Tag Archives: Pesticides

One in ten European wild bee species face extinction

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One in ten European wild bee species face extinction

Source: www.wildlifearticles.co.uk

GR:  This is a global problem.  This morning I stood inhaling the sweet scent beneath the magnificent plumb tree that shades my bird garden bench, looked up into the countless fragrant blossoms, and listened in vain for the hum of working bees.  There was silence except for the distant hum of a truck on the road a mile away.  No movement amidst the thousands of blooms except for a single fly.

This is the worst spring for pollinators in the eighteen I’ve lived and worked at Coldwater Farm.  There were a few bees last month when the apricot bloomed, fewer when the willows bloomed, and now nothing in the plumbs.  We have a farm nearby, and I wonder if they are killing the bees with Monsanto GMO crops and pesticides.  If they aren’t, could the lawn and garden pesticides my neighbors are using cause the bees to disappear?

Monsanto’s Roundup system threatens extinction of monarch butterflies – report

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Monsanto’s Roundup Ready system – a potent herbicide combined with genetically-modified seeds that can withstand it – has decimated the monarch butterfly’s only source of food in the Midwest, putting it on the edge of extinction, according to a new study.  Source: rt.com

GR:  Evidence indicates that Monsanto is the principal cause of declining bees and butterflies.  The article includes an interesting diagram showing the personnel overlap between Monsanto and the U. S. Government.

Popular Pesticides Linked to Drops in Bird Populations

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Neonicotinoid manufacturers should be too ashamed to continue to support use of these poisons.

Rubenature's avatarBetween Thorn Bushes and Claws

By Helen Thompson

Let me tell you about the birds and the bees: A family of pesticides called neonicotinoids has been linked with pollinator declines. While their involvement in bee colony collapse is hotly debated, ecologists are wondering: could neonicotinoids impact something further up the food chain?

A study published yesterday in Nature suggests that birds and bees may share a common enemy. Dutch researchers have found a correlation between bird population declines in the Netherlands and higher concentrations of the common neonicotinoid pesticide imidacloprid in surface water.

“There is an alarming trend between declines of local bird populations and imidacloprid in the environment, which needs serious attention to see what we want to do with this pesticide in the future,” says Hans de Kroon, a co-author and plant ecologist at Radboud University in the Netherlands. The researchers posit that the pesticide affects these birds by killing off…

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Monsanto is just pure evil.

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Vote for Monsanto as the most evil company of 2014 and call on the company to stop terrorizing farmers!

Source: action.sumofus.org

GR:  Difficult choices, but Monsanto gets my vote.

Tell the President to #BeeKindObama and suspend bee-toxic neonics!

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In June, the President called on federal agencies to create a plan to “promote the health of honey bees and other pollinators.” To show appreciation for all that bees and wild pollinators provide, it is essential that this plan address toxic, persistent, and systemic neonicotinoid pesticides (neonics) — which science has shown to be a critical driver of pollinator declines. The Task Force was originally set to reveal its action plan this week, but has elected to take more time.

As the pollinator crisis continues, groups and concerned citizens across the country are calling on the President to #BeeKindObama, and give the gift of pollinator protection by making certain the Pollinator Health Task Force takes decisive action on bee-harming pesticides.

Other countries are following the science and directly addressing the threat neonics pose to pollinators. Over a year ago, the European Union’s suspension of neonics went into effect. And just recently the government of Ontario announced plans to reduce the use of neonic-treated seeds by 80%.

Pollinators in the United States can’t wait any longer, so we’re taking our request directly to the President and urging him to ensure the U.S. takes similar steps to protect pollinators!

Source: salsa3.salsalabs.com

GR:  The dangers of pesticides are pervasive and harmful to all animals. Weed managers spray millions of gallons of pesticides on crops, along roads, and in parks.  The U. S. Bureau of Land Management uses pesticides throughout the public lands of the 17 western U. S. states.  The farm upstream from my home has wide weed-free zones that are probably maintained by pesticides.  Bees serving as pollinators on the farm catch a full dose. Bees in yards and gardens downstream from the farm receive small doses that washed off the farm into the stream and into the groundwater.  When home gardeners respond to the massive pesticide marketing efforts and use pesticides around their homes, they easily reach lethal levels.

Pesticides-L mailing list: creating a global conversation on pesticides issues

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Pesticide use and safety is the focus of the online forum, Pesticides-L. To subscribe, email ‘pesticides-l-owner@lists.uct.ac.za’.

The Second American Revolution Is Brewing in Oregon

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Materialism Dominating World Governments

GR:  The materialism that is dominating world governments is destroying the health of Earth ecosystems.  I believe this is because Human limitations make it impossible for members of our species to see beyond our fears and appetites. A close inspection of all the political candidates for whom I can vote in the next election shows that they will all continue the same blind materialism.  Of personal concern to me, none of them is interested in protecting natural landscapes and wildlife.  Others are reaching the same conclusion.  Why vote we ask when no group we can elect will improve our government.  Even those who are not yet concerned about wild plants and animals are feeling the loss of the natural world, and they are realizing that the quality of their and their children’s lives is fading. It is gratifying and evokes a glimmer of hope to learn about responses such as the one described in this post.

The following is from truth-out.org.

In Oregon, the capture of local government by the timber industry results in the destruction of the natural world and the poisoning of the populace, but a Josephine County ballot initiative would ban tree spraying by corporations and government entities.

Source: www.truth-out.org

Statewide Pesticide Use–California Draft Environmental Impact Report

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California Statewide Pesticide Use

The California Department of Food and Agriculture is preparing an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for a Statewide Plant Pest Prevention and Management Program.

Source: www.cdfa.ca.gov

GR:  The EIR considers approaches and alternatives and describes an “Environmentally Superior Alternative” that seems more destructive than beneficial.  The Alternative does not appear to me to be prudent in light of recent determinations of the harmful consequences of pesticide use.

A “No Pesticide Alternative,” is included, but its description criticizes the alternative in the first sentence.  The Department says, “It could cause other adverse environmental impacts because alternative management methods are not anticipated to be as effective in controlling or managing pests.”

There are guidelines for the safe use of pesticides, but I believe guidelines are outdated and inadequate.  As native species and ecosystems are damaged, invasive species spread even more quickly. Moreover, invasive species evolve pesticide resistance.  The continued use of pesticides-while ecosystems decline and super bugs form is a short-term (rape and pillage) strategy.

Throughout the report, the Department fails to consider recommending changing crops and practices to avoid pest impacts.  Of course, we might have passed the point where we can feed our growing population without pesticides.  In this case, we can look forward to a time of forced population decline.  When our ecosystems fail to moderate storms and floods, and they stop absorbing toxic wastes from the farms, food production will fall.

The full report and the address for comments are available here.

The Ghost in the GMO Machine – Cascadia TimesCascadia Times

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While independent research shows that Chlorpyrifos, a Dow Chemical insecticide used in Kaua‘i’s GMO fields, can cause significant harm to children nearby, Dow is intent on convincing the EPA otherwise.

Source: times.org

GR:  Of course, other species are harmed as well, making it unacceptable to use these pesticides and the GMOs bred for compatibility.  About 40 years ago, we switched our course from controlling population to supporting its continued growth.  Thus, we encouraged the research that has produced the GMOs. By following this path, we abandoned any hope of preserving healthy ecosystems.  Now over half of our wild animals are gone, and we continue along on the road to massive extinctions and destruction of Earth ecosystems.