Neonicotinoids Need to Buzz Off | Teen Ink

Neonicotinoids Need to Buzz Off

March 2, 2017
By Jilli17712 BRONZE, Lake Stevens, Washington
Jilli17712 BRONZE, Lake Stevens, Washington
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Favorite Quote:
F.E.A.R has two meanings. Forget Everything And Run or Face Everything And Rise


If you have seen the Bee Movie, then you know about neonicotinoid production. Remember that scene where all the bees in the beehive get sprayed with that chemical. Then they all start coughing? Well, you may not have known this but those were neonicotinoids. Although some farmers and neonicotinoid producing companies may not agree, neonicotinoids need to stop being used, purchased, and produced. Did you know that bees produce ? of the food we eat! That's right all your favorite fruit, veggies, and plants used for feeding livestock would all disappear. Bees are in need of some help. They are dying rapidly! Beekeepers are losing up to 40% of their colony ( Schwartz, Save the Bees). Bees are dying from neonicotinoids, a type of pesticide produced to keep parasites off of crops. Neonicotinoids need to stop being used, purchased and produced.

First of all, neonicotinoids need to stop being used, produced, and purchased. Neonicotinoids have very harmful effects on bees. Some being, “disorientation, and confusion.” (AsapSCIENCE). What happens is first, a bee goes to get pollen off of a flower with neonicotinoids sprayed all over it. Then the bee gets the pollen from the flower but also gets poisoned with the neonicotinoids.After that, the bee (already contaminated with neonicotinoids) comes back to the beehive and contaminates all other bees in the hive, wiping out a whole colony. As Albert Einstein once said, “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.”

Also, neonicotinoids have a very harmful effect on the environment. “...some scientists argue that neonicotinoids and another chemical called fipronil are poisoning the earth, the air, and the water.The pesticides accumulate in the soil and leach into water and pose a significant problem for earthworms, freshwater snails, butterflies, and birds. The researchers say that the classic measurements used to assess the toxicity of a pesticide are not effective for these systemic varieties and conceal their true impact.” ( McGrath, Widespread impacts of neonicotinoids 'impossible to deny') By producing these chemicals, Earth’s water would be polluted, and other insects and birds would die.

The solution is, stopping neonicotinoid production and use. “The toxins harm bees in a variety of horrible ways.” (Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell The Death Of Bees Explained- Parasites, Poison, and Humans) Without neonicotinoids, many birds, plants, bees, and earthworms would be saved. As well as humans. The less neonicotinoid use, the more fresh air there is. “By restoring bee populations and healthier bees, ecological agriculture improves pollination, which in turn improves crop yields.” (Floegel, Bee the solution to saving the bees) Bees are a huge help in agriculture! By neonicotinoids not being used, produced, and purchased, bees can and will live a healthy life pollinating 70% of crops produced.

In conclusion, neonicotinoids need to stop being stop being used, produced, and purchased. Bees are important and we would not be the same without them. Imagine a diet strictly of rice wheat and corn. Not very good right? Without bees, that's what we would eat every single day every single meal. Bees are important and we would not be the same without them. Now every time you go to eat an apple or banana, you can thank bees and bee thankful they are still here!


The author's comments:

saving the bees and saving the environment, in general, has always been important to me. 


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