Bee collapse not due to inbreeding

Is the chemical industry deprived of another dodge? Here’s an informative article from ABC Science, but with one glaring error:

Professor Ben Oldroyd of the University of Sydney welcomes the latest study on the genetic diversity of managed bees. “[Harpur and colleagues] were using a new genetic marker … So they got a really good handle on it,” says Oldroyd, who studies the behavioural, evolutionary and population genetics of bees. Oldroyd has also found similar genetic diversity of managed bees in Australia, which to date does not have colony collapse disorder. (Emphasis mine.)

To date the chemical industry has successfully hidden the disaster going on in Australia and naive journalists have failed to dig a little deeper and challenge this. June Stoyer and I recently interviewed Australian commecial beekeeper Jeffrey Gibbs for The Organic View Radio Show and Mr Gibbs presents a quite a different view. The interview will air on October 17, 2012.

Silent Spring

September 27th marked the 50th anniversary of the publication of Silent Spring. If anything, it is even more relevant today. If you haven’t read it recently, take a little time to at least skim the warnings Rachel Carson gave us in 1962.

Killing Bees to premiere on LINK TV

New documentary featuring BCBA’s Tom Theobald to premiere on LINK TV. You can watch the full cut here: Killing Bees: Are Government and Industry Responsible?

Monday, October 22nd at 9:30pm PT/12:30am ET 
Thursday, October 25th at 6:00pm PT/9:00pm ET

Direct TV Channel 375, Dish Network Channel 9410

Seralini study video

West Nile pesticide Permethrin is dangerous to our community

Came upon this article from the Fort Collins paper when looking for something else.

Last week, we received an automated phone call notifying us that spraying for West Nile using a neurotoxin called Permethrin would be occurring. We were warned to close windows, stay indoors, cover up our gardens and bring pets inside. As many of our gardens are large, we did not have the materials or time available due to the short notice to protect our chemical-free plants, which are now contaminated. It is frustrating to think of all the people, pets, apples, plums, pears, raspberries, nectarines and peaches, the urban chickens and bees, and the vegetable gardens around town that have been exposed to this chemical without consent. According to the EPA, Permethrin is a known carcinogen …

Read the full letter in the Coloradoan.

Bee Deviled: Scientists no longer bumbling

Most scientists now agree that the main causes of colony collapse disorder are nutritional stress, pathogens (mites, viruses and fungus), and pesticides. Two recent studies published in Science strengthen the case that a relatively new class of systemic insecticides entitled ‘neonicotinoid pesticides’ are indeed key drivers behind recent pollinator decline.

Read the whole article by Annie Spiegelman at the Huffington Post.

Killing Bees: Are Government and Industry Responsible?

A new Earth Focus documentary featuring an interview with Tom Theobald.

Killing Bees: Are Government and Industry Responsible?

Honey bees, the essential pollinators of many major US crops, have been dying off in massive numbers since 2006. This threatens the American agricultural system and the one in twelve American jobs that depends on it. There is growing evidence that a new class of pesticides — nerve toxins called neonicotinoids, which are used on most US crops including almost all corn — may be toxic to bees. The Environmental Protection Agency allowed neonicotinoids on the market without adequate tests to determine their toxicity to bees. Environmentalists want neonicotinoids banned until needed safety tests are done. While the US government is slow to act and neonicotinoid sales reap billions for the chemical industry, bees continue to die.

EPA Denies Emergency Petition to Suspend Clothianidin

Just out in the GMO Journal:

As far as the connection between clothianidin and the colony collapse disorder, the EPA, in a move that felt like a slap across the face to many beekeepers, said that it “is not aware of any data that demonstrate that exposure to clothanidin results in effects on honey bee colonies consistent with those associated with CCD.” The EPA’s analysis of studies found that some tests were performed in the lab and not in the field, where the EPA thinks concentration levels would be less than what the lab experiments provided. Furthermore, the EPA took issue with the studies being done on another neocotinoid pesticide, imidacloprid, which is a predecessor to clothianidin.

Lastly, the EPA found that the incident report data submitted by petitioners was insufficient to point the finger at clothianidin as the cause of CCD. The agency explained away the German and Slovenian incidents as being related to “unusually” dry weather conditions and possible improper use of clothianidin and said that, despite the 9 years of its use, the role of this systemic pesticide has not been clearly established.

Astonishingly, the EPA said that “the information available on incidents does not indicate that clothianidin use is resulting in the loss of large numbers of honey bee colonies in the U.S. The available information instead seems to indicate that the seed treatment use pattern may result in some sporadic incidents affecting individual bees (in some cases, many bees), but there has not been widespread colony or population losses that would indicate the potential for serious harm.”

Quality writing at the GMO Journal

I did an interview with Deniza Gertsberg of the GMO Journal last Monday and there should be an article appearing this week. Deniza has done articles in the past where she has interviewed me, but it has been a while. Anyway, I went back to the GMO Journal site just to refresh my memory and was impressed by the quality of the writing on many articles. While they focus on GMOs they are pertinent to what we are seeing in the pesticide arena because systemics are the Siamese Twin to GMOs. Start with Myth of Independent Science Haunts Biotech Industry and then follow your interests.