skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, February 13, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

NATO allies insist Ukraine and Europe must be in peace talks as Trump touts Putin meeting; PA advocate: Defunding Planned Parenthood threatens affordable health care; Students protest as Ohio Senate weighs higher-ed overhaul; Farmers markets can be a form of climate action.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Deregulation raises environmental and public health concerns, national monuments face potential risks, political neutrality in education sparks protests, and Tulsi Gabbard's confirmation fuels controversy.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural America struggles with opioids and homelessness in unexpected ways, Colorado's Lariat Ditch could help spur local recreation, and book deliveries revive rural communities hit by Hurricane Helene.

Ore. County Pesticide Ban Model for Fight Against Farm Chemicals

play audio
Play

Friday, September 28, 2018   

NEWPORT, Ore. – A grassroots effort in a seaside Oregon county last year could serve as an example for how other communities can beat large corporate interests.

Last year, Lincoln County voters banned the aerial application of pesticides, despite opposition backing from companies like Monsanto and Dow AgroSciences that totaled nearly a $500,000. According to documents obtained by online publication The Intercept, pesticide-industry group CropLife America made the campaign its center of attention.

Rio Davidson, a solar panel contractor and a member of Lincoln County Community Rights – the group that wrote the ban, says the region's history of effects from pesticides helped overcome long financial odds.

"We were a bunch of committed locals that had seen these harms over 30 years, and we were here to kind of help guide the community along to a better, healthy way of living that's going to be better for our children, our wildlife and our watershed," says Davidson.

Scientific research has linked pesticides to cancer, miscarriages and other health effects. Many farmers in the area were opposed to this measure, because they said it would hurt their business.

Maria Sause is the secretary of the board of directors of Lincoln County Community Rights and retired. Sause says gave her a lot of time to dedicate to this campaign.

For Sause, this initiative was about more than pesticides. She believes there's an imbalance in the legal system that weighs justice toward corporations.

"We are a movement that works to put people's fundamental rights, like the right to safety and health, before corporate rights,” says Sause. “And in our times, our legal system really puts corporate rights above people's."

Davidson says just six people were at the core of this campaign. He thinks it's possible to replicate what happened in Lincoln County with a small group of committed individuals.

"You can organize and you can make this difference in your community, even against all the monied interests, but it takes a lot of work, it takes a lot of time," says Davidson.

More than 150 localities across the country have restricted pesticide use in their jurisdictions.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Farmers markets encourage consumption of fruits and vegetables, which is much more climate-friendly compared with a meat-based diet. (Corey/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

By Gabriella Sotelo for Sentient.Broadcast version by Suzanne Potter for California News Service reporting for the Sentient/Just and Climate-Friendly …


Environment

play sound

As the Trump administration considers oil, gas and mining on lands owned by all Americans, including in national monuments designated under the …

Social Issues

play sound

Connecticut education advocates feel Gov. Ned Lamont's 2026-2027 budget proposal continues a history of underfunding education. While the new …


Alabama Senate Bill 76 would also protect individuals from having to leave someone under their care if finding a suitable replacement is impossible during jury service. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

An Alabama Senate Judiciary Committee has unanimously approved a bill that would exempt nursing mothers from jury duty. The proposal comes after an …

play sound

Ohio Senate Bill 1 is drawing strong reactions across the state, particularly from students in higher education. The bill, which its supporters say …

Cape Fear Community College is among the 15 colleges in the NC Community Colleges Boost pilot program. (Billy Hathorn/Wikimedia Commons)

Social Issues

play sound

An effort to increase students heading into high-demand jobs from North Carolina's community colleges is receiving a "boost." The N-C Community Colleg…

Social Issues

play sound

A January report shows that in rural counties home to large numbers of American Indians, including in Montana, people are more likely to rely on …

Social Issues

play sound

Whether it's pressure from inflation or health-care costs eating away at savings, a reliable "nest egg" is still up in the air for many Americans…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021