I'm reposting this exciting news as published from Change.org:
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Butterfly painting by Duy Huyn
Art credit: New Yorker magazine cover, March 2010 Petition from SaveOurEnvironment.org:
Monarch butterflies need a plant called milkweed. It is the only plant they can lay their eggs on and that the caterpillars can eat. But the combination of genetically engineered corn and soy and Monsanto's Roundup herbicide has wiped out nearly all the milkweed that used to grow along the monarchs' migratory routes, leaving the butterflies nowhere to lay their eggs. Every fall hundreds of millions of monarch butterflies have taken to the skies, flying more than 2,500 miles across Canada and the U.S. to reach their winter home in the thick forests of tall oyamel fir trees that grow in Mexico's Sierra Madre mountains. This winter, only 33.5 million butterflies made it to Mexico – the lowest level ever reported. Like honey bees and other pollinators, monarch butterflies are now in crisis, with populations plummeting dramatically since the introduction or Roundup-Ready corn and soy bean crops in 1997. The huge increase in the usage of GMO crops and potent weed killers like Monsanto's Roundup that accompany them is a major culprit for the monarch's disappearance, along with rapid deforestation in Mexico and extreme weather caused by climate chaos. The world needs monarch butterflies. But they can't survive without milkweed. And milkweed can't survive Monsanto's Roundup. Please join me in speaking out to help save monarchs by signing this petition; we must convince the USDA and EPA to revisit the safety of toxic herbicides like Roundup and to stop approving more. Send your message now, and Thank you! Visit the Center for Food Safety for more information on this issue and an infographic. Next week I will be out in the field doing research on the Oregon silverspot butterfly, Speyeria zerene hippolyta. The Oregon silverspot butterfly is a federally threatened species which has been reduced to just four small salt-spray grassland habitats on the Oregon coast. We'll be monitoring the butterflies at two sites that have been the focus of restored habitat and larvae releases to augment the dwindling populations: Cascade Head, an area that has been the focus of habitat restoration efforts for The Nature Conservancy, and Rock Creek, with habitat restoration by the US Forest Service; additional oversight, plant propagation, and research in conjunction with the US Department of Fish & Wildlife, the USDA National Resources Conservation Service, and Lewis & Clark College. Both the Woodland Park Zoo and the Oregon Zoo are engaged in the population augmentation of this endangered fritillary. We will be gathering data on the success of the released larvae and pupae, as well as celebrating the 2014 release of the Oregon Silverspot IPA at the Pelican Brewery. Do you believe in magic? Michael Durham, an Oregon Zoo photographer, captured the OSB transformation in this time-lapse video:
To sign the petition click here: MoveOnNoBlowers and Thank you!
For more information, go to banblowersseattle.wordpress.com "Follow the Honey" 7 Ways that Pesticide Companies are Spinning the Bee Crisis in Order to Protect Profits"; this report from Friends of the Earth reveals the Big Tobacco PR tactics being used by Bayer, Syngenta, and Monsanto to point the finger in every direction except pesticides. The idea that we're being lied to by powerful corporations is no surprise, but I do have to say that that it is quite disturbing to find our local bee club not only promoting the movie "Follow the Honey" on their website, but also advertising for Bayer and their "Bee Care" community leadership award. Then, today, at the PSBA field day (along with guest speakers and booths selling local honey, Q & A on beekeeping, and tours of the apiary) there was a booth promoting the pro-pesticide propaganda "documentary" film "More than Honey". What is up with that? I attended the Beyond Pesticides conference in Portland last month, and have to say that the situation is dire. No question about it: neonicotinoid pesticides are harmful to bees, and when combined with other pesticides, habitat loss, disease, poor treatment and nutrition, honeybees are in serious trouble, along with every ecosystem that relies on pollinators. Got kids? Some of the scariest statistics shared at the Beyond Pesticides conference had to do with studies that link pesticide use with lower IQ levels in children, ADHD, asthma, cancer, impaired sexual development, obesity, and autism. What's even scarier is that neonics are