On May 24, 2017, the House passed a measure reversing an EPA requirement that those spraying pesticides on or near rivers and lakes file for a permit. Opponents are referring to the legislation as the “Poison Our Waters Act.” The bill’s real name is the “Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2017.” [1]
On April 5, a team of chemists and engineers at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the University of Iowa reported that they had discovered neonicotinoids, a class of pesticides, in treated drinking water. This finding marks the first time anyone has identified the chemicals in tap water. [1]
Gregory LeFevre, a study author and University of Iowa environmental engineer, said:
“Having these types of compounds present in water does have the potential to be concerning, but we don’t really know, at this point, what these levels might be.” [1]
Bayer CropScience LP has agreed to pay Massachusetts $75,000 and caved in to the state’s demand that it stop saying that its neonicotinoid pesticides are like “giving a daily vitamin” to plants, when the chemicals have been linked with honeybee colony collapse disorder. [1]
Source: Compound Interest
A new ‘scorecard’ report gives a failing grade to 17 out of 20 major food retailers in the United States, based on their policies and practices regarding pollinator protection, organic options, and pesticide reduction. [1]
Source: Friends of the Earth
Read: Aldi Bans Bee-Killing Neonic Pesticides on Produce
Tiffany Finck-Haynes, food futures campaigner with Friends of the Earth, said:
A recent investigation by the environmental organization Greenpeace uncovered unpublished field trials by pesticide manufacturers which show that their products cause serious harm to honeybees at high levels. Senior scientists are now calling for the companies to stop hiding the results of their tests. [1]
Scientists have taken note that some pesticides on seed coating and soybean seeds are actually deadly for bees, even harming or killing large populations. Because of this, the Governor of Minnesota, Mark Dayton, has issued an order to limit the use of these particular pesticides, known as neonicotinoids. [1]
In light of the potential dangers a class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids have on bee populations, pest-control company Ortho recently announced that it will be transitioning away from the chemicals in order to protect the world’s pollinators. Ortho plans to phase out the use of neonicotinoids by 2021 in 8 of its pesticide products.
Maryland has nearly become the first state in the U.S. to ban the sale of neonicotinoids, a class of pesticides which are a major contributor to the decline of honeybees.
Two bills previously cleared the Maryland State Senate and Maryland House of Delegates. The bills’ similarities were to likely to result in them being combined into a single piece of legislation to be sent to Republican Gov. Larry Hogan’s desk, where it could be signed into law.
Sleep tight! Don’t let the bedbugs bite! Remember when your parents used to say that to you before you went to sleep at night? Well, it’s getting harder to kill the little buggers that kept you worried and awake at night.
France gets it when it comes to pesticides
The post French Lawmakers Just Approved a Plan to Ban Bee-Killing Pesticides appeared first on The Anti-Media.
