Very interesting, Thanks

Very interesting. I've not seen any kind of debates raging around here (St. Louis, MO area) at all. I don't use chemicals and don't like it that both of my neighbors do, but, this is America. I think it would be a shame to see restrictions placed on what people can and can not do on their own land. If the federal government decides there is enough evidence to ban certain chemicals, that's fine, but communities deciding what you can and can not put on your lawn is a bad idea...

There was somebody in Utah who filed a lawsuit to stop spraying for Japanese beetles in a small area where they had been found. He was organic and objected to the use of chemicals. He lived in the same city, but not anywhere near where the spraying was supposed to happen.

(A herbicide is a pesticide targeting plants; an insecticide kills insects.) Pesticide opponents say homeowners unwittingly bring the toxics into homes via shoe soles and pet feet, tracking it into carpets where kids play.

If a "herbicide is a pesticide targeting plants" and an "insecticide kills insects" what is a pesticide, that this article focuses on?

I thought an herbicide kills weeds and a pesticide kills insects.

I get the point, but the lack of breadth in the subject is disappointing, especially for the WSJ.

"If a "herbicide is a pesticide targeting plants" and an "insecticide kills insects" what is a pesticide, that this article focuses on?"

That seems pretty clear both in the statement that you quoted and in the article. A pesticide is something that kills pests. It could be an insecticide or an herbicide.

Technically, when the article refers to pesticide, the meaning is chemical pesticides, but there are organic pesticides, as well.

"I thought an herbicide kills weeds and a pesticide kills insects."

Pesticide is sometimes incorrectly used that way, but a pesticide kills pests. A pesticide that kills weeds is an herbicide. A pesticide that kills insects is an insecticide.

Wikipedia entry
Britannica entry