Widely Used Insecticides Are Leaching Into Midwest Rivers→

Maanvi Singh, reporting for NPR:

Dean Bergmann

“A class of insecticides called neonicotinoids, which are used on a lot of big corn and soybean fields, has been getting a pretty bad rap lately.

Researchers have implicated these chemicals, which are similar to nicotine, as a contributor to the alarming decline of bee colonies. That led the European Union to place a moratorium on their use, and environmentalists want the U.S. to do the same.

In a study published July 24, researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey found that these chemicals are also leaching into streams and rivers in the Midwest — including the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. And that may be bad news for aquatic life in the region, the scientists say.”

USGS Study

In a dark place we find ourselves, and a potentially a widely used pesticide may be the cause.

Neonicotinoids In Our Food and Water→

Dave Orrick, reporting for the Pioneer Press:

“Nicotine-related insecticides widely used on crops are finding their way into the food we eat and the water we drink, two national studies published in the past two months have concluded.

A study released this week by the U.S. Geological Survey found neonicotinoids — a relatively new family of insect-killing chemicals exploding in use in the Farm Belt and a leading suspect in the collapse of bee populations — in nine Midwestern rivers, including the Mississippi and Missouri.

Last month, a study by the Harvard School of Public Health found “neonics” in fruits, vegetables and honey purchased from grocery stores.”

In a dark place we find ourselves, and a little more poison kills us slowly.