*[Enwl-eng] US EPA Sued Over Honey Bee Deaths Linked to Pesticides
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Apr 19, 2013, 6:00:17 PM4/19/13
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*Groups sue EPA over honey bee deaths, blame some insecticides*
Illustration Omitted:
Honey bees swarm around a small piece of honeycomb on a farm in
North Carolina, December 14, 2012. REUTERS/Chris Keane
By Carey Gillam
Thu Mar 21, 2013 3:36pm EDT
(Reuters) - U.S. environmental regulators are failing to protect honey
bees and their role in pollinating important food crops, and should
immediately suspend use of some toxic insecticides tied to the
widespread deaths of the bees, a lawsuit filed on Thursday charges.
"It is a catastrophe in progress," said migratory bee keeper Steve Ellis
who maintains 2,000 bee hives for pollinating crops from Minnesota to
California. "We have an ongoing problem that is worsening."
Orchard operators use bees to pollinate a variety of important U.S.
crops, including almonds, cranberries, blueberries, avocados, apples,
cherries, pears, and more. But over the last several years both the
number of bees and the vitality of the bees has been in marked decline
in the United States. Many studies have linked the prevalence of some
new insecticides with the loss of the bees.
Several bee keepers and environmental groups unsuccessfully petitioned
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last year to restrict the
insecticides, saying the toxic impact on honey bees could threaten the
future of beekeeping worldwide.
On Thursday four professional beekeepers and five environmental and
consumer groups said they would try to get a court to order the EPA to
take action. The groups filed their lawsuit against the EPA in the
Northern District Court of California, demanding that the regulatory
agency suspend the use of pesticides clothianidin and thiamethoxam.
The pesticides, which are part of a class of systemic insecticides known
as neonicotinoids, are absorbed by plants and transported throughout a
plant's vascular tissue, making the plant potentially toxic to insects,
the groups said.
Clothianidin and thiamethoxam first came into heavy use in the
mid-2000s, at the same time beekeepers started observing widespread
cases of colony loses, leaving beekeepers unable to recoup their losses,
they said.
"Beekeepers and environmental and consumer groups have demonstrated time
and time again over the last several years that EPA needs to protect
bees. The agency has refused, so we've been compelled to sue," said
Peter Jenkins, a lawyer for the Center for Food Safety who is
representing the coalition of plaintiffs.
The groups said they have obtained records that show several "legal
violations" by EPA officials connected to the approvals for clothianidin
and thiamethoxam products.
The case also challenges the EPA's use of "conditional registrations,"
which expedite the approval process for chemical companies seeking to
bring new products to market. Since 2000, over two-thirds of pesticide
products, including clothianidin and thiamethoxam, have been brought to
market as conditional registrations, the groups said.
The EPA said in a statement that it is trying to get a better
understanding of the risks to honey bees and is working aggressively to
protect bees from pesticide risks through a number of programs. It also
is accelerating review of the neonicotinoid pesticides because of the
bee concerns, it said.
The plaintiffs also include beekeeper Ellis of Old Mill Honey Co; Jim
Doan of Doan Family Farms; Tom Theobald of Niwot Honey Farm; and Bill
Rhodes of Bill Rhodes Honey. The plaintiffs also include the groups
Beyond Pesticides, the Center for Food Safety, the Pesticide Action
Network North America, the Sierra Club and the Center for Environmental
Health.
Syngenta and Bayer, are leading global producers of neonicotinoids, and
say the harmful effects on bees are unproven. But in Europe, the
European Commission recently proposed a ban of neonicotinoids on many
crops after the EU's European Food Safety Authority said neonicotinoids
posed an acute risk to honey bee health.
In the United States, such neonicotinoids are routinely used on more
than 100 million acres of corn, wheat, soy and cotton and are in some
home gardening products.
The plaintiff coalition said many beekeepers are reporting losses of
over 50 percent this year and said the shortages have left many
California almond growers without enough bees to effectively pollinate
their trees.
Along with bees, birds, bats, butterflies, beetles, and other small
mammals are involved in pollinating plants used for food and some
species have seen a 90 percent decline in their populations over the
last decade, according to the North American Pollinator Protection
Campaign, a collaboration of more than 120 organizations in the United
States, Canada, and Mexico who promote the role that pollinators play in
food systems.
(Reporting By Carey Gillam; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/21/us-usa-bees-lawsuit-idUSBRE92K13320130321
*** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this
material is distributed, without profit, for research and educational
purposes only. ***
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Sent: Wednesday, April 03, 2013 7:53 AM
Subject: News: US EPA Sued Over Honey Bee Deaths Linked to Pesticides
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Illustration Omitted:
Honey bees swarm around a small piece of honeycomb on a farm in
North Carolina, December 14, 2012. REUTERS/Chris Keane
By Carey Gillam
Thu Mar 21, 2013 3:36pm EDT
(Reuters) - U.S. environmental regulators are failing to protect honey
bees and their role in pollinating important food crops, and should
immediately suspend use of some toxic insecticides tied to the
widespread deaths of the bees, a lawsuit filed on Thursday charges.
