Prof. Porter recommends that, instead of using pesticides on lawns, people use organic herbicides and weed killers on their lawns. Since pesticides can be inhaled or absorbed through the skin, which allows them to go straight to the brain, using less potent products will keep families healthier.
The major chemical companies would like you to believe that UW-Madison Professor Warren Porter is one of those kooky alarmists who are out to make your life miserable.
Namely, that the pesticides people use on their lawns and gardens could be extremely detrimental to their health.
For instance, in a study Porter co-authored in 2002, mice that drank water spiked with very low doses of a common "weed and feed" fertilizer experienced a 20 percent increase in failed pregnancies and other subtle biological effects.
Another Porter study three years earlier showed that a combination of commonly used agricultural chemicals in concentrations similar to those found in ground water can significantly alter the immune and endocrine systems of mice.
The chemical industry, of course, pooh-poohed both studies.
But Porter advises that before you start treating your lawn this spring, you should at least be aware of a few crucial facts.
Most important of all, people need to realize you don't need chemicals in order to have a thick, healthy lawn, he says.
"We're seeing more and more lawn chemical companies - especially the smaller ones - starting to provide alternative means of grass treatments," he says, adding that many of the products are already available on the Web.
Among the best and safest weed killers, he says, are simple ammonia solutions that contain 20 percent vinegar or even good old 20 Mule Team Borax, which has been around for over 100 years.
The other thing people need to remember, Porter says, is that weeds have only a one- or two-year life cycle, and they do best in poor soil.
Researchers who've studied the problem, Porter says, have discovered that the pesticide concentrations in carpets are higher than they are on the grass.