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Like a bee to the clover . . . last week’s “Show
Bees Some Love” actions in seven metropolitan areas
attracted local and national media, drawing much-needed
attention to the critical role pesticides play in decimating the
world’s honeybee population.
Activists wearing bee costumes, singing “Give Bees a Chance” and
carrying “Show Bees Some Love” banners swarmed Home Depot and
Lowe’s stores in Boston, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Washington
D.C., Chicago, Eugene, Ore. and Los Angeles. They delivered
valentines and cupcakes. Some even staged die-ins.
But people all over the country, in cities large and small, also
did their part. More than 30,000 individuals, including about
13,000 members of
Organic Consumers Association, signed up to deliver
Valentine Day cards to managers at their local Home Depot and
Lowe’s stores. The cards were delivered along with this message:
Please stop selling bee-killing pesticides, and garden plants
sprayed with bee-killing pesticides. (If you delivered a
valentine in your city, we’d love to hear from you. Send your
comments, photos and videos to
office@organicconsumers.org).
Home Depot responded to the campaign,
telling a CNBC reporter that the retail chain has been
“working on” an alternative to neonicotinoids (the class of
pesticides scientists now believe play a
key role in Colony Collapse Disorder) for “some time,” and
that several of its suppliers are already using replacements. We
plan to hold their feet to the fire until they follow through.
Meanwhile, Lowe’s is still giving us the silent treatment.
We, along with our allies Friends of the Earth, SumOfUs.org,
Pesticide Action Network and other groups, plan to keep the
pressure on Home Depot and Lowe’s. Through petitions, letters,
talks with the companies’ CEOs. Whatever it takes.
In the meantime, there’s a bill (H.R. 2692),
Saving America’s Pollinators Act, in Congress that calls for
restricting neonicotinoids. But it
needs more support. And
Oregon and
California have introduced similar bills at the state level.
And what about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency? It’s
been busy
approving more bee-killing pesticides. All the more reason
for consumers to pressure retailers, and for Congress to act.
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