Neonicotinoids – Infinite Unknown

US EPA to Consider Approving Spraying of Bee-Killing Pesticide on 165 Million Acres of Farmland

December 21, 2017December 21, 2017 by Infinite

– US EPA to Consider Approving Spraying of Bee-Killing Pesticide on 165 Million Acres of Farmland:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will consider allowing the bee-killing pesticide thiamethoxam to be sprayed on the most widely grown crops in the United States. The application, if approved, would allow the highly toxic pesticide to be sprayed directly on 165 million acres of wheat, barley, corn, sorghum, alfalfa, rice and potato.

The proposal by the agrochemical giant Syngenta to dramatically escalate use of the harmful neonicotinoid pesticide came last Friday, on the same day the EPA released new assessments of the extensive dangers posed by neonicotinoids, including thiamethoxam.

Pesticide manufacturers’ own tests reveal serious harm to honeybees

September 25, 2016 by Infinite

– Pesticide manufacturers’ own tests reveal serious harm to honeybees:

Bayer and Syngenta criticised for secrecy after unpublished research obtained under freedom of information law linked high doses of their products to damage to the health of bee colonies

Unpublished field trials by pesticide manufacturers show their products cause serious harm to honeybees at high levels, leading to calls from senior scientists for the companies to end the secrecy which cloaks much of their research.

The research, conducted by Syngenta and Bayer on their neonicotinoid insecticides, were submitted to the US Environmental Protection Agency and obtained by Greenpeace after a freedom of information request.

Neonicotinoids are the world’s most widely used insecticides and there is clear scientific evidence that they harm bees at the levels found in fields, though only a little to date showing the pesticides harm the overall performance of colonies. Neonicotinoids were banned from use on flowering crops in the EU in 2013, despite UK opposition.

Read morePesticide manufacturers’ own tests reveal serious harm to honeybees

What They Didn’t Tell You About the Maryland Bee-Killing Pesticide Ban

June 9, 2016 by Infinite

– What They Didn’t Tell You About the Maryland Bee-Killing Pesticide Ban:

Beginning on January 1 2018, legislation banning consumer use of neonicotinoid pesticides will take effect. Allegedly prompted by concerns that neonicotinoid pesticides are responsible for the increase in deaths for butterflies, bees and birds, SB 198/HB 211 was provided as a partial solution.

Under the bill, anyone who violates the ban, will be subject to a $250 civil penalty but the violation will not be considered a misdemeanor. The ban will apply to both the sale and use of imidacloprid, acetamiprid, dinotefuran, nithiazine, clothianidin, thiacloprid, thiamethoxam and any other chemical that has been designated to be a neonicotinoid by the Maryland Department of Agriculture.

Banned for the Consumer…not Industry

Interestingly enough, however, while the bill focuses on consumer use of these pesticides, it includes exemptions for farmers, veterinarians and “certified applicators.”

Read moreWhat They Didn’t Tell You About the Maryland Bee-Killing Pesticide Ban

Soil Association scientific briefing reveals new data on the impact of neonicotinoids on pollinators

May 20, 2016 by Infinite

– Soil Association scientific briefing reveals new data on the impact of neonicotinoids on pollinators:

New data revealed today shows bees can be exposed to more pesticides from contaminated wildflowers than from crops on farms. The research, discussed at a scientific briefing in London on 28 April 2016 organised by the Soil Association, showed a staggering 97% of the neonicotinoids brought back to honeybee hives in pollen could come from wildflowers – not oilseed rape. (1)

The briefing looked at the latest scientific research and its implications for the environment and the future use of neonicotinoid pesticides in the UK. The panel included three leading experts on the impacts of neonicotinoid pesticides on our pollinators – Professor Dave Goulson, Dr Lynn Dicks and Dr Penelope Whitehorn. Peter Campbell from Syngenta responded to the presentations from the three scientists.

