Tell Bayer-Monsanto: Stop manufacturing neonicotinoid pesticides

Dear Bayer CEO Werner Baumann,

Pollinators are struggling — in large part because pesticides have made much of their environment toxic.

Over the past quarter century, the increased use of a class of pesticides called neonicotinoids has made America’s agricultural landscape roughly 48 times more toxic for bees. We need pollinators to thrive — and we need to protect them.

That’s why we, the undersigned, are calling on Bayer — which makes neonics and purchased Monsanto and its neonic-coated seeds — to do right by the bees and stop making and selling products that contain neonicotinoids.

We understand that discontinuing neonics could be economically painful in the short term, but Bayer’s business is large and diverse enough to survive, and in the long run, we all need a healthy planet filled with buzzing pollinators.

Sincerely,

https://environmentamerica.webaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=52868

— source environmentamerica.webaction.org

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GM mustard will obliterate honey bees

Over 100 apiculturists, or beekeepers, gathered at the ICAR-Mustard Research Institute in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, to protest against the Central government’s decision on giving environmental clearance for GM Mustard. Farmers from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana raised concerns and submitted requests to the Central government November 4, 2022 demanding withdrawal of the same.

The protests happened a day after the Supreme Court granted time till November 10 to the Centre to respond to a petition challenging its decision on GM mustard.

The Centre had given the go-ahead for GM mustard after the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee under the environment ministry approved the environmental release of Dhara Mustard Hybrid (DMH-11) seeds for trials and demonstrations October 18.

The beekepers expressed concern about the government decision, stating that honey production had already been impacted by earlier genetically modified products.

— source downtoearth.org.in | Himanshu Nitnaware | 04 Nov 2022

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The shifting state of planet earth and alien planets

Adam Frank,
On Contact

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Toxic toilet paper and long-lasting chemicals found in endangered killer whales

A chemical used in the production of toilet paper and ‘forever chemicals’ have been found in the bodies of orcas in B.C. , including the endangered southern resident killer whales.

The Institute for the Ocean and Fisheries at UBC, British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and Food, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada scientists analyzed tissue samples from six southern resident killer whales and six Bigg’s whales stranded along the coast of B.C. from 2006 to 2018, according to a recent study. They discovered that chemical pollutants are prevalent in killer whales, with a chemical often found in toilet paper one of the most prevalent in the samples studied, accounting for 46 per cent of the total pollutants identified.

Called 4-nonylphenol or 4NP, the compound is listed as a toxic substance in Canada and can interact with the nervous system and influence cognitive function, the authors say.

4NP is often used in pulp and paper processing, as well as in soap, detergents and textile processing. It can leak into the ocean via sewage treatment plants and industrial runoffs, where it is ingested by smaller organisms and moves up the food chain to reach top predators such as killer whales. It’s known as a ‘contaminant of emerging concern’ or

— source University of British Columbia | Jan 12, 2023

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The Animals We Lose and May Never Get Back

In 1970, humans numbered 3.7 billion. Today, we’re more than double that–eight billion! During that short time, the number of animals that also share this planet dropped by 69 per cent!

This catastrophic decline is outlined in the World Wildlife Fund’s “2022 Living Planet Report,” which examines the state of Earth’ biological diversity based on mammal, bird, fish, reptile and amphibian population trends.

As environmentalist and author Bill McKibben writes on his site, “Over those five decades most of the decline can be traced to habitat destruction: the human desire for ever more stuff playing out daily, acre by acre, across the globe.” Human-caused climate disruption will soon become the main driver, the WWF report notes.

The UN Convention on Biological Diversity adopted the WWF’s Living Planet Index as “an indicator of progress towards its 2011-2020 targets” and for its “important role in monitoring progress towards the post-2020 goals and targets negotiated at COP15 this December.” That’s critical, because we still have time–although increasingly less–to turn

— source davidsuzuki.org | David Suzuki | Oct 30, 2022

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How you can help save the monarch butterfly — and the planet

Mary Ellen Hannibal

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Cheetahs From Namibia Will be Very Costly Mistake

On 17 September, India will introduce eight cheetahs from Namibia in the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. For years, this park awaited Asiatic lions from Gir Forest in Gujarat, their last habitat, but Gujarat never parted with them. The consequences were severe for the lions: from 2013 to 2018, 413 Asiatic lions died, many due to adverse conditions. The Centre’s switch to cheetahs for Kuno probably means the lions lose their shot at a new habitat. NewsClick contacted leading wildlife biologist Dr Ravi Chellam, a member of the expert committee of the central government to oversee the translocation of Asiatic lions, to discuss the fresh concerns in light of the introduction of the cheetah. He says India must preserve local endangered species and respect Supreme Court orders that enjoin translocation of Asiatic lions. Excerpts from an email interview by Rashme Sehgal.

You once described the introduction of cheetahs from Namibia to Kuno Palpur in Madhya Pradesh as a “vanity project”. Why? The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change

— source newsclick.in | Rashme Sehgal | 17 Sep 2022

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90% of Marine Species Face Extinction

A new study details the disastrous consequences that would result for marine life across the world’s oceans if current levels of fossil fuel emissions are maintained, with up to 90% of ocean species facing extinction. the study examining 35,000 species of marine flora and fauna as well as bacteria and protozoans, devising a new analytical tool called the Climate Risk Index for Biodiversity (CRIB). Under the current level of emissions, which the United Nations said in 2019 were on track to raise global temperature by 3-5° Celsius, nearly 90% of marine species would be at high-to-critical risk of being wiped out and 85% of those species’ native habitats would be affected, on average.

— source commondreams.org | Aug 22, 2022

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Sea Turtles under trouble

Bryan Wallace

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Fishes getting heart attacks

Sverre LeRoy, Harjeet Singh

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