It seems that some well-meaning elected officials want to try to legislate
some science.
Our friends at the NRDC are still working to "suspend use of the most
bee-toxic neonicotinoids for use in seed treatment, soil application, or
foliar treatment on bee attractive plants ...and to review these
neonicotinoids and make a new determination about their application and safe
use."
http://govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr2692/text
"the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall suspend the
registration of imidacloprid, clothianidin, thiamethoxam, dinotafuran, and
any other members of the nitro group of neonicotinoid insecticides..."
Not sure what they would have growers use instead - perhaps [shudder]
Organophosphates?
Jennifer Sass's email address is [log in to unmask] for any growers who'd like
some advice on crop protection in the interim.
Here is the NRDC blog post:
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/jsass/defenseless_bees.html
or
http://tinyurl.com/o75ucd9
"It is now evident that even low field-realistic levels of neonicotinoids
('neonics') - a class of pesticides purposely designed to soak into the
whole plant - are compromising the immunity of bees, leaving them unable to
fend off viruses and other deadly pathogens that stress and eventually kill
bee colonies. It is a deadly one-two punch. The bees are immune compromised
from the pesticides, and then fall prey to mites and other viruses that kill
them."
So, the speculation here is that the systemic pesticides "weaken" the bees,
and they die from viruses that were already known to be fatal long before
the systemic pesticides were first used. Or something like that. Perhaps
Ms Sass can contribute her favorite studies to our "big toxicology scatter
diagram" project.
I would have thought that the NRDC would have learned from their
embarrassingly futile attempt to "ban" spirotetramat that when EPA revokes a
pesticide registration, this renders all existing stocks completely
unregulated. Growers are thereby free to ignore all bee-protective warning
and cautionary language. To quote the EPA:
"[The Court] vacated all registrations issued by EPA for pesticide products
containing the active ingredient spirotetramat. There is no corresponding
provision of FIFRA that prohibits USE (as opposed to distribution or sale)
of unregistered pesticides. Furthermore, section 12(a)(2)(G) only makes it a
violation of FIFRA for any person to "use any REGISTERED pesticide in a
manner inconsistent with its labeling"; there is no provision that requires
that unregistered pesticides (including formerly-registered pesticides) be
used according to their labels. Thus, in the absence of EPA action, users of
unregistered pesticides are NOT OBLIGATED TO FOLLOW THE LABELING (which, for
registered pesticides, prescribes enforceable conditions for using the
particular pesticide, among other things) accompanying the product.
Therefore, once the registrations are terminated, unless EPA takes action,
persons holding stocks of spirotetramat will not be legally precluded from
using those stocks without following label directions, INCLUDING THE
RESTRICTIONS on timing of applications that EPA required in order TO PROTECT
BEES."
Here's the full story on Spirotetramat, which was only one Marx Brother
short of becoming a comedy film festival:
http://community.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-LSOFTDONATIONS.exe?A2=ind1306&L=BEE-L&
P=R5816&1=BEE-L&9=A&J=on&d=No+Match%3BMatch%3BMatches&z=4
or
http://tinyurl.com/nfz9wdm
Speaking of the toxicology scatter diagram, here is the data entry form,
revised per Dr. Wahl's comments:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1CGxVE5msC2PTtj-SL4oKhrxuUObkCL_U5IipdC_moT4
/viewform
or
http://tinyurl.com/l5m5gt2
Randy, we're looking in your direction for at least pdfs of the many studies
you say you have read, and for which I hope you still have pdfs.
Christina can't be expected to do all this alone, and the NYPL journal and
serials access that I have is laughable.
The nicest thing would be to fill out a record for each study one has, if
time allows. Any number can play.
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