October, 15 2014, 04:45pm EDT
EPA Approves New 2,4-D Herbicide Blend, Paving Way for Controversial GE Crops
Center for Food Safety says it will pursue all available legal options to stop commercialization
WASHINGTON
Center for Food Safety (CFS) today condemned the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) decision to approve Dow Chemical's Enlist Duo herbicide, a new blend of 2,4-D and glyphosate intended for use on Dow's patented 2,4-D resistant (Enlist) genetically engineered corn and soybeans. EPA's approval was the final hurdle for the heavily criticized new crop system and paves the way for commercialization and planting.
"EPA has turned its back on those it purports to protect - the American people and our environment," said Andrew Kimbrell, executive director for Center for Food Safety. "In the wake of our government's abdication of its responsibilities, Center for Food Safety will pursue all available legal options to stop the commercialization of these dangerous crops."
2,4-D, produced by Dow Chemical, was a component of "Agent Orange," the toxic defoliant used in Vietnam. It is the 7th largest source of dioxins in the U.S. 2,4-D and other herbicides of its class have been independently associated with deadly immune system cancers, Parkinson's disease, endocrine disruption, and reproductive problems, with children at particular risk. EPA's assessment of Enlist Duo failed to correctly account for exposure in children, one of numerous flaws in their analysis.
60 Member of Congress signed a letter opposing the herbicide and crops systems, as did 35 prominent doctors, scientists and researchers. Over a million citizens have also voiced their opposition this year, with an additional quarter million contacting the White House in just the past 2 weeks.*
Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) stated, "Today, EPA shunned its duties to protect the environment and safeguard public health by bowing to corporate interests instead of relying on science. For years, the scientific community has been sounding the alarm about the increased use of herbicides and the link to a multitude of health problems. It's shocking that EPA thinks it's a good idea to allow the widespread use of a toxic chemical once found in Agent Orange on this nation's farm fields. EPA should be working to reverse the trend of chemicals that poison our food supply, water and soil. It will be just a matter of time before weeds develop a resistance to 2,4-D, and the chemical industry comes up with an even more dangerous and potent product."
Dow Chemical has presented 2,4-D resistant crops as a quick fix to the epidemic of glyphosate-resistant weeds generated by massive use of glyphosate herbicide with first-generation GE crops from Monsanto, known as Roundup Ready. However, even USDA has acknowledged that the Enlist crop system will foster more weed resistance, a view held by many in the weed science community. In fact, a peer-reviewed study published in the prestigious journal Bioscience in 2012 concludes that these new GE crops will trigger still more intractable weeds resistant to both glyphosate and 2,4-D.
"Monsanto's Roundup Ready crops lead us down this futile path of chemical dependency. Now imagine Roundup on overdrive," said Kimbrell. "Why are our agencies listening to the chemical companies and not the scientists, doctors and lawmakers who know that more chemicals are not the answer to the superweed problem?"
USDA's own analysis concedes that approval of 2,4-D-resistant corn and soybeans will lead to an unprecedented 2 to 7 fold increase in agricultural use of 2,4-D by 2020, from 26 million to as much as 176 million lbs. per year.
*The quarter million comments to the White House is tallied via petitions from Center for Food Safety, Food Democracy Now!, Organic Consumers Association, Food and Water Watch, Friends of the Earth, Pesticide Action Network North America, and a petition on WhiteHouse.gov started by the Dr. Oz Show.
Center for Food Safety's mission is to empower people, support farmers, and protect the earth from the harmful impacts of industrial agriculture. Through groundbreaking legal, scientific, and grassroots action, we protect and promote your right to safe food and the environment. CFS's successful legal cases collectively represent a landmark body of case law on food and agricultural issues.
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Chaos-Causing Court Sides With GOP Attack on Biden Student Debt Relief Plan
Advocates are calling for "shutting the student loan system down until borrowers have access to the rights they were promised."
Jul 18, 2024
Student debt cancellation advocates on Thursday responded to a federal appeals court blocking implementation of one of U.S. President Joe Biden's relief programs by demanding a shutdown of the whole system to spare borrowers and the economy.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit's temporary ruling against the administration's Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan comes just over a year after the Supreme Court struck down Biden's sweeping student debt cancellation proposal.
Although the high court's right-wing supermajority has thwarted Biden's attempt to deliver his promised broad relief, the administration has pursued initiatives including the SAVE program, which sets monthly payments based on borrowers' income.
Over half of the more than 8 million borrowers who have enrolled in the program have a $0 monthly payment, according to the U.S. Department of Education. SAVE also enables borrowers to have their balances canceled after 10, 20, or 25 years.
