In 2013 the EU imposed a moratorium on three of the most toxic of the neonicotinoid pesticides in an attempt to save wild bee populations. Now farmers have applied to lift the ban, writes Nat Whalley. Time to call on environment secretary Liz Truss, who today receives a 300,000-signature 'save the bees' petition, to say 'No!'
… Keep our bees safe! Liz Truss must say no to neonics … | 5th June 2015 Comment Farming Natural World Bees Toxics Politics Law Corporations … today receives a 300,000-signature 'save the bees' petition, to say 'No!' Not so long ago, …
Chemical giant Bayer has failed in its attempt to sue Friends of the Earth Germany over its claims that its pesticide Thiacloprid harms bees. Now pressure is growing on the EU to add the neonicotinoid to the three already banned.
… Bees victory in pesticide battle - Bayer libel … claims that its pesticide Thiacloprid harms bees. Now pressure is growing on the EU to add … that two of its pesitcide formulations harm bees. A judge in Dusseldorf has ruled that …
The insecticide chlorpyrifos is not just highly toxic to developing human foetuses. A new study finds that it also damages the memory and learning ability of Forager bees even at very low doses, threatening the survival of this important pollinator.
… 'may threaten survival' of Forager bees The Ecologist | 11th March 2016 News Bees Toxics Pesticides Ecology Farming New … the memory and learning ability of Forager bees even at very low doses, threatening the …
A warming climate and the loss of natural areas are driving Indian bee colonies to the brink, writes Premila Krishnan. Losing this cousin of our European honeybee could be disastrous, as rural communities depend on their honey for food and income, and the bees perform vital pollination services.
… Climate change is killing off India’s bees Pramila Krishnan | 1st March 2016 News Climate Change India Bees Biodiversity Ecology bee-hive-cut.jpg A … on their honey for food and income, and the bees perform vital pollination services. A …
Our bees and wider farmland ecosystems have been seriously harmed by neonicotinoids, writes Dave Goulson. But that's just the start of the damage that modern farming is doing to wildlife in a countryside stripped of wild flowers and drenched by cocktails of pesticides. The problem is not just neonics, but the entire model of industrial agriculture.
… If modern farming can't sustain bees, how much longer can it sustain us? Dave … UK Toxics bumblebee-clover-cut.jpg Our bees and wider farmland ecosystems have been … doses of these chemicals, such as bees would be exposed to if they fed on a …
An exotic parasite is spreading through the world's honey bees and global warming is making it worse, writes Robert Paxton. A new study that shows it will soon be causing widespread colony collapse in North America and Europe.
… is spreading through the world's honey bees and global warming is making it worse, … risk, especially as summers become warmer. Bees are fairly used to parasites. A native … was found a decade later in western honey bees (the species native to Europe) in Spain, …
Widespread use of insecticides affecting bee populations but also causing decline in numbers of birds, butterflies and moths, warns Dutch toxicologist
… Levitt | 16th November 2010 News Pesticides Bees Birds Ecology Natural World Food And … bee numbers across Europe. He now believes bees are not the only victims. ‘Any insect … for worldwide food security, because bees are our most important pollinators and …
Blaming 'lack of time', Syngenta withdraws its emergency application to use a seed treatment blamed for killing bees. Friends of the Earth and 38 Degrees claim victory - but Syngenta warns: we'll be back!
… to use a seed treatment blamed for killing bees. Friends of the Earth and 38 Degrees … in April 2013. The ban is intended to protect bees and other pollinators that can consume … welcomed the move. "Our under-threat bees can breathe a bit easier this evening" , …
A new study shows it's not just neonicotinoids that impair bees' ability to navigate to nectar and pollen sources, and to their nests: now the herbicide glyphosate has been found to have the same impact even at very low levels.
… Glyphosate harms bees' spatial learning Beyond Pesticides | … it's not just neonicotinoids that impair bees' ability to navigate to nectar and pollen … pointing to toxic and sublethal effects on bees. According to a new study conducted by …
Bee 'colony collapse disorder' cannot be ended by easy technofixes, writes Allan Stromfeldt Christensen. The real problem is the systematic abuse of bees in vast industrial monocultures, as they are trucked or flown thousands of miles from one farm to the next, treated with insecticides and antibiotics, and fed on 'junk food'.
… The real problem is the systematic abuse of bees in vast industrial monocultures, as they … have suggested in various ways that if honeybees go the way of the dodo bird, so do us … situation. First off is the fact that honeybees are used to pollinate about one-third of …
A study published today in Nature shows a strong correlation between concentrations of a popular neonicotinoid pesticide in water, and bird declines, writes Helen Thompson. Regulators are under pressure to tighten up, but the industry still claims there's 'no substantiated evidence'.
… It's not just the bees! 'Neonic' pesticides linked to bird … Let me tell you about the birds and the bees: A family of pesticides called … published in Nature suggests that birds and bees may share a common enemy. Dutch …
Previously suppressed documents show that Bayer and Syngenta, the makers of controversial 'neonic' insecticides subject to an EU ban, took part in and sought to influence a key meeting of pesticide experts to decide whether to lift a ban on their use in the UK.
