Clothianidin on the line

Will the EPA take action on it this week?

By Culinate staff

July 2, 2012

In the several years since honey bees began dying off around the globe in massive numbers, many fingers have been pointed at possible culprits. The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to take action this week on clothianidin, a pesticide that may be involved in the bee die-offs. If the EPA doesn’t make a decision this week, the agency may not review the chemical again until 2018.

Meanwhile, the Canadian government is reviewing not just clothianidin but two other similar pesticides for their risks to the environment and to honey bees.

Crosscut also recently took a look at the bee situation in the Seattle area, comparing clothianidin to DDT and expressing similar concern about the as-yet-unknown effects of clothianidin on bees, the environment, and ourselves — not to mention our food supply.