A Threat to Science-Based Regulation
August 1, 2017
From: BNA Daily Environment Report
Bee Pesticide Ban Debate Could Arise in Next Farm Bill
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Thirty-one Democrats are backing a bill—the Saving America’s Pollinators Act of 2017 ( H.R. 3040)—that would suspend the approval of neonicotinoid pesticides, common insect-killers that are said to harm honeybees, aquatic insects, birds, and other insects and animals. H.R. 3040 would ban imidacloprid, clothianidin, thiamethoxam, dinotefuran, and any other neonicotinoids until the Environmental Protection Agency can determine that the pesticides won’t harm pollinators, based on peer-reviewed studies.
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Neonicotinoids Being Studied
Most scientists agree that pesticides negatively affect bee health, but the role that neonicotinoids—often shortened to neonics—play is controversial among bee specialists. A variety of factors, like the loss of wild grasses and flowers, parasitic mites, and climate change also are stressors on pollinators.
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