Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category
16
Aug
(Beyond Pesticides, August 16, 2021) The failure of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to meet its statutory responsibility to protect people and wildlife from the dire consequences of exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals must end. The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for EPA has issued a damning report on the agency’s progress in protecting the population from potentially damaging endocrine disruption impacts of exposures to synthetic chemical pesticides (and other chemicals of concern) that shows the situation to be even worse than previously reported. The OIG’s summary statement says, âWithout the required testing and an effective system of internal controls, the EPA cannot make measurable progress toward complying with statutory requirements or safeguarding human health and the environment against risks from endocrine-disrupting chemicals.â As a result, according to the OIG, âwe have yet to see EPA use endocrine disruption findings in pesticide registration decisions.â Tell EPA that pesticide use cannot continue without findings of no endocrine disruption. Over recent decades, evidence has mounted showing that many pesticides interfere with hormonesâand are therefore endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). In 1996, the promise of screening pesticides for endocrine disruption generated support from environmentalists and public health advocates for the Food Quality Protection Act […]
Posted in Agriculture, Endocrine Disruption, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Take Action, Uncategorized | No Comments »
13
Aug
(Beyond Pesticides, August 13, 2021)Â Across the pond in the UK, two years of trials with spring and winter wheat varieties have shown, according to the Farmer Scientist Network (FSN), which conducted the study as Crop Health North, that so-called âbiopesticides,â alone or in combination with conventional pesticides, can be useful in generating yield and grain quality comparable to those obtained through use of conventional âcrop chemistryâ (aka, synthetic chemical pesticides). According to Beyond Pesticides Executive Director Jay Feldman, biopesticides are a âmixed bag,â generally poorly understood, and defined differently by various entities and stakeholders. He notes that the term can be misleading and mixes contradictory approaches, adding that, âItâs troublesome when we continue to look for product replacements or substitutions for agricultural practices that are clearly ineffective, and in the process avoid the changes necessary to transition to organic practices,â which represent the real, long-term solution to the problems efforts such as these trials seek to remedy. The project was sponsored and supported by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society (YAS) through the European Innovation Partnership (EIP-AGRI). YAS collaborated with universities, farmers, research institutes, agricultural organizations, and technology and food testing centers to conduct trials on three farms in the north of […]
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12
Aug
(Beyond Pesticides, August 12, 2021) A recent study published in Chemosphere identifies the concentration, consequences, and potential sources of 22 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) among corals in the South China Sea (SCS) for the first time. SCS corals exhibit a higher affinity toward bioaccumulation of OCPs, which are legacy persistent organic pollutants (POPs) under the Stockholm Conventionâa global treaty to eliminate POPs. The study finds the distribution of OCPs in coral tissue matches that of the surrounding oceanic air samples. Hence, atmospheric concentrations of OCPsâinfluenced by continental air massesâmigrate from the atmosphere to seawater through gas exchange. Coral reefs are one of the largest ecosystems in the ocean, sustaining marine biodiversity and providing many goods and services. However, living coral populations are rapidly declining due to ocean acidification, oceanic warming, habitat destruction, and pollution from human activity across the globe. From rare corals off the coast of Florida to well-established hard corals in the Great Barrier Reef, these communal organisms are sensitive to various environmental stressors that threaten biodiversity. Although several studies demonstrate the volatile, toxic nature of POPs, much less research evaluates the impact POPs have on biodiversity over time. The globe is currently going through the Holocene Extinction, Earthâs 6th mass extinction, with one million species of plants and […]
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11
Aug
