Archive for the '3-D' Category
15
Aug
(Beyond Pesticides, August 14, 2023) Marijuana regulators in the state of Washington issued administrative holds on 18 licenses due to pesticide-contaminated marijuana, forcing producers and processors to cease operations until now. This shutdown of legal marijuana businesses serves as a window into a broader historical backdrop of pesticide issues within the marijuana industry. Within Washington, pesticide concerns have been growing since a study in 2018 of legal marijuana farms in the state had 84.6% (of 26 samples) with significant quantities of pesticides including insecticides, fungicides, miticides, and herbicides. Last year, a national study identified a list of contaminants in 36 states and the District of Columbia and found 551 pesticides within cannabis products. For over a decade, Beyond Pesticides has sounded the alarm about the highly-concentrated levels of pesticides in marijuana products, calling on state officials to require organic marijuana, especially in the context of medical marijuana. The absence of federal regulations for pesticides in cannabis production has raised significant concerns about exposure risks for recreational and medicinal use, exposure risks to workers, and potential environmental contamination impacting wildlife. Since marijuana is classified as a Schedule 1 narcotic under the Controlled Substances Act, the EPA does not regulate pesticides in […]
Posted in Agriculture, Alternatives/Organics, Cannabis, Chemicals, contamination, DDT, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Farmworkers, Federal Agencies, Herbicides, Pesticide Drift, Pesticide Regulation, Poisoning, Uncategorized, Washington | No Comments »
01
Aug
(Beyond Pesticides, August 1, 2023) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced that it is publishing a decade’s worth of pesticide incident data in a searchable database that will be updated on a monthly basis. The Incident Data System (IDS), with poisoning reports generated mostly from chemical manufacturers, states, a national hotline, and poison control centers, offers information on reported pesticide exposures from accidental poisoning of pets, wildlife, and humans, to pesticide drift, noncompliance, and other pesticide incidents that may be associated with product uses in compliance with label instructions. Tracking this incident data is essential to understanding the risks and damages associated with pesticide use. Â The bulk of the data on incidents is from consumer reports to chemical manufacturers. Chemical companies are required under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), Section 6(a)(2) to report incidents: âIf at any time after the registration of a pesticide the registrant has additional factual information regarding unreasonable adverse effects on the environment of the pesticide, the registrant shall submit such information to the Administrator.â The determine of threshold number of incidents required to be reported as a pattern of âunreasonable adverse effectsâ is left to the manufacturers to determine. Through […]
Posted in Agriculture, Alternatives/Organics, Chemicals, Death, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Federal Agencies, Herbicides, Pesticide Regulation, Pests, Pollinators, Rodenticide, Uncategorized, Wildlife/Endangered Sp. | 1 Comment »
28
Jul
(Beyond Pesticides, July 28, 2023) A study published in Science of the Total Environment finds glyphosate can adversely impact sensory and cognitive processes in bumblebees (Bombus terrestris). Glyphosate exposure impairs beesâ learning of aversive stimuli like electric shocks paired with specific color discrimination. Additionally, the pesticide reduces attraction to UV (ultraviolet) light, specifically the color blue, and temporarily impacts locomotion and phototaxis (movement in response to light). These impairments to sensory and cognitive processes render foraging difficult for these glyphosate-exposed pollinators and vulnerable to unavoidable predators. The study highlights that symptoms of widespread chemical exposure may reduce foraging efficiency and adversely affect ecosystems, especially those dependent on insect pollinators. Pollinator decline directly affects the environment, society, and the economy. Without pollinators, many plant species, both agricultural and nonagricultural, will decline or cease to exist as U.S. pollinator declines, particularly among native wild bees, limit crop yields. In turn, the economy will take a hit, since much of the economy (65%) depends upon the strength of the agricultural sector. As the science shows, pesticides are one of the most significant stressors for pollinators. In a world where habitat loss and fragmentation show no sign of abating, scientists have concluded that the globe cannot afford to continue […]
Posted in Beneficials, Biodiversity, Pollinators | 1 Comment »
27
Jul
