To: President Donald Trump
Tell President Obama: Ban bee-killing pesticides
Dear President Obama,
Thank you for calling national attention to the plight of bees and other pollinators. These important creatures are an integral part of healthy ecosystems – but they continue to die off in dramatic numbers.
Your recently-announced pollinator initiative is a step in the right direction, but we need you to make sure this effort results in real protections for bees. We need to ban bee-killing pesticides now!
A mounting body of scientific evidence points to one class of systemic insecticides — neonicotinoids (neonics) — as a key factor in bee declines. Neonics can kill bees outright, and at sublethal doses, they impair bees’ brain function and suppress their immune systems — making them more susceptible to diseases, pests and other stressors.
This problem is urgent. Beekeepers report continuing unsustainable losses and some have gone out of business. The EPA’s plan to complete its review of neonics by 2016-2019 is not an acceptable timetable for beekeepers and our food security.
I urge you to listen to the growing body of science that tells us we need to ban neonics. They are a key part of the problem and need to be tackled head on.
Thank you for calling national attention to the plight of bees and other pollinators. These important creatures are an integral part of healthy ecosystems – but they continue to die off in dramatic numbers.
Your recently-announced pollinator initiative is a step in the right direction, but we need you to make sure this effort results in real protections for bees. We need to ban bee-killing pesticides now!
A mounting body of scientific evidence points to one class of systemic insecticides — neonicotinoids (neonics) — as a key factor in bee declines. Neonics can kill bees outright, and at sublethal doses, they impair bees’ brain function and suppress their immune systems — making them more susceptible to diseases, pests and other stressors.
This problem is urgent. Beekeepers report continuing unsustainable losses and some have gone out of business. The EPA’s plan to complete its review of neonics by 2016-2019 is not an acceptable timetable for beekeepers and our food security.
I urge you to listen to the growing body of science that tells us we need to ban neonics. They are a key part of the problem and need to be tackled head on.
Why is this important?
The Obama Administration has launched a new initiative to protect bees and other pollinators, which emphasizes public education, research and habitat expansion.
But this effort falls far short of what's needed. The plan fails to take definitive action on neonicotinoid pesticides -- a key factor contributing to bee die-offs and one they could do something about now.
Tell President Obama he needs to take strong and immediate action to save bees and ban bee-killing pesticides now!
But this effort falls far short of what's needed. The plan fails to take definitive action on neonicotinoid pesticides -- a key factor contributing to bee die-offs and one they could do something about now.
Tell President Obama he needs to take strong and immediate action to save bees and ban bee-killing pesticides now!