Wikileaks says government responsible for bee kills

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While the WikiLeaks media frenzy may have been focused on the release of tens of thousands of classified military and U.S. State Department documents, it’s a leaked Environmental Protection Agency document that has conservationists, environmentalists and beekeepers abuzz.

The November 2nd memo, leaked to a Colorado beekeeper, indicates that the EPA was well-aware that the pesticide Clothianidin posed some serious risks to honey bees. There have been concerns about this chemical from as far back as 2003, and it’s already been banned in Germany, France, Italy and Slovenia because of its toxicity. But the EPA chose to sweep all that under the rug to keep the pesticide on the market.

Clothianidin, marketed as “Poncho” by Bayer, is widely used on corn, as well as canola, soy, sugar beets, sunflowers and wheat. As if the $262 million cash crop from last year wasn’t enough, Bayer wants to keep expanding the pesticide’s use. And the company’s original registration was based on some seriously flawed science: they evaluated the wrong crop, with the wrong controls to assess the impact on bees.

This all adds up to some serious questions about the government contributing to Colony Collapse Disorder as they knowingly allowed Bayer to poison bees. And this is about a lot more than honey production … native habitats, and as much as one-third of America’s food supply, rely on the pollination provided by bees.

In light of the leaked memo, the National Honey Bee Advisory Board, American Beekeeping Federation, American Honey Producers Association, Beyond Pesticides, Pesticide Action Network North America, and Center for Biological Diversity sent a letter to the EPA requesting that the agency “take urgent action to stop the use of this toxic chemical.”

The letter goes on to point out that this new information indicates an overuse of the Office of Pesticide Program’s conditional registration program. This bee boondoggle “represents a failure that could and should have been avoided.” As a result, the coalition is calling for an immediate moratorium on these types of registration until the program is evaluated.

There’s still a lot we don’t know about Colony Collapse Disorder and the massive bee die-offs it’s been causing. One thing we do know is that bees are in trouble, and that’s not good news for all the animals (and humans) who rely on the plants these important insects sustain.

Join the call for the EPA to stop the sale of Poncho and conduct a thorough study into the pesticide’s impact on wildlife.

Tip of the hat to David Williams for the FB link

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About Post Author

Professor Mike

Professor Mike is a left-leaning, dog loving, political junkie. He has written dozens of articles for Substack, Medium, Simily, and Tribel. Professor Mike has been published at Smerconish.com, among others. He is a strong proponent of the environment, and a passionate protector of animals. In addition he is a fierce anti-Trumper. Take a moment and share his work.
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13 years ago

[…] news for all the animals (and humans) who rely on the plants these important insects sustain. Wikileaks says government responsible for bee kills http://www.panna.org/sites/default/files/Memo_Nov2010_Clothianidin.pdf __________________ To […]

13 years ago

[…] CORPORATIONS: Bayer killed the bees? The EPA swept toxicity reports under the rug. Why? So Bayer can continue to sell "Poncho" (Clothianidin)? Anyone else think Bayer simply paid an EPA rep off, after their product was banned in other countries? (tags: politics bees animals EPA Clothianidin corporations Bayer Wikileaks leaks beekeepers ColonyCollapseDisorder Poncho NationalHoneyBeeAdvisoryBoard AmericanBeekeepingFederation AmericanHoneyProducersAssociation honey BeyondPesticides PesticideActionNetwork Pesticides CenterForBiologicalDiversity environment MadMike'sAmerica news articles)   LikeBe the first to like this post. […]

13 years ago

[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Dr Gert Gast. Dr Gert Gast said: RT @madmike1 Wikileaks says government responsible for bee kills http://bit.ly/dNL4qi […]

Red Sky1814
13 years ago

I’m new here but I think I understand what Mr. Scott was saying. He doesn’t like everything Wiki does. I don’t like everything Wiki does. I don’t like everything my wife does, or my son for that matter, but it doesn’t mean I don’t respect what they say. I’ve looked a the threads here and I can tell you that I think Scott has come a long way with respect to W.Leaks. So have I for that matter. Great stuff over here.

Reply to  Red Sky1814
13 years ago

Well said, Red Sky 1814–and welcome to the site! The fact is that some confidential information, if made public, could indeed put people in harm’s way–while other information might be beneficially brought to light. I’m not sure that I like the idea of a website staff holding the power to decide what goes public and what doesn’t, but it’s nice to see something of interest and import coming from Wikileaks that is, at least on its face, less potentially harmful than the stories that have brought the site into the headlines.

13 years ago

LOL!
Now did I read that right on the by-line??….”I’m starting to like Wikileaks.” It’s not the Vicodin talking, is it?

Reply to  Professor Mike
13 years ago

If not the vicodin, maybe the Johnny? 🙂

13 years ago

I think there is a very good possibility this is true.

Thanks as well!

13 years ago

Embarrassing the banks, the U.S., and multinational corporations out to control the entire world: wikileaks is vital and necessary if we want to live in a free world!!! Thanks for this article. Why am I not surprised?

13 years ago

Now THIS appears to be a less harmful/more beneficial use of the “Wikileaks” model. Thanks for sharing.

Jackie Brinks
Reply to  Greenlight
13 years ago

How is Wikileaks harmful?

Jackie Brinks
Reply to  Professor Mike
13 years ago

You sound like a politician, name one person that has been harmed?

Jackie Brinks
Reply to  Professor Mike
13 years ago

I’ll answer my own question if you won’t ‘No one was harmed’

Reply to  Professor Mike
13 years ago

Because Robert Gates of the Pentagon said so. Go google it.

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