[All] The single most important thing you can do to save the bees

Thu Dec 17 12:47:46 EST 2015

Yes Anne, it is worth sending out to all at gren.ca. Go ahead and do it.

John

------------------------------
John Jackson
17 Major Street
Kitchener N2H 4R1
519-744-7503

> On Dec 17, 2015, at 9:30 AM, Anne Morgan <Annemorgan7 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> HI John,
> 
> Maybe worth circuating to GREN?
> 
> 
> I thought we had made some progresson on the neonic front, but it looks like we still have a long way to go, especially fighting big corporations with big money.  You may have noticed that John Bennett (who spoke at our Pollinator gathering) has moved from the Serra Club to Friends of the Earth.      Anne
> 
> 
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> The single most important thing you can do to save the bees
> December 16, 2015
> 
> 
> 
> Dear Anne,
> The regulatory system for pesticides is broken and we have to fix it.
> 
> The Quebec government agrees. It has announced plans to regulate bee killing neonicotinoid pesticides <http://foecanada.us3.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=537206ea892693ef017841583&id=83d0e3692c&e=f2afbd22aa>. This is the second province to take action because the federal government’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) failed to do its job.
> 
> The details of the Quebec Plan are yet to come, but any action to limit the use neonicotinoid pesticides is welcome and we should celebrate, but only for a moment, because it’s only a stepping stone to our goal of changing how pesticides are approved in Canada.
> 
> I was talking to a retired Environment Canada scientist the other day. He told a chilling story that reinforces what I’ve been telling you - that we need a new system to protect nature. 
> 
> Back in the 80s, a new pesticide was going through the approval process. Government scientists were concerned about its effect on birds especially water fowl. So the pesticide’s license was made conditional on further testing. The test was done by contaminating a duck pond – all the ducks died.
> 
> The scientist later learned the pesticide was approved. When he asked why, he was told the extra test was done thereby meeting the conditions. No matter ducks died, a procedural box was ticked.
> 
> Wouldn’t you think that 30 years later the Pest Management Regulatory Agency would have changed, but it is still issuing conditional licenses. For nearly ten years, it allowed the makers of bee killing neonicotinoid pesticides to ignore a condition requiring studies on the chronic toxicity to bees. Only after millions of bees had been killed arousing public opinion did the PMRA ask for the required studies be completed. Dead bees, like dead ducks, don’t stand in the way of registering a pesticide.  Nor was public input possible before PMRA decided the condition had been met.
> 
> If you’re not already incensed and worried, add in Propaganda.
> 
> Ever wonder why, despite the science and publicity neonicotinoid pesticides have received, they are still on the market?  The answer is pretty clear. Money.
> 
> Bayer (the aspirin people) brings in about $2 billion a year selling neonics and is willing to spend millions to persuade the public that pesticides are not a problem. They don’t mess around either - they go right after the children.
> 
> Bayer Crop Science Headquarters in North Carolina devotes 6,000 square feet to displays and exhibits about bees so school children can take interactive tours and learn all about how Bayer is helping insects.
> 
> The tours give Bayer what it really wants: Feel Good Publicity and media coverage <http://foecanada.us3.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=537206ea892693ef017841583&id=d8abe4f0a4&e=f2afbd22aa>. Checkout the cute picture distributed with the AP story that ran across North America.
> 
> Now, Bayer may have money and a PR machine but we have science and we have public voices calling for change.
> 
> We call our campaign The Bee Cause and work closely with beekeepers but it is about all pollinators especially the almost 800 species of native bees like bumble bees.
> 
> A new study on the effect of neonicotinoids on bumble bees was published in Nature <http://foecanada.us3.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=537206ea892693ef017841583&id=af5f9f27e5&e=f2afbd22aa>. It looked at how these pesticides impact the pollination services bumble bees provide to apple growers. The scientists found bumble bee colonies exposed to neonicotinoid pesticides visited the apple trees less often which they expected to see based on previous studies. However, they also looked at the apples produced and found they had fewer seeds, an indicator of reduced pollination services.
> 
> They conclude:  ”These findings show that pesticide exposure can impair the ability of bees to provide pollination services, with important implications for both the sustained delivery of stable crop yields and the functioning of natural ecosystems.”
> 
> In other words pesticides said to increase crop yield could, in fact, be reducing them and interfering with wild flowers and plants that support the entire ecosystem.
> 
> Let me end with some good news - the market place is listening to you! Last week Friends of the Earth reported success in our market campaign when Home Depot committed to phasing out neonics <http://foecanada.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=537206ea892693ef017841583&id=876b39f8c9&e=f2afbd22aa> use by 2018. 
> 
> We can’t let up. We won’t let up.  We’re starting to win. Thanks for caring.
>  
> Sincerely,
> 
>    
> 
> John Bennett
> John Bennett, the former Executive Director of Sierra Club Canada, has joined Friends of the Earth to concentrate on campaigning. He has more than 30 years experience as an activist and outspoken advocate for the environment.
> 
> P.S. This holiday season, make a gift to The Bee Cause <http://foecanada.us3.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=537206ea892693ef017841583&id=bcec677bfc&e=f2afbd22aa> and help fix the
> broken PMRA regulatory system, the single most important action you can
> take to save the bees.
>  
> Help Friends of the Earth Canada
> continue to lead the charge to save the bees from pesticide poisoning.
> 
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