Vermont enacts the country's first ban on herbicide linked with Parkinson's disease
Vermont became the first state in the country Tuesday to ban the sale and use of paraquat, an herbicide that has shown strong association with the onset of Parkinson's disease.
"Governor (Phil) Scott signed this bill into law because he understands the harmful impacts paraquat has on the health of Vermonters," Amanda Wheeler, a spokesperson for the governor, wrote in a statement. "Many farmers have already transitioned to alternatives, and the phase out of the usage over the coming years will help those who do currently use it, identify alternative options."
Two longtime friends are swimming every lake and pond in Vermont together
Sally Cummings and Jenness Ide are on a quest to swim every lake and pond in Vermont.
Using a discontinued Vermont Fish & Wildlife map of the state's water bodies, Cummings creates a list of the ponds they plan to swim. Each summer, they log an average of 10 swims.
Cummings, 75, of South Burlington, and Ide, 81, of Danville, have visited at least two lakes every summer since 2013.
They have swum in more than 100 water bodies so far, with 63 left to go.
Former Rutland County school administrator, husband, arraigned, plead not guilty to furnishing alcohol involved in fatal crash
A former school administrator and her husband, both accused of hosting an underage drinking party that ended in a death, were in court on Monday to answer the charges.
John-Henry Hubert, 54, and Kristin Hubert, 48, each pleaded not guilty in Rutland Superior Court Criminal Division to a count of enabling underage consumption of alcohol with death resulting.
If convicted, they could face up to five years in prison.
Scientists are injecting elm trees with a killer fungus to save them
The disease is caused by a fungus that's spread by beetles that feed on elm twigs. From there, the fungus infiltrates the tree's vascular system, clogging up vessels called xylem that carry water up into the leaves, a little like arteries.
As the fungus spreads, the tree cauterizes the vessels in an effort to stop it. This makes the disease snowball, until the leaves and the tree's canopy die.
Regardless, scientists hope that by identifying and then breeding these resistant individuals, they can bring more big American elms back to the landscape of the East Coast.
