InícioBees survival: ban more pesticides?
Página 1 de 1
Bees survival: ban more pesticides?
por Admin Sex Jul 19, 2013 10:02 am
Este artigo, embora em inglês, mostra que cada vez mais as consciencias se despertaram para o problema dos agroquimicos e da sua interferencia com o meio ambiente
Neonicotinoids are under intense scrutiny. But a ban of a broad variety of pesticides may be required to protect bees, humans and the environment.
The European Commission, on 29th April 2013, slapped a two-year ban on insecticides suspected of killing off bee colonies. This follows the European Food Safety Authority finding that they pose a high acute risk to honey bees. Studies suggest that the nicotine-like compounds fry bees’ navigation systems and leave them unable to learn, while weakening their immune system.
But scientists now warn that other nerve agents targeting insect pests may also be harming bees and other pollinators. “These neonicotinoids are just one of hundreds of compounds being used and I would be surprised if it was all down to just these chemicals,” saysChristopher Connolly, a neuroscientist at the University of Dundee, UK. He argues that we should not allow farmers spray a toxic soup of chemicals onto their crops.
Pesticides not adequately tested
Connolly exposed bee brains to these pesticides and organo-based pesticides andreported that the nerves spun into hyperactivity and then stopped working. A combination of these two pesticides types had a stronger impact, suggesting the combined soup of pesticides could be causing more serious harm. “I don’t understand how this was missed. As a neuroscientist it just seemed blindingly obvious. The biggest effect was hyperactivation of the major learning centre, which was completely predictable,” Connolly tells youris.com.
The nerve agents effects were missed because safety screens looked to see how many honey bees die after four days exposure. But harm is only evident over a period of two weeks in bumblebees and is seen when you look at entire colonies. “So the safety test is all wrong. The thing that concerns me is that this throws a question mark over several hundred pesticides, all tested by inadequate safety screens,” says Connolly. He suggests that we should be tracking pesticides use in the environment, just like we monitor drug use in patients.
Not collecting such data might even pose health issues for people. “Bear in mind we have lots of idiopathic diseases in humans which we don’t know the cause of and given that we don’t know what pesticides are used in what combinations and when, we don’t know if these pesticides may be contributing to some or even all these unknown diseases,” Connolly warns.
More research needed
Connolly argues that we need to carry out research to find out which pesticides are the least harmful. If neonicotinoids are the least toxic, then we should go with them. He says governments have underfunded this research area partly because it is inconvenient to find pesticides are dangerous. Dave Goulson, professor of biological science at the University of Sterling, UK agrees: “there haven’t been nearly enough studies of all pesticides or interactions between them.” He recently published a studyshowing neonicotinoids hit bumblebee colony growth and queen production. He also tells youris.com: “beneficial insects such as ladybirds and bees are exposed to lots of different chemicals and we have a really poor understanding of what it does to them.” He also points out that we need to be concerned with what we replace these nerve agents with.
More research may be helpful, but industry criticises extrapolation of lab studies to field conditions. Julian Little, spokesperson for Bayer Cropscience, based in Norwich, UK, says the evidence against these pesticides has all been lab based, essentially taking a social insect and force-feeding it insecticide. It says the results cannot be replicated in the environment.
But he also agrees more monitoring of pollinators is needed. “Where you do get large-scale bee deaths not enough has been done to know exactly what has happened,” Little tells youris.com. He says pests and loss of feeding sites and nesting sites are most likely behind bee declines. “France has had restrictions [of neonicotinoids] over the last ten years, yet the bees there remain as bad if not worse than they are in the UK.”
Avoidance of pesticide use
A possible solution to preserve bee populations further would be to restore the principle of avoidance of pesticide use. “The whole ethos of pest management has gone in the wrong direction,” Goulson argues. Whereas integrated pest management sought to use as few pesticides as possible, the neonicotinoids are a preventive strike. “A simple analogy is that it’s like taking antibiotics in case you get ill rather than when you get ill. Everyone knows that is a silly idea, as it results in bacteria rapidly developing resistance. It is the same with these pesticides.”
