Carey L. Biron

Carey L. Biron is a former Washington correspondent for MintPress and for Inter Press News focusing on issues of equity and accountability, environmental and corporate regulation, and international development and governance from Capitol Hill.

EPA Casts Doubt On Efficacy Of Pesticide Linked To Dwindling Bee Populations

“Pesticide sellers have worked hard to convince American farmers that they need to use these toxic seed treatments. Now that we know that these treatments don’t even help farmers, EPA must take action to ban them,” one environmental watchdog tells MintPress.

Carey L. Biron
By Carey L. Biron
Kansas Daily Life

WASHINGTON --- Environmentalists and those pushing for the weakened use of chemicals in agriculture say they are bolstered by a new study from the U.S. government that strongly questions the efficacy of one of the most common pesticides used on soybeans. The class of pesticides under investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency is known

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Density Of Industrial Hog Farms In North Carolina Prompts Civil Rights Investigation

People living near North Carolina’s large-scale hog farms have complained for decades about health and quality-of-life issues, with communities of color reportedly disproportionately affected. The EPA is now considering whether to launch a full investigation.

Carey L. Biron
By Carey L. Biron
florence

WASHINGTON --- U.S. regulators are currently looking into whether the extraordinarily high density of industrial hog farms in eastern North Carolina is having a disproportionate negative impact on minority communities, as alleged in a new complaint. In the coming days, the Environmental Protection Agency will make an initial decision on whether

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Syngenta Facing Legal Blitz Over Genetically Modified Corn

Biotech giant Syngenta’s fact sheet on a genetically modified corn urges farmers to “plant with confidence,” yet when China rejected this corn because the country hadn’t approved that particular product for its market, the entire U.S. corn industry suffered.

Carey L. Biron
By Carey L. Biron
Central Illinois corn and soybean farmer Tim Seifert loads his field planter with Syngenta insecticide for refuge corn while planting DEKALB seed corn, left front, for spring planting .

WASHINGTON --- An unusual cluster of legal filings in recent weeks has capped a tumultuous year for the Swiss biotechnology giant Syngenta Corp., and highlights ongoing concerns over the inability of the United States to keep genetically modified crops separate from conventional crops. This month, three class action proposals were filed on

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Uzbekistan Still Using Child Slaves To Pick Cotton

Uzbekistan may have cut back on its use of young child laborers, but its use of teens and others in its forced labor system continues drawing criticism from social groups, retailers and governments, who want to weed unethically harvested Uzbek cotton out of the supply chain.

Carey L. Biron
By Carey L. Biron
Cotton_field

The world’s fifth largest cotton producer, Uzbekistan, is currently in the midst of a two-month-long harvest and, according to reports, a longstanding system of forced labor is again being used to gather the lucrative crop. For years, children as young as seven years old were forced to work in the cotton fields during the annual sowing, weeding

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FEC Acts On Citizens United But Sidesteps Disclosure Entirely

The Federal Election Commission has made a rare break from its near-constant deadlock, but critics say its new rule changes fail to address the disclosure of the “tsunami of dark money” flooding the U.S. election system.

Carey L. Biron
By Carey L. Biron

WASHINGTON --- After five years of deadlock and facing increasing concerns of terminal dysfunction, the Federal Election Commission has moved forward on implementing new rules in response to the Supreme Court’s two most significant recent decisions related to election finance. The most prominent of these rulings, the 2010 case known as Citizens

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Indonesians May Finally See Their Day In Court Against Exxon Mobil

A case on Exxon Mobil’s alleged human rights abuses in Indonesia can proceed in a U.S. court, but only if it can be proven that the decision-making process that led to those abuses unfolded on U.S. soil.

Carey L. Biron
By Carey L. Biron
MEN BURN SIGN

WASHINGTON --- Two court cases stemming from longstanding human rights abuse allegations against Exxon Mobil Corp. operations in Indonesia are again going forward, following a federal judge’s decision here that supporters call a “huge victory.” Rights advocates say the news is being welcomed by the plaintiffs and others in the Indonesian

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A Third Of Schoolchildren Vulnerable To Hazardous Chemicals Facilities

While the conversation on hazardous chemicals facilities tends to revolve around risks to the general public, nearly 20 million schoolchildren go to schools located in vulnerability zones. Many of these schools lack plans in case of a chemical emergency.

Carey L. Biron
By Carey L. Biron
Moscow OH 2 coal-fired power plant 2010 Blog

WASHINGTON --- One in three U.S. students attends school within the formally designated “vulnerability zone” of facilities involved in the manufacture or storage of large amounts of hazardous chemicals, according to new research. That would translate into nearly 20 million schoolchildren spending near-daily time within the vicinity of at least

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