(Beyond Pesticides, August 11, 2021) Multiple stressors, including pesticides, parasites, and poor nutrition, act synergistically to increase the risk of bee mortality, according to a meta-analysis recently published in the journal Nature. The findings are yet another indictment of the U.S. pesticide regulatory systemâs ability to protect pollinators, as the authors note that their results, ââŚdemonstrate that the regulatory process in its current form does not protect bees from the unwanted consequences of complex agrochemical exposure.â As scientific community continues to confirm the dangers of pesticides and other anthropogenic stressors to pollinators, it remains up to advocates and other concerned residents to get regulators and policymakers to listen to and act on these critically important conclusions.  Scientists aimed to evaluate how combinations of multiple pesticides, parasites, and lack of floral resulted in bee death or subchronic effects that impacted overall fitness (reproductive ability, colony health, etc), behavior, parasite load, or immune response. The effects of multiple stressors can be characterized as antagonistic when stressors cancel themselves out, additive when the impacts seen are what would be predicted when summing the individual effects, and synergistic when the effects are multiple times more harmful than what would be predicted additively. To […]
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10
Aug
(Beyond Pesticides, August 10, 2021) President Bidenâs Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under Administrator Michael Regan, is set to reapprove the highly hazardous herbicide paraquat with fewer protections than those proposed by the Trump administration. Despite strong links to Parkinsonâs, and bans on the herbicide in the European Union, China, Brazil, and many other countries, EPAâs press release inexplicably states, âNo direct one-to-one alternatives to paraquat are available.â The move is part of a string of actions that have pesticide reform advocates increasingly concerned that the Biden Administration is not living up to his initial promises to improve health and environmental protections. Paraquat is the most toxic herbicide still on the market. As EPA readily admits, one small sip of paraquat can be fatal. Apart from its acute toxicity, chronic exposure to the herbicide is strongly linked to the development of Parkinsonâs disease. But its association with Parkinsonâs is merely the most well-known health concern â the chemical is a likely carcinogen, harms the reproductive system, and damages organs like the kidney and liver. It is hazardous to birds and bees, and prone to leaching into groundwater, where it disrupts the health of aquatic ecosystems. The Trump administrationâs decision to reapprove […]
Posted in Agriculture, Bayer, Cancer, Chlorpyrifos, Dicamba, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Glyphosate, Monsanto, Paraquat, Parkinson's, Uncategorized | No Comments »
09
Aug
(Beyond Pesticides, August 9, 2021)Â What’s going on at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)? Last month, Bayer/Monsanto announced it would voluntarily cancel âresidential lawn and gardenâ uses of glyphosate products, âexclusively to manage litigation risk and not because of any safety concerns.â EPA has done virtually nothing to restrict glyphosate/Roundup since the World Health Organization/International Agency for Research on Cancer in 2015 classified the chemical as probably carcinogenic. It is now expected, as with other voluntary cancellations, that EPA will make no health or environmental findings that could affect other uses (e.g., agricultural) of glyphosate, but will accept the action by Bayer/Monsanto. The company refers to its action as ârisk mitigationââthat’s risk to the company’s profitability, economic viability, and shareholder investment, not public health or environmental protection. Voluntary actions by the companies are highly compromised and do not include agency determinations or findingsâallowing false claims of safety, offering a shield from liability, and unencumbered international marketing. The Biden administration began with high hopes for the environment. Combating climate change is a priority. On his first day in office, President Biden issued an executive memorandum, Modernizing Regulatory Review, that appears to establish a new framework supporting healthy people and ecosystems, as it […]
Posted in Agriculture, Bayer, Dicamba, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Glyphosate, Monsanto, Take Action, Uncategorized, Wood Preservatives | 3 Comments »
06
Aug
