The Poisoning of Democracy: Backroom Torpedoes Sink State Pesticide Law Pesticide Industry Asserts Backroom Power to Stop Common Sense Public Health Disclosure Law by State Legislature

Posted by - April 18, 2017

The 2017 Hawaii State Legislature deserves an “F” for failing to regulate in any way whatsoever Hawaii’s largest users of Restricted Use Pesticides (RUP). Most egregiously they failed to step up and ban chlorpyrifos, a known neurotoxin used widely to kill insects on the genetically engineered cornfields located on Molokai, Kauai, Maui, and  the north

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Trump Administration Gives Thumbs Up to Monsanto Spraying Toxic Pesticide on Maui Protecting Children’s Health Less Important Than Increasing Corporate Profits

Posted by - March 31, 2017

Against the advice of the Environmental Protection Agency’s own scientists, President Trump’s newly appointed EPA chief, Scott Pruitt, has refused to ban the dangerous pesticide chlorpyrifos. “We are returning to using sound science in decision-making, rather than predetermined results,” said Pruitt. Monsanto reportedly sprays around 140 acres of land on Maui and Molokai with the

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State Legislature Kills Vital Pesticide Transparency Bill Secret Backroom Deal Leaves No Fingerprints or Public Record of Vote

Posted by - March 24, 2017

Hopes ran high for a proposed bill that would have helped inform and empower Hawaii’s residents about the impact of toxic restricted-use pesticides. But House Bill 790 sank after pushback from the powerful biotech industry and resistance from the old guard. “The lawmakers who opposed this measure should be ashamed,” says Ashley Lukens, director of the Hawaii Center for

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Hawaii State Government Wakes Up To It’s Pesticide Problem

Posted by - December 17, 2016

The state is finally taking some first steps to address  concerns about pesticide drift from large agri-chemical company operations in Hawaii. In a joint press statement, the Hawaii Departments of Health and Agriculture described several initiatives recommended by the state/county sponsored Joint Fact Finding Group Report. Plans include a $500,000 surface water quality study (by

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Earthjustice Takes on Hawaii’s Dysfunctional Department of Agriculture

Posted by - August 5, 2016

The environmental law firm, Earthjustice has asked the US Environmental Protection Agency to revoke the Hawaii Department of Agriculture’s primary authority to investigate and enforce pesticide use violations of federal pesticide law in Hawaii. Earthjustice representatives say the HDOA has “failed to enforce pesticide use violations and has allowed a large backlog of pesticide complaints and

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