Dutch Toxicologist Dr. Henk Tennekes has put all the pieces of the puzzle together and confirmed what many have suspected for at least 6 years: a new class of revolutionary crop insecticides is killing-off vast numbers of bees, butterflies, spiders, bumblebees, caterpillars, earthworms and creatures which live in the soil. Along with the insects, these insecticides are killing-off the birds and animals which depend on insects for their food: skylarks, corn buntings, partridges, tree sparrows - and dozens more species. The pesticide industry is creating a 'Poisonous Landscape' in which the only thing that will be allowed to live, will be the insecticide-laced crop which brings in the profits.
It is a serious ecological report rather than a book for general readers, but all ecologists, beekeepers and bird conservationists should read this description of the coming Ecological Apocalypse.
Available in PDF for Adobe Digital Editions Format
This is the book to read about what is being done to the environment in our name. In fact, it should not only be read - it should be acted upon. It paints a vivid picture of what exactly is happening in pursuit of profits – and how short-sighted this policy is. If crops continue to be soused with neonicotinoid pesticides and bees and other pollinators continue to be poisoned, there will be a great shortage of food. Bees are vastly important to us, and to the economy. They provide not only a 1/3 of the food on our plate – but a third of the most nutritionally important food – fruit and vegetables, and animal fodder. Day by day the pollution of the countryside is going on to the detriment of bees and all other wildlife, in order so we’re assured, to put food on our plates. This book soundly puts paid to that piece of misinformation. Neonicotinoid pesticides, together with other agrichemicals are applied primarily to increase profits. And there are increasing suggestions that chronic... More > human ill health and allergies may spring from these same sources. Please read this book and pass it on to as many people as possible. And act upon it. Write to your MP. Boycott food which has been adulterated. Go organic. It may be more expensive but not half as expensive as the fallout from present agricultural policy. Bees are the canaries in the mine. We ignore they’re fate at our peril.< Less
Dr. Tennekes has vividly and painstakingly described declines in European ecosystems, related to relatively new insecticides used to increase yields of crops. These "-oprid" insecticides, otherwise known as neonicotinoids, have been decimating not only bee populations, but other insects and the birds that depend upon them. These chemicals and their breakdown products linger in our environment for many years if not decades. This book is beautifully produced, with beautiful artwork interspersed with bleak scientific fact. The contrast between the desirable and the harsh reality of chemical pollution undermining basic ecological food chains (ostensibly to improve production of a human food) makes this work all the more compelling. My recommendations? Read this book, then give it to someone else - a farmer, scientist, politician or policy maker who might make a difference. You'll want to learn more about the food that you are eating, and work to preserve biodiversity.
The systemic insecticides: a disaster in the making. By Dr. Henk Tennekes. Produced by Weevers Walburg Comminicatie, Zuthen, the Netherlands. Excellent illustrations by Ami-Bernard Zillweger. The Review originally published in Bee Culture Magazine, published by the A. I. Root Company, Medina, OH, USA It is notable that this book and information on the scandal at EPA regarding registration of Bayer’s clothianidin become available at about the same time. EPA, brought on the carpet for grossly mishandling the registration due process of this chemical in part because of information first published in Bee Culture by Tom Theobald in July, certainly has some ‘splainin to do on their process, and the bureaucratic rug they swept their mess under when they allowed Bayer free rein with this deadly cocktail. And Bayer, too, has some ‘splainin to do on their gross negligence on performing even the minimum testing for honey bee safety before they even got a conditional registration from EPA seven... More > years ago. It was, as Tom says, research fraud at its best. There are some beekeepers in this country that are convinced that this chemical, and others like it are closely associated with CCD. There’s evidence to support that. Dr. Tennekes would probably agree. His slim book catalogs a tragedy of monumental proportions regarding the loss of the insect-feeding (invertebrate-dependent) bird populations in all environments in the Netherlands. And he ties the disappearance to agriculture generally, and the neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid in particular. Clothianidin is no different, he says. He brings together the disasters of surface water contamination and the decline of nearly all life forms associated with that resource, but then he also includes the decline of insect feeding woodland birds in Britain, the Low Countries, Germany, Switzerland, and France. It is a telling, and gruesome story. The insects are gone. And now, so are the birds. The question is...what, or maybe who, is next?< Less
Dr Tennekes’ book confirms the fears of many informed individuals, independent scientists and conservation organisations: systemic pesticides (which includes neonicotinoids) are having a devastating effect on our environment. These chemicals may be mobile in soil, they can contaminate groundwater, and leach into water sources. Research has shown they may even remain in the soil for years, and be taken up by plants and be available in the flower heads at levels toxic to bees, even after usage has ceased. Tennekes’ book is an urgent reminder of Rachel Carson’s message in 'Silent Spring'. Drawing on his scientific research (as a published toxicologist), he illustrates the ecological collapse that has already begun to happen. This book shows that killing insects does not only mean killing “nasty crop-eating pests”. It means removing a food source from the web of life, depriving (and ultimately starving to death) the birds, bats and other creatures that directly or indirectly depend upon... More > them. Whether it hops, crawls, flies, slithers, creeps, wriggles, swims, jumps, flutters, flows, grows from the earth or sea bed, ultimately man needs nature – and together, we are sustained not only by the air we breathe, but by the land and water of this beautiful earth. This book is an urgent call for us to protect it.< Less
Dec. 15, 2010 By Graham White "Beekeepers around the globe have witnessed the death of millions of honeybee colonies in the last decade - and the severe economic damage which this has inflicted on the honey industry and farming in general. One third of all the food we eat is pollinated by bees - not just domesticated honeybees, but the hundreds of wild species of bees, including bumblebees and mason bees. Something is killing our honeybees, but we are also witnessing the near-extinction of many other species of pollinating insects: bumblebees, butterflies, moths, beetles and so on. But it is not just honeybees which are dying by the billions. There has been a 50% decline in many common farmland birds in the UK and manyEuropean countries in the last 20 years. Some species have actually become extinct (the Corn Bunting in Holland) while others like the Skylark, the Tree Sparrow and the Grey Partridge have seen populations crash by 60 - 90% here in the UK. Henk Tennekes has put all... More > the pieces of the puzzle together and confirmed what many of us have suspected for at least 6 years: a new class of revolutionary crop pesticides is killing-off vast numbers of bees, butterflies, spiders, bumblebees, caterpillars, earthworms and creatures which live in the soil. Along with the insects, these pesticides are killing-off the birds and animals which depend on insects for their food: skylarks, corn buntings, partridges,tree sparrows - and dozens more species. The pesticide industry is creating a 'Poisonous Landscape' in which the only thing that will be allowed to live, will be the insecticide-laced crop which brings in the profits."< Less
