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From: muczynski.sharon@gmail.com<BR>To: beemonitoring@yahoogroups.com<BR>Sent:
1/20/2011 1:12:15 P.M. Pacific Standard Time<BR>Subj: [beemonitoring]
Neonicotinoids<BR></DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid">
<DIV> </DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size=2><BR><BR><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="FONT-SIZE: 12px; LINE-HEIGHT: 21px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
<H2 class=title style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: rgb(226,226,226) 3px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 5px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 25px Arial; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); PADDING-TOP: 5px; BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(226,226,226) 1px solid; LETTER-SPACING: -0.05em; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">EPA
Allows Continued Sale and Use of Bee Killing Pesticide After Agency Report
Shows it Causes Hive Collapse</H2>
<DIV class=clearfloat id=stats style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: block; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 8px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; FONT: 11px Arial; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 8px; BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(226,226,226) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial"><SPAN class=left style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 11px; FLOAT: left; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">Submitted
by <A title=http://healthfreedoms.org/author/annie/ style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 11px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; TEXT-DECORATION: none; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial" href="http://healthfreedoms.org/author/annie/">Annie White</A> on January
8, 2011 – 10:51 pm</SPAN><SPAN class=right style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 11px; FLOAT: right; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial"><A title=http://healthfreedoms.org/2011/01/08/epa-allows-continued-sale-and-use-of-bee-killing-pesticide-after-agency-report-shows-it-causes-hive-collapse/#respond style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 11px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; TEXT-DECORATION: none; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial" href="http://healthfreedoms.org/2011/01/08/epa-allows-continued-sale-and-use-of-bee-killing-pesticide-after-agency-report-shows-it-causes-hive-collapse/#respond">One
Comment</A></SPAN></DIV>
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<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial"><EM style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial"></EM></P>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial"><EM style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial"><A title=http://healthfreedoms.org/files/2011/01/800px-apis_mellifera_flying.jpg style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; TEXT-DECORATION: underline; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial" href="http://healthfreedoms.org/files/2011/01/800px-apis_mellifera_flying.jpg"><IMG SRC="cid:X.MA1.1295559466@aol.com" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-13551" title=http://healthfreedoms.org/files/2011/01/800px-apis_mellifera_flying.jpg style="BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(204,204,204) 1px solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; BORDER-TOP: rgb(204,204,204) 1px solid; DISPLAY: inline; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; FLOAT: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; MARGIN: 0px 7px 2px 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(204,204,204) 1px solid; PADDING-TOP: 4px; BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(204,204,204) 1px solid; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial" height=199 alt=http://healthfreedoms.org/files/2011/01/800px-apis_mellifera_flying.jpg width=300 apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" DATASIZE="16470" ID="MA1.1295559466" ></A>A study by the EPA on the
pesticide clothianidin which has been used widely in the U.S. though it is
banned in France, Itlay and Germany for its toxic effects shows what those
countries have known for years. The chemical that is produced by Bayer and
used mainly to pre-treat corn seeds is toxic to bees which are attracted to
corn. The pesticide scooped up $262 million in sales in 2009 by farmers, who
also use the substance on canola, soy, sugar beets, sunflowers, and wheat.
What is worse then this is the EPA knew that clothianidin could be toxic when
it came out in 2003, but gave Bayer the go ahead to use the product.</EM></P>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial"><EM style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">Bayer
was permitted to sell the product and seed processors could freely use it, on
the condition that Bayer complete a life cycle study of clothianidin on corn
by December 2004. Bayer was granted an extension until May 2005 (and
permission to use canola instead of corn in its tests), but didn’t complete
the study until August 2007. The EPA continued to allow the sale of
clothianidin even though Bayer was not holding up their end of the deal.
