Other Kossacks are or have been addressing and exploring Honey Bees and Colony Collapse Disorder. I see that Mother Jones http://motherjones.com/... has a story out, that Huffpo has a story out on it as well http://www.huffingtonpost.com/... as well as numerous studies and stories through sites like Science Daily. See Previous diary on the same subject.
I received an e-mail message from Beyond Pesticides who are sponsoring a petition to the EPA to ban NeoNicotinoids. If you are interested here is the link:
http://org2.democracyinaction.org/...
Yesterday we joined beekeepers and partners in filing a legal petition that calls on EPA to suspend registration of Bayer’s controversial bee-killing pesticide, clothianidin. We also delivered over a million signatures from individuals around the world calling on the Agency to take decisive action to protect honey bees from neonicotinoid pesticides before it is too late.
Bees are still sick, and EPA is still stuck. Bees and other pollinators are still dying off at catastrophic rates – commercial beekeepers lost an average of 36% of their hives last year according to U.S.D.A. Honey bees pollinate one in every three bites of our food and, as indicator species, they serve as sentinels whom we ignore at our peril. With today’s petition, we’re redoubling our efforts to protect them.
All Pollinators and many insectivores are in decline.
It is my observation that Bees, Butterflies, Moths, Beetles, Bats, amphibians, reptiles, arachnids, and even birds are in danger because of the abuse and overuse chemical pesticides and herbicides.
The burden of proof should be on these companies to provide proof that these chemical concoctions are not going to cause humans to be ill, as well as proove they do not cause irreparable damage to our environment or our food web. But right now the laws have created the opposite effect.
The burden of proof is on you and I --the non-Scientists, the non-chemists to wade through amazing amounts of jargon and legal-eeze and even outright obfuscation to prove that these materials are unsafe and harmful. The problem with that is that proof can only be acquired over dead bodies or a trail of illness.
Or in this case, the loss of one of the foundational portions of our terrestrial food web---Pollinators. And the loss of uncounted dollars of Professional Bee Keepers, some who have gone out of business due to repeated catastrophic losses of billions of bees.
Here also, is the link to the NeoNicotinoid Timeline I created and posted as a diary entry.
http://www.dailykos.com/...
I hope you consider signing the petition. And in addition, I hope you also consider going pesticide free in your yards and gardens, if not organic.
I hope you consider putting plantings in for pollinators. You don't have to have a green thumb. You only have to have a raised bed and some clover seed, or some buckwheat.
No mowing, very little weeding.
If you want to get fancy with your clover patch, blow some dandelion seeds in there. Bees love dandelions. Other super-easy plants to grow are Sunflowers, Cosmos, Zinias--all require a little water, they are pretty and bees and butterflies love them. Another bed of flowers to consider: Phacelia [known as Bees Friend]
Bees and butterflies love water. A large pot dish that goes under a pot with some pebbles in it and some water is the perfect puddle for bees and butterflies to drink from without drowning.
Bees love fruit trees, single roses--like dog roses too.
Maybe you don't know how to go pesticide free in your lawn? Check out YOU BET YOUR GARDEN on NPR from WHYY with Mike McGrath. You can listen to his show or visit the archives online and listen to recordings and read advice for getting the chemicals out of our lawn. http://www.whyy.org/...
And you won't just be saving the bees. Butterflies too, and humming birds and dragonflies, and lady bugs and garden spiders-- All the beautiful, beneficial creatures that make your yard and garden a habitat. You might also be saving yourself and your children and grandchildren http://www.whyy.org/...
The things you put on your lawn are also absorbed by you and your pets, not only when you breath, but also through your skin. Many of these chemicals are transdermal.
I don't know how long it will take to get the EPA to change their regulations. But you as a homeowner can be that change now. You have the power to be one less person putting this poison on their lawns and gardens.
Not only will you be helping our planet, but by doing this, you will be sending a powerful message to pesticide companies when your dollars circulate somewhere else.
9:15 AM PT: For those who want more advanced instruction, please consider checking out this book:
Attracting Native Pollinators by the Xerces Foundation
http://www.amazon.com/...
I purchased this book and it rocks!
Another great book: The Family Butterfly Book by Rick Mikula
http://www.amazon.com/...
I also have this book--it's great.
If you have questions about bugs you find in your yard--visit. http://bugguide.net/...
If you want to get involved in citizen science regarding pollinators:
The Lost Lady Bug Project:
http://lostladybug.org/
Monarch Larva Monitoring Project
http://www.scientificamerican.com/...
Project Feeder Watch
http://www.scientificamerican.com/...
Bee Hunt
http://www.scientificamerican.com/...
You can find a lot more at Scientific American online on their Citizen Science Project Page
http://www.scientificamerican.com/...
Fri Apr 06, 2012 at 6:26 AM PT: Truthout had a link to a radio show about CCD:
http://truth-out.org/...