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From: pkevan@uoguelph.ca<BR>To: lda@pollinator.org<BR>Sent: 3/19/2013 8:28:14
A.M. Pacific Daylight Time<BR>Subj: Fwd: Birds, Bees, and Aquatic Life
Threatened by Gross Underestimate of Toxicity of World&apos;s Most Widely
Used Pesticide<BR></DIV>
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<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal><IMG SRC="cid:X.MA1.1363709371@aol.com" alt="Description: Description: ABC_logo_jpeg_small_color.jpg" width=145 height=60 DATASIZE="2280" ID="MA1.1363709371" ></P></TD></TR>
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<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal><STRONG><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 15pt">Birds, Bees,
and Aquatic Life Threatened by Gross Underestimate of Toxicity of
World's Most Widely Used Pesticide</SPAN></STRONG><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"><BR></SPAN><I><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10.5pt"><BR><SPAN class=h51>New Report Charges EPA Ignored Staff Warnings, Approved
Widespread Use of Dangerous Pesticides</SPAN></SPAN></I></P></TD></TR>
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<TD style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; WIDTH: 6.65in; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; PADDING-TOP: 0in" vAlign=top width=638>
<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><A title=http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/releases/130319.html href="http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/releases/130319.html" target=_blank>http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/releases/130319.html</A></SPAN></P>
<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"></SPAN> </P></TD></TR>
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<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">MEDIA
RELEASE<BR>Contact: Robert Johns, 202-234-7181 ext.210, <A title=mailto:bjohns@abcbirds.org href="mailto:bjohns@abcbirds.org" target=_blank>Email click here</A></SPAN></P>
<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal> </P></TD></TR>
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<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"><IMG SRC="cid:X.MA2.1363709371@aol.com" border=0 alt="Grasshopper Sparrow by Luke Seitz" width=310 height=275 DATASIZE="10666" ID="MA2.1363709371" ></SPAN></P></TD></TR>
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<TD style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 5.4pt; WIDTH: 467.25pt; PADDING-RIGHT: 5.4pt; PADDING-TOP: 0in" vAlign=top width=623>
<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; COLOR: #003366; FONT-SIZE: 7.5pt">Grasshopper
Sparrow by Luke Seitz. The new ABC report shows that a single corn
kernel coated with a neonicotinoid can kill a
songbird.</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #17365d; FONT-SIZE: 8pt"></SPAN></P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">(</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">Washington,
D.C. March 19, 2013) As part of a study on impacts from the world’s most
widely used class of insecticides, nicotine-like chemicals called
neonicotinoids, American Bird Conservancy (ABC) has called for a ban on
their use as seed treatments and for the suspension of all applications
pending an independent review of the products’ effects on birds,
terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates, and other wildlife.</SPAN></P>
<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">“It
is clear that these chemicals have the potential to affect entire food
chains. The environmental persistence of the neonicotinoids, their
propensity for runoff and for groundwater infiltration, and their
cumulative and largely irreversible mode of action in invertebrates
raise significant environmental concerns,” said Cynthia Palmer,
co-author of the report and Pesticides Program Manager for ABC, one of
the nation’s leading bird conservation organizations.</SPAN></P>
<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">ABC
commissioned world renowned environmental toxicologist Dr. Pierre Mineau
to conduct the research. The 100-page report, <I>“</I><A title=http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/toxins/Neonic_FINAL.pdf href="http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/toxins/Neonic_FINAL.pdf" target=_blank><I><SPAN style="COLOR: #3366ff; TEXT-DECORATION: none">The
Impact of the Nation’s Most Widely Used Insecticides on
Birds</SPAN></I></A><I>,</I>” reviews 200 studies on neonicotinoids
including industry research obtained through the US Freedom of
Information Act. The report evaluates the toxicological risk to birds
and aquatic systems and includes extensive comparisons with the older
pesticides that the neonicotinoids have replaced. The assessment
concludes that the neonicotinoids are lethal to birds and to the aquatic
systems on which they depend.</SPAN></P>
<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">“A
single corn kernel coated with a neonicotinoid can kill a songbird,”
Palmer said. “Even a tiny grain of wheat or canola treated with the
oldest neonicotinoid -- called imidacloprid -- can fatally poison a
bird. And as little as 1/10th of a neonicotinoid-coated corn seed per
day during egg-laying season is all that is needed to affect
reproduction.”</SPAN></P>
<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">The
new report concludes that neonicotinoid contamination levels in both
surface- and ground water in the United States and around the world are
already beyond the threshold found to kill many aquatic invertebrates.
