Pesticides Annotated Bibliography

Within the last ten years, the lack of awareness and false guidelines about the toxicity of pesticides has contributed to many tragic events. In 1988, Karen James, a Michigan postal worker, was walking past one of ChemLawn’s "fertilizer" trucks when a hose ruptured and she was drenched with chemicals. She was told by the ChemLawn employee not to worry because only fertilizers were in the spray and she would be fine. However, soon after she became seriously ill, with symptoms that include diarrhea, vomiting, and fatigue. When her doctor called ChemLawn to find out what chemicals she was exposed to, he was told that they do not use chemicals. But later tests on Karen revealed high levels of Dursban, a toxic pesticide, which forced ChemLawn to admit that they had been lying (Dieglman, 1996).

In the early 1940’s, a new technology emerged that was able to successfully combat crop-damaging and disease-carrying insects. A new age of synthetic chemical pesticides use arose. After their impressive success in fighting deadly insect-borne diseases during World War II, pesticides were used widely to combat insect pests for agriculture and public health. Few people challenged the benefits of the new scientific and technological products and many embraced pesticide use with enthusiasm. Despite its success, doubts about pesticide use began to appear a decade later in the 1950’s, when the government began a vigorous pesticide campaign across the country against insect pests. Scientists began reporting heavy losses of avian and

It has been a prime location for studies to be conducted by health organizations to see if there are any links to the pesticide usage occurring along with people living in the vicinity of where it is being used. ARTICLE PESTICDES STUDY (Kehoe) The study correlates a link between certain chemicals that are used in the manufacturing of pesticides and these chemical ORGANOCHLORINES to Alzheimer’s disease along with many autism related defects between children. Children are who we try to keep safe as they are the young and will be our future. Pregnant women living in pesticide applied areas were more likely to have a child with birth defects as the chemicals are absorbed through the air and can reach the fetus via the bloodstream. These are also the most susceptible to these chemicals being used by farmers and the by the produce they

Bees are important pollinators of many plants in the ecosystem (2). Recently, the decline in the number of bees in North America and Europe has shifted the research focus of many ecologists towards pesticide use (2). The impacts of pesticides on bees and other pollinators can have a major influence on honey production and biodiversity.

This suggests that the roadsides was once beautiful and bloomed with healthy and lively vegetation; however, they are now destroyed due to the use of pesticides. From these examples, it can be shown that even though pesticide is beneficial, its deadly effects outweigh its benefits; in addition, it is a dangerous substances to the environment, organisms, and even human.

“There is a strong scientific consensus that bees are exposed to neonicotinoid pesticides in the fields and suffer harm from the doses received, according to a new analysis of all the scientific evidence to date.” (Carrington, 2015). I will argue the idea that the exposure to the neonicotinoid insecticides are one of the key causes of the population declination in bees. According to many studies, neonicotinoid insecticides physically harm bees as they inhibit their nervous system and they can no longer navigate their way home (Fischer et al, 2014). Bees are also crucial for the pollination of many crops around the world, without them, a great percent of our agricultural practices would suffer

“Neonicotinoids are a class of pesticides that are known to have acute and chronic effects on honey bees and other pollinator species, and are considered a major factor in overall population declines. Twenty-nine independent scientists conducted a global review of 1,121 independent studies and found overwhelming evidence of pesticides linked to bee declines.”

Pesticides also have a great affect on the food we consume. Food is one of the great necessities of life. Yet, a growing amount of evidence indicates that the food supply is being contaminated with pesticides (Mott & Snyder vii). These pesticides are most commonly

It is also shown that pesticides are partly responsible for the rising cancer rates and birth defects among children (“Pesticides”).

The pesticide class neonicotinoids has been accused of being the cause of CCD. However the neonicotinoids

This connects to the idea that even when something as small as a tadpole is negatively affected by pesticides, this small species overall affects a greater amount of wildlife depending on other animals relationship with the smaller species. To support my second claim of pesticides negatively harming humans due to its ability to cause crippling illnesses as well as death, as reported by CQ researcher, a trustworthy database because of its reliable information, recent findings show that exposure to various pesticides is associated with an increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease, depression and lung cancer. Pesticide exposure may also increase the risk of allergic asthma, diabetes, thyroid disease and colorectal and pancreatic cancer as well as melanoma. This article from CQ researcher was written on June 5th, 2016 by Jennifer Weeks, and is important to note because consumers of pesticides face many dangers due to the harmful chemicals found in

Therefore, pesticides will be regarded as a crucial means of reaching universal demands, with agricultural and food systems needing to adapt to threats posed by climate change. It is estimated that without pesticides, global food production could decline by 35-40%, amplifying the cost of food and threatening food security (Farming UK, 2016).

One concern about pesticides and herbicide usage is the amount of residues left on the end product of crops sprayed with the chemicals, and their effects on human health. (Williamson, 2007, p. 184). However, these effects are closely tested and levels are strictly regulated to ensure there is no danger from possible pesticide residues. Since 1910, many rules, regulations, and agencies have been formed to monitor the safety of the pesticides and herbicides used in conventional farming. These chemicals must meet specific safety standards in order to be registered for use, and regulations on levels of each product safe for use are also put in place. (Tafel et al.,2007, p.184). All pesticides are rigorously examined to ensure they have no significant effects on human health, or the environment. The residues in the food chain are closely monitored, and regularly tested, to ensure they are below legal limits. In a recent survey of residues

Crops can be modified to be protected against dangerous weather. For example, an unexpected frost can destroy sensitive seedlings. There is an antifreeze gene that is found in cold water fish which has been introduced into potato plants. These plants are then able to withstand cold temperatures that would normally would kill unmodified seedlings.

Honey bees, feared by the misinformed and admired by the intelligent, are dying. The interest in bees from many environmentalists is not for a sudden cause, as this issue is not new to the world. Honey bees as a population have been in decline for years but have yet to reach the endangered species list anywhere in the United States except for Hawaii. Many people kill bees that buzz around joyfully, simply because they are afraid of being stung by them; however, a vast majority of bees do not sting and the others do not care. This unfortunate commonality is not even one of the top causes of the worldwide epidemic of honey bees. Although bees are jokingly idolized on the internet in pictures and videos as a result of a popular children’s movie, their population decline is in fact quite serious. Honey bees and other pollinators like birds and insects ensure the pollination of flowering plants and crops all around the globe. Not only do honey bees pollinate plants that produce the foods that humans eat, but they also pollinate trees that produce clean oxygen for Earth. Without honey bees, the world as we know it could soon end, due to carbon dioxide pollution and lack of farmable foods. The population of honeybees and other important pollinator-bee species is dwindling due to a dilemma known to scientists as colony collapse disorder (CCD) because of the use of bee-killing pesticides, known as neonicotinoids, the decrease of flower meadows in the world, and the general increase