(Beyond Pesticides, July 27, 2023) A study published in the Journal of Economic Entomology calls into question the scientific literature on protecting bees from pesticides. The study analyzes actions taken by pesticide users to reduce the risk of pesticides on nontarget organisms, known as âmitigation measures.â Ultimately, the study finds that there is insufficient evidence to support the effectiveness of bee-protecting mitigation measures.   âAlmost all research was centered around protecting honey bees. However, honey bees are a managed species that is not endangered,â Edward Straw, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher in the School of Agriculture and Food Science at University College Dublin in Ireland and lead author on the study, says, âWhen we try to protect bees, we really want to be protecting wild, unmanaged bee species, as these are the species which are in decline.â The study includes a chart of mitigation methods that have been tested in the scientific literature. The mitigation measures under evaluation include: restricting pesticide application to certain times of day, restricting the application of pesticides during weather events, removing flowering weeds that attract pollinators, applying repellents to deter pollinators, and more. The researchers find that there are few empirical tests on the most widely used […]
Posted in Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Pollinators, Repellent, Uncategorized | No Comments »
21
Jul
(Beyond Pesticides, July 21, 2023) A comprehensive and scathing report, âNeonicotinoid insecticides: Failing to come to grips with a predictable environmental disaster,â issued by American Bird Conservancy (ABC)in June, lays out the dire consequences of neonicotinoid (neonic) pesticidesâ continued use. The report is an update of an earlier review from 2013, which warned of the risks to birds, stating starkly: âA single corn kernel coated with a neonicotinoid can kill a songbird. Even a tiny grain of wheat or canola treated with the oldest neonicotinoid, imidacloprid, can poison a bird. As little as 1/10th of a corn seed per day during egg-laying season is all that is needed to affect reproduction with any of the neonicotinoids registered to date.â The story of neonic harm is one that has been repeated for generations with different pesticides. Pesticide manufacturers claim every new generation of their products is safer and more environmentally benign than the previous one. This is seldom true. There is ample evidence that pesticides pose threats to nearly every class of organism on Earth, from earthworms to elephants. The neonicotinoids, introduced in the early 1990s, have been marketed as safe for vertebrates, non-bioaccumulative, and, because of their flexible application methods […]
Posted in Agriculture, Birds, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), neonicotinoids, Pesticide Regulation, Uncategorized, Wildlife/Endangered Sp. | No Comments »
20
Jul
(Beyond Pesticides, July 20, 2023) Despite evidence of toxicity to pets from Seresto pet collars (manufactured with the neurotoxic insecticide flumethrin, as well as the notorious neonicotinoid imidacloprid), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) has announced that the popular flea and tick collars will remain on the market, but with new mitigation measures. However, advocates say that these measures will do little to protect people and pets from chemical exposure using these collars. The agency will require Elanco â the manufacturer of Seresto â to conduct enhanced reporting for various factors, including adverse symptoms, veterinary community outreach, and warnings on the product’s label. Seresto, developed by Bayer and sold by Elanco, has been linked to nearly 1,700 pet deaths, injuries to tens of thousands of animals, and harm to hundreds of people. There are nontoxic ways to protect pets from fleas and other pests while protecting human family members. Children Ignored by the Agency EPA has a history of ignoring the exposure patterns to children who come into close contact with pets and their flea collars and the potential adverse health threats, opting for warnings instead of regulatory action. In 2017, EPA issued a warning for tetrachlorvinphos (TCVP) flea collars that advised: ânot […]
Posted in Pets, Seresto, Synthetic Pyrethroid | 3 Comments »
29
Jun
