Jack,
These bee-killing pesticides threaten more than just bees.
According to a draft evaluation from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), neonicotinoid pesticides — or "neonics" for short — threaten most of our country's endangered species, along with most of their critical habitats.1
The EPA is reconsidering their approval of neonics, and they’re accepting public comment until Oct. 25. Now is our chance to ban the worst uses of these toxic chemicals that endanger so much of our country's wildlife.
Add your name to Environmental Action’s petition and tell the EPA: Neonics aren’t safe for our bees or for our planet.
SIGN ON
Across the United States, neonics are contaminating entire ecosystems, with terrible costs for a range of crucial and endangered species.
First and foremost, these pesticides pose a terrible threat to many species of bees. In the United States, the widespread use of neonics over the last quarter-century has left the American agricultural landscape 48 times more toxic to our best pollinators. Meant to curb the damage caused by plant-eating insects like aphids, these chemicals also spread to the plant’s nectar and pollen — infecting the bees that come in to drink.2
Neonics are also marketed to individual consumers under a wide variety of brands for use on ornamental plants and in gardens — and these chemicals applied to rose bushes have just as deadly an effect as when applied to corn or rice fields.3 What’s more, whenever they’re used in these individual settings, they tend to be applied in much higher amounts — making their toxic impact all the more potent.4
Even worse, what’s applied to a farm, park or a garden doesn’t necessarily stay there. Neonics are water-soluble — so whenever rain washes over a treated plant’s fruit or leaves, it can transfer the chemical to nearby streams, rivers and lakes.5
All of these factors combine to spread these widely used pesticides across entire ecosystems — and once there, they harm far more than just bees. A recent EPA evaluation reported that three common types of neonics had an adverse effect on as much as 79% of endangered species studied, as well as 83% of their habitats.6
There’s no reason these chemicals should threaten so many vulnerable species — including our bees. Add your name before the Oct. 25 deadline: Tell the EPA to ban the worst uses of neonics.
SIGN ON
We know that when we speak up together, we can have a real impact to stop the use of toxic pesticides.
In mid-August, the EPA announced that it would ban chlorpyrifos, a pesticide that’s been shown to negatively impact children’s brain development.7 We’ve known about the dangers of chlorpyrifos for a while — which is why Environmental Action and our friends at Environment America and U.S. PIRG have been campaigning for years to win this ban.
This goes to show that, when we stand and speak together, we can make real change. Now it’s time to speak up and make change for the bees — and for all the endangered species threatened by neonics. Add your name.
SIGN ON
Thank you,
The Environmental Action team
References:
- Marc Heller, "EPA: Bee-killing pesticide harms most endangered species," E&E News, August 27, 2021.
- Lauren Aratani, "Pesticide widely used in US particularly harmful to bees, study finds," The Guardian, August 6, 2019.
- Jeanette Marantos, "What you need to start planting and stop spraying to keep bees healthy and happy," LA Times, August 19, 2021.
- Jules Bernstein, "Study shows common insecticide is harmful in any amount," University of California, Riverside, August 5, 2021.
- Lauren Aratani, "Pesticide widely used in US particularly harmful to bees, study finds," The Guardian, August 6, 2019.
- Marc Heller, "EPA: Bee-killing pesticide harms most endangered species," E&E News, August 27, 2021.
- Vanessa Romo, "EPA Will Ban A Farming Pesticide Linked To Health Problems In Children," NPR, August 18, 2021.
Paid for by Environmental Action. Does not equal endorsement.
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