GOP state officials led by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach challenged the program, leading to Thursday's ruling—just the latest in a series of various decisions about the program. The 8th Circuit issued a stay until the court rules on a request for a preliminary injunction.
"Today's extreme, unsigned, single-sentence order from a judge out of Missouri's 8th Circuit Court of Appeals just sent the student loan system into chaos and borrowers will be forced to pay the price," warned Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) executive director Mike Pierce in a statement.
"It is clear that the Biden administration can and must protect borrowers from this partisan lawfare—that means shutting the student loan system down until borrowers have access to the rights they were promised under the law," he argued.
In addition to echoing Pierce's call for shutting down the system "to mitigate the widespread economic harm that could be imposed on borrowers," SBPC deputy executive director Persis Yu suggested the legal battle was politically motivated.
"Right-wing politicians are using the courts to wreak havoc on the student loan system and put the economic stability of tens of millions of borrowers and their families at risk. Make no mistake: These lawsuits are shameful political gamesmanship designed to hurt President Biden at all costs, and borrowers are merely collateral damage," Yu said. "Unfortunately, today, the special interests have prevailed, imperiling the financial security of millions and throwing the student loan system into an untenable chaos."
An Education Department spokesperson said in a statement Thursday that "we are assessing the impacts of this ruling and will be in touch directly with borrowers with any impacts that affect them."
"Our administration will continue to aggressively defend the SAVE Plan," the spokesperson added. "And, we won't stop fighting against Republican elected officials' efforts to raise costs on millions of their own constituents' student loan payments."
The 8th Circuit's decision came on the same day as the Biden administration's announcement that it is canceling $1.2 billion in student loans for borrowers who work in public service through changes to another federal program.
"These 35,000 borrowers approved for forgiveness today are public service workers—teachers, nurses, law enforcement officials, and first responders who have dedicated their lives to strengthening their communities, and because of the fixes we made to Public Service Loan Forgiveness, they will now have more breathing room to support themselves and their families," Biden said in a statement.
Biden—who has faced progressive pressure to keep pursuing bolder debt relief policies—is currently seeking reelection, though the Democrat has endured growing calls to step aside since his poor debate performance last month.
Former President Donald Trump this week formally became the Republican nominee and announced Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) as his running mate. Multiple analyses have warned that the U.S. student debt crisis would worsen under Trump.
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'Groundbreaking' Study Stresses Need to Protect Global Forest Carbon Sink
"Despite facing regional threats like deforestation and wildfires, the world's forests continue to be a powerful weapon in the fight against climate change."
Jul 18, 2024
In what one researcher's group on Thursday hailed as a "groundbreaking" study, scientists from 11 countries highlighted "the critical role of forests in mitigating climate change" and how various threats are imperiling Earth's vital climate sink.
"Despite facing regional threats like deforestation and wildfires, the world's forests continue to be a powerful weapon in the fight against climate change," the U.S. Forest Service (USFS)—which co-led the study published in Nature—said Wednesday in a statement announcing the paper. "These vital ecosystems have consistently absorbed carbon dioxide for the past three decades, even as disruptions chip away at their capacity."
The study shows how the world's forests have consistently absorbed carbon dioxide over the past three decades, "even as disruptions chip away at their capacity."
Researchers examined long-term ground measurements combined with remote sensing data and found that "forests take up an average of 3.5 ± 0.4 billion metric tons of carbon per year, which is nearly half of the carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels between 1990 and 2019."
According to USFS, other key findings from the study include:
- Boreal forests in the Northern Hemisphere, spanning regions like Alaska, Canada, and Russia, have experienced a significant decline in their carbon sink capacity, dropping by 36%;
- This decrease is attributed to factors including increased disturbances from wildfires, insect outbreaks, and soil warming;
- Tropical forests have also seen a decline, with deforestation causing a 31% decrease in their ability to absorb carbon;
- Regrowth in previously abandoned agricultural lands and logged areas has partially offset these losses, keeping the net carbon flux in the tropics close to neutral; and
- Temperate forests, on the other hand, have shown a 30% increase in their carbon sink capacity, a rise largely due to extensive reforestation efforts, particularly in China.
"Our research team analyzed data from millions of forest plots around the globe," USFS researcher Yude Pan said in a statement. "What sets this study apart is its foundation in extensive ground measurements—essentially, a tree-by-tree assessment of size, species, and biomass. While the study also incorporates remote sensing data, a common tool in national forest inventories and land surveys, our unique strength lies in the detailed on-the-ground data collection."
