John,

Spring is in full swing, with flowers blooming, birds singing, and bees buzzing...

Wait, where are the buzzing bees?

Bee populations are dwindling and those buzzes are getting harder to hear. The American bumblebee population, for instance, has plummeted by nearly 90% in the last two decades -- and it's already vanished from eight states.1

We can't let these precious pollinators disappear, which is why we're dedicating this year's Earth Day campaign to stopping bee-killing pesticides. We've set a $100,000 goal this Earth Day to protect the environment, and we need your help to make it a success.

Will you donate to help save the bees this Earth Day?

Pollinators such as bumblebees and honeybees are responsible for about one in every three bites of food we eat.2

We can't afford to lose the insects responsible for most fruits and vegetables.

But still, too many farms, city parks and more are using pesticides such as neonicotinoids and glyphosate, and the bees are suffering. Glyphosate impairs bees' learning and memory.3 And bees exposed to neonicotinoids face uncontrollable shaking, paralysis and death.4

The result is colony collapse and massive bee die-offs, which is why several bee species are on the brink of extinction.5

Endangered bees need our help. Donate today to help stop the worst uses of bee-killing pesticides.

We've made great strides in our campaign to save the bees. Thanks to our national network, seven states have banned some of the worst uses of neonicotinoids. Environment Colorado is working to do the same here. On the federal level, we won a policy to better protect bee habitat on 11 million acres of Department of Defense managed land. And we convinced Congress to create a grant funding program for states to plant bee-friendly roadsides.

But we still have more work to do: Environment Colorado is calling on Amazon and other companies to stop selling neonicotinoids. We're asking state leaders to plant more bee-friendly habitat to provide pesticide-free safe havens for bees. And we're campaigning for a nationwide ban on the worst uses of bee-killing pesticides before we lose our pollinators altogether.

This Earth Day, we need your help to meet our $100,000 goal to help save the bees and support the rest of our work to defend the environment. Will you donate?

Yes, I'll give to Environment Colorado today.

Thank you,

Ellen Montgomery

1. "Elizabeth Gamillo, "The American Bumblebee Has Nearly Vanished From Eight States," Smithsonian Magazine, October 6, 2021.
2. "The Importance of Pollinators," U.S. Department of Agriculture, last accessed April 3, 2023.
3. "Weedkiller can affect bumblebees' memory - study," Reuters, October 20, 2022.
4. Oliver Milman, "Fears for bees as US set to extend use of toxic pesticides that paralyse insects," The Guardian, March 8, 2022.
5. Patty Wetli, "American Bumble Bee Could Be Next on Endangered Species List, And Honey Bees Could Be Part of the Problem," WTTW, September 30, 2021.

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.