By Laurel Hopwood, Chair, NEO Sierra Club Agriculture Committee
Pollinators are crucial for our food supply. Honeybees pollinate nearly 95 kinds of fruits such as almonds, avocados, cranberries and apples. Yet pollinator losses are a critical concern!
The Saving America’s Pollinators Act (HR 2692) calls for suspension of the use of neonicotinoid pesticides (neonics for short) that are killing bees until the EPA reviews all available data, including field studies. This bill has bipartisan support.
EPA is currently working under a 2018 deadline for reviewing the registration of neonics. Four more years of colony losses leaves little hope that the beekeeping industry will survive. Congress must take action to accelerate EPA’s irresponsible timeline.
Please help by urging your HR rep to protect bees and other important pollinators by supporting H.R. 2692, the Save America’s Pollinators Act. Phone calls are more effective than emails!
As of June, 2014, the only rep who co-sponsored was Marcy Kaptur (D-OH09).
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