Great Lakes beaches in 2013 contained levels of harmful bacteria that exceeded "safe to swim" thresholds recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency....
Record heat wave blasts U.S. Midwest
Posted by Reuters: Carey Gillam on September 11th, 2013
Reuters: A blast of late summer heat baked the U.S. Midwest on Tuesday, with officials closing public schools in Illinois and Ohio and opening cooling centers as record high temperatures roasted parts of the region.
Record temperatures were tied or broken in several Midwestern cities, according to the National Weather Service. In Chicago, the temperature reached 95F (35C), tying a record set in 1983.
The temperature reached 99F (37C) in Des Moines, Iowa, breaking a record set in 1927, the weather service...
Shrinking water supply under threat in U.S. farm breadbasket: report
Posted by Reuters: Carey Gillam on August 27th, 2013
Reuters: A critical water source for U.S. farmers and ranchers is being depleted at a rapid rate and nearly 70 percent of it will disappear within the next 50 years if the current trend does not change, according to a report issued this week.
Thirty percent of the groundwater from a critical portion of what is known as the High Plains Aquifer already has been pumped and another 39 percent will be depleted over the next five decades, according to the report by environmental science and engineering experts...
Genetically engineered salmon company expects U.S. regulatory OK in 2013
Posted by Reuters: Carey Gillam on April 23rd, 2013
Reuters: AquaBounty Technologies Inc expects regulatory approval by the fourth quarter of this year to produce its controversial genetically engineered salmon, its chief executive said on Tuesday.
"There have been no new legal issues, no new regulatory issues, no new environmental issues raised," AquaBounty Technologies Chief Executive Ronald Stotish said on the sidelines of the BIO International Convention. "We should have approval before the end of the year."
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration...
Storms bring heavy snow, hail, rains to central U.S
Posted by Reuters: Carey Gillam on April 11th, 2013
Reuters: High winds and heavy snow and rain whipped through parts of the central United States on Wednesday, knocking out power for thousands of people and closing schools and businesses.
There were reports of downed trees, flipped vehicles and structural damage from a potential tornado touching down in Arkansas, as storm watchers tracked a line of severe weather stretching from Arkansas through southeastern Missouri into Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.
"It will be a long night in Arkansas for sure," said...
U.S. Spring Crop Season Jeopardized as Drought Persists
Posted by Reuters: Carey Gillam on February 1st, 2013
Reuters: The unrelenting drought gripping key farming states in the U.S. Plains shows no signs of abating, and it will take a deluge of snow or rain to restore critical moisture to farmland before spring planting of new crops, a climate expert said on Thursday. "It's not a pretty picture," said climatologist Mark Svoboda of the University of Nebraska's Drought Mitigation Center. Precipitation in the Plains region has been 3-6 inches shy of normal levels since October, and some areas are nearly 16 inches...
U.S. drought expands in top wheat-growing state of Kansas
Posted by Reuters: Carey Gillam on January 24th, 2013
Reuters: Crop-killing drought deepened in Kansas over the last week, further jeopardizing this season's production of winter wheat, a key U.S. crop.
Kansas is generally the top U.S. wheat-growing state, but the new crop planted last fall has been struggling with a lack of soil moisture. Without rain and/or heavy snow before spring, millions of acres of wheat could be ruined.
But a new climatology report issued Thursday showed no signs of improvement for Kansas, or neighboring farm states. Instead, drought...
As drought persists, many scramble to save every drop of water
Posted by Reuters: Carey Gillam on January 18th, 2013
Reuters: The drought that crippled many communities across the nation last year shows little sign of retreating, and the threat of persistent water scarcity is spurring efforts to preserve every drop.
As the drought of 2012 creeps into 2013, experts say the slow-spreading catastrophe presents near-term problems for a key U.S. agricultural region and potential long-term challenges for millions of Americans.
"Everyone is wondering whether this dry weather is the new norm ... or an anomaly that will soon...