(Beyond Pesticides, June 29, 2023) In the first major settlement amid an influx of PFAS litigation, industrial chemical giants DuPont, Chemours, and Corteva will pay $1.185 billion dollars to cities and towns across the U.S. to cover the cost of PFAS remediation and monitoring in public drinking water systems. The significance of this nationwide class-action settlement cannot be overstated, as citizens have battled powerful chemical corporations for decades with limited success. Dangerous toxicants have been indiscriminately discharged into the environment by chemical companies since the mid-1900s, and the PFAS litigation is important in the companyâs acceptance of responsibility for contamination. Of course, the damage to health and the environment is incalculable, given the pervasive environmental contamination and poisoning that it has caused, and additional lawsuits are pending, with more expected. Advocates maintain that this case exemplifies the inadequacies of regulatory controls that do a poor job of capturing the long-term effects of chemicals before being introduced into the market and a worse job of questioning the essentiality of toxic substances for which there are alternative practices and products. PFAS bring into sharp focus the legacy of chemical contamination and the impact on  future generationsâa problem well-documented with pesticides like DDT […]
Posted in 3M, Birth defects, Cancer, Chemicals, contamination, Corporations, Corteva, Disease/Health Effects, Drinking Water, DuPont, Groundwater, Litigation, PFAS, Water | No Comments »
23
Jun
(Beyond Pesticides, June 23, 2023) Pollinators are especially important to the ecosystem. They pollinate plants by going from flower to flower and transferring pollen. Without pollinators, availability would be severely limited or cut off to many delicious foods, such as apples, almonds, cherries, blueberries, pumpkins, and many others. Many types of pollinators, like honey bees, bumble bees, and butterflies, are declining due to loss of habitat, widespread use of toxic pesticides, parasites, and disease. Help these important beneficial creatures by Not using toxic pesticides Planting pollinator habitats, like colorful flowers, gardens, and trees Telling your friends and family all about the importance of pollinators. Wild and Managed Bees Wild and managed bees play a crucial role in the global food system. About two-thirds of the worldâs most important crops benefit from bee pollination, including coffee, cacao, and many fruits and vegetables. Wild pollination is becoming increasingly important with the growing instability of managed honey bee colonies. According to one study, wild beesâ agricultural value is now similar to that of honey bees, which are no longer considered wild in many regions due to their intense management. While many may prefer butterflies and birds to pay a visit to their gardens […]
Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Pollinators, Wildlife/Endangered Sp. | No Comments »
22
Jun
(Beyond Pesticides, June 22, 2023) Since the early twentieth century, âmigratoryâ beekeepers have provided a critical service to U.S. agriculture by moving their hives seasonally to pollinate a variety of crops. Annually, commercial beekeeping adds between $15 and $20 billion in economic value to agriculture, which is a major industry in the United States, with 21.1 million full- and part-time jobs related to the agricultural and food sectorsâ10.5 percent of total U.S. employment. Before insects and pollinators like bees evolved to pollinate, pollination occurred through the wind, scattering the pollen from the plants and landing on other flowers that could reproduce. However, commercial pollination services contribute to increased yields. Without commercial pollination, food prices would rise, the farm sector would suffer globally, and the security and variety of the food supply would diminish. With the wild insect pollinator populations already in serious decline, commercial, migratory beekeeping is more than ever a vital piece of the agricultural economy. With pollinator decline, as an integral part of worldwide biodiversity collapse and the âinsect apocalypse,â commercial beekeepers face collapse as well. The United Nations states that 80 percent of the 115 top global food crops depend on insect pollination, with one-third of all U.S. crops depending on pollinators, according to the U.S. […]
Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Beneficials, Pollinators | No Comments »
21
Jun
(Beyond Pesticides, June 21, 2023) Pollinatorsââbees, butterflies, birds, bats, and other organismsââmake a critical contribution to plant health, crop productivity, and the preservation of natural resources. However, pesticides consistently act as a key contributor to dramatic pollinator declines. Much research attributes the decline of insect pollinators over the last several decades to the interaction of multiple environmental stressors, from climate change to pesticide use, disease, habitat destruction, and other factors. Roughly a quarter of the global insect population has disappeared since 1990, according to research published in the journal Science. Monarchs are near extinction, and beekeepers continue to experience declines that are putting them out of business. We continue to lose mayflies, the foundation of many food chains, and fireflies, the foundation of many childhood summer memories. The declines in many bird species likely have close links to insect declines. Recent research finds that three billion birds, or 29% of bird abundance, have been lost since the 1970s. In a world where habitat loss and fragmentation show no sign of abating, scientists have concluded that the globe cannot afford to continue to subject its critically important wild insects to these combined threats. Clean air, water, and healthy soils are integral to ecosystem function, interacting between Earthâs four main spheres (i.e., hydrosphere, […]
Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Beneficials, Biodiversity, Habitat Protection, Pollinators | No Comments »
05
Jun
(Beyond Pesticides, June 5, 2023) Butterfliesâthe most attractive of our insect faunaâare disappearing at an appalling rate, largely due to pesticide use. Recent studies have documented declines of almost 50% from 1990 to 2011 in Europe (with trends continuing), of 58 percent between 2000 and 2009 in the U.K., and of 33% from 1996â2016 in the state of Ohio in the U.S. Even steeper declines have been documented for Monarch butterflies, with an 80 percent decline of Eastern monarchs and 99 percent decline of Western monarchs. Tell EPA to eliminate pesticides that threaten butterflies. Tell the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Department of Interior to help bring back butterflies by eliminating the use of pesticides that threaten them. Tell Congress that EPA and other agencies need to do their job and protect our most charismatic insects. Last year, EPA admitted that three neonicotinoid pesticides are âlikely to adversely affect from two-thirds to over three-fourths of Americaâs endangered speciesâ1,225 to 1,445 species in all,â including many butterfly species. On May 5 of this year, EPA released new analyses of these neonicsâ effects on endangered species. EPAâs analyses focus on the species most at risk of extinction, and the results represent […]
Posted in Department of Interior, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), neonicotinoids, Pollinators, Take Action, Uncategorized, Wildlife/Endangered Sp. | 20 Comments »
26
May
(Beyond Pesticides, May 26, 2023)The use of pesticides in agriculture, transportation, and domestic settings has created a disastrous conflict for the human species. Two irreconcilable facts confront humans as they try to adapt to the consequences of earlier choices: One, industrial civilization came to believe that because some insects, fungi, and other organisms like to eat the same plants humans eat, humans can kill them with impunity; two, because some insects and other organisms are necessary to the health and reproduction of plants, humans need to protect them. At no point in history have people acknowledged that it is very difficult to kill the âbadâ actors while protecting the âgoodâ ones. There are not really two sides to the biological fact; rather, pesticides and biodiversity meet each other on a single plane, like a MĂśbius strip. Among the most dire effects of pesticides are their ruination of pollinators. Bees spring to mind as our primary pollinators, but they are by no means the only ones. Butterflies, often regarded as mere ornamental additions to a landscape, are actually significant pollinators themselves. Monarchs pollinate many flowers, including calendula and yarrow. Other butterflies pollinate dill, celery, fennel, cilantro, lettuce, peas, and basil, among […]
Posted in International, Pollinators, Uncategorized | No Comments »
18
May
(Beyond Pesticides, May 18, 2023) A study published in Food and Chemical Toxicology finds pesticide residues in beehive products pose a safety risk from dietary consumption. Beehive products (i.e., bee bread, propolis, beeswax, and royal jelly) from beekeeping or apiculture are said to have nutraceutical (health and medicinal benefits) properties. However, a wide range of pesticide residues (i.e., tau-fluvalinate, coumaphos, chlorfenvinphos, chlorpyrifos, and amitraz), especially acaricides for killing ticks and mites in hives, may accumulate in beehive products up to concentrations that pose a potential health risk. Environmental contaminants like pesticides are ubiquitous in the environment, with 90 percent of Americans having at least one pesticide compound in their body. Many of these chemical compounds remain in soils, water (solid and liquid), and the surrounding air at levels exceeding U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards. Therefore, individuals still encounter pesticide compounds at varying concentrations, adding to the toxic body burden of those harmful chemicals currently in use. The research methodology includes a review of the scientific literature on pesticide contamination in hive products and a dietary risk assessment. The risk assessment calculation uses scientific studies to determine the recommended daily intake values and concentration data. Researchers compare exposure values in products to health-based guidance, determining the potential acute and […]