Data on surface water contamination from surveys to date, most notably
from California and from the Canadian Prairies, indicate that
concentrations of several of the neonicotinoid insecticides are high
enough to be causing impacts in aquatic food chains. Data from other
jurisdictions such as the Netherlands show even higher levels of
contamination.</SPAN></P>
<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">The
report also identifies procedural deficiencies in how the US
Environmental Protection Agency assesses aquatic impacts. “EPA risk
assessments have greatly underestimated this risk, using scientifically
unsound, outdated methodology that has more to do with a game of chance
than with a rigorous scientific process,” the report says.</SPAN></P>
<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">First
introduced in the 1990s in response to widespread pest resistance and
health concerns linked to older pesticides, the neonicotinoid
insecticides quickly became top sellers in global pesticide markets. Now
the most widely-used insecticides in the world, it is difficult to find
pest control commodities that do not contain one or several of the
neonicotinoid insecticides. California alone has registered nearly 300
neonicotinoid products.</SPAN></P>
<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">EPA
scientists have repeatedly documented serious concerns about the
persistence, mobility and toxicity of the products, and yet the Agency
continues to grant registrations allowing the chemicals to be used for
an ever-widening range of crops and non-agricultural use
sites.</SPAN></P>
<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">EPA
and other regulatory agencies worldwide have underestimated the toxicity
of these compounds to birds partly because the risk assessment methods
fail to account sufficiently for interspecies variation in toxicity. For
example, risk assessments underestimate acute risk by up to 10 fold for
bird species beyond mallard ducks and bobwhites, the two usual test
species. As for aquatic invertebrates, EPA has underestimated the
toxicity of the neonicotinoid imidacloprid by over an order of magnitude
because of the Agency’s failure to consider data from the peer-reviewed
literature. EPA has grossly underestimated the toxicity of the other
neonicotinoids as well, in part due to the Agency’s reliance on their
standard test species, <I>Daphnia magna</I>, a freshwater flea which
happens to be uniquely insensitive to neonicotinoids.</SPAN></P>
<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">Given
that a single neonicotinoid-coated seed can kill a bird, it is also
important that seeds marketed for home bird feeders remain free of these
chemical treatments. In response to sporadic wild bird seed
contamination incidents, ABC has monitored bird seed sold by Walmart,
Home Depot, Lowes and Target. To date, ABC’s independent bird-seed
testing efforts have focused on older products such as the
organophosphorous and carbamate pesticides. The neonicotinoids are a
candidate for future testing.</SPAN></P>
<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">The
report also charges that there is no readily available biomarker for
neonicotinoids as there is for cholinesterase inhibitors such as the
organophosphorous pesticides.</SPAN></P>
<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">“It
is astonishing that EPA would allow a pesticide to be used in hundreds
of products without ever requiring the registrant to develop the tools
needed to diagnose poisoned wildlife. It would be relatively simple to
create a binding assay for the neural receptor which is affected by this
class of insecticides,” said Dr. Mineau. The ABC report calls on EPA to
require that registrants of acutely toxic pesticides develop the tools
necessary to diagnose poisoned birds and other wildlife.</SPAN></P>
<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 9pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 9pt">Neonicotinoids’
toxicity to bees and other insects has brought them the most attention
thus far and has dominated recent concerns of regulatory institutions
worldwide. The serious risk to bees should not be understated, as
one-third of the U.S. diet depends on these insect pollinators. The ABC
assessment makes clear, however, that the potential environmental
impacts of neonicotinoids go well beyond bees. The report urges EPA to
expand its registration review of neonicotinoids to include birds,
aquatic invertebrates, and other wildlife.</SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly" align=center><STRONG><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">#</SPAN></STRONG><B></B></P>
<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">American Bird
Conservancy (ABC) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit membership organization
whose mission is to conserve native birds and their habitats throughout
the Americas. ABC acts by safeguarding the rarest species, conserving
and restoring habitats, and reducing threats, while building capacity in
the bird conservation movement.</SPAN></P>
<P style="mso-element: frame; mso-element-frame-hspace: 9.0pt; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-height-rule: exactly"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 11pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt">MEDIA
RELEASE</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Contacts: Robert Johns,
202-234-7181 ext.210, </SPAN><A title=mailto:bjohns@abcbirds.org href="mailto:bjohns@abcbirds.org" target=_blank><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">bjohns@abcbirds.org</SPAN></A><SPAN class=MsoHyperlink><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> </SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN class=MsoHyperlink><SPAN style="COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; TEXT-DECORATION: none">Scott
Hoffman Black,</SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> Xerces
Society for Invertebrate Conservation, </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">503-449-3792, </SPAN><A title=mailto:sblack@xerces.org href="mailto:sblack@xerces.org" target=_blank><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">sblack@xerces.org</SPAN></A></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Steve Ellis, Commercial
Beekeeper, Old Mill Honey Company (Cal. and Minn.) 651-357-8280,
</SPAN><A title=mailto:nhbabsellis@gmail.com href="mailto:nhbabsellis@gmail.com" target=_blank><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">nhbabsellis@gmail.com</SPAN></A><SPAN class=MsoHyperlink></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Peter Jenkins,
Attorney, Consultant, Center for Food Safety, 301-500-4383, </SPAN><A title=mailto:pjenkins@centerforfoodsafety.org href="mailto:pjenkins@centerforfoodsafety.org" target=_blank><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">pjenkins@centerforfoodsafety.org</SPAN></A></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN class=MsoHyperlink><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><SPAN style="TEXT-DECORATION: none"></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN> </P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt" class=Default align=center><B><U><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 16pt">Media
