How much do you know about pesticides?
DCL
The good news is that certain pesticides are now restricted in endangered species habitat in the Bay Area—the bad is that they increase children's risk of attention-deficit disorder.
A federal court ruled this week to restrict the use of 75 pesticides in a part of the Bay Area that 11 endangered and threatened species call home. The Center for Biological Diversity is celebrating the ruling that the use of the 75 pesticides in eight counties must be restricted until the EPA formally evaluates their effects on the region's endangered species over the next five years.
Among the species of concern are the bay checkerspot butterfly, California freshwater shrimp, California tiger salamander, salt marsh harvest mouse, San Francisco garter snake, and the San Joaquin kit fox.
The Center for Biological Diversity writes:
The EPA is required under the Endangered Species Act to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over registration and approved uses of pesticides that may harm listed species or their critical habitat. Despite an obligation to avoid authorizing pesticide uses that jeopardize endangered species, the agency has consistently failed to evaluate or adequately regulate pesticides harmful to endangered species without citizen lawsuits and court-ordered timelines.