Posted in amitraz, Chlorpyrifos, contamination, Coumaphos, Cyfluthrin, Pollinators | No Comments »
09
May
(Beyond Pesticides, May 9, 2022) The Colorado legislature last week passed SB23-266, a bill limiting the use of bee-toxic neonicotinoid pesticides in the state. The news comes as other states consider their own restrictions, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is publishing details on exactly which endangered species are set to be harmed by the ongoing use of these harmful insecticides. This latest news shows that protecting pollinators is possible, and urgently needed given growing understanding of the dangers these chemicals pose to the most vulnerable wildlife in the country. Â The Colorado bill requires the stateâs commissioner of agriculture to adopt rules designating neonicotinoid pesticides as âlimited-useâ pesticides in the state. With this designation, only licensed pesticide dealers may sell products containing these chemicals. Per the stateâs legal code, the âlimited-useâ designation means the same as a federal ârestricted-useâ pesticide, which permits sales and use only for certified applicators. Passage of this bill marks an important step forward for pollinator protection efforts in the state. It will help ensure that homeowners are not able to easily purchase this product at big box retailers, but will allow continued use in residential areas and in agriculture. Coloradoâs bill fulfills guidance […]
Posted in Colorado, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Increased Vulnerability to Diseases from Chemical Exposure, neonicotinoids, Pollinators, Wildlife/Endangered Sp. | 2 Comments »
05
May
(Beyond Pesticides, May 5, 2023) Low level exposure to pyrethroid insecticides found in common pesticide brands like RAID and ORTHO result in neurodevelopmental damage to laboratory animals, reinforcing evidence of harm found in epidemiological studies on human exposure to these chemicals. According to research published in PNAS Nexus, mice exposed to the pyrethroid deltamethrin displayed atypical behavior similar to humans with developmental disorders. âWe are not saying these mice have autism or that they have ADHD. That’s not the goal here,â said James Burkett, PhD, study coauthor and assistant professor of neuroscience in the UToledo College of Medicine. âWhat we are saying is that something in their brain has been altered by this exposure and it’s resulting in the same kinds of behaviors that we see in children with autism.” Scientists arrived at this determination by exposing a group of mouse mothers to consistent low levels of deltamethrin in their food during preconception, pregnancy, and lactation. The study notes that the amount of pesticide provided was âwell below the benchmark dose for regulatory guidance.â A separate control group was given no pesticide in its food. Offspring from the female mice were then put through behavioral tests on social behavior, restrictive […]
Posted in Amvac, BASF, Bayer, Brain Effects, Deltamethrin, Developmental Disorders, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), FMC, Nervous System Effects, Syngenta, Synthetic Pyrethroid, Uncategorized, Valent | No Comments »
03
May
(Beyond Pesticides, May 3, 2023) New research is highlighting the best flowers to plant in order to attract syrphid flies (also known as hover flies, or flower flies), an important pollinator and, in its larval stage, a predator of many common farm and garden pests. With spring in full swing, the results of the study, published in the journal Environmental Entomology by researchers at the University of New Hampshire (UNH), provide a helpful guide for growers wishing to avoid pesticide use and leverage biological pest management techniques. Study authors indicate that their research is partly a response to growers in the New England region moving away from planting brassicas due to the impact of the cabbage aphid. While there is considerable research on the benefits of syrphid flies for growers in other parts of the country, less is known about the species and flowers that support these insects in the Northeast. âThis paper is the first report of the species composition of syrphids living and foraging in our local vegetable systems,â said study coauthor Anna Wallingford, PhD, of UNH. âWe knew that syrphids as a group can provide important ecosystem services, and we knew plenty about the foraging behaviors of […]
Posted in Pollinators, Uncategorized | No Comments »
27
Apr
