By Paul Feldman on May 9, 2018
Farmers in California, the nation’s top agricultural state, are applying near-record levels of pesticides despite the rising popularity of organic produce and concerns about the health of farmworkers and rural schoolchildren. The latest figures, released in April by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation and covering 2016, show that 209 million pounds of pesticide active…
Posted in FairWarning Reports, Recent Stories | Tagged Air Pollution/Toxic Exposure, Environmental Safety and Health, Food Supply, Workplace Safety and Health |
By Paul Feldman on April 19, 2018
Dicamba, an herbicide sold by agribusiness giants Monsanto, BASF and DowDupont, doesn’t just kill weeds. Last year, according to a University of Missouri survey, dicamba damaged an estimated 3.6 million acres of soybeans across 25 states when it drifted from farms planted with seeds genetically engineered to resist the chemical onto regular soybean fields. That…
Posted in FairWarning Reports, Recent Stories | Tagged Environmental Safety and Health, Food Supply |
By Paul Feldman on March 29, 2018
Editor's note: See clarification at the end of the story.
In its newsletters and magazines, in congressional testimony and on its website, AARP warns seniors about deceptive direct mail and other dubious marketing come-ons as part of its mission to protect members from financial abuses. But the huge advocacy group’s own aggressive efforts to coax seniors to join or renew their memberships also have drawn…
Posted in FairWarning Investigates, Recent Stories | Tagged Consumer Protection, financial abuse |
Few Signs of Coal Revival Despite Trump Administration Support
By Paul Feldman on March 8, 2018
Despite the Trump Administration’s ardent support of coal over renewable energy, the percentage of U.S. electricity from renewable sources continued its gradual rise in 2017. Wind, solar and hydroelectric energy accounted for 16 percent of power production during President Trump’s first year in office, up from 13 percent in 2016 and nearly double the level…
Posted in FairWarning Reports, Recent Stories | Tagged climate, coal, energy |
By Paul Feldman on February 28, 2018
The increasing use of smartphones and recreational marijuana may be contributing to a surge in the numbers of pedestrians killed in traffic crashes, according to a new analysis. The report by the Governors Highway Safety Association estimates that pedestrian fatalities totaled about 6,000 in 2017, roughly the same as the year before, when the official…
Posted in FairWarning Reports, Recent Stories | Tagged Auto and Highway Safety, Cell Phones, Gadgets and Distracted Driving |
By Paul Feldman on February 6, 2018
The victims include a Bible college student in Iowa who was bicycling home from work, a 13-year-old Michigan boy riding in his older sister’s car and a Minnesota school bus driver picking up the morning newspaper in front of his home. All were killed in recent years by distracted drivers who had been texting or…
Posted in FairWarning Investigates, Recent Stories | Tagged Auto and Highway Safety, Cell Phones, Gadgets and Distracted Driving |
By Paul Feldman on January 22, 2018
Amid a resurgence in U.S. traffic fatalities now taking roughly 100 lives a day, an advocacy group today issued a report card identifying states that do the most, and least, to improve highway safety.
Posted in FairWarning Reports, Recent Stories | Tagged Auto and Highway Safety, Cell Phones, Gadgets and Distracted Driving |
By Paul Feldman on December 7, 2017
The era of driverless vehicles appears to be rapidly approaching, raising a bevy of urgent questions about how to prevent the emergence of new hazards on the nation’s roads. So, how much preparation have federal transportation authorities carried out to meet the challenge of the advent of self-driving cars and trucks? Not nearly enough, according…
Posted in FairWarning Reports | Tagged Auto and Highway Safety, Consumer Protection, Product Hazards and Recalls |
By Paul Feldman on November 29, 2017
Anti-smoking groups, frustrated by federal inaction on restricting menthol cigarettes, are taking matters into their own hands. In recent months, cities ranging from Oakland and Los Gatos, Calif., to Minneapolis and St. Paul have passed laws limiting the availability of menthol cigarettes, which health advocates say have a particular appeal to beginning smokers. St. Paul…
Posted in FairWarning Reports | Tagged Consumer Protection, Smoking and Tobacco Industry |
By Paul Feldman on October 26, 2017
Amid complaints by consumers about fumes and carbon monoxide seeping into the cabins of Ford Explorers, the nation’s No. 2 automaker next week will launch a free servicing program. Ford continues to insist that the vehicles are safe, despite complaints from more than 2,000 motorists who say they have been inhaling exhaust in their Explorers….
Posted in FairWarning Reports | Tagged Air Pollution/Toxic Exposure, Auto and Highway Safety, Consumer Protection |
