The evidence is piling up: neonicotinoid insecticides (neonics) kill pollinators—essential beings like bees, birds, and butterflies, critically important to agriculture and wild ecologies. Neonics are a leading cause of the massive bee die-offs in New York and around the globe that threaten our food security and agricultural economy. But we can fight back by banning needless use of neonics through the Birds and Bees Protection Act (BBPA).

The evidence is piling up: neonicotinoid insecticides (neonics) kill pollinators—essential beings like bees, birds, and butterflies, critically important to agriculture and wild ecologies. Neonics are a leading cause of the massive bee die-offs in New York and around the globe that threaten our food security and agricultural economy. But we can fight back by banning needless use of neonics through the Birds and Bees Protection Act (BBPA).

Mountainkeeper's Kathy Nolan testifies in support of the Birds and Bees Protection Act.

It’s no accident that neonic use is so widespread—chemical companies like Bayer-Monsanto push their toxins onto farms, selling neonic pesticides in the form of coating on seeds, and these huge companies with deep pockets are fighting the Act with all their might.

To help us in this David vs. Goliath moment, Mountainkeeper has received a terrific challenge grant from an anonymous donor that will match every donation made by activists like you in support of this campaign. Please help us take full advantage of this special opportunity by making a gift now.

Neonics are pervasive and dangerous. They saturate every molecule of treated plants and run off into local waterways, where they are consumed by pollinators, which are maimed or killed as a result. But we can take a stand and help stop this cycle of death by demanding that NY State decision makers act now to protect pollinators from senseless exposure to these lethal chemicals by banning needless neonic use. Act now: tell lawmakers to pass the Birds and Bees Protection Act.

Not only do neonics threaten pollinators and our food supply, they put human health in peril. Laboratory and field studies show harmful and potentially lethal impacts of neonicotinoid chemicals on virtually every animal species studied--from insects to worms, amphibians, and birds; small mammals like mice, rats, and bats; and large mammals like white-tailed deer. In all species, impacts during prenatal life and on infants can be especially dramatic. This is of great concern since the Centers for Disease Control has found that young children (aged 3-5) have higher exposures to neonics than adults do. NY State must do the right thing now to protect our health, our pollinators, and our food supply by banning needless neonicotinoid use.

In addition to making your voice heard loud and clear, you can help power forward this work by supporting Mountainkeeper’s pollinator protection campaign. The anonymous donor’s generous challenge grant is a special opportunity to leverage additional funds to equip our team for this important fight, and I hope it will inspire you to make a gift today. Any gift you make now will be matched dollar for dollar, doubling the impact of your support. And no gift is too small—whether $5 or $5,000, every single dollar will directly support this urgent work to protect bees and other pollinators.

Please act now to send a strong message to NY State and forward this email to a friend; the only way we’ll beat the chemical industry is by being louder and stronger, and pushing legislators to protect OUR interests, and the interests of nature.

Sincerely,

Kathy Nolan, MD, MSC,
Senior Research Director