Common Houseplants Scrub the Air of Indoor Toxins
Story Highlights In 1968, scientist Bill Wolverton discovered that swamp plants were eliminating toxic Agent Orange from local contaminated water. His subsequent research for NASA remains the gold standard for using plants to remove toxins, such as benzene, formaldehyde and ammonia from closed indoor spaces. Some of the most potent plants identified for purifying indoor […]
Tetanus Shots for Texas Hurricane Harvey Flood Victims?
U.S. Representative Pete Sessions (R-Texas) has encouraged victims of Hurricane Harvey in Texas to get vaccinated against tetanus, particularly people who have been wading through dirty flood water. On August 28, 2017, Rep. Sessions said on CNN, “I would like to say in watching this there are a couple things as a result of my Boy Scout…
Vaccination and the Growing Rates of Childhood Food Allergies
We all know of someone that has a food allergy because it has become such a common condition that people suffer from, particularly children. According to the non-profit organization Food Allergy Research and Education, researchers estimate that 15 million Americans suffer from food allergies. Approximately 9 million adults and 6 million children have food allergies.
Pesticides: The ‘Silent Spring’ Continues
Rachel Carson’s first book, “Under the Sea-Wind,” was a beautiful masterpiece that celebrated the beauty of birds and sea creatures in their natural habitat. It painted a vivid, yet mysterious picture of a never-before-seen world. Though it received early praise, the book never hit stores and ultimately flopped as its release coincided with the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Naled Spraying in South Carolina to Combat Zika Kills Millions of Honeybees
Early on a Sunday morning this past summer, the noxious pesticide Naled was sprayed over Dorchester County, South Carolina in an effort to kill Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which are believed to transmit the Zika virus. In collateral damage, the aerial spray also killed millions of honeybees. One local beekeeper, who lost 2.5 million bees in a matter of minutes, described the toll as devastating, saying her bee farm “looks like it’s been nuked.” Dorchester County administrator Jason Ward…
Naled May Be DDT and Zika May Be Polio All Over Again
Back in the mid-1940s, the U.S. government undertook a mass fumigation campaign using the highly toxic organochloride pesticide DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane). The aim was to wipe out mosquitoes believed to be spreading polio. In a Universal Newsreel (produced by Universal City Studios) from 1946 showing mass DDT spraying in San Antonio, TX, the narrator…