Tuesday Deadline Looming for Comments on Bee Crisis
Bees pollinate at least a third of the U.S. food supply, yet the EPA is failing miserably in its regulation of pesticides known to be lethal to the bees.
NEW VIDEO SPELLS OUT THE ISSUES IN COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER
With a deadline of September 25 looming, environmental groups nationwide are calling on all Americans to make their voices heard in the ongoing bee crisis known as colony collapse disorder. The future of the food supply, according to many scientists and beekeepers, hangs in the balance.
The Environmental Protection agency will cease accepting public comments at the end of the day next Tuesday prior to making its final determination on a chemical compound known as clothianidin — which is in the class of pesticides known as synthetic nicotines. All these “nicotinoid” pesticides are known to cause bee deaths, yet clothianidin has gained special attention because it was shown to be registered illegally in 2003.
Under immense pressure from the synthetic chemical industry, the EPA has shown no inclination thus far to take clothianidin or similar compounds off the market. Advocates sent more than a million signatures to the agency earlier this year to demand clothianidin be banned, yet were once again rebuffed.
A NEW VIDEO TOOL
An excellent new video, titled “Killing Bees: Are Government and Industry Reponsible?”, spells out the issues involved with colony collapse disorder. HERE’S THE LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i97o0slqv-s. Please circulate it broadly to anyone who might be willing to watch, understand the issues, and then send a comment to the EPA at this site: http://www.regulations.gov/#%21submitComment;D=EPA-HQ-OPP-2012-0334-0015.
Comments expressing concern are useful; comments citing specific scientific evidence will be the most compelling. Here are a few links worth reviewing:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/mar/29/crop-pesticides-honeybee-decline
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