Bcrazy
Drone Bee
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2008
- Messages
- 1,460
- Reaction score
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- Location
- Warboys, CAMBS
- Hive Type
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- Number of Hives
- nil bees given away all colonies
http://tinyurl.com/yhvfcqf
Monday, February 22, 2010 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
(NaturalNews) A U.S. District Judge from Manhattan has banned the sale of
spirotetramat, a pesticide produced by Bayer CropScience. Citing allegations
by environmental groups and commercial beekeepers that the pesticide is
toxic and is killing off the nation's honeybee population, Judge Denise Cote has
declared that sales of spirotetramat must cease after January 15.
According to Cote, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) did not follow
proper procedure when approving spirotetramat. The EPA did not take public
comment about the pesticide before approving it and the agency failed to
publish both the Bayer application and the approval documents in the Federal
Register. The EPA and Bayer CropScience have 60 days to appeal the decision.
According to Bayer CropScience, spirotetramat is perfectly safe and does
not harm honeybees, insisting that the pesticide has been extensively tested.
The company laments the fact that the chemical was banned because of
procedural faults but did not indicate how it would proceed.
According to Aaron Colangelo, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense
Council (NRDC), spirotetramat is a potentially hazardous insecticide that
should be pulled from the market and evaluated further. The NRDC in
conjunction with the Xerces Society, a wildlife conservation group based in Portland,
jointly sued the EPA over its approval of the pesticide.
Amazingly, the EPA admits that it approved spirotetramat illegally but has
argued that its actions should have no consequences. This speaks volumes to
the agency's arrogance in how it views its role as a regulatory agency.
Dave Hackenberg, one of Pennsylvania' s largest beekeepers, is appreciative
of the judge's decision. After all, he has been losing more than half of his
bees every winter due to what he believes are pesticides. He leases his
bees out to various growers every year to assist in pollination but he says
that each year, more and more bees are dying. This past year, he lost about
half of his bees by midwinter which was the largest amount to date.
Maryann Frazier, a researcher from Penn State University, agrees with the
notion that pesticides play a large role in what is now being termed "Colony
Collapse Disorder" (CCD), the massive die-off of bees with no clear
explanation as to why they died. She believes that a number of factors contribute to
CCD and that further research must be done.
Bees are a necessary insect that must be preserved. Without them, there
would be no food. According to the Department of Agriculture, bees pollinate
over $15 billion worth of U.S. crops.
Sources for this story include: http://tinyurl.com/ybzkuq3
Regards
Monday, February 22, 2010 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
(NaturalNews) A U.S. District Judge from Manhattan has banned the sale of
spirotetramat, a pesticide produced by Bayer CropScience. Citing allegations
by environmental groups and commercial beekeepers that the pesticide is
toxic and is killing off the nation's honeybee population, Judge Denise Cote has
declared that sales of spirotetramat must cease after January 15.
According to Cote, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) did not follow
proper procedure when approving spirotetramat. The EPA did not take public
comment about the pesticide before approving it and the agency failed to
publish both the Bayer application and the approval documents in the Federal
Register. The EPA and Bayer CropScience have 60 days to appeal the decision.
According to Bayer CropScience, spirotetramat is perfectly safe and does
not harm honeybees, insisting that the pesticide has been extensively tested.
The company laments the fact that the chemical was banned because of
procedural faults but did not indicate how it would proceed.
According to Aaron Colangelo, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense
Council (NRDC), spirotetramat is a potentially hazardous insecticide that
should be pulled from the market and evaluated further. The NRDC in
conjunction with the Xerces Society, a wildlife conservation group based in Portland,
jointly sued the EPA over its approval of the pesticide.
Amazingly, the EPA admits that it approved spirotetramat illegally but has
argued that its actions should have no consequences. This speaks volumes to
the agency's arrogance in how it views its role as a regulatory agency.
Dave Hackenberg, one of Pennsylvania' s largest beekeepers, is appreciative
of the judge's decision. After all, he has been losing more than half of his
bees every winter due to what he believes are pesticides. He leases his
bees out to various growers every year to assist in pollination but he says
that each year, more and more bees are dying. This past year, he lost about
half of his bees by midwinter which was the largest amount to date.
Maryann Frazier, a researcher from Penn State University, agrees with the
notion that pesticides play a large role in what is now being termed "Colony
Collapse Disorder" (CCD), the massive die-off of bees with no clear
explanation as to why they died. She believes that a number of factors contribute to
CCD and that further research must be done.
Bees are a necessary insect that must be preserved. Without them, there
would be no food. According to the Department of Agriculture, bees pollinate
over $15 billion worth of U.S. crops.
Sources for this story include: http://tinyurl.com/ybzkuq3
Regards
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