Petition for British Bees

[watervole]

 If you read the news, you'll know that bees are in trouble.  Bee species are in decline, not just honeybees, but our many species of bumblebee as well.  Two species have already become extinct in the UK.

Many agricultural crops have their flowers almost entirely pollinated by bees, such as strawberries and raspberries and sunflowers. Some crops are exclusively pollinated by bees – such as broad beans and tomatoes in glasshouses – bees are worth a lot of money to our economy, quite apart from their essential role in pollinating many wild species.

Please take 30 seconds to sign this petition asking the government to take action to reverse the decline in bee numbers.

Comments

[sammason.livejournal.com]

What action are you requesting from Lord de Mauly?

A ban on 3 neonicitinoid sprays was approved a few weeks ago, despite Owen Paterson's refusal to vote. That ban will come into force at the end of this year. It's only about 3 pesticides and it's only for 2 years. I'm watching for specific other requests for bee action.

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Mm, this particular petition seems rather vague, to say the least!

[watervole.livejournal.com]

I agree it is a bit vague. I think their aim is for research/action for all factors in bee decline, not just a single factor. (In all honesty, if it hadn't been Friends of the Earth asking, I'd probably have declined because of the vague wording - but bees are a particular concern of mine)

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Mm, they are a particular concern of mine too, but I worry that undirected efforts allow the govt an easy out. If the minister says "Yes, I will put into place a strong Bee Action Plan as you request", and it turns out to be rubbish, all they can say is "well that's not really what we meant by 'strong'…" Whereas with specific action demands, he has to either agree or refuse.

As FoE do have a set of (somewhat more) specifc recommendations for bee policy, I'm puzzled that they didn't include them as bullets in the petition.

[watervole.livejournal.com]

LOL, that's almost exactly what I just replied to Sam's comment. (In intent anyway)

Precise is best. It means the response can't be vague waffle.

I'm as puzzled as you are. Unless FoE are presenting him with a specific agenda - but if so, why not include it in the petition.

[watervole.livejournal.com]

I agree it's poorly worded and vague. If it hadn't been FoE asking, I'd probably have declined on that basis. I think specific requests are best as they pin down the response.

Why oh why did Chris Huhne have to be such an idiot with his speeding points? I'd far rather have him than Patterson.

[sammason.livejournal.com]

As it happens, Paterson's predecessor at DEFRA wasn't Hulne. It was Caroline Spelman. But I agree about the speeding points. Do you think Hulne will make it back into office?

[watervole.livejournal.com]

I fear it's unlikely. People would probably have forgiven him if he hadn't lied about it.

He was a good man for the job though.

[sammason.livejournal.com]

There may be hope. David Laws lied too, and cheated for money, but now he's Minister for Schools.

[vjezkova.livejournal.com]

I joined with my voice - if it can be accepted, usually the UK petitions won´t accept from overseas.
It is just that this situation really is dire not only in the UK and not all people can see the danger of losing the polinators.

[sammason.livejournal.com]

Yes it's a worldwide issue.

For the States, you'll have heard about the tragedy of ~25000 bees dying in an Ohio carpark recently. That's been attributed to trees having been sprayed with insecticide.

It was one of the neonics and I'm still trying to find out whether that spray, whose name I didn't recognise, was one of the to-be-banned neonics over here. Whether or not it was the same kind of spray, I hope those bees didn't die in vain. I hope this tragedy is a wake-up call to American voters and campaigners.