John,

As bees emerge this spring, they'll face a fierce and familiar enemy: neonicotinoid pesticides.

Called "neonics" for short, these neurotoxins attack bees' brains, and they're one of the factors driving massive die-offs of honeybees, native bees and more. We know we can't afford to lose the bees -- given the vital role they play in pollination, bees carry the weight of entire ecosystems on their tiny backs.

That's why we're bringing together the whole Environment Colorado hive this Earth Day to protect bees from toxic pesticides. John, will you help us meet our $100,000 goal to save the bees?

Yes, I'll make my Earth Day gift today.

Neonics are most commonly applied to seeds before they're even planted -- including nearly all corn and much of the soy and cotton planted in the United States. Even the plants for sale at your local garden center may have been grown from neonic-coated seeds.1

As those seeds grow, the neurotoxin is incorporated into every part of the plant: the stem, leaves, pollen, nectar and sap. One study found that our agricultural landscape is now 48 times more toxic to bees than it was just 25 years ago, almost entirely due to neonics.2

And when bees set out to dutifully gather nectar and pollen, they're also gathering tiny doses of deadly pesticides to bring home to the hive. Neonics cause permanent brain damage in baby bees and diminish bees' ability to learn, navigate and forage.3

This Earth Day, we're pulling out all the stops to save the bees -- and we need our hive by our side.

Will you make your Earth Day gift to help save the bees from toxic pesticides?

When the whole Environment Colorado hive comes together, we raise a buzz that wins real change. By making your Earth Day gift today, you become an essential part of all of our work. Together:

• We're calling on retailers and home garden centers to stop selling neonics. Already, we've won commitments from Home Depot and Lowe's to act, and now we're urging Amazon to do the same.
• We're urging the Biden administration to reinstate an Obama-era ban on neonics in wildlife refuges, the places bees should be safest from deadly pesticides.
• We're lobbying the Environmental Protection Agency to ban the worst uses of neonics, including as a coating on agricultural seeds.
• We're asking our leaders in Colorado to expand safe habitat by planting bee-friendly native plants along roadsides and in parks and other green spaces. Our national network helped to secure $10 million in federal funds for the states to create pollinator habitat, and we're just getting started.

These are campaigns I know we can win -- but only with your support, John.

Earth Day is the day we not only celebrate our amazing planet but also remember the hard work and activism it takes to keep our environment healthy and whole.

Will you donate to our Earth Day 2023 Drive to help us hit our $100,000 goal to save the bees and stand up for a greener, healthier planet?

Thank you,

Ellen Montgomery

1. Stephen Leahy, "Insect 'apocalypse' in U.S. driven by 50x increase in toxic pesticides," National Geographic, August 6, 2019.
2. Stephen Leahy, "Insect 'apocalypse' in U.S. driven by 50x increase in toxic pesticides," National Geographic, August 6, 2019.
3. Katie Hunt, "Pesticides damage the brains of baby bees, new research finds," CNN, March 3, 2020.

Your donation will be used to support all of our campaigns to protect the environment, from saving the bees and protecting public lands, to standing up for clean water and fighting climate change. None of our work would be possible without supporters like you. Environment Colorado may transfer up to $50 per dues-paying member per year into the Environment Colorado Small Donor Committee.