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Bees are dying by the millions all across America. |
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Tag Archives: Bee
a message from Mark Floegel, Greenpeace
Hi,
Did you see my message from the other day? Honeybees are in serious trouble and need our help. One type of pesticide is killing off their hives by the thousands. The European Union just banned the pesticides responsible, and we need to convince the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to do the same.
We are more than halfway to our goal of 75,000 messages to the EPA, but we need your voice to make sure we get there.
Take a minute to urge the EPA to protect the bees and ban this pesticide!
Thanks, Mark
From: Mark Floegel, Greenpeace
Subject: Honeybees
Honeybees that pollinate our food are being poisoned by pesticides called “neonics.” Tell the EPA to ban use of these toxic chemicals to protect our food and our environment.  |
Honeybees pollinate many of the nuts, fruits and vegetables we love. But beekeepers like me keep discovering our honeybees – whole hives of them – gone or dead.
This is no act of God. Our bees are being poisoned.
Scientists have linked a powerful class of pesticides called “neonics” to increases in bee die-offs. Due in part to these deadly toxic chemicals, 31% of hives in the United States collapsed this past winter alone.
Last month millions across Europe spoke up for the bees and pressured the European Union (EU) into imposing a two year ban on neonics, defeating the influential pesticide lobby. If we act together, we can convince the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to do the same.
Help us send 75K comments to the EPA by June 27th to save the bees that pollinate our crops and that visit your backyard.
Tell the EPA today to suspend the use of neonics on crops that bees pollinate.
Viruses, mites and malnutrition can all contribute to the collapse of a hive. But neonics pose a unique threat to bees. These poisons spread into the pollen and nectar of treated plants, slowly accumulating in the hive with each bee’s trip to a contaminated flower.
By allowing toxic chemicals like neonics to weaken and kill bees, we threaten our food and our environment.
The companies that make these pesticides, Bayer and Syngenta, have spent millions lobbying the United States and European governments that simply commissioning more studies – even while bee populations plummet – will somehow solve the problem.
Of course more studies are welcome, but action is needed now to prevent an agricultural catastrophe.
Tell the EPA to suspend use of neonic pesticides in order to save the bee population that we all depend on.
Trying to solve all agricultural problems with chemical additives is shortsighted and reckless. To ensure that we have safe and reliable food, we must strive for sustainable agriculture that works with nature, rather than manipulates and destroys it.
The elimination of bee-killing pesticides is major progress towards that goal. Every step that helps restore the balance between the natural world and the agricultural world is an important one.
For the bees,
Mark Floegel Greenpeace Senior Investigator and Beekeeper
P.S. Honeybees need our help. Pesticides from our crops are killing off their hives by the thousands. Tell the EPA to protect the bees and ban the pesticides responsible.
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Emma Ruby-Sachs- Avaaz.org
 We win many victories together — like on bees last week. And now any one of us can start a campaign, by ourselves, in minutes. German beekeepers started a petition that got noticed by citizens across the country, then the media, then the government. Start your petition now on any issue that you care about — and it could be shared with thousands:  |
We win a lot of victories together, but any one of us can get the ball rolling all by ourselves. Remember that huge win we just had on bees?
Well a big part of it was due to a campaign *started* by Avaaz members!
The German vote was crucial to Europe deciding to ban dangerous pesticides. When a group of German beekeepers heard that Germany was likely to vote no, they used our new community tool to start their own petition. Soon over 150,000 people had signed from across the country, their petition had caught the eye of the media and, together with Avaaz staff, they delivered their call to the government!
A day later, Germany switched its vote — helping to pass the Europe-wide ban and save our bees. All it took was a few minutes to start a petition on an issue these amazing beekeepers cared about. And you don’t have to be a beekeeper or an expert or a campaigner to do the same — just click below to get started:
http://avaaz.org/en/petition/start_a_petition/
Starting a campaign is quick, but the impact can last for years. And there are no limits on what issue to choose — it could be saving a park from destruction, animals from being mistreated, citizens from corrupt politicians, anything.
Plus, if the petition gets enough support on its own, the staff at Avaaz could pick up the campaign, add strategic advice and even send it to a wider list of members. We’ve got tonnes of tips and advice to help you along the way — all it takes is to get started, share your passion and you can be on your way to winning on any issue – local, national or global.
Forward this email along now to people you know who could also use this tool to change the world — or click here to start an Avaaz petition of your own:
http://avaaz.org/en/petition/start_a_petition/
Our amazing community of more than 21 million people has already changed so much. We are transforming the way the world works by bringing people power to decision-making everywhere. Now, by investing in the campaigns that our fellow Avaaz members are all running around the world, we can take our community to the next level.