(Beyond Pesticides, August 6, 2021) The organization Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) has filed complaints with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencyâs (EPAâs) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) on behalf of four EPA whistleblower scientists. The scientists maintain that during the Trump administration, risk assessments for both new and existing chemicals were improperly changed by agency managers to eliminate or reduce calculations of risks; further, they assert that some of this behavior at EPA is ongoing. Beyond Pesticides recently covered a report in The Intercept, written by Sharon Lerner, that examined the multiple aspects of undue industry influence on the regulation of pesticide chemicals. The PEER complaints address regulation of other kinds of toxic chemicals, but Beyond Pesticides maintains that some of the problems the whistleblowers identify hold true for EPAâs Office of Pesticide Programs, as well. Appropriately enough, the nation again recognized National Whistleblower Appreciation Day on July 30. In 1989, Congress established the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA) to protect federal employees who report lawbreaking or other violations of rules or regulations; waste of funds; abuses of authority; gross mismanagement; or substantial and specific danger to public health or safety. In 2012, Congress passed the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement […]
Posted in Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Uncategorized | No Comments »
04
Aug
(Beyond Pesticides, August 4, 2021) Neonicotinoid insecticides applied to nursery plants sold at garden centers kill off wild, solitary pollinators regardless of the amount applied, according to research published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The news is unlikely a surprise for those tracking the science around pollinator declines, but nonetheless a stark reminder of the lack of progress from federal regulators to stop practices that contribute to the ongoing crisis. With new science consistently showing unacceptable hazards to pollinator populations, advocates are urging Congress to take up and pass the Saving Americaâs Pollinators Act. Since 2006, scientists and beekeepers have singled out neonicotinoids, a class of systemic insecticides, for their role in pollinator die-off and decline. Once applied onto a seed or sprayed on a plant, neonicotinoids distribute themselves throughout the plantâs structure. This causes soft-bodied sucking insects like aphids to be killed when they eat any part of the plant. However, neonicotinoids also make their way into the pollen and nectar the plant produces, as well as the dew drops plants will secrete and pollinators will often use to grab a quick drink. The use of these insecticides on native plants sold at nursery stores throughout […]
Posted in Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Pollinators, Uncategorized | No Comments »
03
Aug
(Beyond Pesticides, August 3, 2021) Research published this summer in the journal iScience outlines a promising, pesticide-free approach to manage non-native fire ants that have invaded many coastal communities along the eastern United States. As unabated climate change rapidly warms the planet, shifting wildlife habitat, and increasing the rate of intense storms and other natural disasters, pest insects like the fire ant are finding favorable conditions for their expansion into new areas. With pressure growing on land managers to resort to highly toxic pesticides to manage stinging and biting pests, it is increasingly important to invest in and emphasize new biological-based approaches. Scientists from the University of Maine focused in on a strain of fire ants known as Myrmica rubra, native to Europe and Asia and commonly known as the European fire ant. The ant is highly aggressive, attacking humans or other animals when disturbed, and boasts a powerful sting. In Europe, the ant plays an ecological role in conserving an endangered species of Maculinea sp. butterflies. The butterfly larvae send out chemical signals that mimic a queen ant, and the fire ants take the larvae into their nest. There, the larvae are protected from predators, and often are provisioned […]
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
02
Aug
(Beyond Pesticides, August 2, 2021) One reason to eat organic food is to join with a crucial national and global campaign to eliminate toxic, petroleum-based pesticides and fertilizers and protect ecosystems in the urgent fight to curtail the climate crisis and biodiversity declineâin addition to local and immediate health and environmental benefits. Despite an important and timely vote by the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) in 2018 to protect native ecosystems as a critical tool in sequestering carbon and improving environmental resiliency, and despite the Biden Adminstrationâs stated commitment to fighting the climate crisis, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and its National Organic Program (NOP) have not acted to put this recommendation in force. As our understanding of the connection between protecting intact ecosystems and combating climate change has grown, the urgency to implement this recommendation cannot be overstated. We must act now! Sign the petition to tell the National Organic Program (NOP) to take action to finalize the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) recommended rulemaking that will protect Native Ecosystems and thereby preserve the integrity of the organic seal, help reverse the biodiversity crisis, and reduce global climate change. Sign by September 20, 2021. The Organic Foods Production Act […]
Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Biodiversity, Climate, Take Action, Uncategorized | No Comments »
30
Jul
(Beyond Pesticides, July 30, 2021) Bayer (Monsanto), the maker of the deadly herbicide glyphosate/Roundup, after hinting in May that it would end the weed killerâs residential uses in the U.S., made it official yesterday. With its announcement to shareholders, Bayer puts an end to residential uses beginning in 2023 and allocates $4.5 billion to cover âthe companyâs potential long-term exposureâ from lawsuits by those harmed by the chemical. At the same time, the company announced it is seeking a U.S. Supreme Court hearing to reverse significant jury verdicts (from $289 million to $2 billion) for individuals who have suffered health damage they tie to glyphosate exposure. Bayer claims that it will argue that federal pesticide law preempts litigation against products that it has registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection (EPA). Similar arguments have been tried before, most notably in Bates v. Dow Agrosciences (2005), and the Supreme Court has found that federal pesticide law does not protect âmanufacturers of poisonous substances.â (See more below.) Despite the extensive scientific review (see Pesticide Gateway) of glyphosate/Roundup and a âprobableâ cancer causing ranking by the World Health Organization/International Agency for Research on Cancer in 2015, Bayer says, âThis move is being made exclusively […]
Posted in Agriculture, air pollution, Alternatives/Organics, Aquatic Organisms, Bayer, Biodiversity, Chlorpyrifos, Corteva, Disease/Health Effects, Dow Chemical, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Genetic Engineering, Glyphosate, Monsanto, Pentachlorophenol, Uncategorized, Water, Wildlife/Endangered Sp. | 2 Comments »
29
Jul
(Beyond Pesticides, July 29, 2021) Between 340,000 and 900,000 premature deaths each year can be linked to air pollution caused by the release of volatile organic compounds, such as pesticides, paints, and cleaning agents, from anthropogenic sources. The findings, published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, included an international team of over 50 scientists, lead by researchers at the University of Colorado, Boulder. âThe older idea was that to reduce premature mortality, you should target coal-fired power plants or the transportation sector,â lead author of the study Benjamin Nault, PhD, said. âYes, these are important, but weâre showing that if youâre not getting at the cleaning and painting products and other everyday chemicals, then youâre not getting at a major source.â While the connection between air pollution and direct sources of particulate matter in the atmosphere have a large body of supporting literature, there is little understanding of the impact caused by other chemical products that humans use. Those direct sources, such as exhaust fumes from cars and the smoke stacks from coal-fired power plants, are generally regulated by government agencies in the U.S. and in other countries. Even secondary sources of pollution â such as nitrous oxides caused when fumes […]
Posted in Agriculture, air pollution, Uncategorized | No Comments »
27
Jul
(Beyond Pesticides, July 27, 2021) Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed pesticide-free clothing able to prevent 100% of mosquito bites for the wearer, and published proof of the garmentâs effectiveness in a study in the journal Insects. If able to be scaled at a commercial level, the fabrics have the potential to transform personal protective measures for mosquitoes, which often includes in well-meaning consumers spraying toxic pesticides like DEET and permethrin on their body and clothing. âThe fabric is proven to work â thatâs the great thing we discovered,â said study co-author Andre West, associate professor of fashion and textile design at NCÂ State and director of Zeis Textiles Extension for Economic Development in a press release. âTo me, thatâs revolutionary. We found we can prevent the mosquito from pushing through the fabric, while others were thick enough to prevent it from reaching the skin.â To create the mosquito-proof fabric, scientists turned to physics and mathematical models, rather than looking for new killer chemistries. âOur premise here is: why do we need an insecticide-treated textile when you can do it, now that you know a mathematical formula, without chemistry?â said Michael Roe, PhD, an N.C. State professor of entomology […]
Posted in DEET, Mosquitoes, Permethrin, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
26
Jul
