Vilsack represents a return to a status quo that doesn’t adequately address climate
Photo by Andrew Harnik/AP
Early last week, presidential transition officials announced that Joe Biden would select Tom Vilsack as his secretary of agriculture, a choice that suggests a straightforward and to some, disappointing continuation of the Obama years. Vilsack served as governor of Iowa from 1999 until 2007, made a brief run for president, and then became secretary of agriculture for Barack Obama, a job he held for Obama’s two terms until he began work as a lobbying executive for the dairy industry. He’ll be welcomed back to the USDA (which also oversees the US Forest Service) with applause from farm-state Republicans and ag industry lobbyists and with reticence even outright hostility from environmental advocates. The announcement was made official last Thursday.
About DTN
DTN delivers accurate, objective, real-time, and actionable insights to increase our 2 million customers’ confidence and support their business decisions. In a data-rich world, our actionable insights in weather and financial analytics make sense of the information, drive change in processes and help businesses prosper. They empower our agriculture, energy and transportation customers – those who work endlessly to feed, fuel and protect our world. We believe that when our customers are supported with the most reliable and innovative information to the Nth Degree, they prosper and we all win. DTN is based in Minneapolis with offices globally.
2 min read
Pesticide poisonings on farms around the globe have risen dramatically since the last global assessments made 30 years ago. About 385 million cases of acute pesticide poisonings happen annually worldwide, causing around 11,000 fatalities, a study by “BMC Public Health” has revealed.
The study published on December 7 in the peer-reviewed journal BMC Public Health titled, ‘The global distribution of acute unintentional pesticide poisoning: estimations based on a systematic review’, is the first global estimate since 1990.
The systematic review of unintentional acute pesticide poisonings was commissioned by Pesticide Action Network (PAN), a network of over 600 participating non-governmental organisations, individuals and institutions in over 90 countries working to replace the use of hazardous pesticides.
Mystery Illness Sickens 580 in Indian Town, One Dead
Mystery Illness Sickens 580 in Indian Town, One Dead
Comments Off on Mystery Illness Sickens 580 in Indian Town, One Dead
MUMBAI More than 580 people in the southern city of Eluru in the state of Andhra Pradesh have been hospitalized with a mystery illness. Blood samples of 50 patients showed high levels of lead and nickel, leading to fears that the cause might be pesticide poisoning.
“We suspect these cases are due to lead or organochlorine poisoning, but the source is yet to be identified,” Dr. A V R Mohan, medical superintendent of the Eluru Government Hospital, told Zenger News.