Bees pollinating sorghum. The EPA has not approved the lethal insecticide sulfoxaflor to be used on sorghum because it is known to attract bees. Sahaquiel9102 / Wikimedia
More than 40 percent of insects could go extinct globally in the next few decades. So why did the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week OK the 'emergency' use of the bee-killing pesticide sulfoxaflor on 13.9 million acres?
EcoWatch teamed up with Center for Biological Diversity via EcoWatch Live on Facebook to find out why. Environmental Health Director and Senior Attorney Lori Ann Burd explained how there is a loophole in the The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act under section 18, "that allows for entities and states to request emergency exemptions to spraying pesticides where they otherwise wouldn't be allowed to spray."
<p>Watch the interview:</p>
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5d773e1b39b9f7dce12ced374fcf6192"><div class="fb-video" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/EcoWatch/videos/496912870852549/" data-allowfullscreen="true"></div></div><p>In a <a href="https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/trump-epa-oks-emergency-use-of-bee-killing-pesticide-on-139-million-acres-2019-06-17/" target="_blank">press release</a> sent to EcoWatch, the Center for Biological Diversity stated:</p><blockquote>The approval includes 2019 crops of cotton and sorghum in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Ten of the 11 states have been granted the approvals for at least four consecutive years for the same "emergency." Five have been given approvals for at least six consecutive years.</blockquote><p>If an occurrence is happening six years in a row, does that justify an emergency? </p><p>"This administration has been grossly abusing this exemption to allow the use of this one pesticide called sulfoxaflor on a vast acreage year after year," said Burd.</p><p>Our <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/biodiversity" target="_self">biodiversity</a> is at serious risk. For example, in Texas — where 5.8 million acres got emergency exemption to spray — more than 800 native bee species and eight species of bumblebees reside. It is also an <a href="https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/wildlife_diversity/texas_nature_trackers/monarch/" target="_blank">important migration route</a> for <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/monarchs" target="_self">monarch</a> butterflies.</p><p>"Monarch butterflies and eight species of bumblebees do overlap with Texas counties where there is sulfoxaflor spraying," said Burd. "Even at subacute, very low doses, sufoxaflor will have a very dramatic effect on bumblebee reproduction." The purpose of sulfoxaflor is to kill insects.</p>
<p>Farmers have only gotten away with spraying sulfoxaflor because they were granted emergency. The EPA has not approved the lethal insecticide sulfoxaflor to be used on sorghum because it is known to attract bees. At one point the EPA did allow the use of sulfoxaflor on cotton, however the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated the approval — the result of a lawsuit brought to them by beekeepers.</p><p>In a <a href="http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2015/09/10/13-72346.pdf" target="_blank">summary</a> following the vacated approval in 2015, The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit published conclusions:</p><blockquote>The panel held that because the EPA's decision to unconditionally register sulfoxaflor was based on flawed and limited data, the EPA's unconditional approval was not supported by substantial evidence. The panel vacated the EPA's unconditional registration because given the precariousness of bee populations, leaving the EPA's registration of sulfoxaflor in place risked more potential environmental harm than vacating it.</blockquote><p>Criticism <a href="https://www.snopes.com/news/2019/02/19/epa-emergency-pesticide-harmful-to-bees/" target="_blank">has been raised</a> by the fact-checking resource Snopes on the grounds that it is misleading to imply that Trump is the only one who's approved emergency exemptions for sulfoxaflor. EcoWatch asked the Center for Biological diversity to respond.</p><p>"This is not a new problem," said Burd. "This has been going on for six consecutive years and we have not been in the Trump administration for six consecutive years." So, yes, Trump's EPA did this, but "this is by no means a new problem. Our pesticide registration and approval process is fundamentally broken. EPA's pesticide office is captured by industry and they are not doing their jobs protecting human health and the environment from these pesticides," said Burd.</p>