Once the Bayer study finally did came out, it was flawed and now the
EPA’s own studies done on the product have come forth on wiki-leaks exposing
information that originally was ignored. Here is an exert from their
report:</EM></P>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial"><EM style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">“This
compound is toxic to honey bees. The persistance of residues and the
expression clothianidin in nectar and pollen suggest the possibility of
chronic toxic risk to honey bee larvae and the eventual stability of the
hive.”<SPAN id=more-13422 style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial"></SPAN><BR style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"></EM></P>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial"><EM style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">Now
the EPA has the truth and obviously knows the threat yet somehow this product
will be available for sale again in the spring! Ready to poison and degrade
the bee pollination for another season. Why is the EPA allowing this to
happen? David Hackenberg, the beekeeper who first discovered Colony
Collapse Disorder (CCD) doesn’t think that the EPA will take action unless
it’s sued by a major environmental organization. This is an agency that is
supposed to be protecting our health and environment, why does it only feel
spurred to action when citizens organizations move to protest? Hackenberg
tells Fast Company that an EPA official recently told him that
clothiandin is still on the market in part because of fears that Bayer would
sue the agency if it is removed. Much more to be afraid of from overly
powerful corporations who rule with money then to take real action to protect
the food supply and the (duh) Environment.</EM></P>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial"><EM style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">Without
honeybees our entire food supply is in trouble yet the EPA has decided to
continue to stand by and watch the poison that is killing them be dumped on
fields across the nation. They let Bayer slide on research deadlines and then
approved the companies shoddy report. It seems that a German based company
would not have much ground to defy decisions made by a U.S. federal agency
that is presumably protecting it’s citizens.<EM style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">The
EPA should perhaps consider a name change to CPPA, Corporate Profit Protection
Agency.</EM></EM></P>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial"><EM style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">~Health
Freedoms</EM></P>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial"><EM style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial"><BR style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"></EM></P>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">Beekeepers
across the U.S. are reporting record low honey crops as their bees fail
to make it through the winter. One-third of American agriculture, which relies
on bee pollination, is at stake. And the problem may be at least partially
attributable to clothianidin, a Bayer-branded pesticide used on corn and other
crops.</P>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">But
as we revealed last week, the EPA knew that clothianidin could be toxic
when the product came on the market in 2003. So why is it still on the
market?</P>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">The
bee-toxic pesticide problem can be traced back to 1994, when the first
neonicotinoid pesticide (Imidacloprid) was released. Neonicotinoids like
imidacloprid and clothianidin disrupt the central nervous system of pest
insects, and are supposed to be relatively non-toxic to other animals. But
there’s a problem: The neonicotinoids coat plant seeds, releasing insecticides
permanently into the plant. The toxins are then released in pollen and
nectar–where they may cause bees to become disoriented and die.</P>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">After
imidacloprid was released in France (under the name Gaucho) the number of bees
in the country dropped rapidly, from 75 kg per hive down to 30 kg per hive
between 1995 and 2001. France conducted an official study on the pesticide in
1998, but found no solid evidence that imidacloprid played a part in bee
deaths. Nevertheless, Imidacloprid was banned for use on sunflowers and,
later, sweet corn.</P>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">Enter
clothianidin, a next-generation neonicotinoid released by Bayer in 2003. “In
terms of the neonicotonoid family, clothianidin is one of the most toxic
members,” explains Dr. James Frazier, a professor of entomology at Penn
State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.</P>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">The
EPA first brought up the link between clothianidin and bees before the
pesticide’s release in February 2003. The agency originally planned to
withhold registration of the pesticide because of concerns about toxicity in
bees, going so far as to suggest that the product come with a warning label
(<A title=http://www.grist.org/i/assets/Memo_1.pdf style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; TEXT-DECORATION: underline; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial" href="http://www.grist.org/i/assets/Memo_1.pdf" target=_blank>PDF</A>): “This
compound is toxic to honey bees. The persistance of residues and the
expression clothianidin in nectar and pollen suggest the possibility of
chronic toxic risk to honey bee larvae and the eventual stability of the
hive.”</P>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">But
in April 2003, the EPA decided to give Bayer conditional registration. Bayer
could sell the product and seed processors could freely use it, with the
proviso that Bayer complete a life cycle study of clothianidin on corn by
December 2004. Bayer was granted an extension until May 2005 (and permission
to use canola instead of corn in its tests), but didn’t complete the study
until August 2007. The EPA continued to allow the sale of clothianidin, and
once the Bayer study finally came out, it was flawed.</P>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">In
a statement to the Pesticide Action Network, beekeeper Jeff Anderson
explains:</P>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 10px; BORDER-TOP: rgb(221,221,221) 1px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 10px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 10px 0px; FONT: 1em/1.5em Arial; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 10px; BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(221,221,221) 1px solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(236,236,236); BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial">
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">“The
Bayer study is fatally flawed. It was an open field study with control and
test plots of about 2 acres each. Bees typically forage at least 2 miles out
from the hive, so it is likely they didn’t ingest much of the treated crops.
