Oxygen for People, Alcohol for Bears and Wildlife Pesticide Poisoning

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ILLUSTRATION: TOM OLIVIERI
Wildlife deaths due to pesticide poisoning are on the rise. In an attempt to track the extent of the problem and substantiate the need for controls, Defenders of Wildlife has established a Poison Patrol hot line.

News briefs on oxygen for people, alcohol for bears, solar speed record, consumer’s handbook and wildlife pesticide poisoning.

Oxygen for People, Alcohol for Bears and Wildlife Pesticide Poisoning

Hold That Soil

Two environmentally identical farms near Spokane, Washington, are providing ideal conditions for studying the comparative effects of organic and chemical-based farming techniques on soil. One farm has been operated naturally, using only crop rotation to maintain native soil fertility, since it was first plowed in 1909. Directly adjacent to it, another farm, first cultivated in 1908, has been receiving the recommended amounts of chemical fertilizers and pesticides since 1948, when many farms made the switch to inorganic techniques. Studies of the two farms have shown not only that the organically farmed soil holds more moisture, has a softer surface crust, and contains higher levels of organic matter and soil microorganisms and enzymes, but also that the topsoil is on the average six inches thicker than on the neighboring farm. “All that change has taken place since 1948,” says researcher John Reganold of Washington State University in Pullman.

Blotto Bears

  • Published on Mar 1, 1988
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