… have been linked to serious harm in bees, including a drastic reduction in queens, … and were banned across the EU in 2013 . Bees and other pollinators are essential for …
The widespread use of neonicotinoid insecticides is causing a neurotoxic overload afflicting entire farm ecosystems from earthworms to bees, other pollinators and birds, writes Damian Carrington. A collapse in food production may inevitably follow.
… July 2014 News Farming Ecology Toxics Science bees-oilseed-cut.jpg The widespread use of … entire farm ecosystems from earthworms to bees, other pollinators and birds, writes … essential to global food production - from bees to earthworms - are likely to be …
After leaving the EU the government could allow dangerous pesticides banned elsewhere in Europe to be used in the UK, writes Keith Tyrell. Today, Pesticides Action Network is launching a new campaign calling on citizens to fight back against the pesticide industry - and ensure that EU directives and regulations serve as a baseline for British pesticide laws.
… use of pesticides that are highly toxic to bees and other pollinator species What should … pesticides in your food, greater threats to bees and wildlife Approximately 60% of the … approach. This would be a disaster for bees and other pollinators in the UK. We need …
Pesticide companies are responsible for assessing the safety of their products, writes Christopher N Connolly - and this situation cannot continue. The research should be carried out independently, subjected to peer review, and published.
… for studies on the risks of pesticides to bees and other pollinators from the … a simple lethal dose at which 50% ( LD50 ) of bees or pollinators die is too crude a test to …
Decades of regular mowing left my front lawn looking bare and sterile, writes Jo Cartmell. But in fact, the exhausted, infertile soil made it the perfect place for a host of wild flowers to take up residence - some from planted seed, others blown-in, or from long buried seed lying dormant in the soil. And after that, the butterflies ...
… thought of the butterflies and wild bees that depended upon them. They were woven … chirring away and the contented buzz of bees collecting pollen and nectar - the sound … their son had learnt all about the plight of bees at his school and wanted to transform …
Brussels is a city of ruthless, well-resourced corporate lobbyists. And unlike ordinary EU citizens, they enjoy priviliged access to officials, negotiators and parliamentarians, and are used to getting their own way. That's a state of affairs that David Lundy & Olivier Hoedeman are determined to end with their 'citizens tours' of EU Lobbyland ...
Exposing the secrets of the EU's corporate Lobbyland David Lundy Olivier Hoedeman Corporate Europe Observatory | 28th April 2015 Activism EU Trade Corporations Corporate Europe Observatory …
Although sea walls are a strong form of coastal defence they effectively wipe out rock pools which are important oases for marine life. Scientists in Sydney have found a solution involving flower pots...
… companies are both breeding and killing bees Agri-chemical companies like Syngenta … that have been blamed for the decline in bees; they also breed the bees that are being used as a replacement for …
Insect pollinators that have survived the impacts of agricultural intensification may have a greater ability to resist future environmental changes than previously thought, MARIANNE BROOKER reports
… reports Pollination by insects, particularly bees , is vital to food production and humans … and visits to plants by pollinators such as bees, hoverflies and butterflies. The latter …
It looked like such a good idea: take the pressure off wild fish stocks by growing GM oilseeds that produce health-enhancing long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, writes Claire Robinson. But as a new study has established, those fish oils, novel in terrestrial ecosystems, cause wing deformities in cabbage white butterflies. Yet a third open field trial of these GM crops could soon be under way.
… insects such as non-pest butterflies, bees, and other pollinators. It is also not … butterflies, pest predators, parasites, bees, and pollinators. Concerned scientists … butterflies, pest predators, parasites, bees, and pollinators. We have been calling …
After an apparent cave-in to Europe's pesticide industry, the European Food Safety Authority's latest guidance on pesticides conflicts with European law, writes Georgina Downs - by ignoring the real-life agrochemical exposure of rural residents. Commission President Juncker must step in and demand the withdrawal of this disgraceful document.
… EU legislation. EFSA was willing to protect bees but has failed to protect people It is … in the existing risk assessment for bees and subsequently advised the European … human health is even higher than that of bees: the Article 4 duty in the PPP Regulation …
Mussels, crabs, hornets and ... racoons? Future invasive species are not what you might expect, write Jodey Peyton & Helen Roy. In particular, we have to beware of 'ecosystem engineers' that can transform the environment they inhabit, creating ecological havoc for other species.
… of pollinating insects including honeybees, and is anticipated to arrive in Great …
The EU's 'rapporteur state' on glyphosate, Germany, has recommended re-approval of the herbicide with its daily intake increased by 67%, write Drs Nancy Swanson and Mae Wan Ho. The verdict is based on a re-assessment carried out by Monsanto and a consortium of chemical companies, based on unpublished industry studies. It should be rejected outright.
… organs, and no unacceptable effect on bees. Therefore any risks are within …
Thirty years ago today, Union Carbide's pesticide factory in Bhopal, India, released toxic gases that killed 3,787 people and injured over half a million, writes Vijay Prashad. The site is still contaminated, victims remain uncompensated, and the area suffers from a high rate of serious birth defects. Yet UC's CEO evaded justice, to die in a Florida nursing home this year at the age of 92.
Bhopal 30 years on - justice evaded, but the fight goes on Vijay Prashad | 3rd December 2014 Comment India USA Law Toxics Corporations bhopal-union_carbide_cut.jpg Thirty years ago today, Union …