<div id="51673" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0J1I0S1576662550"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1097944324124434432" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Breaking: #Trump #EPA OKs 'Emergency' to Dump Bee-Killing Pesticide on 16 Million Acres "emergency" approvals 2 sp… https://t.co/QNkcexUMP4</div> — Food Democracy Now! (@Food Democracy Now!)<a href="https://twitter.com/food_democracy/statuses/1097944324124434432">1550605300.0</a></blockquote></div><p>EcoWatch asked Burd if there anything the public can do to stop these emergency approvals and prevent the use of toxic pesticides.<br></p><p>Burd suggested EcoWatchers consider <a href="https://act.biologicaldiversity.org/onlineactions/7MbK0Je1RE-x21BeBYx4EA2?sourceID=1005270&utm_source=ad&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=currentalerts&fbclid=IwAR1DsZftCDaJv5bLAc7hJ90A5zEBA5E9CJAKHfIhmYrUXjjtyPzbpElWD6c" target="_blank">signing a petition</a> "demanding that Trump's EPA stop rubber-stamping 'emergency' uses of pesticides that wreak havoc on our environment." EcoWatchers can also help by getting involved with various groups working to protect the environment, choosing organic, refusing the use of pesticides at home, talking about not using them at work or at a homeowners association, supporting local ordinances going after pesticide issues, voting often or early and planting pollinator friendly gardens in rural and urban environments.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTYyNzgxMC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY3NDU4MDUxM30.0MTUviQRfJacHbOSSS7j-WZAXGAWG4xuLF8poepnhKY/img.jpg?width=980" id="8aa23" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="46f2e4487f0e950b402f47939d51557b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Agricultural spraying. Marcos Alves / Moment Open
<p><em>Correction: A previous version of this article used the above photo of agricultural spraying as headline image. Headline image has been updated for clarity.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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A Monarch rests at the Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve during the Monarch migration on Sept. 11 in Cleveland, Ohio. Irma Omerhodzic
<p>Monarchs pair—bug talk for mating—over the winter in Mexico and California, and in February they begin their 2,500-mile journey north to Canada. It takes up to seven generations to get there, as each generation breeds and dies along the way.</p><p>To help them, you'll have to get passionate about milkweed.</p><p>Milkweed is a perennial wildflower. It's the only plant monarch butterflies lay eggs on, so it's needed along their entire migratory path. Its leaves are the only food source their larvae will eat. Eastern Monarch populations have plummeted 90 percent in just the last two decades because of the loss of milkweed, whose habitat has been converted to farms—herbicide-tolerant corn and soybean fields with heavy pesticide use—and roads and other development. Climate change also threatens their migration patterns.</p><p>When Brad Grimm took his fiancée to the Monarch Trail at Natural Bridges State Park in California on Valentine's Day 2013 to show her the thousands of monarchs he'd seen there 20 years earlier, they counted just five. Western monarchs, which traditionally mobbed that part of California in the winter, have declined to the point that the species will likely go extinct in the next few decades if nothing is done.</p><p>Monarchs are an indicator species telling us something is wrong with our environment. They share their habitat with birds, bats, bees and other pollinators responsible for producing a third of our food supply.</p><p>Back home in Sparks, Nevada, Grimm wanted to help the bugs make a comeback by planting milkweed but couldn't find any at his local nursery. They directed him to a nearby park.</p><p>"There are plants growing in the parks, mostly along rivers and streams, even irrigation ditches," Grimm said. "The next year, ironically, the local nursery had native narrow-leaf milkweed growing by their entrance but didn't seem know about the plant or its value to the monarchs because they cut the plants back in mid-July, when monarchs need milkweed the most."</p><p>Grimm's initial difficulty in finding seeds and plants turned into a passion. He started a seed store, Grow Milkweed Plants. In September, he sold 221 packets. He planted the Biggest Little Butterfly Garden in the World, registered by the nonprofit Monarch Watch as Monarch Waystation 8269. All of his profits go to monarch conservation. He hopes to earn enough to buy land for the monarchs.