Read moreSoil Association scientific briefing reveals new data on the impact of neonicotinoids on pollinators

EPA Releases Study on Pesticides Killing Bees, Gets Sued Immediately by Beekeepers

January 10, 2016 by Infinite

– EPA Releases Study on Pesticides Killing Bees, Gets Sued Immediately by Beekeepers:

“A single seed coated with a neonicotinoid insecticide is enough to kill a songbird.”

United States — A new study by the Environmental Protection Agency has found evidence through a study that backs what activists and environmentalists have asserted for years: one of the most widely used neonicotinoid pesticides can, indeed, cause declines in honeybee populations. But the agency’s findings are too little, too late for many farmers and food safety advocates, who consider the EPA neglectfully responsible for widespread employment of neonicotinoids.Driving the urgency of the point even further, researchers with Sussex University discovered something far more alarming: wildflowers growing near neonicotinoid-treated crops play host to a “chemical cocktail” which has an impact on bees 1,000 times more potent than previously believed.

Read moreEPA Releases Study on Pesticides Killing Bees, Gets Sued Immediately by Beekeepers

Suicide By Pesticide – What the honey bee die-off means for humanity

May 27, 2015May 27, 2015 by Infinite

– Suicide By Pesticide (Chris Martenson, May 22, 2015):

What the honey bee die-off means for humanity

As you are aware, honey bees have been suffering from something called Colony Collapse Disorder. In practice, what this means is that the bees simply vanish from their hives, leaving behind their most precious worldly possessions: honey and larvae.

What causes these mysterious vanishing acts has been something of a mystery. But because the phenomenon began really ramping up in 2006, we can focus in on some suspects.

Read moreSuicide By Pesticide – What the honey bee die-off means for humanity

Beemageddon: Syngenta Wants Increase In Pesticide Levels

September 21, 2014 by Infinite

– Beemageddon: Syngenta Wants Increase in Pesticide Levels (The Daily Sheeple, Sep 19, 2014):

Syngenta is asking federal regulators to increase the allowable levels of some pesticides, even though experts have linked the chemicals to massive bee die offs.

The company wants the Environmental Protection Agency to pass an increase of 4.9 parts per million of thiamethoxan. The current allowable level is 0.1ppm, Syngenta wants it increased to 5.0ppm. You can read the details on the regulations.gov website which published the request on September 5th. The request itself was filed on August 22nd.

Tiffany Stacker of E&E reports:

Read moreBeemageddon: Syngenta Wants Increase In Pesticide Levels

Neonicotinoids To Be Banned In American Northwest And Hawaii In Effort To Save Pollinators

August 1, 2014 by Infinite

– Neonicotinoids to be banned in American Northwest and Hawaii in effort to save pollinators (Natural News, July 31, 2014):

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has decided to end their use of neonicotinoids, an insecticide resembling nicotine that kills a variety of pests and has been proven deadly to the environment.

“We made the decision because we are concerned over the global decline in all pollinators — bees and butterflies,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman Miel Corbett.

By 2016, the agency plans to have completely phased out neonicotinoids, or neonics, for agricultural use throughout Region 1, or the Pacific Northwest. Parts of Region 1 include Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon and Washington (click here for map).

Read moreNeonicotinoids To Be Banned In American Northwest And Hawaii In Effort To Save Pollinators

Beyond Honey Bees, Neonicotinoid Pesticides Now Found To Be Killing Baby Birds

July 23, 2014 by Infinite

– Beyond honey bees, neonicotinoid pesticides now found to be killing baby birds (Natural News, July 20, 2014):

A class of pesticides widely blamed for a worldwide collapse in pollinator populations is also devastating populations of birds, according to a new study conducted by researchers from Radboud University in the Netherlands and the Centre for Field Ornithology and Birdlife Netherlands, and published in the journal Nature on July 16.

The chemicals, known as neonicotinoids, have increasingly come under fire for widespread destruction of organisms other than agricultural pests.

