The Cellar - Europe may actually ban neonicanoids

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Europe may actually ban neonicanoids

We're about to find out if Europe is run by corporations or people. The bee die off continues...

More likely find out which corporations it's run by.

Wiki'd for people like me who aren't so bright at times:

Quote:

Neonicotinoids are a class of neuro-active insecticides chemically related to nicotine. The development of this class of insecticides began with work in the 1980s by Shell and the 1990s by Bayer.[1] The neonicotinoids were developed in large part because they show reduced toxicity compared to previously used organophosphate and carbamate insecticides. Most neonicotinoids show much lower toxicity in mammals than insects, but some breakdown products are toxic.[2] Neonicotinoids are the first new class of insecticides introduced in the last 50 years, and the neonicotinoid imidacloprid is currently the most widely used insecticide in the world.[3]

Recently, the use of some members of this class has been restricted in some countries due to evidence of a connection to honey-bee colony collapse disorder.[4][5] In January 2013, the European Food Safety Authority stated that neonicotinoids pose an unacceptably high risk to bees, and that the industry-sponsored science upon which regulatory agencies' claims of safety have relied may be flawed.

In March 2013, the American Bird Conservancy published a review of 200 studies on neonicotinoids including industry research obtained through the US Freedom of Information Act, calling for a ban on neonicotinoid use as seed treatments because of their toxicity to birds, aquatic invertebrates, and other wildlife.[6] Also in March 2013, the US EPA was sued by a coalition of beekeepers, conservation and sustainable agriculture advocates who accused the agency of performing inadequate toxicity evaluations and allowing the pesticides' registration to stand on insufficient industry studies.[7]

I don't know why, but my brain translated the title as: Europe may actually ban necromancy...

Well, it can't possibly fuck with the human population if it's related to nicotine.

We all know nicotine is harmless to humans.

So now we can all avoid the noid.

What is that from? For some reason, I'm thinking it had to do with cold pizzas being delivered.

Yes, an old Dominos ad: the Noid trying to thwart the 30 minutes or less delivery promise (that no longer exists due to safety and other issues.)

It was discussed previously (in 2007) in:
Colony Collapse Disorder
Could not find it but recall citing a study that was performed in cooperation with an Army chemical lab. That study identified a fungus as complicit in this bee colony collapse.

How would that family of insecticides correspond to this fungus?

Of course, another unanswered question is whether the neonicotinoids industry is subverting research to protect profits. Only corrupt (communist) organizations protect profits at the expense of customers and society. Because that is what the business schools teach.

I suspect neonicanoids are a factor in colony collapse, but I suspect it is a multi-factor thing.

Banning these chemicals will probably help, but it creates a new problem ... how are we going to get all those tiny nicotine patches onto all those bees?

Scholars of evolutionary biology have long noted that evolution is not a steady-pace thing. There are times of stasis, where many if not most species stay pretty much the same for thousands or even tens of thousands of years. Then bam, there's this relatively instantaneous moment where tons of rapid die-off and genetic mutation and radical change occur in the fossil record, across multiple species, and though there must be a reason it is usually not discernible to us.

Think about how much has changed in our environment in the last 100 years, even the last 50 years. Maybe I'm depressed and nihilistic, but I think it's too late and we're already beyond fucked.

Clod has it right.
Our fingers will wither and we will be left with a thumb and a 1-fingered mitt
that we use to click a mouse and type on our smart touch-screen smart phones.

From the NY Times of 2 May 2013:

Quote:

Study Finds No Single Cause of Honeybee Deaths
The devastation of American honeybee colonies is the result of a complex stew of factors, including pesticides, parasites, poor nutrition and a lack of genetic diversity, according to a comprehensive federal study published on Thursday.
... European officials took steps toward banning a class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids, derived from nicotine,

Coincidentally, tobacco companies are selling an electronic cigarette. They claim is it only vapor. The vapor is actually derived also from nicotine - an insecticide. How many teenagers will suffer similar symptoms?

Symptoms like being too lazy to pollinate? I bet most parents would consider that a bonus feature. :)