Lots of messages in my e-mail for a holiday weekend, many of them concerning
the EU ban on several Neonicotinoid seed treatments. The UK beekeepers
voiced the obvious concern ignored in all the feel-good protests against the
systemics:
BBKA chairman David Aston said: "There is the potential of an increased risk
to bees and other pollinators from the older chemicals. We would like to see
reassurance that risk assessments for these technologies have been revised."
http://www.fwi.co.uk/articles/30/11/2013/142213/older-crop-sprays-39more-har
mful39-than-neonics.htm
http://tinyurl.com/q6cwvct
On the other hand, there are some groups complaining that the ban does not
go far enough, in that it still permits use of the subject pesticides in
greenhouses and on crops not considered attractive to bees:
http://www.theinformationdaily.com/2013/11/28/eu-ban-on-insecticides-will-no
t-protect-bees-warns-environmentalists
http://tinyurl.com/oj5rkot
And "public opinion" among the sort of thoughtful and influential members of
society who wield their mighty Facebook "likes" to influence public policy
and regulatory priorities seems to overlook the irony of the background
photos used on the "Public Eye" http://publiceye.ch/en/ "Wall of Shame" to
indict the companies Syngenta, Bayer, and BASF. On the web page below, look
at the photo, and click on the right-hand arrow to look at the second photo.
Do these look like a fields where bees will ever be found in any great
numbers regardless of what pesticides are used? Can anyone authoritatively
identify the crop being harvested?
http://publiceye.ch/en/case/syngenta-bayer-basf/http://tinyurl.com/pen5ezh
Sunny and 88 today in Ocho Rios, so the annual post-turkey Hobie 20 vs Ideal
18 showdown is on!
Many things for which to be thankful.
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Sent from my not-so-smartphone
My typo rate may vary
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