(Beyond Pesticides, April 27, 2023) The Nevada Assembly, by unanimous vote, took the state one step closer to banning the use of neonicotinoid insecticides used on plants, with a waiver for commercial agricultural purposes. Despite dramatic declines in bee populations linked to neonicotinoid pesticides and other toxic pesticides, the U.S. Environmental Protection (EPA) and state regulatory authorities have for the most part ignored beekeepers and the independent scientific literature by allowing widespread toxic pesticide useâforcing elected officials to take protective action. Portions of the bill would take effect upon passage or no later than January 1, 2024. Maine and New Jersey have adopted similar legislation. The failure to adequately regulate pesticides under federal law, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), and EPA inaction is viewed by environmentalists as the shocking disregard for the importance of biodiversity to sustaining life. The inadequate restriction of pesticides and slower than necessary transition to organic land management practices are viewed as major contributors to the âinsect apocalypse.â The legislation (A.B. 162), led by Assemblywoman Michelle Gorelow and a group of nine other Assemblymembers, illustrates a growing trend of local and state legislative bodies asserting their authority to protect against health, biodiversity, and […]
Posted in Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), neonicotinoids, Nevada, Pollinators, Uncategorized | No Comments »
26
Apr
(Beyond Pesticides, April 26, 2023) Organic methods of honey bee management are just as or more effective than conventional, chemical-intensive management systems, according to research published this month in the journal Scientific Reports by a team of Penn State scientists. This finding is important as managed pollinators continue to be under stress primarily from pesticide exposure, but also other factors, such as disease, pests, climate change, and habitat loss. In this context, beekeeping management practices can mean the difference between a colony thriving, surviving, or declining. “Beekeeping management is a key aspect of honey bee health because it can help mitigate some of the negative effects caused by these stressors,” said study co-author Robyn Underwood, PhD, of Penn State Extension. “For example, supplemental feeding can mitigate a lack of flowering plants nearby for foraging, and beekeepers can manage pests such as Varroa mites with cultural, mechanical and chemical control practices.” Scientists developed protocols to test different beekeeping management systems through participatory science. Thirty beekeepers were invited to work with scientists using protocols on experimental design, applying three different management approaches: i) conventional chemical; ii) organic; and iii) management without inputs. “We wanted to replicate what beekeepers were doing in their […]
Posted in Agriculture, Alternatives/Organics, Pollinators, Uncategorized | No Comments »
17
Apr
(Beyond Pesticides, April 17, 2023) In celebration of Earth Day and its sixth annual Ladybug LoveSM⯠campaign throughout the month of April, Natural Grocers is supporting Beyond Pesticides. The campaign celebrates insects that play a crucial role in food supply stability, and regenerative farming practices that use ladybugs and other beneficial insects instead of harmful synthetic pesticides to control pests. Natural Grocers will donate $1 to Beyond Pesticides for each person who pledges (including renewals, so do it again even if you pledged last year) ânot use chemicals that harm ladybugs and other beneficial insects on their lawn or garden, and to support 100% organic produce.â Even if you have signed the pledge in previous years, please take moment to sign! You do not need to shop at Natural Grocers to sign, but itâs a great store to shop at, if thereâs one in your area! Sign the Ladybug Pledge and support Beyond Pesticides. In partnership with major retailers like Natural Grocers and Stonyfield Organic, the Beyond Pesticidesâ Parks for a Sustainable Future program provides in-depth training to assist community land managers in transitioning two public green spaces to organic landscape management, while aiming to provide the knowledge and skills […]
Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Biodiversity, Lawns/Landscapes, Pollinators, Uncategorized | No Comments »
12
Apr
(Beyond Pesticides, April 12, 2023) Spring represents a period of increased water, soil, and general ecosystem pollution, correlated with increased pesticide use and increased rainfall. Thus, April showers bring May flowers, and often pesticides. We offer this overview to share with friends, family, and your community in an effort to elevate the urgent need to eliminate pesticides and make the shift to organic land management. Pesticides are pervasive in the environment, affecting all ecosystems, including air, water, and soil. Like clean air and water, healthy soils are integral to ecosystem function, interacting between Earth’s four main spheres (i.e., hydrosphere, biosphere, lithosphere, and atmosphere) to support life. Pesticide use results in pervasive contamination of treated and nontarget sites. Even organic farmers and gardeners globally suffer from the widespread movement of pesticides through the air, water, and runoff from land. Attempts to protect property and ecosystems from pesticide use are a difficult, some say impossible, challenge. Efforts to prevent contamination become a large burden, with attempts to curtail pesticide drift with buffer zone areas and eliminate fertilizers or soil supplements with pesticide residues (e.g., manure and compost). Furthermore, the effects of climate change only exacerbate threats to ecosystem health, as studies show a […]