</p><p>It's not hard to make a huge difference in the life of a monarch. Here are five ways.</p><h4>Grow Milkweed</h4><p>In North America, more than 100 species of milkweed (genus <em>Asclepias</em>) grow, and the first step is finding a kind expert to your area, such as Grow Milkweed Plants or Xerces Society.</p><p>Fall and winter are the perfect time to start milkweed from seeds. In general, milkweed seeds need a 30-day cold period to germinate, so planting them outdoors in the cold weather is ideal. You'll have plants by spring.</p><p>Alternatively, you can germinate them indoors by putting them in the refrigerator between damp paper towels in a plastic bag for three to six weeks. Give them a head start before spring by planting the germinated seeds indoors in small pots, then transplant them outdoors before temperatures reach the mid-80s. Water well until the plants are established.</p><p>You can also buy potted milkweed to transplant.</p><h4>Put Milkweed in Small Spaces ...</h4><p>Small yard? No yard? Place pots of milkweed on your patio or porch where you can delight in watching the caterpillars and butterflies. Monarch butterflies need nectar from a variety of plants, so grow other flowers, too.</p><h4>... And Large Spaces</h4><p>Create Monarch Waystations at residences, businesses, parks, zoos, nature centers and along roadsides or other unused plots of land. Ten milkweed plants, representing at least two varieties, become a monarch hub, with enough milkweed for their ongoing feeding. Now you're rolling, and you're ready to launch a community effort.</p><h4>Don't Use 'Cides</h4><p>Monarchs are insects, and all 'cides—herbicides, fungicides, insecticides—are poisonous, either to insects or the plants they eat. Garden organically to keep pests away without killing beneficial insects. And do what you can to make sure your community doesn't use these chemicals.</p><h4>Get Community Cooperation</h4><p>Lobby your local representatives to support the Monarch Joint Venture, a partnership of federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, and citizens working to conserve monarch butterfly migration. Because milkweed can be toxic to livestock, many areas target it for eradication. Ask to stop roadside mowing, and ask to allow milkweed and other nectar plants to grow along monarch migratory corridors, in parks, and important monarch breeding grounds.</p><p> <em>Reposted with permission from our media associate </em><em><a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/good-money/this-is-the-only-plant-that-can-save-monarch-butterflies-20181120" target="_blank">YES! Magazine</a>.</em></p>
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For many people, the holidays are rich with time-honored traditions like decorating the Christmas tree, lighting the menorah, caroling, cookie baking, and sipping from the unity cup. But there's another unofficial, official holiday tradition that spans all ages and beliefs and gives people across the world hope for a better tomorrow: the New Year's resolution.
<p>It's believed that ancient Babylonians were the <a href="https://www.cnet.com/health/the-history-of-new-years-resolutions-and-celebrations/#:~:text=4%2C000%20years%20ago%20in%20Babylon%20(around%202000%20B.C.)&text=Most%20historians%20believe%20Babylonians%20were,accordance%20with%20an%20agricultural%20year." target="_blank">first people to make New Year's resolutions</a> some 4,000 years ago. Over time, the popular practice shifted in scope from making promises to the gods about repaying debt to making promises to ourselves about self-improvement. Anyone who has ever made a New Year's resolution probably included something like get more sleep or be less stressed. And though it might not immediately come to mind when you brainstorm strategies for reaching your New Year's goals, it turns out that chamomile tea could be the answer for many of them. </p><p>If you've ever asked yourself why everyone is drinking chamomile tea, we've got the answer here. Read on to learn some of the reasons why this herbal beverage is all the rage.</p>
<p><em>Josh Hall has been a professional writer and storyteller for more than 15 years. His work on natural health and cannabis has appeared in Health, Shape, and Remedy Review.</em></p>
Benefits of Chamomile Tea
