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<a href="http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2015/pollinators-03-02-2015.html">
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2015/pollinators-03-02-2015.html</a>
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<div align="center"><br><br>
For Immediate Release, March 2, 2015<br>
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Contact: <br>
Lori Ann Burd, (971) 717-6405,
<a href="mailto:laburd@biologicaldiversity.org">
laburd@biologicaldiversity.org</a> <br>
Larissa Walker, (202) 547-9359,
<a href="mailto:lwalker@centerforfoodsafety.org">
lwalker@centerforfoodsafety.org</a> <br>
Paul Towers, (916) 216-1082,
<a href="mailto:ptowers@panna.org">ptowers@panna.org</a><br><br>
<div align="center"><b>125 Groups Call on President Obama to Protect
Bees, Pollinators From Pesticides <br>
</b></div>
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<div align="center"><b><i>Letter Comes Ahead of Pending Report From White
House Pollinator Task Force<br>
</i></b></div>
<br>
PORTLAND, <i>Ore.</i> More than 125 conservation, beekeeping, food
safety, religious, ethnic and farming advocacy groups today urged
President Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency to take swift and
meaningful action to protect honey bees and other pollinators from toxic
pesticides. <br><br>
“It’s time to stop pesticides from killing our bees,” said Lori Ann Burd,
Environmental Health director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “If
bees and other pollinators are going to have a real future in this
country, President Obama needs to take concrete steps to protect them
from these toxic substances.” <br><br>
The
<a href="http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/native_pollinators/pdfs/WHTF_Pollinator_Letter.pdf">
letter</a> urges the president to take action against a class of
pesticides called neonicotinoids, systemic poisons that are devastating
bee populations. They are also threatening the nation's food supply,
since one-third of the food consumed in the United States is pollinated
by bees. <br><br>
Among other things the letter calls for:
<ul>
<li>expedited review of the registration process for neonicotinoids;
<li>strengthening of risk-assessment requirements;
<li>closure of loopholes that allow dangerous pesticides to be approved
with inadequate review;
<li>improvements in the oversight of neonicotinoid use in seed coating;
<li>upgrades to EPA’s bee- and bird-killing incident reporting system;
and
<li>EPA to comply with the Endangered Species Act by ensuring that these
toxic pesticides are not killing our nation’s most imperiled species.
</ul><br>
Neonicotinoids are widely used in U.S. agriculture and are particularly
harmful because they are systemic they poison entire plants, including
the nectar and pollen and persistent, lasting months or even years in
the plant, soil and waterways. <br><br>
“Bee populations across the country are declining at an alarming rate,”
said Mark Emrich, beekeeper and president of the Washington State
Beekeepers Association, a signatory to the letter. “Bees and beekeepers
can’t be held responsible for the problems with pesticides. We need
protections that ensure the continued health of our food system and
agricultural economy; it's time for the president and his task force to
step up.”<br><br>
Acute exposure to neonicotinoids can cause massive bee die-offs, such as
the incident in which 50,000 bumblebees died in an Oregon parking lot in
2013. Even at low exposures, neonicotinoids impair bee health by
affecting cognitive functions that make it possible for bees to forage,
communicate and find their way back to their hives.<br><br>
“Humans are called by God in Genesis 2 to care for and keep God's
creation. We cannot do that task without the help of bees and other
pollinators which help plants reproduce. Many of our churches raise
gardens to help feed the poor. Our churches overseas teach farmers
sustainable agriculture techniques so they can feed themselves and care
for the land. Without bees, neither gardens nor sustainable agriculture
are possible,” said Rev. Pat Watkins, executive director of United
Methodist Caretakers of God’s Creation.<br><br>
“We need bold action and we need it now,” said Larissa Walker, Pollinator
Campaign director at the Center for Food Safety. “As a co-chair of the
White House Pollinator Task Force, it is unacceptable for the EPA to
continue dragging its feet on this issue. The agency’s plans to merely
update pesticide labels and encourage states to adopt their own
pollinator protection plans are not nearly enough.”<br><br>
“The upcoming actions coming from the White House and our government
agencies must be bold and effective bees and other pollinators have
been increasingly exposed to these toxic pesticides for too long
already,” said Paul Towers of the Pesticide Action Network North America.
“We need action now to stop the harms of bee-killing
pesticides.”<br><br>
<div align="center"><i>The Center for Biological Diversity is a national,
nonprofit conservation organization with more than 825,000 members and
online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and
wild places.<br>
</i></div>
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