The study's other lead author, Richard Birdsey of the Woodwell Climate Research Center in Falmouth, Massachusetts, said that "the persistence of the global forest carbon sink was a surprise given global increases in wildfire, drought, logging, and other stressors."
"But it turns out that increasing emissions in some regions were balanced by increasing accumulation in other regions, mainly re-growing tropical forests and reforestation of temperate forests," Birdsey added. "These findings support the potential for improving protection and management of forests as effective natural climate solutions."
The study's recommendations include reducing deforestation, promoting reforestation, and "improving timber harvesting practices to minimize emissions from logging and related activities."
The world lost around 3.7 million hectares of primary tropical forests last year—a rate of approximately 10 soccer fields per minute, according to data from the University of Maryland's Global Land Analysis and Discover Lab. While this marked a 9% reduction in deforestation compared with 2022, the overall deforestation rate is roughly the same as in 2019 and 2021. Felling trees released 2.4 metric gigatons of climate pollution into the atmosphere in 2023, or almost half of all annual U.S. emissions from burning fossil fuels.
In the United States, green groups cautiously welcomed the USFS introduction last month of a draft environmental impact statement for the proposed national old-growth forest plan amendment, which followed President Joe Biden's 2022 directive to protect old-growth forests.
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Grassroots Latinx Group Says Local Organizing Is Key to Stopping Trump Agenda
"We can't endorse Biden or the Democratic Party, but we understand the threat that a Trump administration poses to our communities," said the director of Mijente.
Jul 18, 2024
The largest progressive Latinx political organization in the U.S., Mijente, said Thursday that it will not be officially endorsing a presidential candidate in the 2024 race—but emphasized that its non-endorsement doesn't mean it believes Latino voters should be disengaged from the election or the fights that will continue regardless of who wins.
In a video featuring organizers and community members from across the country, Mijente grapples with the reality that many Latino voters and rights advocates are "currently disillusioned with the Biden administration."
An Axios-Ipsos poll in April found that while Latino voters support the Democratic Party on issues such as abortion rights and immigration, support for President Joe Biden among the community had fallen precipitously to 41%, down from 55% in December 2021.
Biden, who is facing pressure to step aside in the presidential race, has recently cracked down on migrants' ability to seek asylum, and he expanded former President Donald Trump's Title 42 rule aimed at swiftly deporting immigrants.
"We can't endorse Biden or the Democratic Party, but we understand the threat that a Trump administration poses to our communities," said Marisa Franco, national director of Mijente. "Our video captures the urgency of this moment, calling for a mobilization of Latinx voters to defeat Trump. By participating in this election, we are making a strategic decision to give us the best chance to fight for a just future for our families."
The video was released ahead of Trump's planned speech accepting the party's nomination at the Republican National Convention. At the gathering, delegates have been seen holding signs reading, "Mass deportation now!" as speakers have pushed Trump's immigration agenda.
The former president intends to carry out the Republican Party's plan to "carry out the largest deportation operation in American history," and has proposed building huge detention camps to house undocumented immigrants awaiting deportation flights.
While warning Latinos of the danger posed by Trump and his vice presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), one Mjiente organizer said in the video that "Biden seeks to form the same anti-Trump coalition from 2020, often taking our communities for granted and the progressive movement as a given."
"The status quo will make us wonder, what is our future? What is our place in this country?" said one organizer.
Illinois-based Mijente member Corina Pedraza said that Trump and the Republicans, if elected, "will dismantle gains of generations past. They seek to send us back into the shadows, back into the closet, and to the back of the bus."
While Mijente made its first presidential endorsement in 2020, supporting Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ramos explained that this year, "the choice lies beyond Trump versus Biden. The contrast between these candidates is what we can do."
The group said it has launched mobilization efforts in states including Georgia, Texas, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Arizona "to amplify Latino voices and shape the national conversation," including through El Chisme Tour 2024.
The tour gathers organizers, artists, elected representatives, and educators in 20 cities across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, with the goal of broadening "the discussion of what's at stake in this election and engage audiences disillusioned with the current political discourse," said Franco.
"We need to reconnect at a local level with joy and strategic determination to push back the ultra-conservative agenda," she added.
Mijente's video ends with several members explaining why they plan to vote in the election and organize for justice—no matter who wins in November.
"I am voting in this election because this election is about us, not about them," said one organizer, referring to the two candidates.
"I'm organizing for my people, the present, and the future," said another.
A vote in the 2024 election, said another organizer, "is a tool that our movement can use to bring us closer to a country where we can thrive, without having to fight for everything we need to survive."
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