However, opponents believe that the neonicotinoids ban is unlikely to decrease pesticide use. Quite the opposite. Little warns that farmers may now have to resort to spraying insecticides up to four times a year, now that they cannot coat seeds in neonicotinoids.
But other experts do not agree. There are several alternatives to using neonicotinoids, and other pesticides, according to Simon Potts, professor of biodiversity and ecosystem services at Reading University, UK. This is a great opportunity for farmers to adopt these practices to protect bees and other pollinators. Indeed, he believes farmers will benefit from healthy pollinator populations as they provide substantial economic benefits to crop pollination.
"Few people would disagree that we need to protect our food production, but it shouldn’t be at the cost of damaging the environment,” Potts tells youris.com, adding: “A short-term decision to keep using harmful products may be convenient, but will almost certainly have much greater long-term costs for food production and the environment.”
http://www.youris.com
Tradução automática do google ..
Neonicotinoids are under intense scrutiny. But a ban of a broad variety of pesticides may be required to protect bees, humans and the environment.
The European Commission, on 29th April 2013, slapped a two-year ban on insecticides suspected of killing off bee colonies. This follows the European Food Safety Authority finding that they pose a high acute risk to honey bees. Studies suggest that the nicotine-like compounds fry bees’ navigation systems and leave them unable to learn, while weakening their immune system.
But scientists now warn that other nerve agents targeting insect pests may also be harming bees and other pollinators. “These neonicotinoids are just one of hundreds of compounds being used and I would be surprised if it was all down to just these chemicals,” saysChristopher Connolly, a neuroscientist at the University of Dundee, UK. He argues that we should not allow farmers spray a toxic soup of chemicals onto their crops.
Pesticides not adequately tested
Connolly exposed bee brains to these pesticides and organo-based pesticides andreported that the nerves spun into hyperactivity and then stopped working. A combination of these two pesticides types had a stronger impact, suggesting the combined soup of pesticides could be causing more serious harm. “I don’t understand how this was missed. As a neuroscientist it just seemed blindingly obvious. The biggest effect was hyperactivation of the major learning centre, which was completely predictable,” Connolly tells youris.com.
The nerve agents effects were missed because safety screens looked to see how many honey bees die after four days exposure. But harm is only evident over a period of two weeks in bumblebees and is seen when you look at entire colonies. “So the safety test is all wrong. The thing that concerns me is that this throws a question mark over several hundred pesticides, all tested by inadequate safety screens,” says Connolly. He suggests that we should be tracking pesticides use in the environment, just like we monitor drug use in patients.
Not collecting such data might even pose health issues for people. “Bear in mind we have lots of idiopathic diseases in humans which we don’t know the cause of and given that we don’t know what pesticides are used in what combinations and when, we don’t know if these pesticides may be contributing to some or even all these unknown diseases,” Connolly warns.
More research needed
Connolly argues that we need to carry out research to find out which pesticides are the least harmful. If neonicotinoids are the least toxic, then we should go with them. He says governments have underfunded this research area partly because it is inconvenient to find pesticides are dangerous. Dave Goulson, professor of biological science at the University of Sterling, UK agrees: “there haven’t been nearly enough studies of all pesticides or interactions between them.” He recently published a studyshowing neonicotinoids hit bumblebee colony growth and queen production. He also tells youris.com: “beneficial insects such as ladybirds and bees are exposed to lots of different chemicals and we have a really poor understanding of what it does to them.” He also points out that we need to be concerned with what we replace these nerve agents with.
More research may be helpful, but industry criticises extrapolation of lab studies to field conditions. Julian Little, spokesperson for Bayer Cropscience, based in Norwich, UK, says the evidence against these pesticides has all been lab based, essentially taking a social insect and force-feeding it insecticide. It says the results cannot be replicated in the environment.
But he also agrees more monitoring of pollinators is needed. “Where you do get large-scale bee deaths not enough has been done to know exactly what has happened,” Little tells youris.com. He says pests and loss of feeding sites and nesting sites are most likely behind bee declines. “France has had restrictions [of neonicotinoids] over the last ten years, yet the bees there remain as bad if not worse than they are in the UK.”
