Contact:
Paul Towers, Pesticide Action Network, 916-216-1082, ptowers@panna.org
Peter Jenkins, Center for Food Safety, 301-500-4383, pjenkins@icta.org
Mark Keating, Beyond Pesticides, 202-543-5450, mkeating@beyondpesticides.org
July 19, 2012
Contact:
Paul Towers, Pesticide Action Network, 916-216-1082
June 28, 2012
Beekeepers, Environmental Groups Still on Hold for Agency Response to Legal Petition Citing “Imminent” Harm to Bees
Contact:
Paul Towers, Pesticide Action Network, (916) 216-1082
June 18, 2012
As National Pollinator Week Begins, Beekeepers & Environmental Groups Press EPA to Take Action on Neonicotinoid Pesticides
In the last few weeks beekeepers have reported staggering losses in Minnesota, Nebraska and Ohio after their hives foraged on pesticide-treated corn fields. Indiana too, two years ago. What's going on in the Corn Belt?
This week PAN released Honey Bees and Pesticides: State of the Science, a 22-page report on the factors behind colony collapse disorder (CCD) with a sustained focus on the particular role of pesticides.
Contact:
Paul Towers, Pesticide Action Network
916-216-1082, ptowers@panna.org
May 8, 2012
California Legislature takes up new measure as beekeepers and environmental health advocates urge swift action on neonicotinoids
No farmer in their right mind wants to poison pollinators. When I spoke with one Iowa corn farmer in January and told him about the upcoming release of a Purdue study confirming corn as a major neonicotinoid exposure route for bees, his face dropped with worn exasperation. He looked down for a moment, sighed and said, “You know, I held out for years on buying them GE seeds, but now I can’t get conventional seeds anymore. They just don’t carry ‘em."
Scientific evidence continues to mount strengthening the case that neonicotinoid pesticides are indeed key drivers behind colony collapse disorder (CCD). Three new studies out in the past two weeks, including one today, add to the growing body of evidence that implicate pesticides as a critical catalyst behind drastic declines in bee population.
With beekeepers continuing to lose more than one-third of their hives each year, on average, the research is timely. Yet pesticide manufacturers like Bayer are attacking the science and attempting to delay regulatory action.
Bees are still dying and EPA is still sitting on its hands. Luckily for those of us who like to eat, scientists have been hard at work cracking the "mystery" of colony collapse disorder (CCD). Today two new studies were published in Science, strengthening the case that neonicotinoid pesticides are indeed key drivers behind recent pollinator declines.
Today, PAN joined beekeepers and partners Beyond Pesticides and Center for Food Safety in filing a legal petition that calls on EPA to suspend registration of Bayer’s controversial bee-toxic pesticide, clothianidin.
We also delivered over a million signatures from individuals around the world — including over 20,000 PAN supporters — calling on EPA to take decisive action to protect honey bees from neonicotinoid pesticides before it is too late.
