I love butterflies. Every summer, I see scores of butterflies landing on my flowers. Last summer, I saw very few.
Bees, butterflies, birds, and even beneficial insects are suffering losses across the United States. Neonicotinoids -- pesticides manufactured from nicotine -- have been implicated as contributory to these declines. Maryland's losses have risen from one-third of hives lost per year to fifty percent. Bills are being proposed in Montgomery County and in the State legislature to aid our precious bees, butterflies, birds, and beneficial insects. Please help us support these bills! (Information posted below.)
If you would like to read an excellent discussion of these pesticides and the problems they are causing, check out Dr. Quarles academic and readable brochure:
http://www.birc.org/Final2014Q.pdf
Montgomery County News – Bill 52-14
County Council President George Leventhal has proposed Bill 52-14, Pesticides – Notice Requirements – Non-Essential Pesticides – Prohibitions. In his words, “this bill would restrict the use of certain cosmetic pesticides that are most dangerous to human health and the environment." Not only would this bill require posting of notices when lawn applications occur, but it would also require the County to adopt IPM (Integrated Pest Management) on much County-owned property. Both the Maryland Chapter and the Montgomery County Group support this bill. If you live in Montgomery County, please contact your Council member to let him or her know that you support the bill. It would be most helpful if you attended the second public hearing on this bill, scheduled for Thursday, February 12, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. at the County Office Building (100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, Maryland). At the first hearing on January 12th, pesticide workers turned out in droves to oppose the bill. We need a large presence on February 12th so please attend. We will provide you stickers showing that you support the bill. Let’s pass this bill!
State News - SMART on Pesticides and Maryland Pesticide Network
SMART on Pesticides Network is working to ban bee-killing pesticides. We are members of the Coalition that seeks to protect Maryland residents from the harmful effects of pesticides and other toxics. Work is currently underway to propose legislation during the 2015 session to limit use of these pesticides. We are grateful to work with Ruth Berlin, Director of the Maryland Pesticide Network, and the other member organizations as we strive to remove harmful chemicals from our land and water.
If you are interested in working on restricting human interaction with harmful pesticides and other types of toxics, please contact Donna McDowell, Sierra Club contact for this work.
Donna McDowell
240-888-5650