Let’s urge the EPA to protect pollinators, not pesticides

A migrating sparrow collapses after eating a single seed from a freshly tilled field.

A bee drops dead on the head of a flower.

A school of fish starve when the zooplankton in their streams disappear.

These tragedies may sound as if pulled directly from Rachel Carson’s 1962 bestseller, Silent Spring, but they’re happening today due to the overuse of hazardous pesticides known as neonicotinoids (neonics).

That’s why we need to tell the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) it’s time to act: Regulate neonic-coated seeds.

Neonics are the most widely used pesticides in the world

Typically applied as a coating to seeds, neonics are the most widely used class of pesticides in the world — almost all corn and nearly half of the soybeans harvested in the U.S. comes from neonic-coated seeds.

Neonic-coated seeds are more popular than ever — they’re also extremely harmful to bees.

All parts of treated plants are laced with the pesticide. When a bee lands on a neonic-tainted flower, its nervous system is attacked. Slight exposure can weaken the immune system. High levels can cause instant death.

Bees are dying across the U.S., with some populations falling by 80% since 2007.

Tell the EPA: We prioritize pollinators over pesticides.

Neonics harm bees, birds, and other pollinators

Bees aren’t the only victims.

Neonics can damage entire ecosystems and are especially threatening for birds — songbirds are dying after consuming the coated seeds.

Two states have already passed legislation regulating the use of neonic-coated seeds, but what does a state boundary mean to the birds and the bees? We need to take nationwide action against the unregulated use of neonics, and this will take federal action from the EPA.

Join us in telling the EPA: We can’t afford another “Silent Spring.”