Avoidance of pesticide use
A possible solution to preserve bee populations further would be to restore the principle of avoidance of pesticide use. “The whole ethos of pest management has gone in the wrong direction,” Goulson argues. Whereas integrated pest management sought to use as few pesticides as possible, the neonicotinoids are a preventive strike. “A simple analogy is that it’s like taking antibiotics in case you get ill rather than when you get ill. Everyone knows that is a silly idea, as it results in bacteria rapidly developing resistance. It is the same with these pesticides.”
However, opponents believe that the neonicotinoids ban is unlikely to decrease pesticide use. Quite the opposite. Little warns that farmers may now have to resort to spraying insecticides up to four times a year, now that they cannot coat seeds in neonicotinoids.
But other experts do not agree. There are several alternatives to using neonicotinoids, and other pesticides, according to Simon Potts, professor of biodiversity and ecosystem services at Reading University, UK. This is a great opportunity for farmers to adopt these practices to protect bees and other pollinators. Indeed, he believes farmers will benefit from healthy pollinator populations as they provide substantial economic benefits to crop pollination.
"Few people would disagree that we need to protect our food production, but it shouldn’t be at the cost of damaging the environment,” Potts tells youris.com, adding: “A short-term decision to keep using harmful products may be convenient, but will almost certainly have much greater long-term costs for food production and the environment.”
http://www.youris.com
Tradução automática do google ..
Neonicotinóides estão sob intenso escrutínio. Mas a proibição de uma ampla variedade de pesticidas pode ser necessária para proteger as abelhas, os seres humanos eo meio ambiente.
A Comissão Europeia, em 29 de abril de 2013, bateu uma suspensão de dois anos em inseticidas suspeitos de matar colônias de abelhas. Isto segue a Autoridade Europeia de Segurança Alimentar descobrindo que eles representam um elevado risco agudo para as abelhas. Estudos sugerem que os compostos de nicotina, como fritar sistemas de navegação das abelhas e deixá-los incapazes de aprender, além de enfraquecer o seu sistema imunitário.
Mas agora os cientistas alertam que outros agentes nervosos segmentação pragas de insetos também podem estar a prejudicar as abelhas e outros polinizadores. "Esses neonicotinóides são apenas uma das centenas de compostos a ser utilizado e eu ficaria surpreso se ele era tudo para apenas esses produtos químicos", saysChristopher Connolly, um neurocientista da Universidade de Dundee, no Reino Unido. Ele argumenta que não devemos permitir que os agricultores pulverizar uma sopa tóxica de produtos químicos em suas lavouras.
Pesticidas não testados adequadamente
Connolly expostos cérebros das abelhas para estes pesticidas e agrotóxicos à base de organo andreported que os nervos fiado em hiperatividade e, em seguida, parou de funcionar. A combinação destes dois tipos de pesticidas teve um impacto forte, o que sugere a sopa combinado de pesticidas pode ser mais grave provocando danos. "Eu não entendo como isso foi perdido. Como um neurocientista que parecia óbvio ululante. O maior efeito foi hiperativação do principal centro de aprendizagem, o que era completamente previsível ", diz Connolly youris.com.
Os efeitos de agentes nervosos foram perdidas porque as telas de segurança olhou para ver quantas abelhas morrem depois de quatro dias de exposição. Mas o dano é evidente apenas durante um período de duas semanas em abelhas e é visto quando você olha para colônias inteiras. "Então o teste de segurança está tudo errado. A única coisa que me preocupa é que este lança um ponto de interrogação sobre várias centenas de agrotóxicos, todos testados por telas de segurança inadequadas ", diz Connolly. Ele sugere que devemos estar acompanhando uso de agrotóxicos no meio ambiente, assim como nós monitoramos o uso de drogas em pacientes.
Não recolha desses dados pode até representar problemas de saúde para as pessoas. "Tenha em mente que temos muitas doenças idiopáticas em seres humanos que não sabemos a causa de, e dado que não sabemos o que os pesticidas são usados em quais combinações e quando, não sabemos se estes pesticidas podem estar contribuindo para alguns, ou mesmo todas estas doenças desconhecidas ", Connolly adverte.
