Oct. 2, 2014

Wow! 3.2 million signers and Avaaz staff have got a meeting with US government officials in four days! Send an urgent message now.

 

Dear friends,

 

Bees are dying off worldwide and our entire food chain is in peril. Scientists blame toxic pesticides, and after a mega Avaaz campaign, the EU banned them. Now the US is deciding what to do. Send a message urgently to deliver our 2.5 million-strong campaign to the White House’s bee task force. We’ve only got five days:

Silently, billions of bees are dying off and our entire food chain is in danger. Bees don't just make honey -- they are a giant, humble workforce, pollinating 75% of growing plants. But in five days the US could move to ban the toxic pesticides that are killing them off. 

 

We know we can get a ban -- after a mega Avaaz campaign last year, the EU banned this group of poisons that multiple scientists blame for bees' rapid demise. Right now chemical companies are furiously lobbying US authorities to stop action. But insider allies say a massive public mandate could tip the scales towards a ban. Let's give it to them! If the US moves, it will set in motion a ripple effect on the rest of the world.

 

We have no time to lose -- members of the White House's bee task force will report with proposals on Tuesday. Already 2.5 million of us have backed this campaign. Let's race to send messages to the heads of the task force before Tuesday's meeting. This is not just about saving bees, this is about our survival. Click to send a message now:

 

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/save_the_bees_us_sam_loc/?bYCKhab&v=47256

 

Bees are vital to life on earth -- every year pollinating plants and crops with an estimated $40bn value. Without immediate action to ensure bees' continued pollination, many of our favourite fruits, vegetables, and nuts could vanish from our shelves and ⅓ of our food supply will be gone. 

 

Recent years have seen a steep global decline in bee populations -- some bee species are already extinct and just in California -- the biggest food producer in the US -- beekeepers are losing a third of their bees each year. Scientists have been scrambling for answers. While some studies, often funded by the chemical companies, argue this may be due to a combination of factors including disease, habitat loss and toxic chemicals, powerful independent studies conclude neonicotinoid pesticides are to blame.

 

It is this startling evidence and super effective campaigning by Avaaz and partners that won the EU ban. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required by Congress to regulate toxins, but under the influence of big chemical companies, for years they’ve fudged the law. Now the White House’s ‘Pollinators Health Task Force’ could get the EPA to cancel the pesticides' registration so they can't be sold in the US. This is our chance!

 

The task force reports in five days. Already 2.5 million of us around the world have backed this campaign. Let’s race to send thousands of messages to deliver our call to the heads of the agencies who sit on the task force before they reach their decision:

 

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/save_the_bees_us_sam_loc/?bYCKhab&v=47256

 

We can no longer leave our delicate food chain in the hands of chemical companies and the regulators that are in their pockets. Banning these pesticides will move us closer to a world safe for ourselves and the other species we care about and depend on. 

 

With hope,

 

Terra, Alex, Alice, Ari, Nick, Laila, Marigona, Ricken, and the rest of the Avaaz team

 

MORE INFORMATION:

  

Heavy Costs, Weighing the Value of Neonicotinoid Insecticides in Agriculture (Center for Food Safety)

http://issuu.com/centerforfoodsafety/docs/neonic_efficacy_digital/1?e=9942666/7206999

 

Presidential Memorandum -- Creating a Federal Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators (The White House) 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/06/20/presidential-memorandum-creating-federal-strategy-promote-health-honey-b

 

Petition for Interim Administrative Review of Neonicotinoid Pesticides (Filed July 7, 2014)

http://docs.nrdc.org/health/files/hea_14070701a.pdf

 

The Costly Lobbying War Over America’s Dying Honeybees (National Journal)

http://www.nationaljournal.com/energy/the-costly-lobbying-war-over-america-s-dying-honeybees-20140701

 

EPA memo reveals concern that pesticide causes bee deaths (SF Gate)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/green/detail?entry_id=79910

 

$15 Billion Bee Murder Mystery Deepens (Business Insider)

http://www.businessinsider.com/colony-collapse-disorder-still-unsolved-lead-researcher-had-connections-to-bayer-2010-10

 

Beekeepers want government to pull pesticide (Palm Beach Post)

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/beekeepers-want-government-to-pull-pesticide-1107701.html

 

Bees in freefall as study shows sharp US decline (The Guardian)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jan/03/bumblebees-study-us-decline?INTCMP=SRCH

 

 

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