Value of a leaked memo

Leaked Memo Sheds Light on Mysterious Bee Die-Offs and Who's to Blame

A new leaked memo from the EPA has the beekeeping world buzzing. Bad puns aside, the failure of the EPA to protect the environment -- in this case, bees -- jeopardizes beekeepers' ability to continue in their work. Beekeeper Tom Theobald, who exposed the leaked memo, says that beekeepers now lose 30 to 40 percent or more of their hives each year, and it takes two years to recover each one. Theobald has been a beekeeper in Boulder County, Colorado for 35 years, but now he says he's not sure he can continue. "I can't afford to subsidize this as a hobby. I'll fold the tent," he says. "Commercial beekeepers will work themselves to death," he continues, noting that it's only the passion and commitment of beekeepers that has staved off a complete collapse of the entire beekeeping industry this long.


The leaked EPA memo, dated November 2, 2010, focuses on Bayer CropScience's request to register (i.e. legalize) its pesticide clothianidin for use on mustard seed and cotton. Clothianidin was first registered in May 2003, but its registration was conditional on safety testing that the EPA said should be completed by December 2004. Only, as the latest memo points out, the study, when it was done (long after 2004), was inadequate in demonstrating that clothianidin does not pose a threat to honeybees. Unfortunately, with the EPA's failure to ensure clothianidin's safety before allowing its use on corn and canola, it fell to beekeepers to discover why their bees were dying, and how the EPA allowed clothianidin on the market.

The value? Truth. Hopefully action.

Kill those bugs

Methyl Iodide Approved For Use In California

California regulators approved a pesticide Wednesday for use by fruit and vegetable growers despite heavy opposition from environmental and farmworker groups that cited its links to cancer.


The state Department of Pesticide Regulation will register methyl iodide as a substitute for the pesticide methyl bromide, which is being phased out by international treaty because it depletes the Earth's protective ozone layer.


California's $1.6 billion strawberry industry will likely provide the biggest market for the fumigant, followed by the flower industry, which is concentrated in Ventura and San Diego counties.


The department tentatively approved use of methyl iodide in April, even though it is included on California's official list of cancer-causing chemicals.

Need those blemish free fruits so the stores can charge premium prices. Cancer? that is the consumer's problem - I guess. So hopefully the consumer will act.

Take your time....

....Chances are that you won't be one of the affected.
EPA Bans Use of A Pesticide That's Been in Use Since 1970

The EPA has changed its mind on the safety a widely-used pesticide, aldicarb, and its manufacturer, Bayer, has agreed stop using it. Eventually.
Registered in 1970 for use on cotton, according to the Wall Street Journal, the chemical has been used for years on potatoes, soybeans, peanuts, cotton, tobacco, citrus fruits, sugarcane and other crops, but the EPA now says aldicarb "no longer meets our rigorous food safety standards and may pose unacceptable dietary risks," especially to young children.
The agency's change of heart is based on a new study of the chemical, even though 25 years ago, as Scientific American points out, aldicarb sickened more than 2,000 people who ate California watermelons.
So now, the EPA says, Bayer has agreed to stop using aldicarb first on citrus fruits and potatoes, it will "voluntarily" phase out production by the end of 2014, and "all remaining aldicarb uses will end no later than August 2018."
The EPA will also revoke its rules on how much of the pesticide is allowed in foods, "to ensure we have the safest food supply possible." However, aldicarb "will continue to be registered for use on cotton, dry beans, peanuts, soybeans, sugar beets, and sweet potatoes."

 Wait a doggone minute there.  I always thought soybeans, peanuts and sweet potatoes  were food.  I guess the EPA doesn't really care about the safety of those items.  Anyways, it is only 4 to 8 years of use left - a few sick folks will be clearly outweighed by Bayer profit.

Just another reason...

Image via Wikipedia

Pesticide Exposure Linked to Increased Risk of ADHD

An interesting new study from scientists at the University of Montreal and Harvard University has found a connection between exposure to organophosphate pesticides, at levels common among US children, and increased risk of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

How many more reasons/clues/signs do we need to realize that we are poisoning ourselves?

Greener Gardens - Greener Souls

Image via Wikipedia

How to keep your garden green

The frog was not talking about his garden when he sang "it's not easy being green" he was talking about his soul. Cultivating a green soul is not always easy but it is more worth the doing than just about anything I know.
When it becomes our goal to nurture nature we begin to cultivate a relationship that supports our entire ecosystem.
Remember, if it is poisoning the frogs, birds and insects, then it is probably poisoning us and our kids. So this year take a vow to ditch the pesticides and herbicides and grow a lawn and garden that the frog would be happy to sing his heart out in.

Read the article for some tips too.

I love the idea of "cultivating a green soul." Green is not measured with what we buy, how many green gadgets we have. It is how we view nature, Mother Earth, our life...