Before squishing an insect, think twice. Did you know that beetles are scavangers, feeding on dead animals and fallen trees? They recycle the biological materials into forms found useful by other organisms and insects and are therefore responsible for much of the process by which topsoil is created. Or did you know that the most useful of all insects are insectivores, those that feed on other insects? Many insects can potentially reproduce so quickly that if all of their offspring were to survive, they could literally bury the earth in a single season. However, for any given insect one can name, whether it is considered a pest or not, there will be one to hundreds of species of insects that are either parasitoids or predators upon it, and play a significant role in controlling it. We usually think of birds in this role, but insects, though less glamorous, are much more significant. Human attempts to control pests by insecticides can backfire, because important but unrecognized insects already helping to control pest populations are also killed by the poison, leading eventually to population explosions of the pest species. So the next time, instead of squishing, reach out for THE BUGBUSTER (see our Cruelty-Free Pest Control section) and remove the insect from your home -- where you don't want it --to the outdoors -- where it belongs and where it is needed.

Experts warn of severe water shortages by 2080.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Half the world's population could face a shortage of clean water by 2080 because of climate change, experts warned. Wong Poh Poh, a professor at the National University of Singapore, told a regional conference that global warming was disrupting water flow patterns and increasing the severity of floods, droughts and storms — all of which reduce the availability of drinking water. Wong said the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that as many as 2 billion people won't have sufficient access to clean water by 2050. That figure is expected to rise to 3.2 billion by 2080 — nearly tripling the number who now do without clean water.

San Francisco Votes to Ban Cat Declawing

(Nov. 3, 2009) -- By a 9-2 vote, San Francisco's Board of Supervisors passed a measure Tuesday making it a crime for pet owners to declaw their cats. Violators face a potential jail sentence of six months and fine of up to $1,000. "Declawing cats is cruel and a form of torture," said the San Francisco measure's author, Ross Mirkarimi, who represents the city's 5th District. "It has not proven to be medically necessary." Feline onychectomy, the medical term for declawing, is already illegal in Norfolk, Va.; West Hollywood, Calif.; and 25 countries around the world, including most of Europe. "We're concerned about cats ending up abandoned," said SFSPCA President Jan McHugh-Smith. "Three [million] to 4 million animals are euthanized each year in the United States, and 70 percent of them are cats." Without the option to remove a cat's claws, McHugh-Smith fears that some owners will end up abandoning their pets. Still, the SPCA is no fan of declawing cats, and offers classes to pet owners on how to get kitties to stop scratching the furniture. "The cruel irony is that nothing is further from the truth," Koretz said. "Declawing actually leads to cats being abandoned, because it causes instant behavioral problems in cats. They stop using their litter boxes because of their pained paws so they urinate all over their owner's house. And they can no longer use their paws as a line of defense and become biters."

The European Union Puts Consumer Protection First; U.S. Law Does Not.

(June 12, 2008) The Washington Post has reported on new restrictions the European Union is imposing on makers of chemicals linked to cancer and other health problems. The new laws in the European Union require companies to demonstrate that a chemical is safe before it enters commerce -- the opposite of policies in the United States, where regulators must prove that a chemical is harmful before it can be restricted or removed from the market. The changes come at a time when all consumers are increasingly worried about the long-term consequences of chemical exposure and are asking for more aggressive regulations. The European Union has adopted a regulatory philosophy that emphasizes the consumer. In the United States however three decade old laws have made banning or restricting chemicals extremely difficult. The nation's chemical policy, the Toxic Substances Control Act, exempted from review about 62,000 chemicals in commercial use in 1976, the time of the law’s passage. Chemicals developed after the law's passage did not have to be tested for safety. Manufacturers of environmentally safe products have voluntarily eliminated toxic ingredients from their products. Protect your family and use our green products.