SNL's Killer Bee skits were hysterical, the bee die-off isn't.
HR 2692 has 65 co-sponsors in the US House. This legislation will ban pesticides containing neonics / neonicotinoids for two years while safer pesticides are developed. We are running out of time, the bees can't keep dying in the numbers they are without the potential for major disruptions in agricultural production in this country. Please click the link to send your Representative a letter telling them to support, co-sponsor and vote for HR 2692!
Could
you imagine a fall without fresh apples? Thanksgiving without cranberry
sauce or pumpkin pie? Chips without guacamole? It’s hard to picture,
but this could be our not-so-distant future if we don’t take action now
to save our number one food security guard -- the honeybee.
In
recent years, nearly one third of commercial bee colonies in the U.S.
have been dying over the winter. In Oregon last year we saw the biggest
mass killing ever, as 50,000 bumblebees dropped dead after coming in
contact with a pesticide used purely for aesthetic purposes. The
situation is so bad that people have started to dub it the
“Bee-pocalypse.”
Why
is this a big deal? Because one third of the food produced in North
America, including nearly 100 varieties of fruits and vegetables like
apples, pumpkins, cranberries, and avocados, rely on honeybees for
pollination.
Losing
our bees wouldn’t just leave us without delicious guacamole and apple
pie, it would be a crushing blow to our economy. We could lose more than
$15 billion a year in agricultural production in the U.S.
The
good news is that Congress has finally started to take notice. Just
last week, a bill (H.R. 2692) to save honeybees by temporarily banning
certain pesticides reached 65 co-sponsors.
This
is the closest we’ve ever gotten to actual legislation to protect our
bees, so we need your help to spread the word and keep the momentum
going. If enough of us speak out, we can get more members of Congress to
support this bill and make saving our bees a reality.
The
mass death of our honeybees is not a natural phenomenon. Europe is
seeing huge population declines as well. The difference is that the
European Union is working to reverse this trend with a two-year ban in
place on neonicotinoids, the pesticides linked to mass bee deaths. We
need your help to get the United States to follow suit.
This
bill would temporarily halt certain pesticides while safer pesticides
are being developed. And get this -- we may already have the key to a
safer pesticide. Researchers in England have been investigating the
venom of one of the world’s most deadly spiders, the Australian funnel
web spider. The spider’s venom creates a bio-pesticide that is still
fatal to common farm pests, but appears to have absolutely no effect on
bees.
We
have a very real shot at saving the bees, but only if we stop the use
of dangerous pesticides and develop new, safer alternatives. But we have
to act now to convince Congress to do something about it. There are 65
members supporting the bill so far -- will you help us get even more on
our side?
There’s
no simple solution to the bee crisis, but we do know about some steps
we can take now to move us in the right direction and the first one is
passing this bill. The success of our crops and security of our nation’s
food supply hinges on whether or not we can protect our bees. So thank you for telling Congress to take action today.
Best,
Vanessa Kritzer
Director of Digital Strategy
League of Conservation Voters
|
1920 L Street, NW Suite 800
Washington, DC 20036
202-785-8683
As the estimate of dead bees rose to 50,000, the Oregon Department of
Agriculture confirmed the insecticide Safari caused the deaths in a
Wilsonville earlier this week. A landscaping company sprayed 55 linden
trees in a Target parking lot to control for aphids, said Dan Hilburn,
the plants division director at the department of agriculture. The bees
have been dropping from trees since the spraying on Saturday.
Aphids
produce honeydew, a sticky liquid that can drip off onto cars or
pedestrians. A Target representative said by email that the Wilsonville
store had received no customer complaints about it.
The
Portland-based Xerces Society, which first reported the die off to the
state Agriculture Department said aphids can be controlled without
insecticides, including by spraying infested plants with soapy water.
On
Friday the Agriculture Department, the City of Wilsonville, neighboring
towns and some local landscape contractors covered the sprayed trees
with netting in an attempt to prevent further insect deaths.
The
state is investigating any violation of pesticide laws, which could
take up to four months, said Dale Mitchell of the Agriculture
Department.
Mitchell
said the bee deaths, the largest documented die-off of bumblebees,
could prove important in determining the use and regulations of Safari
and other insecticides in the United States.
Safari's
main ingredient is dinotefuran, a neonicotinoid. There are two main
kinds of neonicotinoids, both of which are general use insecticides.
Safari is a member of the nitro-group. Research published in 2012 shows
these are generally more toxic to bees than the other type. The
European Union issued a temporary ban on three other kinds of
nitro-group neonicotinoids, which will go into effect this December.
Elliot
Associates, the land management company that rents the affected Argyle
Square lot, released the following statement Thursday: "If a cause is
discovered which may be attributable to our actions or those of our
contractors, a proactive course of action will be taken after consulting
with the DOA and other experts in this field."
Meanwhile, other reports of bees dying around Wilsonville and
surrounding towns have prompted Xerces to check whether similar
pesticides were used elsewhere.
"My
worry is that we're going to lose sight of the real message," said Mace
Vaughan of Xerces. "I think we're (using insecticides) all over the
place, and people are doing it in their backyards without even knowing
it."
The agriculture department and other related groups will meet Monday to discuss any further action.
