Save Our Bees and the Food We Eat!

[Hotspring 44]

Save Our Bees and the Food We Eat!

https://www.change.org/petitions/epa...-chemicals-now


Petition letter says:
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EPA: Save Our Bees and Our Food Supply! Take Bayer's Insecticides off the Market Now!

United States bee populations are in a nationwide free fall, putting our food supply in jeopardy. Not only have we seen widespread honeybee deaths and disappearances, called "Colony Collapse Disorder" (CCD). We have also seen a dramatic decrease in the wild bee population. Massive and continuing declines in the bee population threaten the survival of the fruits and vegetables grown on our soil.

In the past several months, three separate studies have added substantial weight to the growing body of evidence showing that widespread use of neonicotinoids is linked to Colony Collapse Disorder. One study found that colonies exposed to neonicotinoids produced 85 percent fewer queens, meaning the creation of 85 percent fewer hives! United States Department of Agriculture bee expert Jeffery Pettis rightly calls the findings “alarming.”

Bayer AG markets its neonics to growers of corn, soy, wheat, cotton, sorghum, peanuts, and other crops. Research by the Pesticide Action Network of North America showed that a minimum of 142 million acres were planted in neonic-treated seeds in the year 2010, and that number is likely even higher this year. On top of that, neonics are widely used in home garden and landscaping products.

Your registration of Bayer's neonicotinoids was primarily based on a study funded by the Bayer Corporation itself, a study your own EPA scientists have since discredited.

We request that the EPA act now to immediately suspend EPA registration of neonicotinoids and remove Bayer's products from the market. There is so much at stake. We must do everything possible to protect what bees we have left.

Also, there is a "Why This Is Important" titled tab; it says:

United States bee populations are in a nationwide free fall -- and this could spell the end of fruits and vegetables grown on our soil.

Not only has the US experienced widespread honeybee deaths and disappearances, called "Colony Collapse Disorder" (CCD), we have also seen a dramatic decrease in the wild bee population. Massive and continuing declines in the bee population means our food supply and our economy is in jeopardy.

As a third generation back yard gardener who is passing the gift of growing food on to my own children, I have witnessed the decline in wild bees first hand. In order to draw more bees to our garden, my children and I have surrounded our vegetable beds with wildflowers, and we never use chemicals in our garden or lawn. My family and I are doing everything we can to help our local bees survive, but the Bayer Corporation is working against us, and the EPA has yet to stop them.

In the past several months, three separate studies have added substantial weight to the growing body of evidence showing that widespread use of nicotine-based insecticides called neonicotinoids is linked to Colony Collapse Disorder. One study found that colonies exposed to neonicotinoids produced 85 percent fewer queens, meaning the creation of 85 percent fewer hives. United States Department of Agriculture bee expert Jeffery Pettis rightly calls the findings “alarming.”

Bayer markets its neonicotinoids widely to growers of corn, soy, wheat, cotton, sorghum, peanuts, and other crops. Research by the Pesticide Action Network of North America showed that a minimum of 142 million acres were planted in neonic-treated seeds in the year 2010. 142 million acres is equivalent to the size of California and Oregon combined! And that number is likely to be even higher this year. On top of that, neonics are widely used in home garden and landscaping products.

EPA registration of Bayer's neonicotinoids was primarily based on a study funded by the Bayer Corporation itself, and that study has been discredited by the EPA's own scientists.

The EPA must act now to ban the sale of Bayer's neoniconitoid products. When the bees suffer, we all suffer. We must do everything possible to protect this essential pollinator. Our bees, and the plants that depend on them, can't wait.

[Garnette]

I have had a swarm of bees living in a crevice in apple tree out behind the house... i leave them alone so as far as i know they are still there but i wonder if its the best place for them? it seems pretty open to the elements