Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping!
To get onto The Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping List you must threaten to report me to the Mods if I don't add you to the list...
Posted on 06/21/2014 4:07:51 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
President Obama on Friday announced plans to save endangered honey bees and other pollinators, for the first time ordering a probe into new types of pesticides that some local governments and 15 European Union nations have restricted or banned.
The long-awaited plan creates a “Pollinator Health Task Force” that has 180 days to come up with a plan to save bees, butterflies and other pollinators. The goal is to rid fields of harmful pesticides while planting food for the bugs, even on military bases an along railroad tracks. Virtually every Cabinet department will be included on the task force.
A key victory for the honey bee industry is Obama’s mention of “neonicotinoids,” a new type of pesticide product that many blame for the shocking loss of bees in the epidemic called “colony collapse disorder.”
In the six-page presidential memo, the White House singled out what it wants the Environmental Protection Agency to do:
“The Environmental Protection Agency shall assess the effect of pesticides, including neonicotinoids, on bee and other pollinator health and take action, as appropriate, to protect pollinators; engage state and tribal environmental, agricultural, and wildlife agencies in the development of state and tribal pollinator protection plans; encourage the incorporation of pollinator protection and habitat planting activities into green infrastructure and Superfund projects; and expedite review of registration applications for new products targeting pests harmful to pollinators.”
Some members of the EU voted last year to restrict the use of pesticides that include neuroactive neonicotinoid chemicals. Three are in use: clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiametoxam.
Pollinators, mostly bees, are responsible for much of what grows on farms.
In a related move, the Agriculture Department said it would spend $8 million to establish new habitats for honey bees in Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
"American agricultural production relies on having a healthy honey bee population," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "In recent years, factors such as diseases, parasites, pesticides or habitat loss have contributed to a significant decline in the honey bee population. This $8 million is part of the administration's ongoing strategy to reverse these trends and establish more plant habitat on Conservation Reserve Program lands to restore the bee population."
Nanny State PING!
bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb
All HIEL KING BAM BAM
I guess that’s it for honey bees then.
Habitat loss?
Honeybees aren’t even native to this continent and will thrive just about anywhere as long as they have food. Besides, I thought it was recently determined that numbers were rebounding.
This is one move Obama has made that I agree with.
(Hey, in six years, he makes a lot of moves: he was bound to get one right sometime.)
“This is one move Obama has made that I agree with.”
Well just dont let it happen again ;-)
Look for the Mooch with a #Bringbackourbees sign. Coming soon.
Waste of time and money!
GMO crops are what is killing the bees.
.
Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping!
To get onto The Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping List you must threaten to report me to the Mods if I don't add you to the list...
Bees have a striped tail.
Kind of like a gay rainbow.
What’s not to “love”?
Bees are important. But, based on O's track record, I expect the plan to read something like, "Let's put the Central American kids to work with pollinating paintbrushes, give them citizenship for their valuable service, and our crops will be OK. And by the way, no more pesticides." /S
Welll, We were watching a program about bees on TV It was in China that a farmer was not getting his fruit trees pollinated and he had no fruit. The farm bureau said it was because there were no bees. They told him he would have to pollinate the flowers himself. So he climbs up on a ladder with a feather tied to a stick and pollinates the flowers himself.
Bee’s are dying all over the world and they are vital for food production unless we want to put all these illegal aliens to work pollinating flowers.
I would argue that a bigger threat to wild honey bee populations would be the increased market demand for honey. This necessitates more commercial colonies and more commercial colonies means more pressure for the available nectar required to sustain wild colonies. Spraying pesticides on nectar sources surely doesn’t help I’m sure.
If (and we know how big a word that can be) the category of pesticides targeted are genuinely responsible for “hive collapse” and other honey bee population issues, then it’s probably wise to limit their use and seek alternatives where possible. Honey bees are a big part of the pollination process for certain crops.
The thing is, unless there is some new scientific breakthrough in this report I’m not aware of (entirely possible), it’s not absolutely proven that neonicotinoids are the villain here. There’s a lot of strong circumstantial evidence, but there are also other potential causes here, too. African mites remain an implacable foe for honeybees, and there are other diseases and parasites that are harmful to honey bees and could be driving the spike in hive collapse.
So, I’m going to reserve judgement on this one for now.
Under which particular law is this order lawful? Might as well ask yourself that question before you support it.
No bees, no food. All he’s doing right now is setting up a ‘task force’ and encouraging some bees. Established law supports all sorts of federal regulations regarding agriculture and our food supply.
Wild or commercial, all honey bees are apparently threatened by some of our newest pesticide poisons.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.