Advisory</SPAN></U></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 16pt"></SPAN></P>
<P class=Default><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"></SPAN></B> </P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 4pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1" class=Default><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><SPAN style="mso-list: Ignore">·<SPAN style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">WHAT:
</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Congressional
and media briefing and expert testimony about the toxic effects of
neonicotinoid pesticides and their impact on birds, bees, and other
wildlife.</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 4pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1" class=Default><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><SPAN style="mso-list: Ignore">·<SPAN style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">WHO</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">:
A panel of leaders in the science, wildlife, agriculture and beekeeping
communities will brief Congressional staff and media.</SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 4pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1" class=Default><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><SPAN style="mso-list: Ignore">·<SPAN style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">WHEN:
</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Tuesday,
March 19<SUP>th</SUP> — 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. EST</SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1" class=Default><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><SPAN style="mso-list: Ignore">·<SPAN style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">WHERE:
</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">EPW
Committee Room, 406 Dirksen Senate Office Building</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">,
Washington, DC </SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1" class=Default><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><SPAN style="mso-list: Ignore">·<SPAN style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">RSVP:
</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Stephanie
von Blackwood at </SPAN><A title=mailto:svonblackwood@abcbirds.org href="mailto:svonblackwood@abcbirds.org" target=_blank><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">svonblackwood@abcbirds.org</SPAN></A><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">
or 202-234-7181 </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.25in" class=Default><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=Default align=center><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt" class=Default><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Background</SPAN></B><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 14pt">
</SPAN></B></P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt" class=Default><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"></SPAN></B> </P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt" class=Default><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Briefing
Title: From Birds to Bees: Assessing the Impacts of the Nation’s
Most Widely-Used Insecticides</SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">In the past decade,
many studies have implicated a class of pesticides known as
“neonicotinoids” in the declines of pollinator populations, including
bumble bees and honey bees. </SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA" lang=EN-CA></SPAN> </P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">The toxic impact that these chemicals may be
having on bees and other insects has brought them the most attention
recently, and rightly so; one-third of the U.S. diet depends on
pollinator services and they contribute over $15 billion to the U.S.
agricultural economy. Pollinator losses represent a serious threat to
the agricultural industry and our nation’s food security. </SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">First introduced in the 1990s in response to
widespread pest resistance as well as public health objections to older
pesticides, the neonicotinoid class of insecticides are now the most
widely used insecticides in the world; it is difficult to find pest
control commodities that do not contain one or several of these
chemicals. The environmental persistence of neonicotinoids, their
propensity for runoff and for groundwater infiltration, and their
cumulative effects on invertebrates raise environmental concerns that go
well beyond bees. A new American Bird Conservancy commissioned report by
renowned environmental toxicologist Pierre Mineau reviews the effects on
avian species and on the aquatic systems on which they depend. Larger
ecosystem impacts and the relationship between neonicotinoids and
alarming declines of birds, bees, and other organisms will be addressed.
</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 6pt" class=Default><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Speakers:</SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2" class=Default><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><SPAN style="mso-list: Ignore">·<SPAN style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Pierre
Mineau, Toxicologist</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2" class=Default><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><SPAN style="mso-list: Ignore">·<SPAN style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Scott
Hoffman Black, Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, IUCN
Butterfly Specialist Group</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2" class=Default><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><SPAN style="mso-list: Ignore">·<SPAN style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Steve
Ellis, Commercial Beekeeper, Old Mill Honey Company (California
and Minnesota)</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2" class=Default><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><SPAN style="mso-list: Ignore">·<SPAN style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Peter
Jenkins, Attorney, Consultant, Center for Food Safety</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3pt" class=Default><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Moderator:</SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2" class=Default><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><SPAN style="mso-list: Ignore">·<SPAN style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Cynthia
Palmer, American Bird Conservancy</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in" class=Default><SPAN class=st></SPAN> </P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class=Default><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Severe
losses in critical pollinator species continue to have crippling effects
on our nation’s agricultural economy. Experts will address the
impact of neonicotinoid pesticides on birds, bees, and other beneficial
invertebrates as well as broader ecosystem concerns, along with how
Congress might be able to fix the problems. </SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: windowtext"></SPAN></P>
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