Apologies for the hiatus–but we’ve been pretty darn busy. This summer, I’ve been flying around chasing wildfires and the people that study them for an upcoming PBS NOVA film–you can learn more about this if you sign up for my newsletter. Being busy is good, but something had to give and unfortunately this was it. […]
What’s on your citrus fruit? Trump’s EPA fights to keep controversial insecticide in use
Citrus growers hope to fend off fruit-munching katydids, but one weapon is under scrutiny. Researchers found that children growing up near fields where the insecticide chlorpyrifos was deployed exhibited autism-like symptoms. A court ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to ban the insecticide’s use, but Trump’s EPA is fighting back. PBS science correspondent Miles O’Brien reports. […]
The EPA isn’t taking its own advice on a pesticide that causes brain damage in children
Chlorpyrifos is one of the world’s most widely-used agricultural pesticides. Studies have linked exposure to the chemical to neurological issues in children, yet the EPA has–so far–decided not to ban the use of chlorpyrifos. Miles explores the issue for the PBS NewsHour. TRANSCRIPT Judy Woodruff: It’s not well known to the general public yet that […]
The Chemical Ban That Got a Reprieve from Trump’s EPA – with Miriam Rotkin-Ellman of the Natural Resources Defense Council
After years of exhaustive research linking the pesticide chlorpyrifos to a host of developmental and cognitive deficiencies in children, the EPA was poised to ban the chemical in November 2016. But something else happened that same month: the election of Donald Trump. As a result, this potent neurotoxin is still in use. Miriam Rotkin-Ellman is […]