Congressional Member’s Report Card

Congressional Member’s Report Card

Our Environment’s Reality?

Perspective - Pesticides

BANNED PESTICIDES – U.S. VS EU

  • While the European Union has banned or restricted 246 pesticides starting in 2005, many of these same pesticides are widely used in the United States.
  • European Union nations have banned 5 Pesticide groups starting in 2005 and blacklisted 209 pesticides as of 2016.
  • Insecticides Banned:
  • Neonicotinoids, or “neonics,”are the main suspect in the mysterious mass disappearance of entire bee colonies and work as nerve agents on the bees. In 2013, EU voted to ban three of the most common pesticides.: imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam. However they are still used in the U.S.
  • Herbicides Banned:
  • Paraquat, a pesticide linked to Parkinson’s disease, is banned in EU but not the U.S. It’s highly toxic and kills weeds on contact.
  •  Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup, will soon to be banned in the Netherlands.
  • Atrazine is the pesticide most commonly found in 90 percent of American drinking water. The EU banned it in 2004 but EPA approved its use in U.S. The weed killer is an endocrine disrupter, affects the immune system and is linked to birth defects.
  • In Canada as of 2010, 171 municipalities including the entire provinces of Quebec and Ontario have now placed restrictions on the cosmetic use of synthetic lawn pesticides as a result of health and environmental concerns. Over 250 products are banned for sale and more than 95 pesticide ingredients are banned for cosmetic uses.
  • In U.S. use of pesticides continues unabated.

PESTICIDES IMPACT - BUMBLE BEE POPULATION

EU - BANNED 5 PESTICIDE GROUPS INSECTICIDES - HERBICIDES - FUMIGANTS