Bee hives. (photo: Shutterstock.com)
Maryland
to Become First State to Ban Bee-Killing Pesticides for Consumer Use
By Lorraine Chow, EcoWatch
27 March 16
In
an effort to curb its plummeting honeybee population, Maryland is
about to become the first state in the nation to pass strict restrictions
on neonicotinoids for consumer use.
Neonicotinoids
are a potent class of pesticides used on many crops in the U.S. that have been
linked to the widespread decline of
pollinator species. As EcoWatch mentioned previously, 29
independent scientists conducted a global review of 1,121 independent studies
and found overwhelming evidence of pesticides linked to bee declines.
Republican
Gov. Larry Hogan is poised to sign a combined set of bills passed in both the
state’s upper and lower chambers (SB 198 and HB 211), the The Washington Post reported.
According
to the Post, the bipartisan legislation would take neonicotinoids away
from everyday consumers who spray their home gardens and trees with these
harmful pesticides. They would not be able to buy neonic-products such
as Knockout Ready-to-Use Grub Killer, Ortho Bug B Gon, All-In-One Rose
& Flower Care, Lesco Bandit Insecticide from the thousands of hardware
stores, garden centers, nurseries in the state that sell such
products. Farmers and professional gardeners, who better understand how to
apply the chemicals, are exempt from the law which will come into effect
in the year 2018.
The
news comes as much-needed reprieve for the Maryland’s dwindling honeybees.
Compared to the national average of 42.1 percent, Maryland’s beekeepers lost
more than 60 percent of their colonies on average in the past year, one of
the highest in U.S., according
to a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) survey.
Del.
Anne Healey, D-Prince George’s County, who authored the House version of the
bill, told the Washington Post that the new law would “be a landmark, and it
would set a standard that maybe other states would follow.”
Healey
pointed out in a June 2015 editorial in The Baltimore Sun that
more actions must be taken to protect
our pollinators, which serve a critical role in our food supply:
Our
honey bees are in serious trouble, and if we lose our bees, and other
pollinators, one-third of our food supply is in danger. As The Sun’s editorial
noted, “it will take more than good intentions to preserve and protect” bees
and other pollinators.
ThinkProgess reported
that while California, Alaska, New York, and Massachusetts have made
attempts to ban or limit neonicotinoids, no piece of legislation has made it as
far as Maryland. Only Oregon has a bill that bans neonics on a certain species
of a tree.
Counter
to the aggravatingly slow action
from the USDA—which has taken more than 20 years to
admit that neonicotinoids kill bees—a growing list of individual cities and
jurisdictions such as Portland and Eugene in Oregon, Seattle
and Spokane in Washington andmany more have
banned neonics.
Additionally,
in recent years a number of nurseries, landscaping companies and
retailers—including Lowe’s, Home Depot, Whole
Foods and BJ’s Wholesale Club have taken steps to eliminate bee-killing
pesticides from their stores.
France
is moving towards a total ban on bee-harming neonics, a move that
goes beyond European Union restrictions, Reuters reported last
week.
However,
Maryland’s Department of Agriculture has denied evidence linking the
decline of bees to neonicotinoids. The agency said in a statement that
it “has not documented any cases of neonicotinoid pesticides negatively
impacting honeybees in Maryland,” citing a USDA National
Honeybee Survey saying “no neonicotinoids were found in Maryland pollen
samples, and fewer pesticides overall were detected when compared to the
national average.”
The
Washington Post also noted that the state department is concerned
that the $200,000 allocated in the House bill to implement and enforce the
new law would be inadequate, arguing that it would likely cost more than
$1 million a year instead. Additionally, Maryland’s amateur
gardeners are still able to buy the pesticides from out of state or the
internet making enforcement all the more difficult.
C 2015 Reader Supported News
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has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives."
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