Saturday is World Honey Bee Day, and environmental groups in New York are using the observance to urge Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign a bill passed by the Legislature that would ban a pesticide that studies link to bee die-off.
The holiday, held on the third Saturday in August every year, is an effort to remind people of the importance of honeybees as pollinators for human food sources. It also aims to draw awareness to the dangers that bees face, including hive die-offs, which studies have found are as high as 48% per year.
The bill, approved in the Senate and Assembly earlier this year, would ban the use of pesticides known as neonicotinoids, or neonics for short. The chemical is used to coat seeds, including corn and soybean seeds, to help farmers more easily control harmful pests.
Advocates of the measure, known as the Birds and Bees Protection Act, include Dan Raichel, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Pollinator Initiative. He said neonics are among the most potent pesticides ever created and are contributing to the decline of the honeybee population.
“We now know that their ecologically destructive impacts are likely worse than any class of pesticides since DDT,” Raichel said.
Hudson Valley beekeeper Peter Nelson said the losses are not sustainable.
“Neonics affect the bees’ nervous systems, reproduction and cognitive functions, which stresses and weakens honeybee colonies and makes them more susceptible to other pathogens and parasites,” Nelson said.
Raichel said 95% of the seed coatings leach into soil and water supplies, causing harm to otjher animals. He points to a May 2023 study by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, which found that neonic usage is endangering over 200 species, including, potentially, humans.
Source: weos.org
Photo Credit: pixabay-myriams-fotos
Categories: Nebraska, Government & Policy, New York, Government & Policy