(Beyond Pesticides, July 26, 2021) Despite federal law that directs the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to register pesticides only if they do not cause unreasonable adverse effects on humans or the environment, EPA allows pesticides known to cause many adverse effects on humans and the environment. These include health effects such as asthma, autism and learning disabilities, birth defects and reproductive dysfunction, diabetes, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, and several types of cancerâand environmental effects such as decimation of pollinator populations, direct and indirect killing of wildlife, reducing carbon sequestration in the soil, and poisoning air, water, and land. The risks are particularly high for farmworkers and fenceline communities. Why does EPA consider these effects âreasonableâ when the pesticides are not necessary to achieve pest management or prevention goals? Tell EPA not to allow unnecessary pesticide risks. When evaluating pesticide registration applications, EPA does not require data demonstrating âbenefitsâ against which these risks may be weighed. That kind of calculation only takes place years down the line, if EPA believes there is reason to consider canceling a pesticide’s registration. On the other hand, the existence of organic producers fueling $62 billion in organic sales in the U.S., with virtually all […]
Posted in Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Uncategorized | No Comments »
23
Jul
(Beyond Pesticides, July 23, 2021) The Rockefeller Foundation has just published a report, True Cost of Food: Measuring What Matters to Transform the U.S. Food System, which identifies the real-but-under-recognized downsides of the U.S. food system. The report notes that, for all its reputed bounty, the food system âcomes with hidden costs â to our health, to our climate,â and to the many people who make sure that food reaches the population. The report calls for a true accounting of the costs of food in the U.S. Beyond Pesticides welcomes the broad framework of the report, but notes that a true accounting would necessarily include the costs of the externalities of conventional agriculture, including those related to pesticides: the costs of pollution and its cleanup (when that even happens), of lost pollination and biodiversity, of lost productivity from illness, and of health care costs related to pesticide use. Remarkably, for all its repetition of deleterious impacts on climate, biodiversity, and health, the report barely mentions either pesticidesâ roles in causing such impacts, or the clear solution to so many of the negatives in the food system â organic, regenerative agriculture. The reportâs economic analysis applies a true cost accounting (TCA) […]
Posted in Agriculture, Alternatives/Organics, Biodiversity, Climate Change, contamination, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Fertilizer, Uncategorized | No Comments »
21
Jul
(Beyond Pesticides, July 21, 2021) Western states are in the midst of one of the largest spray campaigns in recent history, targeting native grasshopper species on more than two million acres of rangeland with highly toxic insecticides. Grasshopper populations have exploded this year due to the Westâs ongoing drought, and government officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture are hoping that hazardous pesticide use will stop the voracious winged insects from consuming forage used by cattle operations. Environmental groups are urging changes to the program, which has conducted insecticide campaigns against the native grasshoppers since the 1930s. âAerial application of insecticides on this scale will eliminate millions of insects that pollinate, recycle plant nutrients and perform natural pest control,â said Sharon Selvaggio, Pesticide Program Specialist with the Xerces Society. âInsecticide sprays on this scale across native ecosystems are short-sighted and unsustainable.â According to a June 2020 press release, USDAâs Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is spending $5.3 million dollars of taxpayer money in order to conduct what it calls âsuppression treatments.â APHIS claims the $5.3 million will protect $8.7 million worth of agricultural resources, but advocates argue that the agency has failed to meet the âlevel of economic […]
Posted in Agriculture, Carbaryl, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Malathion, Uncategorized, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) | No Comments »
20
Jul
