A coalition of environmental groups is hoping you will share some Valentine’s Day love with the bees.
Rounding out what they’re calling a Bee Week of Action, groups including Friends of the Earth, Pesticide Action Network and the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation are calling on major retailers Lowe’s and Home Depot to stop selling a class of bee-harming pesticides known as neonicotinoids and plants contaminated with them.
A recent study from Friends of the Earth and Pesticide Research Institute found that plants listed as bee-friendly sold by these retail giants may actually be contaminated with neonicotinoids, also known as “neonics.”
“It’s unnerving that gardeners across the country, looking to grow tomatoes with the help of bees, may be poisoning them instead. It’s bad for bees, bad for our food, and bad for our economy,” Paul Towers, Organizing & Media Director for Pesticide Action Network, told Common Dreams in an email.
The groups point out how neonics, the most widely used class of pesticides, have been linked to global bee die-offs.
“The science shows that neonicotinoid pesticides play a significant role in the declining health of bees and other beneficial organisms. It is therefore imperative that action be taken to protect these creatures, given the lack of action at the federal regulatory level,” Nichelle Harriott, staff scientist at Beyond Pesticides, a group that also joins the campaign, said in a statement.
The campaign is asking people to stand up for these essential pollinators by sending a “valentine” to the stores that urges them to “show bees some love” by stopping the sale of neonics and plants treated with them.
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
Click Here: NRL Telstra Premiership