<p><strong>Sleep More Soundly</strong></p><p>Pick your grandmother's brain about the best way to fall asleep, and she might tell you to down a nice glass of warm milk. But if you consult with science, research shows that chamomile might be a better option. That's because it contains an antioxidant called apigenin, which can <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2995283/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">promote sleepiness and reduce insomnia and other sleep problems</a>.</p><p>Two research studies even confirmed the power of chamomile throughout the day and before bed. In one of those studies, postpartum women who drank chamomile for two weeks <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26483209" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">experienced better sleep quality than the control group who didn't</a>. Another research effort measured how fast people could fall asleep. Those results illustrated that participants who consumed 270 milligrams of chamomile extract twice daily for 28 days <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3198755/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fell asleep 15 minutes faster than the control</a>. The chamomile group also had considerably fewer sleep disruptions. </p><p><strong>May Be Able to Keep Your Gut Healthy</strong></p><p>Though the following studies used rats as the subjects, research shows that chamomile can potentially play a beneficial role in digestive health. According to that research, the anti-inflammatory properties in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24463157" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">chamomile extract may be able to protect against diarrhea</a>. Additionally, chamomile may be an effective way to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4177631/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">stop the growth of bacteria in our stomachs that contribute to ulcers</a>.</p><p><strong>Reduces Stress and Anxiety</strong></p><p>Few things are more relaxing than curling up with a good cup of tea, so it's logical that chamomile tea can serve a stress reducer. While it lacks the potency of a pharmaceutical drug, long-term use of chamomile has been shown to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27912875" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">"significantly" reduce general anxiety disorders</a>. In general, chamomile can act almost like a sedative, and many people enjoy the tea because it puts them in a calm and relaxed state almost immediately. </p><p><strong>Boosts Immune Health</strong></p><p>Vitamin C and zinc are common over-the-counter supplements that people often turn to when they're hoping to avoid becoming sick. While scientists admit that more research must take place to prove chamomile's impact on preventing ailments like the common cold, the existing studies do show promise in this area. </p><p>One study had 14 participants drink five cups of the tea every day for two consecutive weeks. Throughout the study, researchers collected daily urine samples and tested the contents before and after the consumption of the tea. Drinking chamomile resulted in a significant increase in the levels of hippurate and glycine, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2995283/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">both of which are known to increase antibacterial activity</a>. Inhaling steam from a pot of freshly brewed chamomile tea may also ease the symptoms of nasal congestion.</p><p><strong>Minimizes Menstrual Cramps</strong></p><p>This one may come as a surprise, particularly to readers who have tried every possible over-the-counter treatment to reduce period pain. Several research studies have proven that chamomile tea may be able to minimize the pain and cramps that occur during menstruation. Women in that same study also dealt with lower levels of anxiety that they typically felt because of menstrual cramps.</p><p><strong>Help Diabetes and Lower Blood Sugar</strong></p><p>For people with diabetes, regulating blood sugar levels can be a matter of life or death. And while chamomile will never replace prescription-strength drugs, it's believed that it can prevent an increase in blood sugar. A 2008 study on rats showed that chamomile could have a <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf8014365" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">moderate impact on the long-term risk of diabetes</a>.