(Beyond Pesticides, July 20, 2021) Chlorpyrifos exposure results in the expression of genetic mutations associated with autism spectrum disorder in a laboratory model, finds research published in Environmental Health Perspectives by scientists at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. âThis is a step forward in showing an interplay between genetics and environment and its potential role for autism spectrum disorder,â says study lead Lena Smirnova, PhD, a research associate in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Bloomberg School. The findings support reams of research already conducted that show strong associations between autism and exposure to hazardous environmental stressors like toxic pesticides. Scientists conducted their study using a âbrain organoidâ model, which is essentially a cluster of cells artificially grown in the lab from stem cells in order to mimic a developing human brain. These tests provide certain benefits over animal testing, as they are more relevant to human disease, and can be performed faster with less cost. The organoid model also represents an improvement on typical 2d cell-based models, increasing cell survival, shelf-life, and thus providing opportunity to model for later stages of brain development. Brain organoids in this study carried a gene called CHD8, which […]
Posted in Agriculture, Autism, Children, Chlorpyrifos, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
19
Jul
(Beyond Pesticides, July 19, 2021)Â As yet another study, âEarly life multiple exposures and child cognitive function: A multi-centric birth cohort study in six European countries,â draws attention to the benefits of organic food for the learning young mind, it is important that schools provide organic food to students. The study, conducted by Spanish researchers based at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, looks at a totality of all environmental hazards that children encounter, rather than individual lifestyle factors. As study co-author Jordi JĂşlvez, PhD, notes, âHealthy diets, including organic diets, are richer than fast food diets in nutrients necessary for the brain, such as fatty acids, vitamins and antioxidants, which together may enhance cognitive function in childhood.â Tell your governor and USDA/Food and Nutrition Service to provide organic school lunches and information for parents. Researchers find that children who eat organic food display higher scores measuring fluid intelligence and working memory. Lower scores on fluid intelligence tests are associated with childrenâs fast food intake, house crowding, and exposure to tobacco smoke. Lower scores on working memory tests were associated with exposure to poor indoor air quality. This study adds to prior research finding that eating a conventional, chemical-intensive diet increases […]
Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Children/Schools, Uncategorized | No Comments »
16
Jul
(Beyond Pesticides, July 16, 2021)Â Recently published research reviews the 2013 Wilsonville, Oregon mass bumblebee die-off from application of the neonicotinoid dinotefuran on 55 linden trees in a big-box-store parking lot. In that single event, the research paper (published in Environmental Entomology) estimates between 45,830 and 107,470 bumblebees from some 289â596 colonies were killed. Reporting on the new study, by Entomology Today, quotes primary conclusions of the co-authors: âOur study underscores the lethal impact of the neonicotinoid pesticide dinotefuran on pollinating insect populations,â and, âIt is likely that the vast majority of mass pesticide kills of beneficial insects across other environments go unnoticed and unreported.â As Beyond Pesticides has chronicled, the U.S. and the world are undergoing a pollinator crisis, caused in significant part by agricultural pesticides. Dinotefuran, the neonicotinoid (neonic) that killed those Oregon bumblebees, is used against fleas, thrips, tree-boring caterpillars, emerald ash borers, hemlock woolly adelgids, and in the Oregon case, aphids. Entomology Today (ET) notes that the timing of this particular application could not have been worse: it happened on a warm day when the linden trees were in full flower and the bees out in force. Ironically, it occurred during Nation Pollinator Week. ET pens a […]
Posted in acetamiprid, Agriculture, Clothianidin, dinotefuron, Imidacloprid, neonicotinoids, Oregon, Pollinators, Thiamethoxam, Uncategorized | No Comments »
14
Jul
(Beyond Pesticides, July 14, 2021) Corteva (formerly DowDupont) is facing a potential class-action lawsuit after several California families filed suit claiming that the use of the insecticide chlorpyrifos around their homes resulted in birth defects, brain damage, and developmental problems in their children. Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate insecticide that has been linked to a range of health ailments, posing significant hazards particularly for pregnant mothers and their children. The lawsuits come as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approaches a court-imposed 60-day deadline to decide the fate of the pesticideâs registration. Attorneys for the court cases, filed on behalf of individuals located in four California communities (Fresno, Kings, Medera, and Tulare counties), indicate they intend to pursue class-action status, which would allow additional injured parties to join the lawsuit. The plaintiffs argue that the effects of chlorpyrifos exposure lingers in the agricultural communities where they reside. âWe have found it in the houses, we have found it in carpet, in upholstered furniture, we found it in a teddy bear, and we found it on the walls and surfaces,â said Stuart Calwell, lead attorney for the plantiffs. âThen a little child picks up a teddy bear and holds on to it.â […]