With hope,
Emma, Alex, Emily, Christoph, Oli, Wen, Caroline and the whole Avaaz team
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Pesticides are killing bees
Pesticides are killing bees and threatening our food supply. In 24 hours, shareholders at the biggest chemical producer, Bayer, could vote to stop their toxic production. Massive public pressure has forced this debate at their Annual General Meeting, now let’s make sure they vote to stop the pesticides and save the bees. Sign the emergency petition:
Quietly, globally, billions of bees are dying, threatening our crops and food. But if Bayer stops selling one group of pesticides, we could save bees from extinction.
Four European countries have begun banning these poisons, and some bee populations are already recovering. But Bayer, the largest producer of neonicotinoids, has lobbied hard to keep them on the market. Now, massive global pressure from Avaaz and others has forced them to consider the facts — and in 24 hours, Bayer shareholders will vote on a motion that could stop these toxic chemicals. Let’s all act now and shame the shareholders to stop killing bees.
The pressure is working, and this is our best chance to save the bees. Sign the urgent petition and send this to everyone — let’s reach half a million signers and deliver it directly to shareholders tomorrow in Germany!
http://www.avaaz.org/en/bayer_save_the_bees/?vl
Bees don’t just make honey, they are vital to life on earth, every year pollinating 90% of plants and crops — with an estimated $40bn value, over one-third of the food supply in many countries. Without immediate action to save bees, many of our favourite fruits, vegetables, and nuts could vanish from our shelves.
Recent years have seen a steep and disturbing global decline in bee populations — some bee species are already extinct and some US species are at just 4% of their previous numbers. Scientists have been scrambling for answers. Some studies claim the decline may be due to a combination of factors including disease, habitat loss and toxic chemicals. But increasingly, independent research has produced strong evidence blaming neonicotinoid pesticides. France, Italy, Slovenia and even Germany, where the main manufacturer Bayer is based, have banned one of these bee killers. But, Bayer continues to export its poison across the world.
This issue is now coming to the boil as major new studies have confirmed the scale of this problem. If we can get Bayer shareholders to act, we could shut down once and for all Bayer’s influence on policy-makers and scientists. The real experts — the beekeepers and farmers — want these deadly pesticides prohibited until and unless we have solid, independent studies that show they are safe. Let’s support them now. Sign the urgent petition to Bayer shareholders now, then forward this email:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/bayer_save_the_bees/?vl
We can no longer leave our delicate food chain in the hands of research run by the chemical companies and the regulators that are in their pockets. Banning this pesticide will move us closer to a world safe for ourselves and the other species we care about and depend on.
With hope,
Alice, Antonia, Mia, Luis, Ricken, Stephanie, Pascal, Iain, Ari and the whole Avaaz team
MORE INFORMATION
Studies fault Bayer in bee die-off (Christian Science Monitor) http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2012/0406/Studies-fault-Bayer-in-bee-die-off
2 Studies Point to Common Pesticide as a Culprit in Declining Bee Colonies (New York Times) http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/30/science/neocotinoid-pesticides-play-a-role-in-bees-decline-2-studies-find.html?_r=1
Leaked document shows EPA allowed bee-toxic pesticide despite own scientists’ red flags (Grist) http://grist.org/politics/food-2010-12-10-leaked-documents-show-epa-allowed-bee-toxic-pesticide/
Bayer’s Annual Stockholder’s Meeting (ASM website) http://www.asm2012.bayer.com/en/counter-motions.aspx
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Save The Bees … Corinne Ball, Change.org
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Here’s the buzz: American honey bees are disappearing at an alarming rate and the government knows why. Scientists say a pesticide called clothianidin, made by chemical giant Bayer, is strongly linked to the rapid decline in bee populations. When exposed to the chemical, bees get lost: they are literally unable to find their way home back to the hive and drop dead from exhaustion. Susan Mariner uses her backyard garden to grow extra fruits and veggies for her family and teach her children where their food comes from — and in the past few years, she’s seen the decline in bees firsthand. When Susan heard about the recent studies linking this specific chemical to the widespread death of the bees who pollinate our food, she started a petition on Change.org to get the chemical banned. Click here to sign Susan’s petition asking the Environmental Protection Agency to ban these bee-killing pesticides ASAP. One-third of the U.S. food supply relies on honey bees. Without bees to pollinate crops, many essential (and favorite) foods are at risk, including apples, squash, tomatoes, strawberries, almonds, and even chocolate. Several countries, including Germany and France, have already banned clothianidin. And after the bans, bee populations began to rise again. But in the U.S., clothianidin is used on millions of acres of crops and American beekeepers report losses of up to 90% of their bees. Many worry that their hives won’t survive another season. Sign Susan’s petition urging the EPA to save the bees and immediately end the harmful pesticide’s use. Thanks for being a change-maker, – Corinne and the Change.org team |
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