We did it! We’re thrilled to report a WIN in the Maryland General Assembly for our PFAS in pesticides battle! Read the press release.Though we did not achieve a ban this year, legislators took an important step by passing an amended SB158/HB319 that will institute a 6-month three-agency study (Md Depts. of Agriculture, Environment and Health in consultation with EPA) beginning in June to answer questions that opponents used to confuse legislators concerning currently existing testing methods for PFAS in pesticides.
Working with advocates, Senate Education, Energy & Environment (EEE) Committee Chair Brian Feldman drafted the amended bill and hailed it as an important step for Maryland toward passing a strong ban bill in 2024, saying it will be “a model for the country, that is the vision.” We want to thank our hard-working SB158/HB319 bill sponsors Senator Shelly Hettleman and Delegate Dana Stein and all the legislators of the MGA, who passed the bill in the House and Senate chambers! Our Smart on Pesticides Coalition diligently worked as a coordinated team, to amplify the need to ban PFAS in pesticides to key legislators and most importantly, to alert the public to this critical issue.
Our greatest thanks go to all of you Marylanders, who clicked to send emails and made calls to your legislators – this is the ultimate power that moved the bill forward. We sincerely thank you for your support and advocacy that passed this important bill! Congratulations!Here’s a worthwhile5-minute WJLA_TVsegment for you to view about the importance of this effort!
This month’s newsletter includes important new data, like PFAS in your toilet paper and which brands have the lowest levels, to how the agro-chem industry claims certain of ways of using pesticides are good for mitigating climate change… better living through chemistry folks!
Vote With Your Wallet, Vote With Your Fork! GO Organic! How to go organic in all you do – even on a budget!Learn more
Fall in love with native plants! Follow Herring Run Nursery on Facebook, visit in Baltimore, shop online. Always organic! Watch their Flower Fridays videos, April 14 is National Gardening Day. Learn more
Our friends at the highly respected, world-renowned, Rodale Institute offer an innovative online training in "Being a Regenerative Consumer"!Learn more
Want to start your own garden this spring? Check out these tips on creating an organic vegetable from Gardening4Joy. Learn more
Once again, the EPA has failed to implement adequate restrictions on dicamba herbicides used in Maryland. Center for Biological Diversity Scientist Nathan Donley and others call the EPA out.Learn more
Synthetic pesticides exacerbate climate change in several ways, yet the agro-chem industry continues to falsely promote continued pesticide use practices as a way to mitigate the impacts of climate change, according to a January report from the Pesticide Action News Network. Learn more
A Japanese commercial fishing industry collapsed by more than 90% due to neonicotinoid use. Three Canadian researchers review the effects of so-called ‘safe’ pesticides - the same pollinator-harming class of pesticides Md has at least banned for consumer use products. Learn more
Citing birds and bees, groups petition EPA to close the pesticide loophole. “The failure to regulate treated seeds creates a gigantic regulatory blind-spot — allowing one of the largest and most widespread uses of pesticides to go almost completely untracked and unregulated." Learn more
News on PFAS, aka Forever Chemicals
While PFAS-containing pesticides are one of the most pervasive ways we are exposed to these forever chemicals… Americans flush an average of 19 billion pounds of toilet paper a year – studies show toilet paper is a massive source of PFAS pollution. Learn more
Also check out Mamavation’s testing report on worst vs. best toilet paper to buy to avoid high PFAS levels in your toilet paper here.
This month, EPA released new draft regulations limiting 6 PFAS levelsin drinking water. While a good step, EPA is not addressing the sources of the PFAS contamination in our water (like pesticides)! Check out The Conservation’s essential reads on the need to regulate PFAS. Learn more
Want to attract more pollinators to your farm or garden? Here are 4 keys to success. Learn more
A worrying new study for honeybees reveals that neonicotinoid pesticides can ‘synergize’ with commonly used pesticides, causing far more toxicity than previously thought. Learn more
Hedgerows enable the soil to store significantly more carbon, regardless of soil type, providing a huge boon for adjacent agricultural fields. Learn more
BusinessWorld finds the benefits of organic regenerative farming include improved household security, improved farmer incomes, and increased resilience against climate change among the big wins. Learn more