</p><p><strong>Might Improve Your Skin</strong></p><p>Ever wondered why there's been an influx of chamomile-infused cosmetic products? The reason why so many manufacturers now include chamomile in their lotions, soaps, and creams is because it <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5074766/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">acts as an anti-inflammatory on our skin</a>. That means it may be able to soothe the puffiness that plagues us as we age. Those same anti-inflammatory properties can be vital in restoring skin health after we've received a sunburn. </p><p>Before discarding your used chamomile tea bags, try chilling them and placing them over your eyes. Not only will this help with the puffiness, but it can drastically light the skin color around the eye.</p><p><strong>Help With Heart Health</strong></p><p>Some of the most beneficial antioxidants we put into our bodies are what are known as flavones, and chamomile tea is chock full of them. Flavones have the potential to lower both blood pressure and cholesterol levels, which, when elevated, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4814348/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">can lead to heart disease</a>.</p>Why Everyone Is Drinking Chamomile Tea
<p>Now that you know so much about the wonders of chamomile, it shouldn't come as a surprise why the tea is so popular with people of all ages. In addition to tasting great, chamomile offers up benefits that boost the health of body parts both inside and out. As you ponder your own New Year's resolutions, think about how healthy and natural vitamins, supplements, plants, and oils can help guide you on your own personal path to improvement. Happy New Year!</p>An Organic, Eco-Conscious Brand to Try
<div class="rm-shortcode amazon-assets-widget" data-rm-shortcode-id="0da9d8545ec44ebf1a31d6044181ed9e" contenteditable="false"> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N2F8718?tag=ecowatch-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1" target="_blank"> <img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41B2ANHhsdL.jpg" class="amazon-assets-widget__image widget__image"> </a> </div> <p>FGO tea bags are made of hemp fiber paper, free of dyes, adhesive, glue, and chlorine bleach. The tea is also certified USDA Organic by California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF).</p>From Your Site Articles
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Monarchs Use Milkweed as Preventive Medicine—but Climate Change May Wreck the Pharmacy
12 July 2018
Climate
Pexels
By Jason Bittel
Most people know that monarch butterflies can't exist without milkweed. As caterpillars, the monarchs feed on milkweed plants exclusively, absorbing the milkweed's poisons in order to ward off birds and other predators. On their epic migration across the North American continent, the butterflies also lay their eggs on these plants, relying on the noxious taste of the leaves to keep their brood safe from grazers while simultaneously providing a buffet for the next generation when it hatches.
<p>But milkweed plays another role in the lives of monarchs that goes largely overlooked. Some of the compounds produced in the plants' leaves act like medicine for the butterflies, both protecting them against parasites, like the protozoan <em>Ophryocystis elektroscirrha</em>, and helping them cope with parasitic infections when they do occur.</p><p>Unfortunately, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ele.13101" target="_blank">a new study</a> published in the journal Ecology Letters finds that as carbon dioxide levels rise in the atmosphere, the most medicinal of those milkweed plants start to lose their juju. "Our study shows that a loss of medicinal protection caused by elevated CO2 makes the parasite more virulent," said lead author <a href="https://profiles.stanford.edu/leslie-decker" target="_blank">Leslie Decker</a>, an ecologist at Stanford University.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODE4MDk2Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NDMxMTE4MH0.TmedOvlosCkkqDT9l37RJAeVdH-3qGLc8Wkk5Dh1BUw/img.jpg?width=980" id="2f1a0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="083464c9187ba129dcfbcc0ba004db70" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">A monarch caterpillar feeds on a milkweed plant.</small></p><p>In work conducted between May 2014 and May 2015, the researchers raised various species of milkweed under controlled conditions. Some of the plants grew with present-day concentrations of CO2, and some with levels like those climate scientists expect in the next 100 to 150 years. They then let monarch caterpillars go to town on these plants to see if the CO2 levels would change the way the plants helped the insects fight off infection.