"It is a catastrophe in progress," said migratory bee keeper Steve Ellis
who maintains 2,000 bee hives for pollinating crops from Minnesota to
California. "We have an ongoing problem that is worsening."
Orchard operators use bees to pollinate a variety of important U.S.
crops, including almonds, cranberries, blueberries, avocados, apples,
cherries, pears, and more. But over the last several years both the
number of bees and the vitality of the bees has been in marked decline
in the United States. Many studies have linked the prevalence of some
new insecticides with the loss of the bees.
Several bee keepers and environmental groups unsuccessfully petitioned
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last year to restrict the
insecticides, saying the toxic impact on honey bees could threaten the
future of beekeeping worldwide.
On Thursday four professional beekeepers and five environmental and
consumer groups said they would try to get a court to order the EPA to
take action. The groups filed their lawsuit against the EPA in the
Northern District Court of California, demanding that the regulatory
agency suspend the use of pesticides clothianidin and thiamethoxam.
The pesticides, which are part of a class of systemic insecticides known
as neonicotinoids, are absorbed by plants and transported throughout a
plant's vascular tissue, making the plant potentially toxic to insects,
the groups said.
Clothianidin and thiamethoxam first came into heavy use in the
mid-2000s, at the same time beekeepers started observing widespread
cases of colony loses, leaving beekeepers unable to recoup their losses,
they said.
"Beekeepers and environmental and consumer groups have demonstrated time
and time again over the last several years that EPA needs to protect
bees. The agency has refused, so we've been compelled to sue," said
Peter Jenkins, a lawyer for the Center for Food Safety who is
representing the coalition of plaintiffs.
The groups said they have obtained records that show several "legal
violations" by EPA officials connected to the approvals for clothianidin
and thiamethoxam products.
The case also challenges the EPA's use of "conditional registrations,"
which expedite the approval process for chemical companies seeking to
bring new products to market. Since 2000, over two-thirds of pesticide
products, including clothianidin and thiamethoxam, have been brought to
market as conditional registrations, the groups said.
The EPA said in a statement that it is trying to get a better
understanding of the risks to honey bees and is working aggressively to
protect bees from pesticide risks through a number of programs. It also
is accelerating review of the neonicotinoid pesticides because of the
bee concerns, it said.
The plaintiffs also include beekeeper Ellis of Old Mill Honey Co; Jim
Doan of Doan Family Farms; Tom Theobald of Niwot Honey Farm; and Bill
Rhodes of Bill Rhodes Honey. The plaintiffs also include the groups
Beyond Pesticides, the Center for Food Safety, the Pesticide Action
Network North America, the Sierra Club and the Center for Environmental
Health.
Syngenta and Bayer, are leading global producers of neonicotinoids, and
say the harmful effects on bees are unproven. But in Europe, the
European Commission recently proposed a ban of neonicotinoids on many
crops after the EU's European Food Safety Authority said neonicotinoids
posed an acute risk to honey bee health.
In the United States, such neonicotinoids are routinely used on more
than 100 million acres of corn, wheat, soy and cotton and are in some
home gardening products.
The plaintiff coalition said many beekeepers are reporting losses of
over 50 percent this year and said the shortages have left many
California almond growers without enough bees to effectively pollinate
their trees.
Along with bees, birds, bats, butterflies, beetles, and other small
mammals are involved in pollinating plants used for food and some
species have seen a 90 percent decline in their populations over the
last decade, according to the North American Pollinator Protection
Campaign, a collaboration of more than 120 organizations in the United
States, Canada, and Mexico who promote the role that pollinators play in
food systems.
(Reporting By Carey Gillam; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/21/us-usa-bees-lawsuit-idUSBRE92K13320130321
*** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this
material is distributed, without profit, for research and educational
purposes only. ***
From: "Yahoo Newsgroups" <vasi...@ramapo.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, April 03, 2013 7:53 AM
Subject: News: US EPA Sued Over Honey Bee Deaths Linked to Pesticides
------------- * ENWL * ------------
Ecological North West Line * St. Petersburg, Russia
Independent Environmental Net Service: http://www.bellona.ru/enwl/
Russian: ENWL(discussions), ENWL-inf(FSU information), ENWL-misc(any topics)
English: ENWL-eng (world information)
en...@lew.spb.org, enwl...@lew.spb.org, en...@lew.spb.org, en...@lew.spb.org
Subscription, Moderator: vf...@lew.spb.org or en...@enw.net.ru
Archive: http://enwl.bellona.ru/pipermail/
and http://groups.google.com/group/enwl/
SEE ALSO: http://www.bellona.org (English)and http://www.bellona.ru
(Russian)
RSS: http://groups.google.ru/group/enwl/feeds?hl=ru
(C) Please refer to exclusive articles of ENWL
-------------------------------------
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Enwl...@enwl.bellona.ru
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