From Common Dreams: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/04/26-2
‘This is not abstract theorizing. Bees are dying out. Now.’
Jon Queally
Published on Friday, April 26, 2013 by Common Dreams
They came to speak for the bees.
Ahead of an expected EU vote on Monday that will determine a possible ban on a class of pesticides that scientists say are killing off the continents’ bees and other pollinators, a coalition of beekeepers, conservationists, gardeners, and environmental activists marched on Parliament in London on Friday as a way to urge the UK to join other European nations in supporting the ban.
Yellow and black dominated the scene as many in attendance dressed as bees, wore their apiary suits and carried signs that read “Like Food? Love Bees” and “No to Neonic,” referring to pesticide class called neonicotinoids that a number of recent studies have tied directly to the decline of bee populations.
The organizers of the so-called “March of the Beekeepers” included Avaaz, Friends of the Earth, Buglife, Environmental Justice Foundation, Greenpeace, Pesticide Action Network UK, Soil Association and the group 38 Degrees.
“Ministers can’t ignore the growing scientific evidence linking neonicotinoid insecticides to bee decline,” said Friends of the Earth’s campaigns director Andrew Pendleton. “Their claims to be concerned about bee health will ring hollow if they fail to back European moves to restrict the use of these chemicals.”
He continued: “If we lose our bees and other vital pollinators it’ll have a devastating impact on our food, gardens and environment. We urgently need tougher pesticide restrictions and a British Bee Action Plan to tackle all the threats they face.” Protesters came together to demand Environment Minister Owen Patterson back moves to ban the worst bee-harming neonicotinoid pesticides. European countries will vote on the issue on Monday.
Underlining the urgency of the threat on Friday, Greenpeace’s Graham Patterson issued a stark warning: “This is not abstract theorizing. Bees are dying out. Now.”
He explained:
Continue reading at: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/04/26-2
