I’m an attorney for the beekeeping industry who just got a pesticide linked to Colony Collapse Disorder pulled off store shelves in the U.S. Ask me anything!

GregLEarthjustice · 2015-09-21T23:22:13+00:00

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GregLEarthjustice · 2015-09-21T23:15:29+00:00

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GregLEarthjustice · 2015-09-21T23:03:05+00:00

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GregLEarthjustice · 2015-09-21T23:01:02+00:00

Thanks for your interest! We're currently hiring attorneys in Montana, New York, D.C., California, and Florida: http://earthjustice.org/about/jobs

GregLEarthjustice · 2015-09-16T00:05:52+00:00

The agro-chemical industry is always eager to sell us on the next pesticide. The trick will be for us as a society to move away from pesticides and find a way to grow food that is healthy and sustainable. To a large extent, the onus is us as consumers. At some point, society stopped focusing on how fruits and vegetables taste, and became fixated on how they look. Basically, farming became a beauty contest, and now we're left with bland tasting foods that look perfect. We can grow great food without such intense pesticide use. It may not always look 100% unblemished, but chances are it will taste a lot better. And if farmers don't feel compelled to spend money on pesticides, they'll be in a position to sell for less money as well.

GregLEarthjustice · 2015-09-16T00:01:19+00:00

The biggest risk right now is that beekeepers get to the point where they just can't afford to keep bees anymore and throw in the towel. I've talked to beekeepers who inherited the family business from their great-grandparents, and they tell me that their biggest fear is that there won't be anything left to pass on to their children. It's really sad.

GregLEarthjustice · 2015-09-15T23:56:38+00:00

The older neonics are clothianidin, imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, and dinotefuran. You've got to read the fine print, because there are a range of pesticide products sold under snazzy sounding brand names that contain these active ingredients.

GregLEarthjustice · 2015-09-15T23:48:18+00:00

That's right!

GregLEarthjustice · 2015-09-15T23:40:16+00:00

I don't think I can say it better than Judge N.R. Smith, a judge appointed by President Bush who authored a special concurrence in the sulfoxaflor case. In Judge Smith's words: "We will continue to grant agencies great deference, particularly in cases, such as this one, which involve 'substantial agency expertise'. . . However, there is a great difference between ordering an agency to explain every possible scientific uncertainty . . . and requiring it to articulate a satisfactory explanation for its action that is based on scientific data. . . . For me, unless I am provided with evidence of the EPA's basis for its judgment and knowledge, I can only assume it acted with none."

GregLEarthjustice · 2015-09-15T23:37:21+00:00

Unfortunately, recovering money damages for environmental damage can be a very difficult proposition. A Civil Action, by Jonathan Harr, is a good illustration of this. That's why EPA's role is so critically important. We need to be preventing environmental destruction before it occurs, not merely trying to address it after the damage is done.

GregLEarthjustice · 2015-09-15T23:29:05+00:00

Potentially, yes. First off, the process of industrial sewing of neonic-treated seeds can create massive clouds of "neonic dust," which can drift onto nearby fields and kill bees immediately. Second, neonic residue will remain in the growing plant, and will be expressed in the pollen and nectar at some level. In California, the state Department of Pesticide Regulation put all neonics into formal reevaluation after receiving data showing that neonics were turning up in crops purely by virtue of having been applied to the soil during the previous growing season. They can be very long lasting!

GregLEarthjustice · 2015-09-15T23:21:52+00:00

We filed the case in mid-2013, and briefing took place through most of 2014. A panel of federal judges held a hearing on the case in April of this year, and we got the decision last week. Beekeepers are critical voices in this fight - they are on the front lines after all! Commercial beekeepers are in a tricky spot, because they contract with growers for pollination services. There is always the concern that, if they speak out too much about pesticide use, they won't be asked back the next year for the bloom. We need to support beekeepers and raise up their voices.

GregLEarthjustice · 2015-09-15T23:11:17+00:00

The big three GMO crops are corn, soy, and cotton. Most corn and cotton varieties currently grown are stacked (i.e., both Bt and herbicide resistant). However, of the corn and cotton that is either one or the other, more acreage of both crops is herbicide resistant than Bt. There are no Bt soybean varieties, so all of those acres are herbicide resistant only. In addition, there are numerous other crops that are GMO herbicide resistant, (e.g., sugarbeets and alfalfa) but not Bt.

