The fact that C.E.O. Andrew Liveris is a close adviser to Donald Trump can’t hurt.
Chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and malathion are a group
of pesticides that are a big money-maker for Dow Chemical, with the
company selling approximately 5 million pounds of chlorpyrifos in the
U.S. each year, according to the Associated Press.
Dow Chemical, however, has a small problem on its hands, and it’s not
the fact that the pesticide was “originally derived from a nerve gas
developed by Nazi Germany,” per the AP, though that’s certainly not
great for marketing materials. In this case, it’s the fact that studies
by federal scientists have found that chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and
malathion are harmful to almost 1,800 “critically threatened or
endangered species.” Historically, groups like the Environmental
Protection Agency would want to avoid killing frogs, fish, birds,
mammals, and plants, which is why the regulator and two others that it
works with to enforce the Endangered Species Act are reportedly “close
to issuing findings expected to result in new limits on how and where
the highly toxic pesticides can be used,” the AP reports.
Luckily for Dow, the E.P.A. is now run by climate-change skeptic and general enemy of living things Scott Pruitt,
who last month said he would reverse “an Obama-era effort to bar the
use of Dow's chlorpyrifos pesticide on food after recent peer-reviewed
studies found that even tiny levels of exposure could hinder the
development of children's brains.” Plus, Dow Chemical C.E.O. Andrew Liveris is good buddies with President Donald Trump.
So, you can see how the company, which the AP reports also spent $13.6
million on lobbying last year, might feel like it is in the clear.
No comments:
Post a Comment