Friday, August 16, 2013

Pesticide Regulation and Research


According to experts, developing countries need to develop stronger pesticide regulation and gain a better understanding of the impact of pesticides on tropical environments. Especially in developing countries, “millions of tonnes of pesticides are used each year in agriculture, sometimes with poor oversight and knowledge regarding their environmental impact.” Currently, scientists are struggling to relate what they are observing in laboratory studies to the information gathered by observing the environment. Ever worse, most studies done in fully developed areas of the United States and Europe focus on pesticide effects on climate factors of those regions, not the warmer climate of most developing countries. One solution to this problem would be for more developed countries to initiate research research related to these tropical climates. Another option is to lower people's dependence on pesticides altogether. Whichever course is chosen, changes need to be made for the betterment and protection of the environment.

4 comments:

  1. I just did my blog post on pesticides too and found it kind of interesting. I discovered that scientists have experimented and created insects that are bred to kill other insects, which could reduce the need for pesticides! But unfortunately this probably would not be a reasonable solution for developing nations, so I agree that better pesticide-control and experimentation need to be used. Maybe the governments of these countries could place some restrictions on pesticide use. Maybe more developed nations would research and create more eco-friendly pesticides in the hotter tropical climates in exchange for some of the crops, or even just for good trading opportunities.

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  2. Abby is right saying that lowering people's dependence on pesticides altogether will help create a better environment even if it only helps a little. Pesticides need to be experimented and used in the proper way. In my opinion I think that the government should take some control in this and figure out what exactly should happen to pesticides whether its good or bad. This is all a processes of keeping our environment safe and kept clean. Maybe it could be that Pesticides need to be put upon new countries so that it can only make their environment stronger. But we won’t know until all the research is done so we have to keep our fingers crossed. I think our environment does need more eco-friendly pesticides, after all it builds character.

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  4. I think that both of the ideas that the two of you have presented would go a long way in pesticide reduction and regulation. Annie, I read the blog you posted about the genetically modified insects; if they were released the need for harmful pesticides would be greatly reduced. Also, the eco-friendly pesticides that you talked about and the developed nations aiding developing nations are both great solutions. And Hannah, I agree with you that the government should take more control of the regulation of pesticide use and finding alternatives. A solution to the overuse of harmful pesticides needs to be found.

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