Under his leadership, it abandoned its open-minded view of biotechnology to adapt the shrill style of Greenpeace and other old school anti-technology NGOs. He advocated a more “grass roots” approach, reflecting a confrontational style honed at the Rainforest Action Network and Greenpeace. Literally hundreds of thousands of people who have supported one green organization or event in recent years opened their mailboxes in the past few months to find a scare letter of epic proportions written by Sierra’s executive director Michael Brune: More than two years ago, the Sierra Club embarked on a campaign to convince the public that neonicotinoids–a class of systemic pesticide popular in the US, Australia, Europe and elsewhere that helps fight pests threatening corn, soy, cotton and canola farmers–are decimating the US honeybee population. We are a magnet and a home for Trump resisters: Since Trump was elected, nearly two million people have joined the Sierra Club as members and supporters. ), but it conflates two things that commonly happen to bees–winter and summer die-offs–that are quite different in importance. In other words, their foot-dragging on this issue almost ensures that catastrophic mishaps like the South Carolina incident that killed so many bees will happen again. Thanks for joining Sierra Club's 2020 Battleground volunteer program! Hives naturally experience losses of bees every winter, often between 10 and 22 percent but sometimes the numbers trend higher. There is no question that bee health is not what most scientists would say is ideal. Organic v conventional using GMOs: Which is the more sustainable farming? But that’s not true for most of the crops we grow. Other currently used commercial miticides have lost or are rapidly losing their efficacy because Varroa are developing resistance to them. The Sierra Club usage of direct strategy is mainly lobbying by influencing the passage of legislation through members of Congress and congressional staff members. The focus of our 2020 election plan is four presidential battleground states: Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Arizona. The campaign against neonics was being conducted by the Club’s Pollinator Protection Campaign, led by Laurel Hopwood, until it was turned over to the Club’s Agriculture Team this fall. ( Log Out /  We contacted other major groups in the U.S. to help with this critical issue, but were turned down. We know these are uncertain times. Colony Collapse Disorder was a phenomenon that happened in the mid-2000s and has not reoccurred since, says Dennis Van Engelsdorp, the University of Maryland researcher who coined the term CCD. Political scientists have done extensive research on what campaign tactics are effective at winning votes, and nothing is more effective than people talking to people. His unapologetic corruption and abuses of power threaten the legal and democratic infrastructure that keep our communities healthy and safe, and Sierra Club’s ability to explore, enjoy, and protect our planet. We’re built to win in 2020 because: Our issues matter: According to the Yale Program on Climate Communication, climate change consistently ranks as a top issue among Democratic voters, and it is listed as the single most important issue for liberal Democrats. Sending mail: We will organize volunteers to write and send over 1 million personalized letters to voters in our priority states who don’t normally vote in every election and remind them to cast a ballot. The Sierra Club Foundation stewards charitable contributions and assets responsibly. If we lose them, Trump wins. And individual bees often are hosts to multiple mites. Our ability to tap into the passionate energy of our more than 3.8 million grassroots members and supporters puts us in a position to deliver one of the largest field operations of any environmental organization. Do GMO Bt (insect-resistant) crops pose a threat to human health or the environment? Join the largest political mobilization in Sierra Club's history. Is the much-maligned weedkiller a cancer fighter? The Sierra Club is uniquely positioned to respond to this crisis. The 44 percent number is misleading. Plant the seeds I’ve sent. …The only way we can stop giant pesticide companies like Monsanto is by standing together. The assertion that biotech companies do the research and the government just signs off on it is false ... Bt is a bacterium found organically in the soil. Even before 2016, we had no time to waste in addressing the climate crisis. In the 2020 election, voters will determine whether we act on climate change before it’s too late. Our interactive GLP global map explains the status of each country’s regulations for human and agricultural gene editing and gene drives. In a recent series of letters sent out this fall as part of this ongoing multi-year fund-raising effort, Brune makes the case that neonics are behind Colony Collapse Disorder and responsible for a 44 percent decline in bee populations: Another scare email from the Sierra Club in late September pointed to the insecticide naled, which the advocacy group claimed resulted in a catastrophic loss of bees in South Carolina hives this summer. Trump regularly and corruptly uses his position to benefit himself at the expense of the American people and our democracy. “I’m a big tent guy,” he told the Los Angeles Times shortly after leaving as head of Sierra Club. Our best supporters and members are stepping up to help raise the rest of the money we’ll need—by giving what they can and asking friends and family to do the same. In the 2020 election, voters will determine whether we act on climate change before it’s too late. The once venerable organization, once known for its eco-pragmatism, is twisting the science about bees and pesticides. There are other swing states, but these four are essential. We have to win big in 2020—at every level of government. State and local governments have the power to accelerate clean energy, block fossil fuel extraction and infrastructure, support public transportation, and rally public support for action on climate. While we could not have anticipated the sequence of events that led to Trump’s presidency, we have spent decades building an army of advocates, organizers, and allies all across the country who are ready for this moment. The GLP featured this article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Miticides are designed specifically to control mites, but some widely used products have been shown to have negative effects on bees, such as physical abnormalities, atypical behavior and increased mortality rates. The key to all of this is massive participation from volunteers like you. Since, studies have shown no effect on bee colony growth during the duration of the ban. Known by some as the "Environmental Worrying Group," EWG lobbies for tighter GMO legislation and famously puts out annual "dirty dozen" list of fruits and ... Michael K. Hansen (born 1956) is thought by critics to be the prime mover behind the ongoing campaign against agricultural biotechnology at Consumer Reports. Second, during the summer, bees may die but they only live for about six weeks. For many crops, bees are absolutely essential for pollination and reproduction. “Honey beekeepers with five or more colonies reported Varroa mites as the leading stressor affecting colonies,” said the USDA in its latest pollinator health survey, released last May. We are proud to have earned a four-star rating from Charity Navigator and an A from CharityWatch. Naled users and beekeepers are advised to work together on timing the application of naled to when bees aren’t foraging, and bee hives are supposed be covered when naled is applied. Trump’s unprecedented assault on our environment threatens our climate, air, water, public lands, wildlife, and oceans. Could pesticide use, from neonics to organic pesticides, play a role in bee health? The GLP’s goal is to stimulate constructive discourse on challenging science issues. COVID-19 is changing the ways that we can reach people, but our program is built to contact voters safely, remotely, and virtually. My fifth post of my blog I will talk about the direct strategies that the Sierra Club uses to influence politics and congressional members within the United States. Photo courtesy of Frances Denny for The Luupe. The media call it the “Insect Apocalypse”. This figure noting bee losses in 2015-16 sounds scary (nearly half of our bees are gone! In one of the largest field studies to date, a team led by Natural Resources Institute of Finland researcher Jarmo Ketola, in a field study over two growing seasons (2013 and 2014) of turnip rape in Finland, found that field exposure of bees to the neonic thiamethoxam seed-treated crops had no adverse effects on honey bee colonies.

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