Bee-killing pesticides decimate various species

Dear Friend, Bees are dying at shocking rates. Help save bees and our planet with your $27 donation to Friends of the Earth today. If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately: [Donate $27 immediately]( [Donate $5/month immediately]( The American bumblebee has already disappeared from 8 states, and the massive use of bee-toxic pesticides like Bayer-Monsanto's neonics continues to poison and kill them. [Stop bees and other pollinators from being driven to extinction: Donate $27 to Friends of the Earth today.]( Once a common sight across the country, the American bumblebee population has been in a catastrophic decline, plummeting by 89% in the last 20 years. It is especially alarming because it is preventable. Eliminating the use of neonics and other bee-toxic pesticides could help stem these devastating losses. The Fish & Wildlife Service is in the process of determining whether the American bumblebee will be granted protection under the Endangered Species Act, but soon, it may be too late. If we don’t step up to help reverse this decline now, the American bumblebee may face the same fate as its cousin, Franklin’s bumblebee -- presumed extinct. The American bumblebee population is down an alarming 89%. Stand up for pollinators and our ecosystems with your $27 donation today. If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately: [Donate $27 immediately]( [Donate $5/month immediately]( Bees are vital to our food supply: they pollinate one out of three bites we eat, from nuts to berries to many vegetables. They are also key to the pollination of many wild plants. Scientists haven’t seen a quarter of the world’s bee species in 30 years and 41% of all insect pollinators face extinction. Scientists warn that we are on the verge of an “insect apocalypse,” which would severely affect food security and biodiversity. These disastrous consequences are linked to the massive use of neonics and other bee-toxic pesticides. Neonics can kill bees outright and can also impair their ability to fight off diseases and pests, find food and reproduce. Despite alarming impacts on bee populations, the use of bee-toxic chemicals like neonics has dramatically increased in the past two decades. Since neonic pesticides were introduced in the 1990s, U.S. agriculture has become 48 times more toxic for insects. The plight of bees warns us that we are on a path to disaster. Not only are bees and the plants they pollinate on the line, so is our own health. Neonics have been linked to hormone disruption and damage to babies’ developing brains. We must take action NOW to protect our health and ensure that we are not the last generation to share the planet with countless species of wild bees. Toxic pesticides are putting bees and our health on the line. Help us fight for a healthy world for bees and people: Make your $27 donation today. If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately: [Donate $27 immediately]( [Donate $5/month immediately]( At Friends of the Earth, we are rushing to use every tool at our disposal to save pollinators and our planet. Your membership gift to Friends of the Earth will allow us to push for changes at every level to accomplish this urgent mission. We are fighting to ban neonics and other bee-killing pesticides nationwide. We are pushing major grocery corporations like Kroger to stop selling food grown with bee-toxic chemicals. And we are exposing pesticide industry disinformation and PR spin designed to delay critical action to protect pollinators from their toxic products. Companies like Bayer-Monsanto continue to prioritize profits over bees and our planet, spending millions to lobby against bee-saving measures. And the Trump administration made it even easier for them to get away with it. His EPA weakened the enforcement of the Endangered Species Act and enabled the increased use of toxic pesticides linked to bee decline. We need to show companies like Bayer-Monsanto that we will no longer allow them to operate this way. Friend, join us in our fight to save bees, other pollinators, and our planet. Don’t let the American bumblebee go the way of Franklin’s bumblebee: last seen in Oregon in 2006. If we don’t act now, many of our precious pollinators could soon be extinct. Franklin’s bumblebee is presumed extinct. Don’t let other bees meet the same fate. Help us fight for pollinators and our planet with your $27 donation today. If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately: [Donate $27 immediately]( [Donate $5/month immediately]( Standing with you, Raena Garcia, Fossil fuels and lands campaigner, Friends of the Earth Contact Us: Friends of the Earth U.S. Washington, D.C. | Berkeley, CA 1-877-843-8687 [Contact us]( Email Preferences: [Click here to unsubscribe]( Learn more: www.foe.org/news www.foe.org/about-us www.foeaction.org Connect: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Flickr]( © 2017, Friends of the Earth. All Rights Reserved. [supporter]