totally unregulated, and in addition to being abused in commercial agricultural, they are part of the toxic chemical cocktail of over-the-counter pesticides used by homeowners. Other bad news is that homeowners' use of pesticides is 12-120 times higher than agricultural use! Because these pesticides are unregulated, unsuspecting and well-meaning parents are creating toxic backyards for their children to play in. Come on bee people! It's time to throw Bayer, Monsanto, and Syngenta and their slimy "Bee Care" campaigns under the bus. Take a stand against neonic pesticides. Check out Bees 101 for more information on what you can do to help bees. Don't forget to send a letter to your representative to support the "Save America's Pollinators" act! The disturbing "documentary" i.e. pro-pesticide propaganda piece "More than Honey" is worth watching for two reasons: #1-you should be aware of the sophistication of the disinformation tactics that are being used to take the focus off neonics; the blame for demise of the honeybee is placed on everything but pesticides: mites, diseases, loss of forage, and climate change (with no mention of neonicitinoids in the entire movie). #2-it is very well-produced, with some of the most amazing bee photography you have ever seen. Civil Eats post: synopsis of what the big three (Bayer, Monsanto, and Syngenta) are up to with their slimy PR tactics: "7 Ways Pesticide Companies are Spinning the Bee Crisis", plus you can download the 23-page report "Follow the Honey" from Friends of Earth and Bee Action.org This makes me happy: The Seattle City Council Plan “...requests that the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) provide recommendations describing options for regulations and incentives to reduce or eliminate leaf blower noise and emissions in Seattle.” Just how bad is a leaf blower? In a 2011 report comparing a two-stroke leaf blower to a Ford Raptor Pickup: “The two-stroke leaf blower was worse still, generating 23 times the CO and nearly 300 times more non-methane hydrocarbons than the crew cab pickup. Let's put that in perspective. To equal the hydrocarbon emissions of about a half-hour of yard work with this two-stroke leaf blower, you'd have to drive a Raptor for 3,887 miles, or the distance from Northern Texas to Anchorage, Alaska.” Pollution *Leaf blowers stir up over two pounds per hour per leaf blower of dangerous particulate matter including but not limited to cat, dog, and rodent feces, pesticides, and street dust which may include mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium and nickel. (The American Lung Associate of Sacramento) *the EPA has documented that gas powered leaf blowers are a significant source of air borne particulates, non-methane hydrocarbons, nitrous oxides and other air pollutants. Noise *Owners’ manuals warn that operators and anyone within 50 feet of an operating leaf blower should wear protective eye, ear, and respiratory gear. (http://www.nonoise.org/quietnet/cqs/leafblow.htm) Leaf blower noise is especially irritating for anyone within earshot because of its particular pitch, the changing amplitude, and the lack of control by the hearer (Michael H.L. Hecker, psychoacoustician). *Leaf blowers exceed the World Health Organization’s acceptable ambient noise levels by 20 decibels at 50 feet, and leaf blowers exceed World Health Org noise levels by 50 decibels at the operator’s ear, a level sure to cause hearing loss and impact the operators’ health in general, particularly the cardiovascular system. (World Health Org and “Comments on Occupational Noise to the OSHA Standards Planning Committee,” Alice Sutter, PhD and www. nonoise.org) Soil Biota *gas powered leaf blowers disturb the microclimate and diminish top soil, degrade its quality and increase water runoff; essentially destroying the soil biota with the toxic high winds created. This is good news for our neighborhoods, landscaping crews, and our micro flora and fauna; I'll keep you updated... My new "business card";
I'm getting ready for the Beyond Pesticides conference: Advancing Sustainable Communities: People, Pollinators, and Practices. April 11-12 in Portland, Oregon. See you there? Marking the third anniversary of the ongoing nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan. March 11, 2011, what really happened? An interview with Dr. Helen Caldicott, Feb 9, 2014: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en_CiEnJ4Wo Seems like there is a whole lot of pretending going on... We have been eating seaweed from the Atlantic Coast; get yours here too: Maine Seaweed |
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