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Veteran
Posts: 214
| At long last there's a little action to limit the damage these are probably causing to bees:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21277933
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/press/news/130116.htm
I look forward to UK's DEFRA changing their stance and advice in the near future:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/quality/chemicals/pesticides/in...
We had a previous discussion on this, there are some useful links there:
http://www.transitionblackisle.org/forum/forums/thread-view.asp?tid...
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Veteran
Posts: 214
| Sometimes the EU does good!
A couple of months ago the EU tried to get a partial two year ban on the use of neonicotinoids, UK abstained in the knowledge there would be insufficient votes for it to be approved. After a further two months (yesterday) the vote came up again but this time there had to be a majority against. UK showed its true colours and backbone and voted against along with eight others, may all those involved be tied down in hell and continuously stung in perpetuity (joke - I don't believe in hell, except the village namesake just outside Trondheim which I have been to).
Yesterday, despite the best efforts of our representative, the interim ban was passed:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22335520
http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/liveanimals/bees/neonicotinoids_en....
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/apr/29/bee-harming-pesti...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/damian-carrington-blog/2013/a...
http://www.monbiot.com/2013/04/29/2662/
UK DEFRA's position remains despicable and scientifically ignorant (with respect to the precautionary principle at the very least):
https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/making-the-food-and-farming-i...
But they have a page for bee health which may be useful:
https://www.gov.uk/bee-health
A couple of other useful links on neonics:
http://www.soilassociation.org/wildlife/bees/beeresearch
http://www.buzzaboutbees.net/how-do-neonicotinoids-work.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22339191
Let us hope we get the right result on seed law next week, but this time the Commissioners need to vote against a draft EU Regulation. |
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Veteran
Posts: 275
| Well said, Agric - but what a huge amount of energy has to go into such a small victory (in the overall scheme of things). I just hope someone's going to do some proper research in the 2 years of the ban.
Meanwhile there have been reports of huge over-winter losses of bee colonies in Central and Southern Scotland (I suspect mainly due to a cold summer followed by a cold winter, but it seems likely there must be additional factors). And closer to home, the spring flowers are so late, it's difficult to think what the bees can be finding to forage on the few days it's been warm enough for them to venture out. They need all the help they can get. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 319
| I just hope they don't now substitute something worse for them. 50 years after the publication of Silent Spring agriculture still seems to be waging war on all insects. |
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Veteran
Posts: 214
| Whatever is used as substitute will almost certainly be less bad for bees. Most probable negative is for aquatic life.
Trouble is, those pesky insects can and sometimes do cause havoc with our crops therefore must be exterminated. The real problem is industrial agriculture monoculture which gives the naughty bugs a field day and concentrates risk - rather than spreads it - for the farmer (well, agribusiness, LOL). |
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First EU steps on neonicotinoid pesticides and bees