A bill in the New York State Legislature would limit the use of neonic pesticides in the state, if passed. The neurotoxic pesticides have been linked to mass losses of bees, birds, and other wildlife. Experts say there’s a growing body of research that shows the chemicals also impact human health. Neonics are used on crops and on lawns, gardens, and golf courses. Last summer, when the EPA released a report finding that the pesticides likely adversely affect a majority of America’s endangered species, agricultural groups challenged the findings, saying they are “overly conservative and in some instances fail to use important data.”
This hour, we explore the Birds and the Bees Protection Act and what the research says about neonics. Our guests:
- Matt Kelly, independent storyteller, creator and editor of The Bee Report, producer of "Bees of Grand Staircase Escalante," and co-owner of Hunt Country Vineyards
- Daniel Raichel, acting director of the Pollinator Initiative in the Wildlife Division at the Natural Resources Defense Council
- Kathleen Nolan, M.D., pediatrician, president of the New York Chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility, member of the Ulster County Legislature, and senior research director at Catskill Mountainkeeper
- Rich Hatfield, senior conservation biologist at the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation
