WITHOUT OUR POLLINATORS THERE IS NO US OR EARTH AS WE KNOW IT!

11,000 scientists just announced that climate change has us on track for ‘untold suffering’, while the UN says the collapse of our ecosystems could wipe out a **MILLION** species.

And, yes we could be one of them.

There used to be many “environmental issues”. But now, it’s all one struggle. For life itself. We’re not separate from nature — we ARE nature, and in this struggle, we can find our true selves: not a virus that plagues this planet, but a species that protects all life.

Millions of us have backed Avaaz campaigns for 100% clean energy, and for “50/50”, a game-changing plan to protect half our planet for nature. But to win, we must bring these two giant campaigns together in a massive worldwide movement for life itself — and we need to do it fast.

2020 is THE year to do it, with two major global summits in China and the UK that will decide whether to urgently protect nature and cut carbon pollution

Pesticides vs Bees

Bumblebees don’t get nearly as much love as honey bees, but maybe they should. Sure they’re wild and they don’t produce as much honey as their “domestic” counterparts, but they help pollinate numerous fruits, vegetables, and wildflowers. Bumblebee species are declining in Europe.

Neonicotinoids are a relatively new class of insecticides that emerged in the 1990s. Compared to some of their predecessors, they cause less toxicity in birds and mammals. However, in recent years, they’ve come under increasing scrutiny due to their environmental impact, especially on bees and other benign insects. Neonics (as they’re also called) are systemic and move throughout growing plants. This means that traces of the pesticide reach the pollen, which the bees consume. Quite often, neonics have been found in areas that haven’t been treated, such as meadows or wildflower patches.

Because they spread so much, the impact they have on bees is far-reaching and hard to thoroughly assess — yet a growing number of studies associated these pesticides with honeybee colony collapse disorder (CCD) and loss of birds due to a reduction in insect populations. While these findings remain controversial, in 2013, the European Union (and some other non-EU countries) banned the use of such pesticides, and positive results were visible fast. The ban is only temporary for now, but the EU is considering making it permanent despite complaints from pesticide companies and some farmers which claim yields have gone down.

For most of the world, neonics are still going strong, and both bees and bumblebees are paying a huge price.

Bumblebees are in danger in many developed countries and it’s becoming clearer and clearer that pesticides are at least partly to blame.

“Bees play a vital role as pollinators in both agricultural and natural systems. However, there is increasing concern about the state of wild bee populations. Nearly 10% of European bee species are currently considered threatened and bumblebees are declining on a global scale. The cause of these declines is thought to be a combination of factors, particularly habitat loss, parasites and diseases, invasive species, and climate change,” researchers conclude 

 Journal Reference: Gemma L. Baron, Vincent A. A. Jansen, Mark J. F. Brown & Nigel   E. Raine — Pesticide reduces bumblebee colony initiation and increases the probability of  population extinction. doi:10.1038/s41559-017-0260-1