High Weedkiller Levels Found in River Checks

adamAgriculture, Biodiversity, Water

An extensively used weedkiller – Atrazine – has been found in streams and rivers throughout the Midwest in levels high enough to damage amphibians, fish and aquatic ecosystems. Atrazine, which is manufactured by Syngenta Crop Protection, has been linked to sexual abnormalities in frogs and fish in scientific studies and is currently banned in the UK.

Facing a Threat to Farming and Food Supply

Paul RacetteAgriculture, Climate

Several recent analyses have concluded that the higher temperatures expected in coming years — along with salt seepage into groundwater as sea levels rise and anticipated increases in flooding and droughts — will disproportionately affect agriculture in the planet’s lower latitudes, where most of the world’s poor live.

Deforestation in Amazonia

Paul RacetteAgriculture, Biodiversity, Economy

Tropical forests in Amazonia are being cleared rapidly, representing an important contribution to land-use and land-cover change. This is a thoughtful article of the history, economic and environmental impacts of Amazonia deforestation.