Read moreBeyond Honey Bees, Neonicotinoid Pesticides Now Found To Be Killing Baby Birds

Approval Of Bee-Killing Pesticides Challenged In Court

July 11, 2014 by Infinite

Bees111 — Mounting scientific evidence shows that the widespread use of neonicotinoid pesticides is a leading cause of decline in honeybee populations.

– Approval of Bee-Killing Pesticides Challenged in Court (EcoWatch, July 9, 2014):

Environmental and food safety groups yesterday challenged California’s illegal practice of approving new agricultural uses for neonicotinoid pesticides despite mounting evidence that the pesticides are devastating honey bees.

Pesticide Action Network, Center for Food Safety and Beyond Pesticides, represented by Earthjustice, filed the legal challenge in the California Superior Court for the County of Alameda, urging the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) to stop approving neonicotinoid pesticides pending its completion of a comprehensive scientific review of impacts to honeybees. The DPR began its scientific review in early 2009 after it received evidence that neonicotinoids are killing bees, but five years later, the DPR has yet to take meaningful action to protect bees.

Meanwhile, the DPR has continued to allow increased use of neonicotinoids in California. Yesterday’s lawsuit challenges the DPR’s June 13 decision to expand the use of two powerful neonicotinoid insecticides—sold under the trademarks Venom Insecticide and Dinotefuran 20SG —despite the agency’s still-pending review of impacts to pollinators. The case underscores these larger problems with the DPR’s unwillingness to comply with laws enacted to ensure that pesticides do not threaten human health, agriculture or the environment.

Read moreApproval Of Bee-Killing Pesticides Challenged In Court

Bee-Killing Pesticides In 51% Of ‘Bee-Friendly’ Plants From Garden Centers Across U.S. And Canada

July 5, 2014 by Infinite

– New tests find bee-killing pesticides in 51% of “bee-friendly” plants from garden centers across U.S. and Canada (Friends of the Earth, June 25, 2014):

Washington, D.C. – Many “bee-friendly” home garden plants sold at Home Depot (NYSE: HD), Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW) and Walmart (NYSE: WMT) have been pre-treated with pesticides shown to harm and kill bees, according to a study released today by Friends of the Earth and allies.

The study, Gardeners Beware 2014, shows that 36 out of 71 (51 percent) of garden plant samples purchased at top garden retailers in 18 cities in the United States and Canada contain neonicotinoid (neonic) pesticides — a key contributor to recent bee declines. Some of the flowers contained neonic levels high enough to kill bees outright assuming comparable concentrations are present in the flowers’ pollen and nectar. Further, 40 percent of the positive samples contained two or more neonics.

Read moreBee-Killing Pesticides In 51% Of ‘Bee-Friendly’ Plants From Garden Centers Across U.S. And Canada

Canada: Bees Dying By The Millions

July 12, 2013 by Infinite

One of many dead hives at Schuit’s Saugeen Honey, in Elmwood.

– Bees Dying by the Millions (The Post, June 19, 2013):

ThePost (Hanover, Ontario)
By Jon Radojkovic

ELMWOOD – Local beekeepers are finding millions of their bees dead just after corn was planted here in the last few weeks. Dave Schuit, who has a honey operation in Elmwood, lost 600 hives, a total of 37 million bees.

“Once the corn started to get planted our bees died by the millions,” Schuit said. He and many others, including the European Union, are pointing the finger at a class of insecticides known as neonicotinoids, manufactured by Bayer CropScience Inc. used in planting corn and some other crops. The European Union just recently voted to ban these insecticides for two years, beginning December 1, 2013, to be able to study how it relates to the large bee kill they are experiencing there also.

Local grower Nathan Carey from the Neustadt, and National Farmers Union Local 344 member, says he noticed this spring the lack of bees and bumblebees on his farm. He believes that there is a strong connection between the insecticide use and the death of pollinators.

Read moreCanada: Bees Dying By The Millions