Join The Campaign To Save North America’s Great Pollinator – The Bee

If  U.S. Governments Can Be Pressed To  Action, Maybe We Can Get Canadian Governments To Act Too!

A Call-Out from the global citizens advocacy group Avaaz

Dear friends,

Bees are vanishing. These industrious creatures that bring us 70 of the worlds top 100 foods are collapsing in a rain of toxic pesticides.

But finally the U.S. government could take action to ban bee-killing poisons. And we could make this the moment to save the bees! 

The US has just opened an official public consultation to consider regulation on a major bee-killing chemical. But so far, agrichemical companies are the loudest voices in the room. 

A massive call from this community, in partnership with beekeepers, farmers, and scientists, is urgently needed. Our community is already winning a ban on bee killing toxins in the EU. 

If we can get a ban in the US, it will have a ripple effect on the rest of the world to get rid of these chemicals and protect our delicate food supply. The US regulatory agency is taking comments this week! Let’s flood them with messages to be the voice that stops the collapse of bees.

Click below and tell everyone: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/save_the_bees_global_2016f/?bRUUpdb&v=71860&cl=9331092047

Neonicotinoids — the pesticides threatening bees — are a vicious neurotoxin used on 100 million acres of farmland, lawns and gardens across the US. Bees can’t avoid them because they are everywhere. In high doses it causes swift death by paralysis.

But exposure to a low dose can be even worse — bees bring the poisons back to their hives, threatening entire colonies. Since 1940, almost half of all honey bee hives have been lost.

The US is considering action after releasing a study showing that one of the most common neonics is “very highly toxic to adult honey bees.” But it’s possible the government will only limit the use of these toxins. An outright ban is what we all need, and what this community can deliver.

We’ve already begun by funding leading scientists and engaging stakeholders. But real action will only come with millions of voices demanding the US environment agency and the White House do more.

Bees are responsible for almost one out of every three bites of our food! We would have food in a world without bees, but the vivid diversity of native plants, fruits and vegetables would be lost.

The public consultation has just opened — Join the call below to protect bees, and the foods and plants we love, and tell everyone.  https://secure.avaaz.org/en/save_the_bees_global_2016f/?bRUUpdb&v=71860&cl=9331092047

When millions of Avaazers from around the world took action in the EU it overpowered the pesticide companies and helped save bees. Time and again, when we join together the world changes.

Bees can’t protect themselves from man made killer pesticides. Let’s stand up for these special creatures, and make sure we never have to live in a world without them.

With hope, Nell, Dalia, Ari, Ben, Mais, Diego and the entire Avaaz team

P.S,. Bees are just totally amazing. They form matriarchal societies that communicate with each other by dancing … their honeycombs are the most efficient structures in nature … and their brains can actually stop aging (possibly giving us signs on how to stop dementia)!

Let’s help save these incredible creatures together: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/save_the_bees_global_2016f/?bRUUpdb&v=71860&cl=9331092047

SOURCES Bees threatened by a common pesticide, EPA finds (LA Times) http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-pesticide-bees-20160106-story.html US government says widely used pesticide could harm honeybees (The Guardian) http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/06/honeybee-populations-decline-pesticides-united-states-epa-study-imidacloprid The EPA Finally Admitted That the World’s Most Popular Pesticide Kills Bees—20 Years Too Late (Mother Jones) http://m.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2016/01/epa-finds-major-pesticide-toxic-bees EPA Study Finds Insecticide Imidacloprid Poses Threat to Bees (Bloomberg) http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-06/epa-study-finds-insecticide-imidacloprid-poses-threat-to-bees What Is Killing America’s Bees and What Does It Mean for Us? (Rolling Stone) http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/what-is-killing-americas-bees-and-what-does-it-mean-for-us-20150818#ixzz3x4W3XznX

Avaaz.org is a 42-million-person global campaign network that works to ensure that the views and values of the world’s people shape global decision-making. (“Avaaz” means “voice” or “song” in many languages.) Avaaz members live in every nation of the world; our team is spread across 18 countries on 6 continents and operates in 17 languages. Learn about some of Avaaz’s biggest campaigns here, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

To contact Avaaz,, write to us at www.avaaz.org/en/contact or call us at +1-888-922-8229 (US).

NOW IT IS YOUR TURN. Niagara At Large encourages you to share your views on this post. A reminder that we only post comments by individuals who share their first and last name with them.

Visit Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary for and from the greater bi-national Niagara region.