Ban the use of neonicotinoid pesticides before they devastate bee populations in the USA

We Came, We Swarmed . . . Will We Conquer?

Bee-decked in black and yellow and armed with 130,000 petition signatures, a swarm of activists buzzed the Washington D.C. headquarters of the EPA on Earth Day to demand a ban on Bayer, Dow and Syngenta's bee-killing neonicotinoid insecticides.

Neonicotinoid pesticides are blamed for Colony Collapse Disorder, which has already destroyed alarming numbers of honeybee colonies. Bees are exposed to these deadly insecticides primarily through Monsanto's genetically engineered seeds which are coated in pesticides that end up in the crops' nectar and pollen. In countries where neonicotinoids have been banned, bee populations are beginning to recover.

Europe has come to its senses on the matter of protecting honeybees. This week, the European Commission decided to ban neonicotinoid pesticides known to destroy honeybee populations. The decision was backed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

But here at home, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is weighing approval of a new pesticide, sulfoxaflor, brought to us by Dow Chemical Co. This despite the EPA's own admission that sulfoxaflor, referred to by some as a "next-generation neonicotinoid," is "very highly toxic" to honeybees.

If the EPA approves sulfoxaflor, beekeepers say commercial beekeeping will be extinct by 2018.

Did the EPA hear us? Will the EPA protect honeybees and our food supply? Or protect the chemical companies? Time will tell. Thanks to everyone who swarmed!

TAKE ACTION: Don't Let the EPA Approve a New Bee-Killing Insecticide

Join the Earth Day Swarm to Ban Bee-Killing Pesticides

What better way to celebrate Earth Day than to act to save honeybees from toxic pesticides? Let's swarm the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with demands for a ban on the pesticides that are killing the pollinators we need to grow food!

Thank you for signing the petition! Please help us reach 100,000 signatures by April 22 by sharing the link and inviting your friends.

If you're near Washington, DC, please join us on Earth Day, Monday, April 22, at 12 noon, to deliver the petition to EPA headquarters. Please RSVP here to join the Earth Day swarm!

Last year was one of the worst in U.S. history for honey production. Some beekeepers are reporting astonishing winter losses, upwards of 90 percent. Others have reported complete colony loss. Less honey means less food for overwintering bees, putting increased stress on colonies attempting to fight off the spread of colony collapse disorder (CCD).

CCD is the name given to the precipitous decline of honeybee populations around the world, beginning in 2006. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that, on average, beekeepers are losing over 30% of their honeybee colonies each year, twice what is considered normal. While CCD appears to have multiple interacting causes, a range of scientific evidence points to pesticide exposure as an important contributing factor. Neonicotinoids, a class of potent systemic insecticides, are particularly suspect, especially in combination with the dozens of other pesticides bees are exposed to in their hives and when foraging.

Interested in the connection between bee deaths and genetically engineered crops? Read this excellent article by Heather Pilatic, Co-director, Pesticide Action Network North America: Bee Kills in the Corn Belt: What's GE Got to Do With It?

Want to learn more? Check out the great resources at Beyond Pesticides

Want to be inspired? Watch this amazing video: The Beauty of Pollination

Please RSVP to take action to save the bees this Earth Day in DC!