A conversation with Seattle
Though the EU just voted to restrict the use of neonicotinoid pesticides for two years until their safety could be proved, Jim Jones, acting assistant administrator for chemical safety and pollution prevention, was quoted in the New York Times saying: “At E.P.A. we let science drive the outcome of decision making,” then noting the cost of a ban. Continue reading While EU Acts, EPA Blows Smoke in Bee Death Report
The nation’s bee population has had one of its worst winters ever, reports the New York Times. The newspaper quotes Bret Adee, a co-owner of Adee Honey Farms of South Dakota, saying: “We lost 42 percent over the winter. But by the time we came around to pollinate almonds, it was a 55 percent loss.” Continue reading Largest Beekeeper in U.S. Says More Than Half Died Over Winter
With the EU recommending a limited ban — effective as early as July 1, 2013 — on the class of insecticides known as neonicotinoids, the question becomes whether the U.S.’s EPA, which began a review of their use in 2012, will take the EU’s action as precedent. Continue reading EU May Ban Neonicotinoids for Bees — Will EPA Act Next?
Bayer CropScience took a little time off from “promoting bee health” to dispute the findings, claiming that the dosage was excessive, but a new Harvard study contradicts them. Reports Scientific American: “The authors of the Harvard-based paper tried a variety of doses (ranging from 20 micrograms of insecticide per kilogram of corn syrup to 200 micrograms), all of which led to colony deaths.” Continue reading Bee-lieve the Growing Buzz About Harm From Neonicotinoids