Mais pesquisa é necessária
Connolly afirma que é preciso realizar pesquisas para descobrir quais pesticidas são os menos prejudiciais. Se neonicotinóides são os menos tóxicos, então devemos ir com eles. Ele diz que os governos têm subfinanciado nessa área de pesquisa em parte porque é inconveniente para encontrar os pesticidas são perigosos. Dave Goulson, professor de ciências biológicas da Universidade de Sterling, Reino Unido, concorda: "não houve estudos suficientes de quase todos os pesticidas ou interações entre elas." Ele publicou recentemente um neonicotinóides studyshowing bateu o crescimento da colônia abelha e produção de rainha. Ele também diz youris.com: "insetos benéficos, como joaninhas e abelhas são expostos a muitas substâncias químicas diferentes e temos realmente uma má compreensão do que ele faz para eles." Ele também ressalta que é preciso se preocupar com o que substituir esses agentes nervosos com.
Mais pesquisas podem ser úteis, mas a indústria critica extrapolação de estudos de laboratório para as condições de campo. Julian Little, porta-voz da Bayer Cropscience, com sede em Norwich, Reino Unido, diz que as provas contra estes pesticidas tudo foi laboratório baseia-se, essencialmente, tomar um inseto social e força de alimentá-lo inseticida. Ele diz que os resultados não podem ser replicados no ambiente.
Mas ele também concorda é necessário um acompanhamento mais de polinizadores. "Onde você começa morte de abelhas em grande escala não foi feito o suficiente para saber exatamente o que aconteceu," Little diz youris.com. Ele diz que as pragas e perda de locais de alimentação e locais de nidificação são mais prováveis por trás declínio de abelhas. "A França teve restrições [de neonicotinóides] ao longo dos últimos dez anos, no entanto, as abelhas permanecem lá tão ruim, se não pior do que eles estão no Reino Unido."
Evitar o uso de pesticidas
Uma possível solução para preservar as populações de abelhas ainda seria restaurar o princípio da prevenção do uso de agrotóxicos. "Todo o ethos de manejo de pragas tem ido na direção errada", Goulson argumenta. Considerando que a gestão integrada de pragas procurou usar como alguns pesticidas como possível, os neonicotinóides são um ataque preventivo. "Uma analogia simples é que ele é como tomar antibióticos no caso de você ficar doente, em vez de quando você ficar doente. Todo mundo sabe que é uma idéia boba, pois resulta em bactérias em rápido desenvolvimento de resistência. É a mesma coisa com esses pesticidas. "
No entanto, os opositores acreditam que é improvável que diminua o uso de pesticidas neonicotinóides a proibição. Muito pelo contrário. Pouco adverte que os agricultores podem agora ter que recorrer a aplicação de inseticidas até quatro vezes por ano, agora que eles não podem sementes casaco em neonicotinóides.
Mas outros especialistas não concordam. Existem várias alternativas ao uso de neonicotinóides, e outros pesticidas, de acordo com Simon Potts, professor de biodiversidade e serviços do ecossistema na Universidade de Reading, Reino Unido. Esta é uma grande oportunidade para os agricultores a adotar essas práticas para proteger as abelhas e outros polinizadores. Na verdade, ele acredita que os agricultores vão beneficiar populações de polinizadores saudáveis que proporcionam benefícios econômicos substanciais para a polinização de culturas.
"Poucas pessoas discordariam de que precisamos para proteger a nossa produção de alimentos, mas isso não deve ser às custas de prejudicar o meio ambiente", diz Potts youris.com, acrescentando: "A decisão de curto prazo para manter o uso de produtos nocivos pode ser conveniente, mas quase certamente terá muito maiores custos de longo prazo para a produção de alimentos eo meio ambiente. "
Admin- Admin
- Mensagens : 32
Data de inscrição : 15/05/2013 -
Página 1 de 1
Permissões neste sub-fórum
Não podes responder a tópicos|
|
|