And corn, not canola, is the major pollen-producing crop that bees rely on
for winter nutrition.</P></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 10px; BORDER-TOP: rgb(221,221,221) 1px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 10px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 10px 0px; FONT: 1em/1.5em Arial; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 10px; BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(221,221,221) 1px solid; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(236,236,236); BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial">
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">“This
is a critical point because we see hive losses mainly after over-wintering,
so there is something going on in these winter cycles. <EM style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">It’s
as if they designed the study to avoid seeing clothianidin’s effects on hive
health</EM>.” [Emphasis ours]</P></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">The
U.S. bee population didn’t start dying off until 2005, says David Hackenberg,
the beekeeper who first discovered Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). “We
started seeing problems where bees were disappearing in the fall. We blamed it
on mites, viruses and a lot of other stuff because we didn’t know what to
blame it on.”</P>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">But
soon Hackenberg made the connection: bee die-off seemed to follow corn crop
plantings so much that “you can follow the trail of this stuff to where bees
are collapsing,” says Hackenberg.</P>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">Frazier
first started paying attention to the problem in 2007. “Ever since we started
this work, the sheer magnitude of the use of neonicotonoids in the environment
has always made them suspect for us,” he explains.</P>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">Frazier
and Hackenberg weren’t alone in their concern. Germany suspended the use of
neonicotinoids in 2008 after the misapplication of clothiandin by beekeepers
in the Baden-Württemberg area caused the pesticide to get into the air.
Two-third of the beekeepers’ bees in the region died as a result (tests on
dead bees showed that 99% had clothiandin build-up).</P>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">Italy
also suspended the use of neonicotinoids in 2008. The country
has evidence that the ban is saving bees. In 2009, Italy saw zero cases
of bee mortality in apiaries surrounding neonicotinoid-free corn crops. Bee
mortality had been an issue around corn crops in the country since 1999.</P>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">The
EPA’s response to these suspensions: “Several European countries have
suspended the use of certain pesticides in response to incidents involving
acute poisoning of honey bees. To EPA’s knowledge, none of the incidents that
led to suspensions have been associated withColony Collapse Disorder.”</P>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">And
then came last week’s news that the EPA recently conducted another study
on clothiandin (<A title=http://www.panna.org/sites/default/files/Memo_Nov2010_Clothianidin.pdf style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; TEXT-DECORATION: underline; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial" href="http://www.panna.org/sites/default/files/Memo_Nov2010_Clothianidin.pdf" target=_blank>PDF</A>) in response to Bayer’s request to use the pesticide on
cotton and mustard (the chemical can currently be used on corn, canola, soy,
sugar beets, sunflowers, and wheat).</P>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">The
new study, unearthed by Colorado beekeeper Tom Theobald, invalidates Bayer’s
previous study, claiming that “after another review of this field study in
light of additional information, deficiencies were identified that render the
study supplemental. It does not satisfy the guideline 850.3040, and another
field study is needed to evaluate the effects of clothianidin on bees through
contaminated pollen and nectar.” The study also warns that clothiandin is
highly toxic to bees on both a contact and oral basis.</P>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">And
yet, the EPA is continuing to allow the sale of clothiandin, even though the
study that the agency based its decision on proved to be invalid. “It’s a
matter of perspective,” says Frazier. “If the core study to judge registration
is no longer considered a valid core study, do you allow continued use of
something without good scientific data behind it? That’s the choice that’s
been left to be made by the EPA.”</P>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">Hackenberg
doesn’t think that the EPA will take action unless it’s sued by a major
environmental organization (note: in 2008, the NRDC sued the EPA to release
Bayer’s studies on neonicotinoid safety). Indeed, Hackenberg tells <EM style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">Fast
Company</EM> that an EPA official recently told him that clothiandin is
still on the market in part because of fears that Bayer would sue the agency
if it is removed.</P>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">“I
was at the EPA yesterday,” Hackenberg says. “They keep telling us that bee
scientists have to prove to the EPA that there’s a problem. The problem is
that the EPA is supposed to protect the environment, it’s their responsibility
to make sure that the chemical companies are doing their job.”</P>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">No
one can say for sure that neonicotinoids alone are causing bees to die
off–many more studies have to be done. But the EPA would do well to err on the
side of caution for the beekeepers who are rapidly losing their bees. Tom
Theobald, for example, saw his smallest honey crop in 35 years of beekeeping,
and Hackenberg claims that he has talked to beekeepers across the country who
have lost up to 90% of their output this year.</P>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">Is
it really worth waiting to find out what happens if the EPA doesn’t take
neonicotinoids off the market? There isn’t time to waste. Clothiandin has a
half-life of 19 years in heavy soils favored by farmers.</P>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">The
EPA has not responded to our requests for comment.</P>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">By: Ariel
Schwartz</P>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial"><STRONG style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">Sources:</STRONG></P>
<P style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial"><A title=http://www.fastcompany.com/1709815/why-has-the-epa-allowed-a-bee-killing-pesticide-to-stay-on-the-market href="http://www.fastcompany.com/1709815/why-has-the-epa-allowed-a-bee-killing-pesticide-to-stay-on-the-market">http://www.fastcompany.com/1709815/why-has-the-epa-allowed-a-bee-killing-pesticide-to-stay-on-the-market</A></P></DIV></SPAN></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV></FONT></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>