Interesting ...

[Patrick Foley]

Here in the California Central Valley, many frog populations appear to be on
the decline and many individuals are deformed (with hernias etc). This is
based on personal observation, and I am astonished Paul thinks otherwise. I do
not know what to blame, but there is no reason to remove pesticides from the
suspects.

living, learning and teaching in the Central Valley for 20 years,
Patrick Foley
patfoley at csus.edu

Paul Cherubini wrote:

> Hank,  the frog / herbicide study was a lab study and may have no
> relevance to field conditions.  We learned this lesson with the
> monarch butterfly Bt corn scare which turned out to be nothing.
> Here in California's central valley  it is routine to hear hundreds
> of frog "singing" at night in late winter in agricultural areas where
> atrazine and Roundup are used heavily.
>
> Now monarch scientists are increasingly saying herbicides like
> Roundup pose a "major" or even "catastrophic" threat to the
> monarch. Examples:
>
> http://whyfiles.org/083isotope/4.html
>
> He [O.R. (Chip)Taylor} says a major new threat is the widespread use
> of corn and soybeans that are genetically resistant to herbicide
> like Roundup. Roundup-resistant crops allow farmers to spray
> Roundup, which kills just about anything green.If the herbicide
> becomes virtually ubiquitous, the side effects could be
> enormous. "We are cleaning up U.S. agriculture, the weedy fields, in a way
> that they've never been cleaned up before," Taylor says. "Monarchs, birds,
> and other animals depend  on weediness" in crop fields. Yet the potential
> of herbicide-resistant crops is to eradicate weeds. '
>
> Dr. Lincoln Brower Nov. 22, 2000:
> http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2000/11/1122_monarchs.html.
>
> All over the United States herbicides are replacing costly
> mowing as the primary method of controlling weeds
> along roadsides, power line right-of-ways, and
> agricultural fields‹areas that together comprise much
> of the monarch¹s breeding grounds. "Herbicide use at that level,"
> says Brower, "is  catastrophic for monarchs."
>
> But University of Nebraska weed scientists say just the opposite:
> http://www.ianr.unl.edu/pubs/weeds/g384.htm
>
> "There are several reasons common milkweed is on the
> increase in Nebraska. Less tillage is used in crop production
> today than in the past, creating more favorable conditions for
> plant establishment and growth. HERBICIDES [e.g. Roundup]
> ARE WIDELY USED TODAY WHICH OFTEN DO NOT
> HARM COMMON MILKWEED BUT CONTROL MOST
> ANNUAL WEEDS THAT WOULD
> OTHERWISE COMPETE WITH IT Cultivated land in eastern
> Nebraska is in row crops most of the time, which provides
> a favorable environment for common milkweed. Irrigation and
> fertilizer use are practices that enhance common milkweed as
> well as crop growth."
>
> "Under present row crop production methods common milkweed
> is spreading and infestations are becoming more severe. Surveys
> indicate common milkweed has increased markedly in row crops
> during a four-year study in eastern and south central Nebraska
> (Table I). Tillage implements cut and drag root sections of the plant,
> which spreads it. Reduced tillage systems provide favorable
> conditions for the development, growth and spread of this
> plant. Use of irrigation water and fertilizer also creates a
> favorable environment for common milkweed."
>
>
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