Pesticides

Pesticides & birds, from RI Audubon

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Rhode Island Audubon Society Facebook page, 5/28/15

So, I was checking my voicemail this morning and there was one from a caller who said that she had her trees sprayed for caterpillars – trees occupied by three …bird feeders – and now, she is upset that there are no birds at all for her to watch. She wonders if the spray could possibly have something to do with it. (Yes, spraying pesticides on your trees will have an effect on the songbirds.)

It is not uncommon for us to get inquiries such as these, and it is with great frustration and sadness that we often are faced with educating people after the damage has been done. So, please let me take a moment to reach out to our Facebook friends and family and be proactive about this topic. All pesticides are designed to kill. Some are very targeted, such as B. T. (Bacillus thuringiensis) which primarily affects Lepidopterans (moths and butterflies), but most pesticides are broad and indiscriminate. When you make the choice to treat your house or landscape with rodenticides or grub treatment or mosquito foggers or any other pesticide treatment, you have an intent of ridding yourself of a specific creature that you find distasteful.

Dead birds

However, nothing in nature exists in a vacuum. Everything is connected. When you affect one population, it has a ripple effect across the populations that depend upon and coexist with it. When you spray insecticide, for instance, it does not just kill the ‘bugs’ you don’t like, but kills all insects, including honeybees, butterflies and ladybugs. Likewise, when you spray, the insects do not simply disappear off the face of the earth. Many live a short time before they perish. In this time, they may be consumed by natural predators, like songbirds, small mammals and other insects. Pesticides may have a direct toxicity to these animals or may build up in their fat or blood and cause illness or death over time. Even so-called “green” chemicals are still intended to kill, and though they may be derived from natural sources or biodegrade quickly, they are still highly toxic to you and other organisms.

Friends, it is so very important in this day and age, with the steady decline of bird populations and the utter devastation of pollinator populations that we humans take a serious, proactive look at the choices we make and the practices we support — either directly or indirectly. It is vital that we not go blindly into the world, but make ourselves informed and educated about products and practices and about science, industry and nature. Here at the Audubon Society of Rhode Island, we very much want to help people become educated and able to make informed choices. We are here to answer your questions and point you in the direction of reliable and scientifically accurate information. But we also encourage you to think and question BEFORE you act. Your actions have consequences.

Avoid spraying, prevent mosquito reproduction

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By Nathaniel Smith, Columnist, The Times of Chester County, March 28, 2016

If they can’t breed, you don’t need to worry about using pesticides

I recently noticed a newspaper article that is very misleading about the costs and benefits of spraying to control mosquitoes.

The story was much too casual about the use of toxic chemicals in residential properties. Continue reading →

The Neurotoxic Effects of Pyrethroids

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“The Neurotoxic Effects of Pyrethroids” is one section of the post by Maryam Henein “When We Fumigate Flies and Mosquitoes, Are We Poisoning Ourselves?” at Truthout, 11 October 2015, beginning:

Upon my return to the United States, my autoimmune condition flared up, and when I visited the doctor, my test results indicated that my thyroid levels had plummeted below normal. I often tell people that those who suffer from autoimmune conditions are environmental indicators just like our honeybees.

Read the full post at Truthout. It ends with consideration (including links) of the effects of pyrethroids on humans and the environment.

Tell the USDA: Stop burying bee-saving science

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email from Penn Environment, 3/7/16

Is the USDA silencing scientists?

Here’s the story: Jonathan Lundgren has been at the U.S. Department of Agriculture for 11 years, earning stellar performance reviews along the way. He was so respected the USDA even named him its Outstanding Early Career Research Scientist in 2011. [1]

But once he started documenting the damage pesticides were doing to bees and butterflies, industry lobbyists pressured his agency to look the other way. Since then, he’s been threatened with termination and forced to stop speaking publicly.

Will you take action? Tell the USDA: Suppressing science is unacceptable.

The problem goes beyond Dr. Lundgren’s research. In fact, more than 10 scientists filed a formal petition last year detailing a pattern of harassment for simply doing their jobs. These whistle-blowers claim their work has been censored or suppressed for calling into question the safety of chemicals used widely in agriculture. [2][3]

With bees and butterflies experiencing a steep decline due to systemic pesticides, we can’t let this important research be silenced.

That’s why we’re demanding a full investigation into the influence that corporate polluters are exerting at USDA. Tell the USDA: Suppressing research is wrong — even if it threatens pesticide makers like Bayer and Monsanto.

Especially with bees dying by the millions, we can’t let scientists get silenced. Please take action today.

Thanks,

David Masur
PennEnvironment Director

[1] Bee expert: USDA punished me for research on pesticides, Oct 28 2015, MPR News
[2] Report: USDA scientists harassed for questioning Roundup’s safety, Mar 31 2015, Wisconsin Gazette
[3] Whistle-Blower Claims the USDA Suppressed Research on Bee-Killing Pesticide, Oct 29 2015, takepart

Tell Bayer to save the honeybee

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Petition for League of Conservation Voters members:

TELL BAYER TO SAVE OUR NUMBER ONE FOOD SECURITY GUARD — THE HONEYBEE!

Thank you for taking our quick survey. We at LCV agree that we need Bayer to stop manufacturing their bee-killing chemicals and find safer alternatives. But they will only change their ways if we speak out now.

Please join thousands of LCV members in sending a message to Bayer CEO Marijn Dekkers and tell him to stop producing chemicals that are killing our bees!

Your Message

Protect our nation’s food security — stop producing chemicals that kill our bees

Dear Marijn Dekkers,

I am writing to urge you to stop producing the neonicotinoids that are killing our honeybees across the globe.

Honeybees may sound easy to dismiss, but they are directly responsible for pollinating nearly 100 varieties of fruits and vegetables, including produce like almonds, cranberries, avocados, and apples. In the U.S. alone honeybees pollinate more than one-third of the entire food supply and help to generate more than $15 billion in agricultural production each year!

A Q&A with Margaret Hudgings

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By Nathaniel Smith, Columnist, The Times of Chester County, September 29, 2015

An interview with leader of local group questioning mosquito spraying

My opinion piece “Mosquito spraying: why doesn’t the county want to talk about it?” in the Times of Chester County, August 31, asked many questions. Since then I’ve found many answers, including from talking with the County Health Department, and many new questions too. One thing I’ve learned is how complex this subject is, since it depends on the always lively interaction of the human and the scientific.

I think West Chester has a good opportunity now, as this year’s mosquito season trails off, for cooperation between citizens, the Health Department, and the Borough government (and the same could apply in other municipalities.

For now, I have written up an interview with Margaret Hudgings, who has been leading the citizens group (of which I have been part) that is dialoguing with the Health Department and the Borough in an effort to avoid public insecticide spraying if at all possible.

How did you get interested in the issue of mosquito control?

MH: I became interested in mosquito control in 2012, when I realized that the Borough was about to be sprayed with permanone, whose active element permethrin is listed among toxic chemicals in Greenpeace’s “Black List of Pesticides.” Our son became sensitive to chemicals in his early 20’s and so we as a family have become very aware of the chemicals in our environment.

When did you become an activist in this area?

MH: I became an activist this past summer when we realized that once again the County planned to spray in the Borough. After the last dose in 2012, our son became so ill he could not return to his home near Everhart Park for months. After consulting Mayor Comitta, I decided to create a petition and go out in the Borough to talk to our neighbors about their feelings on the County’s pesticide spraying….

read more at The Times of Chester County