Its time to get Neonic pesticides banned in Canada! Please help with a letter to these Canadian ministers: action2.davidsuzuki.org/neonics/ From the Globe and Mail article posted yesterday: There are mounting calls for restrictions on the pesticides. Some scientists say the pesticides that become present in all parts of the plant – including the pollen – are contributing to the declines in populations of honey bees, butterflies and other pollinators. Three types of neonicotinoids have been banned in Europe since December 2013 but remain widely used in North America. A study released this week found the pesticide poses a “serious risk” to such pollinators as honey bees and butterflies as well as birds and earthworms. The panel of 50 independent scientists, which calls itself the Task Force on Systemic Pesticides, likens the threat posed by neonicotinoids to that of DDT. They say neonicotinoids and fipronil, another widely used pesticide, should be tightly regulated by governments and phased out. Neonicotinoids have been linked to the deaths of bees in two ways: by being exposed to dust generated by seed planting machinery; and by ingesting insecticide-laced pollen, which weakens them and makes them more vulnerable to deadly viruses. Other species may also be affected. A biologist at the University of Saskatchewan said in January the chemicals are being found in wetlands in Western Canada, and contributing to the deaths of birds that eat the insects that have ingested the pesticide. Neonicotinoids were first used in Canada in about 2001, on potatoes. In 2007, the seeds for a wider range of crops began to be treated. Today, the pesticide is used on almost all corn and canola, and half the soybeans, planted in Canada. Beekeepers say only 10- to 20-per-cent of Ontario farmland needs the pesticide, and that its blanket use is overkill. theglobeandmail/report-on-business/industry-news/controversial-pesticides-linked-to-wave-of-bee-deaths/article19330959/
Posted on: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 17:12:02 +0000
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