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Re: North Carolina Violations Killing Pollinators (fwd)
: Subj: North Carolina Violations Killing Pollinators
: Next spring people will be wondering, "Where are the bees?"
: I watched K&K, Inc. planes leave the Lumberton airport with a certain
: sadness in my heart. I know that they were about to spray a lethal mist that
: would, along with the mosquitoes, also drop the bees that were out visiting
: the goldenrod. Most of the bees who received a tiny droplet would not even
: make it home to the nest or hive.
: All they had to do to protect those bees was to WATCH and see when they
: are visiting flowers. But that is inconvenient. They refuse to do so.
: Applications could be done in the early morning. The bees are not out
: then. Or, as many states do; they could be done at night. The bees are not
: out then. But application on a warm, sunny afternoon? That will drop
: millions of our pollinators.
: Malathion label directions forbid application while bees are "foraging"
: in the application area. Apparently that concept is too complex for our
: mosquito control people. So they spray away, in complete violation.
: I had told K&K officials, and I had told North Carolina officials that
: bees were foraging during the scheduled application times. Bees were
: vigorously visiting goldenrod and aster until almost 6 pm yesterday. But
: they ignore me. And they refuse to look for themselves. Does this not sound
: like a wilful violation? Wilful violations are criminal misuse. The people
: involved should be arrested!
: They try to evade the label directions by demanding that beekeepers
: "protect" the bees. But the label directions are to protect an environmental
: resource; they do not refer only to kept bees.
: I am a beekeeper who pollinates crops for a living. I have never lost
: anywhere near as many bees from varroa mites as from pesticide misuse.
: Varroa mites have killed off wild bees, but are easily controlled by
: beekeepers. Pesticide misuse has put me in poverty, over and over again.
: Practical Pollination Home Page Dave & Janice Green
: http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html
Gee wiz! Maybe Jan and Dave ought to think about bringing suit for
economic damages. And other pollinating enthusiasts could join them in a
class action suit. The subject matter would be so unusual it would
probably merit a headline in the N & O. Also, maybe they could bring a
citizen's suit although I'm not sure of exactly under what law, but when
you want to protect endangered species you can bring citizen suits, so
maybe something like that is available under another federal law that
could protect the bees. My wife once practiced environmental law, so
maybe I need to ask her. Any thoughts, ideas, legal advice or volunteers
out there? Is there some sort of national beekeeper/enthusiast group that
could be contacted for some help? Considdering the large number of
farmers and other damaged parties that could be party to a class action
suit of this type, it seems that we may be talking about a lot of money.
That is the only way that you can get the attention of these neanderthals.
Hit them in the pocket! If there is any way that I can help, please let
me know.
James Johansen Ph.D. (synthetic chemistry)
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