<br></p><p>The scientists found that under the futuristic CO2 conditions, all milkweed species showed dips in their concentrations of cardenolides, the steroid cocktails they produce for self-defense. But one species stood out. Monarch caterpillars that fed on <em>Asclepias curassavica</em>, or tropical milkweed, lost 77 percent of their tolerance to protozoan parasites. Without the normal dose of their milkweed medicine, the monarchs died a full week earlier than those that ingested tropical milkweed grown at today's levels of CO2. This is concerning, because of the species tested, tropical milkweed proved to be far and away the most medicinal of all the plants under the current CO2 regime.</p><p>"Rising CO2 levels are likely to disrupt our natural systems in highly complex ways, including by unraveling long-established host/parasite relationships," said <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/sylvia-fallon" target="_blank">Sylvia Fallon</a>, director of <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/about" target="_blank">NRDC's</a> Wildlife Conservation Project. "This would pose yet another grave threat for a species like the monarch butterfly, whose populations have already plummeted due to habitat loss and pesticide use."</p><p>The findings are scary, especially considering that the monarchs and their massive North American migration are already under attack from all sides. <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pesticides">Pesticides</a> threaten the insects' <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/monarchs-need-better-pit-stops-their-epic-journeys" target="_blank">summer breeding grounds</a> in the United States and Canada, and illegal logging is chipping away at their winter homes in the mountains of Mexico. Agriculture has already eradicated milkweed across huge swaths of the American Midwest. And even the milkweed plants available at the big box stores, which people buy to help the butterflies, can <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/dont-stop-planting-milkweed" target="_blank">sometimes be laced with systemic poisons</a>.</p><p>The good news is that the fate of the monarchs is far from sealed. While the new study finds that heightened CO2 levels make monarchs more vulnerable to infections, this shift in favor of the parasites may be only temporary. You see, it doesn't help the parasites to kill their hosts; living inside adult butterflies is the only way these parasites can proliferate. Therefore, Decker said, the protozoan "evolves to only harm the monarch host as much as it has to in order to produce an optimum number of spores," to make sure it can pass on its genes.</p><p>Right now, monarchs are able to temper the negative effects of the parasite by eating milkweed, but if that strategy slowly loses its value, the whole interspecies relationship may end up being reshuffled. Why? Because more virulent parasite strains will kill their hosts too quickly to spread their own spores, and then natural selection will likely weed them out, leaving only the parasitic strains that don't harm the monarchs enough to kill them.</p><p>Think of it like Goldilocks—only the bears are butterflies, the porridge they eat is milkweed of varying medicinal qualities, and the little girl is an obligate <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neogregarinorida" target="_blank">neogregarine</a> parasite that everyone agrees is trespassing.</p><p>Unfortunately, even if natural selection makes these parasites less virulent over time, the change in the compounds produced by the milkweed will also make monarchs less able to cope with the ones that do survive. "The harm inflicted by each parasite spore will increase," Decker said, "spelling out bad news for the monarch."</p><p>The impact of the high-carbon scenarios tested by Decker and her team highlights the importance of protecting these insects right now, if only to give them a buffer to survive what may lie ahead. "We must do everything we can to build a more stable and resilient population by planting more pollinator habitat and reducing the use of agricultural pesticides," said Fallon. If not, one of the world's most impressive journeys may come to an end.</p><p> <em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/monarchs-use-milkweed-preventive-medicine-climate-change-may-wreck-pharmacy" target="_blank">onEarth</a>.</em><em></em></p>
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The Migration and Importance of Monarchs
Monarch butterflies, which pollinate many different kinds of wildflowers, are among nature's great wonders. Their annual migration is one of the most awe-inspiring on Earth: Each fall, millions of these striking black-and-orange butterflies take flight on a 3,000-mile journey across the U.S. and Canada to wintering grounds in Mexico's Sierra Madre mountains.
