Our bee populations are in rapid decline, and neonicotinoids — a dangerous class of bee-killing pesticides — aren’t helping. Yet still, the next time you shop on Amazon, you could easily find products that contain these dangerous chemicals.
Right now, nearly 1 in 4 native bee species is imperiled, and each year, we lose close to 30 percent of our honeybees.
We can do a lot on Amazon, but we can’t same-day ship a new species. That’s why we have to protect the pollinators we have left.
So Environment America is calling on Amazon — the world’s largest online retailer — to do its part to help save the bees.
We need animal pollinators — and bees are our best
Neonicotinoids, or “neonics,” play a significant role in bee die-offs. According to some studies, these neurotoxic chemicals slowly kill bees, poison baby bees’ brains, and diminish bees’ ability to learn or forage for food.
We need bees. Ninety percent of wild plants and 75 percent of all food crops need animal pollinators — and bees are our best. They play a critical role in our planet’s health, but unfortunately for them, our pesticides play a dangerous role in theirs.
If we want to make a difference in protecting bee populations, we can start by getting the world’s No. 1 online marketplace to stop selling bee-killing pesticides.
Amazon is primed to give bees a chance
When it comes to maintaining our lawns and gardens, there are plenty of safe products on the market. Instead, Amazon still sells products with bee-killing neonics, such as imidacloprid.
Five years ago, conservationists across the country called on The Home Depot and Lowe’s to remove neonics from their shelves. And even though there’s still work to be done on removing these bee-killing pesticides, it led to progress: Both companies have taken important steps to phase out neonics.
Now, it’s time to call on Amazon to do the same.