California to ban pesticide it says hurts babies´ brains
(WorldNews Environment)

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The nation’s most productive agricultural state moved Wednesday to ban a controversial pesticide widely used to control a range of insects but blamed for harming brain development in babies. The move cheered by environmentalists would outlaw chlorpyrifos after scientists deemed it a toxic air contaminant and discovered it to be more dangerous than previously thought. California Environmental Secretary Jared Blumenfeld said it’s the first time the state has sought to ban a pesticide and the move was overdue. “This pesticide is a neurotoxin, and it was first put on the market in 1965,� Blumenfeld said. “So it’s been on the shelf a long...