[url=https://secure.avaaz.org/en/save_the_bees/?cl=901448264&v=8137]Global bee emergency[/url] (Avaaz)
Silently billions of bees are dying off and our entire food chain is in danger. Bees don’t just make honey they are a giant humble workforce pollinating 90% of the plants we grow.
Multiple scientific studies blame one group of toxic pesticides for their rapid demise and some bee populations are recovering in countries where these products have been banned. But powerful chemical companies are lobbying hard to keep selling these poisons.
Bees are vital to life on earth — every year pollinating plants and crops with an estimated $40bn value over one third of the food supply in many countries. Without immediate action to save bees many of our favourite fruits vegetables and nuts could vanish from our shelves.
Recent years have seen a steep and disturbing global decline in bee populations — some bee species are already extinct and last week we learned that some US species are at just 4% of their previous numbers. Scientists have been scrambling for answers. Some studies claim the decline may be due to a combination of factors including disease habitat loss and toxic chemicals. But increasingly independent research has produced strong evidence blaming neonicotinoid pesticides. France Italy Slovenia and even Germany where the main manufacturer Bayer is based have banned one of these bee killers. But Bayer continues to export its poison across the world
This issue is now coming to the boil as major new studies have confirmed the scale of this problem. If we can get European and US decision-makers to take action others will follow. It won’t be easy. A leaked document shows that the US Environmental Protection Agency knew about the pesticide’s dangers but ignored them. The document says Bayer’s “highly toxic” product is a “major risk concern to non target insects [honey bees]”.
MORE INFORMATION
Bee decline could be down to chemical cocktail interfering with brains
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jun/22/chemicals-bees-decline-major-study?INTCMP=SRCH
Bee briefing
http://www.soilassociation.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=RXLEm9WXrHk%3D&tabid=439
$15 Billion Bee Murder Mystery Deepens
http://www.businessinsider.com/colony-collapse-disorder-still-unsolved-lead-researcher-had-connections-to-bayer-2010-10
“Nicotine Bees” Population Restored With Neonicotinoids Ban
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/05/nicotine-bees-population-restored-with-neonicotinoids-ban.php
EPA memo reveals concern that pesticide causes bee deaths
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/green/detail?entry_id=79910
Beekeepers want government to pull pesticide
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/beekeepers-want-government-to-pull-pesticide-1107701.html
Bees in freefall as study shows sharp US decline
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jan/03/bumblebees-study-us-decline?INTCMP=SRCH
Pesticide industry involvement in EU risk assessment puts survival of bees at stake
http://www.corporateeurope.org/agribusiness/news/2010/11/16/pesticide-industry-future-bees