Posted in Agriculture, Brain Effects, California, Chlorpyrifos, Corteva, Dow Chemical, Environmental Justice, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Farmworkers, Litigation, Nervous System Effects, Uncategorized | No Comments »
13
Jul
(Beyond Pesticides, July 13, 2021) Bumblebees exposed to pesticides and pathogens display changes in gene expression that can be pinpointed and analyzed by cutting edge research tools, according to scientists at York university, who utilized the new technique in a study published in Molecular Ecology. This form of next-generation gene sequencing is part of a growing field of science known as conservation genomics, in which entire animal genomes are sequenced to determine conservation problems. âNext-generation sequencing is a totally new way to think about why bees are declining, which could revolutionize conservation biology,â says study coauthor Amro Zayed, PhD, associate professor in biology at York. âWeâre looking directly at bee tissues to try and get clues to the stressors that are affecting this bee. I think this is a gamechanger for sure. With a single study, we are able to implicate a couple of really obvious things weâve talked about for years â pathogens and pesticides â in the case of Bombus terricola.â Researchers focused on Bombus terricola â the yellow banded bumblebee, as its range has declined significantly over the last two decades. The bumblebee was once common throughout the eastern and midwestern part of the U.S. and Canada, […]
Posted in Fipronil, neonicotinoids, Pollinators, Uncategorized | No Comments »
12
Jul
(Beyond Pesticides, July 12, 2021)Â During Pollinator Week 2021 in June, U.S. Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Jim McGovern (D-MA) reintroduced the Saving America’s Pollinators Act (SAPA) to reverse ongoing declines in wild and managed pollinators. New data released in June for 2020-21 documents the second highest honey bee losses in 15 years. SAPA uses the latest scientific research and perspectives to ensure that pollinators are protected. The bill suspends the use of neonicotinoid (neonic) insecticides and other pesticides harmful to bees and other pollinators until an independent board of experts determines that they are safe to use, based on a strong scientific assessment. Ask your elected representative in Congress to support pollinators by cosponsoring Saving America’s Pollinators Act (SAPA). If they are already a cosponsor, use this occasion to thank them for their leadership on this critical issue. âWithout our world’s pollinators, the world would be a very different place. These bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and other creatures are essential elements of our food system. Losing them means we risk losing the very food we put on our table,â said Rep. Blumenauer. âWe must use every tool at our disposal to provide pollinators with much-needed relief from bee-toxic pesticides and monitor […]
Posted in Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Pollinators, Take Action, Uncategorized | No Comments »
09
Jul
(Beyond Pesticides, July 9, 2021) The investigative online publication The Intercept has turned its attention to the current and historical role of industry in distorting, undermining, and outright suppressing the protective function of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with regard to pesticide exposures. The subsequent reporting â âThe Department of Yes: How Pesticide Companies Corrupted the EPA and Poisoned Americaâ â is a devastating chronicle of the theme and particulars that Beyond Pesticides has covered for years. That is, that EPA has repeatedly disregarded its charge to protect human and environmental health in favor of enabling industry to continue its chemical experimentation on the populace and on the nationâs multiple natural resources. This pattern must change if the agency is to enact its mission and the public is to be protected. The Intercept interviewed more than 24 people with expertise on the regulation of pesticides, including 14 who have worked in EPAâs Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP). The chief takeaway from those interviews, as written by reporter Sharon Lerner, is that EPA âis often unable to stand up to the intense pressures from powerful agrochemical companies, which spend tens of millions of dollars on lobbying each year and employ many […]
Posted in Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Uncategorized | No Comments »