Monsanto's Dicamba Problems Are Far From Over. Farmers File Another Lawsuit Over Drift Damage
Arkansas farmers filed a class-action lawsuit last week against Monsanto and German chemical company BASF, alleging that the companies' dicamba-based herbicides caused damage to their properties.
The plaintiffs claim that Monsanto and BASF implemented and controlled the dicamba crop system, releasing seed technology without a corresponding, safe and approved herbicide.
According to Hoosier Ag: "The farmers allege that Monsanto and BASF sold the dicamba crop system while knowing it could wipe out crops, fruits, and trees that are not dicamba tolerant. The farmers claim that those who do not plant dicamba tolerant crops are left with no protection from the herbicide."
To date, Arkansas' agriculture department has received 135 dicamba misuse complaints across 17 counties.
The lawsuit comes as the Arkansas State Plant Board considers an in-crop dicamba ban that was proposed by the state's pesticide committee.
The controversy behind the pesticide started last year when Monsanto decided to sell its new dicamba-tolerant cotton and soybean seeds several growing seasons before getting federal approval for the corresponding herbicide. Without having the proper herbicide, cotton and soybean growers were suspected of illegally spraying older versions of the highly toxic and drift-prone chemical onto the seeds and inadvertently damaged nearby non-target crops due to drift.
The spraying triggered widespread reports of crop damage across thousands of acres in 10 states and several lawsuits against pesticide makers. In October, a drift dispute between Arkansas farmers resulted in one farmer being shot to death.
"The dicamba crisis was created and forced upon the farming industry. Crops are at risk. Relationships are at risk. There have already been tragedies due to this crisis," Arkansas plaintiffs attorney Paul Byrd said.
"Crops, fruits and trees that are not dicamba resistant were injured causing extensive damage to farmers' crops in Arkansas and other states throughout the 2016 growing season, including Alabama, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. Farmers' livelihoods are at stake, and we want to protect their interests," added attorney Phillip Duncan.
Both companies sell dicamba-based herbicides, Xtendimax with VaporGrip by Monsanto and Engenia by BASF, for in-crop use on Monsanto's seeds that are genetically modified to resist the pesticide. These formulations are supposedly less drift-prone and volatile compared to older versions of dicamba.
Along with Arkansas, agriculture officials in Missouri, Tennessee and Mississippi have either already received or are gearing up for more dicamba drift complaints this year, DTN reported.
"We are here to support our customers and, if requested, can assist in investigating an off-target allegation in an advisory capacity to provide technical support," BASF told DTN.
Monsanto told DTN that it is aware of media reports regarding off-target movement of dicamba, but is not willing to draw conclusions on the reports at this time and re-emphasized the importance of following all product labeling and local requirements.
But the Center for Biological Diversity is calling for a ban of dicamba pesticides in Arkansas.
"What we're seeing in Arkansas is proof of what we all already knew—that this dangerous, drift-prone pesticide is not safe to use," said Nathan Donley, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity. "Assurances from pesticide makers that new dicamba products and tighter application regulations would end the drift problems that damaged hundreds of thousands of acres simply ignored reality."
"This dicamba crisis is only the latest evidence that dumping more pesticides on the landscape is a road to nowhere," Donley continued. "And it's only going to get worse—Monsanto predicts that annual dicamba use on soybeans and cotton will jump from less than one million pounds just a few years ago to more than 25 million over the next three to four years."
Humans Have Created 9 Billion Tons of Plastic in the last 67 Years
By Tim Radford
Scientists have calculated yet another item on the human shopping list that makes up the modern world: plastics. They have estimated the mass of all the plastic bottles, bags, cups, toys, instruments and fabrics ever produced and tracked its whereabouts, as yet another index of the phenomenal change to the face of the planet made by recent human advance.
Altogether, since about 1950, with the birth of a new industry, more than 8.3 billion tonnes (or 9.1 tons) of synthetic organic polymers have been generated, distributed and discarded. Of that total, 6.3 billion tonnes are classified as waste.
Senators Urged to Join Bernie Sanders in Opposing Dirty Energy Bill
By Jessica Corbett
As Senate Democrats stay silent on an energy bill that environmental groups call "a pro-fracking giveaway to oil and gas interests that would commit America to decades more of dangerous fossil fuel dependence," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is receiving applause for speaking out against it.
"As a nation, our job is to move away from fossil fuels toward sustainable energy and energy efficiency. This bill does the opposite," Sanders said in a statement.
Exxon Sues Feds Over $2 Million Fine
ExxonMobil filed suit against the federal government last week, claiming that a $2 million fine levied against the company by the Treasury Department is "unlawful" and "capricious."
The Treasury Department fined Exxon Thursday morning, alleging that the oil giant displayed "reckless disregard" of U.S.-Russian sanctions in its dealings with Russian company Rosneft in 2014 under CEO Rex Tillerson.
Big Oil Forecast: Entering the Age of Stranded Assets
By Andy Rowell
For years, environmentalists have warned that due to climate change, there will be billions of barrels of oil that we will never be able to burn. These reserves will become what has increasingly been called "stranded assets."
To give you one example: In a new report, Friends of the Earth argued that "The coal, oil and gas in reserves already in production and development globally is more than we can afford to burn. There is no room for any new coal, oil or gas exploration and production.
Is America Ready for a Nation of Tiny Houses?
Late last year, the tiny house community celebrated a watershed moment—an official appendix in the 2018 version of the International Residential Code, the model building code used by most jurisdictions in the U.S.
"There are many things that are monumental in the adoption of tiny house construction codes by the IRC," cheered Thom Stanton, the CEO of small space developer, Timber Trails. "Among them, that architects, designers, builders, community developers and (maybe most importantly) zoning officials have a means of recognizing tiny houses as an official form of permissible dwelling."
Wow! Shocking Video Shows Astonishing Amount of Plastic Polluting Our Planet
The colossal mass of throwaway plastic—from straws to bags to bottles—has grown much faster than recycling and disposal efforts can contain it. You might even say this is obvious, no matter where you look.
As a result, places that were once considered pristine—such as Antarctica and the ocean floors of Australia—have become inundated with plastic waste.
Check out this video from National Geographic to watch underwater photographer Huai Su film a diver collecting an endless amount of plastic bottles that litter the seafloor off Xiaoliuqiu Island, Taiwan.
Coral Reef in Cancún Becomes World's First to Have Its Own Insurance Policy
A reef off the coast of Cancún will become the first in the world with its own insurance policy, testing a new strategy meant to encourage local investment in the wellbeing of the reef.
Under the policy, created by insurance company Swiss Re and the Nature Conservancy, local hotels and other organizations dependent on tourism will pay into the policy, receiving reimbursements to repair the reef and local beaches after natural disasters.
Organic Farmers Fight Release of GMO Moths
The Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY) denounced the USDA's permit for the world's first open-air trials of the Genetically Engineered (GE) Diamondback moth to be released in Geneva, New York.
This announcement came concurrently with the availability of a final environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact for the field release of the GE Diamondback moths. NOFA-NY considers the Environmental Assessment lacking comprehensive health and environmental details.
