Friend -- We wanted to make sure you saw this email. The bees are in danger, and the Trump administration is making the situation worse. Will you donate to help save the bees?
Dear Friend,
A new study finds that America's farmlands are 48 times more toxic to bees than they were 25 years ago.(1)
It's causing what scientists are calling an "insect apocalypse."
But instead of taking action to protect the bees, the Trump administration has repealed a ban on bee-killing pesticides in wildlife refuges and suspended the largest national study of bee population decline.(2)
Courage Campaign is working to stop bee-killing pesticides and save our precious pollinators. Will you donate to help support this crucial work?
Yes, I'll donate to help save the bees.
Honeybees are incredibly important to the world’s food supply. More than a third of the crops we eat are pollinated by bees, as are coffee, almonds, and chocolate.(3)
But in the last 25 years, the U.S. has lost half of its honeybee population, and beekeepers lost 40% of their hives last winter alone.(4) A species of bumblebee was added to the Endangered Species List in 2017.(5)
This die-off is a direct result of pesticides -- the worst being 1,000 times more toxic to bees than DDT.
The Trump administration not only isn't doing anything to help the bees -- it's speeding up the bee apocalypse by relaxing restrictions on toxic pesticides. And now it's suspended the USDA’s nationwide colony study, ending access to data that helps scientists understand how and where the bees are dying.(6) The administration is also gutting the Endangered Species Act, which will hurt the bee species that are listed as threatened or endangered.(7)
Courage Campaign is fighting to stop this assault on the bees. We're pushing state and national lawmakers to stop the sale of bee-killing pesticides. And we're supporting a bill in the California legislature to protect the species that will be at risk from Trump's Endangered Species Act rollback.
The bee die-off is an environmental emergency, and we need to act now. Will you donate to help save the bees?
Yes, I’ll donate to help stop the bee die-off.
Yours in the fight for our environment,
Eddie, along with Analeeza, Annie, Brenna, Caitlin, Diego, Gabby, Lindsay, Mai, Mary, Molly, Raquel, and Scottie (the Courage team)
Footnotes: 1. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/08/insect-apocalypse-under-way-toxic-pesticides-agriculture/ 2. https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/06/politics/honeybees-study-usda-donald-trump-budget-cuts/index.html 3. https://www.businessinsider.com/world-without-bees-food-less-nutritious-more-expensive-2019-8#without-bees-youd-also-have-to-say-goodbye-to-your-morning-brew-or-at-least-pay-a-lot-more-for-it-9 4. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/aug/07/americas-dependence-on-pesticides-especially-neonics-is-a-war-on-nature 5. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/11/509337678/u-s-puts-first-bumblebee-on-the-endangered-species-list 6. https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/06/politics/honeybees-study-usda-donald-trump-budget-cuts/index.html 7. https://time.com/5651168/trump-endangered-species-act/
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