Two things are happening:
1 The bee population collapse is continuing and possibly
accelerating. It is certainly happening everywhere the pesticides
are been used. The bees are been subjected to a winnowing gauntlet
and at a certain threshold, the population does collapse.
2 The actual science is steadily trickling in and a damning body of
work is been amassed. Yet the industry continues to play their game
of obstruction, denial and misinformation to postpone regulatory
action.
The third shoe is also about to drop. It is that the protocol that
saturates the environment with this pesticide is losing its
effectiveness and will likely fail soon enough but not before maxing
out the more is better.
I will expect to see key statistics diverge in Europe from the USA
with this ban in effect. We do not know just how fast a reversal can
be brought to bear.
A Win for the Bees:
EU Votes to Ban Bee-Harming Pesticides
Victory for bees, but
more must be done to ensure safety of bee population, global food
- Jacob Chamberlain,
staff writer
Published on Monday,
April 29, 2013 by Common Dreams
In a historic vote on
Monday, the European Union banned the use of bee-harming pesticides
across the continent for a minimum of two years, garnering praise
from environmental groups who have said that the population of the
vital pollinators, along with the global food supply, are in grave
danger due to the widespread use of the chemicals.
(Flickr / Treesha
Duncan / Creative Commons License)The vote is the first of its kind
and suspends three of the world's most widely-used pesticides—known
as neonicotinoids. However, critics have said the two-year suspension
is not enough, meaning bees are not safe until the pesticides are
banned permanently.
Though the vote did
not reach the required majority under EU voting rules, the hung vote
moves to the European Commission (EC) who will implement the ban.
"It's done," an EC source told the Guardian.
The Pesticide Action
Network reports:
Despite pesticide
industry influence, a majority of countries voted to place a two year
restriction on three neonicotinoid products linked to a wide-range of
harms to honey bees: clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam. The
EU vote comes after significant findings by the European Food Safety
Agency that these pesticides pose an unacceptable risk to bees and
their use should be restricted. Along with habitat loss and
pathogens, a growing body of science points to neonicotinoid
pesticides as a key factor in drastically declining bee populations.
The Guardian reports:
The landmark
suspension is a victory for millions of environment
campaignersconcerned about dramatic declines in bees who were backed
by experts at the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). But it
is a serious defeat for the chemical companies who make billions a
year from the products and also UK ministers - who voted against the
ban. Both had argued the ban will harm food production.
Paul Towers, a
spokesperson for PAN North America today urged the U.S. to follow
suit and listen to growing scientific evidence, rather than voices
from the pesticide industry:
European leaders
followed the weight of the scientific evidence and moved swiftly to
protect bees from the harms of neonicotinoid pesticides. U.S.
officials, especially the Environmental Protection Agency, should be
emboldened by European action rather than yielding to pressure from
pesticide corporations. Unless U.S. officials act soon, bee
populations may not recover, threatening the livelihood of beekeepers
and the agricultural economies that rely on pollination and honey
production.
However, the vote is
only a temporary ban on the use of the pesticides, which, according
to critics, does not go far enough to protect the survival of bees.
As Keith Tyrell,
executive director of PAN-UK, stated:
Whilst we welcome the
EU vote as a significant step forward, we are dismayed that it is
only a temporary half measure which goes nowhere near far enough in
protecting our bees and other vital pollinators from the harm of
neonicotinoid pesticides.
Friends of the Earth's
Head of Campaigns Andrew Pendleton said:
This decision is a
significant victory for common sense and our beleaguered bee
populations.
"Restricting the
use of these pesticides could be an historic milestone on the road to
recovery for these crucial pollinators.
"But pesticides
are just one of the threats bees face - if David Cameron is genuinely
concerned about declining bee numbers he must urgently introduce a
Bee Action Plan.
The countries that
voted against the ban were: the UK, Czech Republic, Italy, Hungary,
Romania, Slovakia, Austria and Portugal. Ireland, Lithuania, Finland
and Greece abstained.
Those in favor:
Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, France, Cyprus, Germany,
Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia and
Sweden.
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