<h4>The Population Plummet</h4><p>The monarch population, which is determined by measuring the number of hectares the butterflies occupy in their Mexico habitat, has declined to <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/sylvia-fallon/monarch-butterfly-numbers-are-year-remain-low" target="_blank">2.48 hectares</a>—almost 30 percent less than last year's population. The population has been in steady decline for the past 20 years—reaching a high of more than 20 hectares in 1997 and plunging to 0.67 hectares in 2014. Two decades ago, nearly one billion wintering monarchs blanketed the mountain forests of Mexico. Today, that number has dropped by more than 80 percent.</p><h4>Herbicides and Milkweed</h4><p>Heavy use of an herbicide called <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/jennifer-sass/pruitts-epa-defending-monsantos-glyphosate-herbicides" target="_blank">glyphosate</a> (marketed by Monsanto as Roundup) has greatly diminished milkweed, a native wildflower that is the sole food source for monarch caterpillars and the only plant on which adult monarchs lay their eggs. As milkweed disappears, monarch populations have also plummeted, and the annual migration of monarchs to Mexico is in danger of collapse. And yet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/sylvia-fallon/epa-gets-it-wrong-enlist-duo-again" target="_blank">reapproved the registration for Dow's Enlist Duo</a>, a combination herbicide designed to kill milkweed.</p><h4>Solutions?</h4><p>Much effort has gone into planting milkweed throughout the continental U.S. in the past several years in an attempt to make up for the milkweed that has been lost through agricultural practices. <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/8-ways-attract-bees-and-butterflies" target="_blank">Planting milkweed</a> is a great way to help other pollinators, too, as it provides nectar to a diverse suite of bees and butterflies.</p><p>But this year's monarch butterfly population demonstrates that we need to do much, much more if we are going to be successful at building its population back up again to secure numbers. We also need to curb the use of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pesticides">pesticides</a> that are eliminating milkweed in the first place and come up with sustainable solutions—not just for butterflies, but for farmers and our public health.</p><h4>How NRDC Is Helping Secure a Healthy Future for Monarchs</h4><p>NRDC envisions a future where monarch populations across North America are healthy and resilient. To achieve this, we're working at the federal, state, and international levels to secure limits on the use of toxic herbicides and create new milkweed habitat.</p><p>We're taking <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/court-battles/natural-resources-defense-council-v-e-scott-pruitt-et" target="_blank">legal action</a> against the EPA to win restrictions on toxic herbicides, such as <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/glyphosate">glyphosate</a>, that are killing off native milkweed. And we're calling on agribusiness companies to withdraw their toxic products. At the state level, we're working with officials to plant new milkweed habitat along the monarchs' migration route. Internationally, we're leveraging pressure by petitioning UNESCO's World Heritage Committee to upgrade its protection of monarch wintering habitat in Mexico.</p><h4>Recent NRDC Milestones in the Fight to Save Monarchs</h4><p>We mobilized more than 113,000 of our members and activists to sign a petition demanding Dow AgroSciences remove Enlist Duo from the market. Not only that, we generated an outcry against Enlist Duo in Congress that included signatures from 32 lawmakers calling on the EPA to take a closer look at the devastating health and environmental impacts of this herbicide.</p><p>On the global arena, we ramped up international pressure, including 50,000 petitions from NRDC members and activists, on the UNESCO World Heritage Committee to <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/media/2015/150413" target="_blank">declare the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico in danger</a> due to the destruction of monarch habitat in the U.S. and Canada by glyphosate. In response, UNESCO launched a formal evaluation of the request.</p><h4>NRDC and Monarch Watch Planting Milkweed</h4><p><a href="http://monarchwatch.org/" target="_blank">Monarch Watch</a> is a nonprofit educational outreach program based at the University of Kansas that focuses on the monarch butterfly, its habitat, and its spectacular fall migration. NRDC partners with Monarch Watch to plant milkweed at schools, churches and garden clubs to help save North American monarch butterflies.</p><p>Since 2016, Monarch Watch has been distributing milkweed plants, featured in this <a href="https://act.nrdc.org/donate/mothers-day-ecard-180509?source=WBSMOMDON" target="_blank">Monarchs for Moms campaign</a>, for planting on tribal lands and other locations along the monarchs' migration route.</p>
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Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0
Dicamba—a drift-prone herbicide linked to millions of acres of off-target crop damage across in 17 states—destroys mostly everything in its path except the crops that are genetically engineered to resist it. It's so damaging that several states, including Arkansas, Tennessee and Missouri have introduced temporary bans on the weedkiller.
There's now another reason to worry about the controversial chemical. It's particularly harmful to milkweed, the only host plant for the iconic and already at-risk monarch buttery.
