In honor of Pollinator Week I wrote another op-ed for the local paper...but you get to read it here first!
This week, June 19-25th is Pollinator Week! This year for Pollinator Week we should commit to stop the use of neonicotinoid pesticides and increase our pollinator habitat. Illinois is in a unique position to help pollinators by restoring much needed native prairie land. We should inspire others by becoming the first community in Illinois to pass resolutions declaring ourselves a safe haven for pollinators.
This week, June 19-25th is Pollinator Week! This year for Pollinator Week we should commit to stop the use of neonicotinoid pesticides and increase our pollinator habitat. Illinois is in a unique position to help pollinators by restoring much needed native prairie land. We should inspire others by becoming the first community in Illinois to pass resolutions declaring ourselves a safe haven for pollinators.
Pesticides are chemicals used to kill harmful animals or
plants, and they include herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides. Neonicotinoids are a class of insecticides
that have a chemical structure similar to nicotine and act on the nervous
system of insects.
Insecticides function in various ways. Neonicotinoid insecticides can kill by
disrupting the nervous system, acting as an endotoxin, damaging the
exoskeleton, and causing infertility. While some insecticides claim to target
certain species, most do not discriminate.
That means we’re not just killing pests, we’re killing all the
beneficial species as well. Hummingbirds,
bats, small mammals, beetles, and moths are also important pollinators
adversely affected by pesticides. Birds
and aquatic species in particular have shown high mortality rates in the
presence of neonicotinoid pesticides. It is also important to remember
insecticides are not killing off pests for good; they are only creating greater
resistance of mosquitoes and other pests in the future.
We must stop buying these chemical products that are doing
more harm than good, and we must hold officials accountable for spraying our
communities. I often see state workers
spraying pesticides along the side and median areas of interstates.
These are tankards of chemical toxins driving and spraying along the interstate. And we need to be asking ourselves what for?! Why are we spraying unpopulated areas along interstates? Who is profiting from it? Why should we be poisoning the environment, wildlife, pollinators, and ourselves when instead we could be planting native prairie seeds?
These are tankards of chemical toxins driving and spraying along the interstate. And we need to be asking ourselves what for?! Why are we spraying unpopulated areas along interstates? Who is profiting from it? Why should we be poisoning the environment, wildlife, pollinators, and ourselves when instead we could be planting native prairie seeds?
How much of our tax money is spent on pesticides?
When you read the material safety data sheets on even the
least toxic chemical alternatives on the market, they state possible
carcinogen.
We are wasting money on pesticides we apply to our yards,
and we are allowing the state to use our money by killing off pollinators and
the environment.
We should be asking questions such as what are these toxins
being sprayed in my community? Who is
responsible for the use of pesticides in this area? What are they spraying
for? Are there safer alternatives?
Is a trained
professional applying these pesticides? What physical harm is being done to
workers using pesticides? What medical
costs and injuries are associated with the use of pesticides by workers?
The good news is YOU can start helping pollinators now. Pollinators can use all the help they can
get, so start planting. Even 1 plant on
your porch or doorstep can provide food! If you have more room, you can grow a
variety of plants that bloom throughout the year. You can also help pollinators by providing
access to uncontaminated water and installing bat and bee houses. Do your own
research about chemicals. You can learn more at websites like Beyond
Pesticides, Pesticide Action Network, and the Pollinator Partnership.
Beneficial pollinators are what make this world flourish
with foods and flowers of every color.
What would the world be without monarchs, swallowtails, and honeybees?
And what would be left to eat?
We should come together as a community and put {Insert City Here} on the map as a bee haven. We
need to stop poisoning the environment and let nature do as it was intended to,
and the fruits of nature will unfold.
