EU bans neonicotinoids

JerryHaskins · May 2, 2018

I am not anti-honey bee. And, I agree that the insecticide and herbicide manufacturers are major proponents of banning products after their patent expires in order to force consumers to pay more for newer, safer, shorter-lasting products.

And I think bald eagles and butterflies are great.

But I worry about humans, too, and I think that we go too far sometimes.

(I am not fond of fire ants.)

This morning I saw a news report that the CDC says that diseases transmitted through the bites of blood-feeding ticks, mosquitoes, and fleas are a growing public health problem in the United States. Reported cases of vector-borne diseases have more than tripled nationwide, growing from 27,388 cases reported in 2004 to a whopping 96,075 cases reported in 2016. Since 2004, there have been nine vector-borne pathogens newly identified as concerns among humans in the US.

The vector borne diseases in the US include Lyme disease, anaplasmosis/ehrlichiosis, spotted fever rickettsiosis, babesiosis, tularemia, Powassan virus, Dengue viruses, Zika virus, West Nile virus, malaria, chikungunya virus, California serogroup viruses, St. Louis encephalitis virus, Eastern equine encephalitis virus, yellow fever virus, and plague.

"Correlation" does not necessarily equal "causation", but I think that increased pesticide restrictions are partly responsible for the increase. People (especially poor people) need a cheap, easy way to deal with the insects.

CDC report

PS: Did y'all know that honey bees are not native to North America? They were brought over from Europe in the 1600s. Nowadays they would probably be listed as an invasive species.

May 2, 2018	#18
JerryHaskins Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Mississippi Posts: 166	I am not anti-honey bee. And, I agree that the insecticide and herbicide manufacturers are major proponents of banning products after their patent expires in order to force consumers to pay more for newer, safer, shorter-lasting products. And I think bald eagles and butterflies are great. But I worry about humans, too, and I think that we go too far sometimes. (I am not fond of fire ants.) This morning I saw a news report that the CDC says that diseases transmitted through the bites of blood-feeding ticks, mosquitoes, and fleas are a growing public health problem in the United States. Reported cases of vector-borne diseases have more than tripled nationwide, growing from 27,388 cases reported in 2004 to a whopping 96,075 cases reported in 2016. Since 2004, there have been nine vector-borne pathogens newly identified as concerns among humans in the US. The vector borne diseases in the US include Lyme disease, anaplasmosis/ehrlichiosis, spotted fever rickettsiosis, babesiosis, tularemia, Powassan virus, Dengue viruses, Zika virus, West Nile virus, malaria, chikungunya virus, California serogroup viruses, St. Louis encephalitis virus, Eastern equine encephalitis virus, yellow fever virus, and plague. "Correlation" does not necessarily equal "causation", but I think that increased pesticide restrictions are partly responsible for the increase. People (especially poor people) need a cheap, easy way to deal with the insects. CDC report PS: Did y'all know that honey bees are not native to North America? They were brought over from Europe in the 1600s. Nowadays they would probably be listed as an invasive species.