Two Ways Bird Declines Are Linked to Chemical Pesticides

Heather Callaghan
Activist Post

Netherlands researchers fear the second coming of Silent Spring

"Neonicotinoids were always regarded as selective toxins. But our results suggest that they may affect the entire ecosystem," says Hans de Kroon of Radboud University and co-author of a study recently published in Nature journal.

It's not just the bees. There are at least two ways that neonicotinoid pesticides dramatically affect the bird population.

Is Urban Beekeeping Better Than Rural?

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Heather Callaghan

Even though the EU is initiating a 2-year ban on neonicotinoid pesticides which are heavily implicated in causing massive bee die-off, and a few organizations are suing the EPA for turning a blind eye towards pesticides - there is still a dire situation needing immediate remediation. And, there is a lot in the way of urban beekeeping that can help.

Slowly but surely trending, much like community gardens, is urban beekeeping. Especially as more people find out how doable it is just about anywhere. Surprisingly and best of all - in urban areas.

Here is a close up view of an urban beekeeper's work in Washington state who explains the challenges of keeping bees and the need for it - with a major focus on the many rewards.

 
Urban Beekeeping from Lauren Stelling on Vimeo.

Does it make sense that city beekeeping would actually be more help to the bee population than rural beekeeping?

Nearly 40 Million 'Bee Holocaust' in Canada

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Heather Callaghan

Imagine you own and run an all-natural sweetener factory. You walk into work and all the employees are sprawled out dead - on the floors, over railings, in the vats. They've been gassed; poisoned. Your immune system is slightly stronger so you aren't as affected. Now imagine you have tens of millions of employees and they run farms on the side. That city and the metropolitan areas would be devastated - and it happens in other cities, and other countries - simultaneously for seven years. Think of the headlines and the conclusions - the words "terror attack" would be tossed about. But they aren't there; the gravity is downplayed to protect corporate interests and an agenda that must destroy the ecology, environment, and the food supply to usher in  a new era that requires complete debilitating dependence.

If you think this reframe sounds over dramatic - think again. It's that important for the food supply, ecology, and even the economy that these co-creators be able to survive.

Recently 25-50,000 bees in Oregon dropped dead with strong evidence pointing to a toxic spray used in trees. The UK just witnessed their biggest bee loss yet, and it's been suggested that the U.S. lost 50% of its bee population in the last year - affecting both crops and prices. Now we see a massive loss with our neighbors up north in Canada....

Vanishing of the Bees (MOVIE TRAILER)

Vanishing of the Bees


Vanishing of the Bees - Trailer from Bee The Change on Vimeo.

Vanishing of the Bees - Trailer from Bee The Change on Vimeo.

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Honeybee collapse due to toxic combination of pesticide chemicals

David Gutierrez
Natural News

Researchers from Dundee University, Royal Holloway and University College London are set to carry out a £1.5 million ($2.3 million) study into whether continuous exposure to a cocktail of pesticides is interfering with the brains and nervous systems of bees and other pollinators, possibly explaining their recent drastic decline.

"The landscape has changed considerably over the last 30-40 years; we've seen well-documented changes in our birds, our flora and also in some of our insects," said Andrew Watkinson of the Insect Pollinators Initiative (IPI), "but now there's a growing concern that our insect pollinators are also in decline, whether that's in terms of the number of honeybees, number of bumblebee species, butterflies and hoverflies."

The researchers have hypothesized that pesticides, many of which are neurotoxins, might be blocking the electrical signals of insect nervous systems. This could produce effects such as making it harder for bees to communicate with each other, preventing them from identifying food sources or making it hard for them to find their hive again at the end of a foraging trip.


It would take only subtle neurological changes to produce severe brain disorders, the researchers have warned.

The IPI is a £10 million program that has enlisted ecologists, computer scientists, molecular biologists and mathematicians to research the causes of pollinator decline. It is funded by the Scottish government, the U.K. department of the environment, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Wellcome Trust.

Insect pollinators are essential for the cultivation and quality of a third of the world's food crops.

"We can take for granted the variety of vegetables, fruits and flowers that we can enjoy every day, but some of the insect pollinators on which they rely are in serious decline," said Alan Thorpe of the NERC. "Understanding the complexities of environmental ecosystems is a priority that will help to ensure the survival of pollinators and the benefits they provide."

Sources for this story include: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environme....

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