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The Environmental Protection Agency will soon be sued over alleged violations of the Endangered Species Act through failing to adequately regulate dangerous pesticides. Recent cases in Washington state and Northern California have both yielded rulings which showed the EPA to be in breach of the Act for specific populations of animals. Now the Center for Biological Diversity is launching a suit citing over 880 animals being affected by nearly 400 chemicals. If the suit is successful it could change the way farming is done in the United States. At the heart of the accusations is that the EPA failed to consult with regulatory agencies, such as the National Marine Fisheries Service, when drafting regulations for the use of pesticides. According to the United Nations between 20 and 40 percent of the global food crop is lost each year to weeds, pests and disease and the pesticides cited by the suit do help to stem this loss, but not without a serious price. More than a billion pounds of pesticides are used each year in the U.S. alone and many have been shown to be extremely destructive to native fauna populations. The herbicide Atrazine has been shown to chemically castrate male frogs at very low levels. Another pesticide called Carbofuran has been found to potentially kill 17 birds for every 5 acres treated. Pesticides have also been linked to a number of adverse health effects in humans including birth defects, ADHD, and other neurological issues.

GUEST: Jeff Miller, Conservation Advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity

Find out more at www.biologicaldiversity.org.