Posted in Holidays, Pollinators, Seasonal | No Comments »
06
Apr
(Beyond Pesticides, April 6, 2023) A study published in Global Change Biology adds to research demonstrating that climate change can exacerbate the adverse impacts of pesticide exposure on managed and wild bees. Temperature can alter the sublethal effect pesticides, particularly the neonicotinoid (neonic) imidacloprid and the sulfoximine sulfoxaflor, have on bumble bee behavior tied to fitness and pollination services. Both an increase and decrease in temperature can cause diverging thermal responses in bumble bee behavior. However, increasing temperature bares more severe behavior abnormalities than cooler temperatures. The pervasiveness of pesticide exposure combined with climate change threatens global species biodiversity. As has been widely reported, pollinators (such as bees, monarch butterflies, and bats) are a bellwether for environmental stress as individuals and as colonies. Pesticides intensify pollinatorsâ vulnerability to health risks (such as pathogens and parasites), with pesticide-contaminated conditions limiting colony productivity, growth, and survival. Now more than ever, people are changing their sentiment toward sustainability, with two-thirds of consumers stating the importance of limiting climate change impacts and 88 percent supporting greater pollution reduction. The globe is currently going through the Holocene Extinction, Earthâs 6th mass extinction, with one million species of plants and animals at risk. With the increasing rate of biodiversity loss, advocates say it is essential for […]
Posted in Biodiversity, Climate, Climate Change, Increased Vulnerability to Diseases from Chemical Exposure, Pollinators | No Comments »
05
Apr
(Beyond Pesticides, April 5, 2023) A collective of Mayan beekeepers (Colectivo de Comunidades Mayas) in Mexico are implicating chemical industry giant Bayer/Monsanto in a massive die-off of more than 300,000 bees among their combined apiaries. According to Mexico News Daily, the total value of losses represent a staggering $663,000 U.S. dollars (12 million pesos). The incident is the latest instance of the pesticide  and agrichemical industry setting up shop in a local community and wrecking the health of the local ecology. Mayan beekeepers explain that Bayer/Monsanto recently started operations on a ranch near Crucero OxĂĄ in the southern Mexican state of Campeche. A local businessman placed the 50 hectare ranch on loan to the company. Since that arrangement, the company has aerially sprayed row crops like corn and soy with undisclosed chemicals. âOne of Bayerâs engineers or technicians allowed us to take samples from one of their crops after the bees started to die,â said beekeeper JosĂŠ Manuel Poot Chan, to the newspaper La Jornada Maya. âWe are exhausting all possible legal instances, while members of the Welfare Ministry already came to offer humanitarian social aid to cover part of the damages.â Beekeepers suspect that the company is using the […]
Posted in Agriculture, Bayer, Indigenous People, International, Monsanto, Pollinators, Uncategorized | No Comments »
28
Mar
(Beyond Pesticides, March 28, 2023) High concentrations of fully intact, never broken down DDT remain on the California seafloor decades after it was dumped off its southern coast in the middle of the 20th century. âWe still see original DDT on the seafloor from 50, 60, 70 years ago, which tells us that itâs not breaking down the way that [we] once thought it should,â University of California Santa Barbara scientist David Valentine, PhD, told the Los Angeles Times. âAnd what weâre seeing now is that there is DDT that has ended up all over the place, not just within this tight little circle on a map that we referred to as Dumpsite Two.â These findings underscore the enormity of legal and regulatory decisions to approve production of hazardous chemicals. While many may believe the legacy of DDT ended with its ban in the early 1970s, the California findings raise a deeper problem not only with U.S. chemical policy, but also the response from well-meaning environmental nonprofits that continues to play out to this day. As many in the environmental community invest tremendous resources in seeking to ban problematic pesticides or chemicals of the day after the contamination has occurred […]
Posted in creosote, DDT, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Pentachlorophenol, Uncategorized | No Comments »