<p style="">
In a new report publisehd Thursday, researchers with the
<a href="http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/" target="_blank">Center for Biological Diversity</a> warn that the expanded use of dicamba, which is projected to increase by nearly 100-fold on cotton and soybean fields, will put more than 60 million acres of monarch habitat at risk by 2019.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="27d95" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="977WIQ1576683844"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="969268965640982528" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">BREAKING: In our new report we found that within two years, dicamba will be used on more than 60 million acres of c… https://t.co/7LB9dWaBXB</div> — Center for Bio Div (@Center for Bio Div)<a href="https://twitter.com/CenterForBioDiv/statuses/969268965640982528">1519926704.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>
Here are some key findings from the paper:
</p><ul class="ee-ul">
<li><strong>Accelerating harm:</strong> In addition to 61 million acres of monarch habitat being directly sprayed with dicamba, an additional 9 million acres could be harmed by drift of the pesticide.</li></ul><ul class="ee-ul">
<li><strong>Deadly timing:</strong> The timing and geographical distribution of dicamba use coincides precisely with the presence of monarch eggs and larva on milkweed.</li></ul><ul class="ee-ul">
<li><strong>Double trouble:</strong> Dicamba degrades monarch habitat both by harming flowering of plants that provide nectar for adults as they travel south for the winter and by harming milkweed that provides an essential resource for reproduction.</li></ul><ul class="ee-ul">
<li><strong>Greater menace to milkweed:</strong> Research has shown that just 1 percent of the minimum dicamba application rate is sufficient to reduce the size of milkweed by 50 percent, indicating it may have a greater impact on milkweed growth than the already widely used pesticide glyphosate.</li>
</ul><p style="">
Populations of the once-common butterfly
<a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/bill-nye-on-glyphosate-we-accidentally-decimated-the-monarch-butterfly-1882073954.html" target="_blank">have plummeted</a> approximately 80 percent in just the last two decades. A major threat to the species is its loss of habitat due to the lack of availability of <a href="http://www.nwf.org/Garden-For-Wildlife/About/Native-Plants/Milkweed.aspx" target="_blank">milkweed</a> through land conversion for agriculture, removal of native plants and the use of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pesticides" target="_blank">pesticides</a>.
</p><p style="">
"America's monarchs are already in serious trouble, and this will push them into absolute crisis," said Nathan Donley, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity, and author of the report, <a href="http://www.menacetomonarchs.org/" target="_blank"><em>A Menace to Monarchs</em></a>.</p><p style="">
"It's appalling that the EPA approved this spraying without bothering to consider the permanent damage it will do to these butterflies and their migration routes."
</p><p style="">
The paper notes that in 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's approval for expanded use of dicamba included nearly 500 pages of ecological analyses, but "glaringly omitted any mention or examination of the threat to monarchs."
</p><p style="">
For the study, the researchers examined monarch habitat and projected dicamba usage rates in the coming years, which is estimated to reach about 57 million pounds annually. They produced an
<a href="http://cbdnet.info/public/monarchs/" target="_blank">interactive map</a> showing the locations and time when monarch eggs and larva were sighted, along with the locations and timing of when cotton and soybean crops may be sprayed with dicamba.
</p><p style="">
The Center for Biological Diversity says the EPA has refused to take the necessary action to address the harms caused by the chemical.
</p><p style="">
"There's no question that use of dicamba across tens of millions of acres will deepen risks to our dangerously imperiled monarch populations," said Donley. "When dicamba's use on GE cotton and soybeans comes up for reapproval later this year, the only responsible thing for the EPA to do is allow that approval to expire."
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image" style="">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xNzM4NTY5NC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1OTIxNTk4Nn0.N1yxyzb5HMTJsbeirXEl0Rkje1SXUDi0cvujrPF7TCM/img.png?width=980" id="da9cb" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5c3ed1b56cd151763d4ff168c32e0720" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">From the study: "This indicates that dicamba will be used across the South, East and Midwest at the precise time of year when milkweed is absolutely essential to perpetuate the northern migration of monarchs."</small>
</p>
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