When announcing his new taskforce to protect pollinators in June, President Barack Obama mentioned additional research and habitat expansion. While this is important, it still isn’t clear how the task force will address one of the primary threats to bees and other pollinators — one we could do something about right now: pesticide exposure.
A mounting body of science shows that neonicotinoid (neonic) pesticides are a key contributor to bee declines. Neonics aren’t harming just bees. They also hurt birds, butterflies, reptiles, earthworms and soil microbes essential to healthy ecosystems and food production. Just one seed coated in neonics is enough to kill a songbird.
Scientists around the globe are calling for immediate regulatory action to restrict neonics to stop what some are calling a second “Silent Spring.” Readers should urge the president’s task force, led by the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to ban bee-harming pesticides.
While the European Union and other state and local governments have taken decisive action to protect pollinators based on the growing scientific evidence, U.S. policymakers have been slow to act.