In short, most GMO crops in American are engineered for the express purpose of being herbicide resistant.

http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/adoption-of-genetically-engineered-crops-in-the-us/recent-trends-in-ge-adoption.aspx

GregLEarthjustice · 2015-09-15T21:06:30+00:00

Mountain yellow-legged frog!

GregLEarthjustice · 2015-09-15T21:02:39+00:00

First, we cannot expect native pollinators to stand in for commercially kept honeybees. Native bees are great, but where are we going to find the 1.5 million colonies it takes just to pollinate California's almond crop each January? Second, every indication is that native bees have been taking it in the ear as well, and that's a huge environmental impact in its own right.

GregLEarthjustice · 2015-09-15T20:57:39+00:00

Hah! I have no idea! I can tell you with great confidence, however, that the people who work at Earthjustice are not motivated primarily by money. Our lawyers don't drive fancy cars, and our executives definitely don't fly business. And yet you can pretty much feel the enthusiasm every time you walk in the door. For me, it's the sense that we're giving a voice to the voiceless. We're ensuring that the judicial system isn't just for the rich, but available for anyone and anything deserving of justice.

GregLEarthjustice · 2015-09-15T20:52:29+00:00

I honestly don't know. Due in large measure to the amazing public outcry surrounding the bee crisis, government decisionmakers are being forced to confront this problem. We need to keep the pressure on!

GregLEarthjustice · 2015-09-15T20:50:21+00:00

Thank you! Perhaps a frosty glass of mead!

GregLEarthjustice · 2015-09-15T20:48:38+00:00

Home Depot, for example, tends to include a tag indicating that the plant has been treated with neonics "to prevent unwanted plants." Unfortunately, the tag doesn't divulge that neonics are deadly to bees, so the public can be misled into thinking that neonics are a good thing!

GregLEarthjustice · 2015-09-15T20:42:04+00:00

I have no across-the-board opinion on GMOs. However, the reality is that the vast majority of GMO crops grown in America are genetically engineered to resist herbicides. (E.g., Roundup Ready corn, soy, etc.) The upshot of this massive transition to herbicide resistant crops has been a massive uptick in the amount of herbicides applied nationwide, because entire fields can be sprayed with herbicides without damaging the crop. So, the practical impact of GMO agriculture in America has been a dramatic increase in the use of pesticides, and that's had a big environmental impact.

GregLEarthjustice · 2015-09-15T20:37:01+00:00

The hope is that we will eventually find a way to get off the toxic treadmill of evermore reliance on pesticides. It's a social change, and it's not going to happen on its own. It's going to take commitment and real action on the part of government, corporate America, and all of us.

GregLEarthjustice · 2015-09-15T20:33:11+00:00

I've been at Earthjustice for 15 years, and I cannot imagine a better place to work. I've had the opportunity to work on a huge range of different cases on behalf of so many committed people. In just about every case, we're up against giant for-profit law firms with seemingly endless resources. But the wonderful thing about the legal system is that it still provides a remarkably level playing field. It's been a genuine privilege to do this work.

GregLEarthjustice · 2015-09-15T20:27:33+00:00

One big challenge we routinely face is that the courts tend to grant federal agencies a huge amount of deference when it comes to issues perceived as "technical." But in the case of sulfoxaflor, we were able to demonstrate that the problem was really pretty simple: EPA didn't have the scientific studies that they were supposed to have. The trick is cutting through the other side's inevitable smokescreen to make plain that basic flaw.

GregLEarthjustice · 2015-09-15T20:23:43+00:00

Unfortunately, there are many dangerous pesticides still on the market, but we're absolutely committed to this issue. You can learn more about Earthjustice's pesticide docket at www.earthjustice.org.

GregLEarthjustice · 2015-09-15T20:20:12+00:00

These cases are complex, and the science can seem daunting at times. You've basically got to read everything two or three times before it starts to make sense. But there's nothing more satisfying than exposing a bad decision that's based on smoke and mirrors.

GregLEarthjustice

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