Most articles here
are about the fake
environmental "crisis"
are about the fake
environmental "crisis"
of global warming,
which is a slow,
harmless and
harmless and
pleasant change
in the climate,
accompanied by
a very beneficial
'greening' of our planet,
in the climate,
accompanied by
a very beneficial
'greening' of our planet,
from more CO2 in the air.
This article is about
a real environmental
issue:
US Farmland is 48 Times
More Toxic To Insects
Than 25 Years Ago
( since neonicotinoid
pesticides were introduced
several decades ago ).
Neonicotinoid pesticides
account for a large majority
of the increase in toxicity
to insect life.
"It is alarming that US agriculture
has become so much more toxic
to insect life in the past two decades,"
said Kendra Klein, Ph.D.,
study co-author and
senior staff scientist
at Friends of the Earth.
"We need to phase out
neonicotinoid pesticides
to protect bees and other
insects that are critical
to biodiversity and the
farms that feed us."
Published in the journal
PLOS ONE in early August,
a new study is a complete
assessment of pesticide usage
on farmland in the US,
the first study in the world
to quantify how dangerous
fields have become for insects
by providing year-over-year
changes in toxicity
levels of the soil.
The increased toxic load
measured in the study
could explain why
insect populations
are collapsing in the US.
These dangerous
chemicals can
remain in the soil
for months to years
after one application.
and are more toxic
for insects than older
traditional pesticides
widely used by farmers.
Honey bees, are the
world's most important
pollinator of food crops.
It's estimated that at least
one-third of food consumed
by humans relies on pollination
mainly by bees, but also by
other insects, birds, and bats.
Neonicotinoid usage
has been linked to
honey-bee colony collapse
disorder and loss of birds
due to a decline
in insect populations.
Neonicotinoid became
popular with farmers
during the mid-2000s.
The study found
imidacloprid
and clothianidin,
produced by Bayer,
and thiamethoxam,
produced by
Syngenta-ChemChina
were three neonicotinoids
that contributed to the
increasing toxic load
in farmlands.
Last year, Europe banned
three main neonicotinoids
(clothianidin, imidacloprid,
and thiamethoxam)
for all farming activity.
Several U.S. states
have also restricted farmers
from using the chemicals,
out of fear that it could
further collapse the
honey bee population,
which some people falsely
blame on "climate change".