Alright folks, so youve all heard about bee colony collapse & Im sure youve heard the term neonicotinoids but I wonder if you all realize how drastic the situation is. Without bees, our world as we know it can not survive, there is no debate about this, bees are our #1 pollinator & keep our world running. Neonicotinoids are a group of pesticides that are particularly harmful to bees. They work be affecting the central nervous system of insects, causing paralysis and death. It does not cause instant paralysis & death which means that the bees are taking the poison back to their hives, infecting their honey stores which ends up wiping out entire hives over the winter. These neonicotinoids are systemic, which means they grow with the plant and are found in all the plants tissues & they are soluble in water, which means once they get in to the water supply they can flow down stream to contaminate other sites. Once applied by spray or by seed coating these products can stay in soils for 5-15 years depending on soil type. That means even if we stop using them today, any crop we plant on that field will be contaminated, and in turn produce pollen that will negatively effect the bees and other insects. The EU has banned use of these pesticides. Health Canada conducted a study in 2013 and determined Current agricultural practices related to the use of neonicotinoid-treated corn and soybean seed are not sustainable due to their impacts on bees and other pollinators. As part of its new Pollinator Health Action Plan, the Ontario government has proposed regulations that will reduce the use of neonicotinoid-treated soy and corn seeds by 80 per cent by 2017. But so far, it’s just a proposal. And the multi-billion dollar pesticide industry is fiercely fighting to make the government back down. Their proposal can be found here: omafra.gov.on.ca/en…/pollinator/discuss-paper.pdf The Ontario Government has asked for YOUR opinion. They have given us all until January 25th to weigh in on this matter & I greatly urge you all to do so. In order to do this you simply send an email to: [email protected] With the subject: EBR Registry Number 012-3068 I will post a pre - drafted reply in the comments below, supplied by the David Suzuki Foundation, of course you are welcome to use it or draft your own. I know you all are willing to sign various internet petitions, which often do no good in reality, this is a case where our government has asked for our input and provided a dedicated email account at which the can receive it. They want to hear from us on this incredibly important matter. Ontario is the first jurisdiction in North America to propose a solution to this problem.
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 22:26:07 +0000
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