C=MB: Bad News For Bees

Image of bee on a white flower.

dasWebweib/ Flickr

When experimental pesticides aren’t properly tested, what is the end result? Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), in this case. Why? Because government agencies aren’t following their own regulations. When untested chemicals are applied to our environment, we all stand to suffer. The survival of all life depends on the right decisions being made before implementing any untested element into our environment. Scientists aren’t looking for ways to stop progress. They do the work necessary to prevent harmful outcomes like this one! So, let’s start listening more and stop using chemicals that destroy the planet.

Webster’s Dictionary defines “disorder” as “to disturb the regular order or normal function.” CCD isn’t just disturbing the normal functions of honeybees, however; it is killing them around the world. In 2006 honeybees in North America and Europe started abruptly disappearing when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) permitted Clothianidin, a very toxic experimental pesticide, to be used for treating seeds and foliar. The agency hoped to reduce one species. Unfortunately, it has accidentally killed another. Clothianidin kills bees by destroying their central nervous system. Because the chemical had not been adequately tested or studied, its use spread globally.

During the initial implementation, the EPA said it would use the chemical for one year. Instead, the agency enabled it to be used for six years, even though scientists warned of the dire consequences. As a result, millions of European and American bees perished. However, European countries quickly banned Clothianidin and all similar chemicals. Their rapid response has spurred a rapid rise in honeybees.

This vital species pollinates 97 percent of humans’ food and natural resources. Its precipitous decline should prompt the EPA to immediately ban Clothianidin. If the agency doesn’t do so, we won’t be far behind the honeybees. Why does a drastic tragedy have to happen before we make the right decision to correct what we are doing to our planet? We must test and retest chemicals before applying them to other species and plants – something always dies when we don’t. This time, unfortunately, the vital honeybees were the casualties.

Who knows what the casualties might be next time? Why take chances when we don’t have to! Our lives depend on knowing as much as we can before spraying chemicals on everything. Sometimes, more is always better. For the bees, it certainly wasn’t. So, let’s get it right next time. Today we have a second chance, tomorrow we might not.


Issues |Environment

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