the gathering
A rally in support of the Birds and Bees Protection Act (A7640/S1856A) was held on November 15, 2023, in front of Governor Hochul’s New York City office. A spirited assembly of environmental activists, including a contingent from the Linnaean Society, gathered to urge the governor to sign this bill, which would ban the use of highly toxic neonicotinoid pesticides in New York State. Last June, the state legislature passed the bill with strong bipartisan support, but the governor has yet to take action on it.
The use of neonicotinoid pesticides has resulted in tremendous losses of the insects required for pollinating crops, as well as in killing grassland birds. Daniel Raichel, acting director of the Pollinator Initiative for the Natural Resources Defense Council, addressed the gathering, emphasizing that the enormous amounts of neonics applied to farmland have resulted in the contamination of lakes, rivers, and drinking water. Other speakers addressed the adverse effects of neonicotinoid pesticides on human health, especially that of pregnant women, children, and people of low-income communities.
Lazarus, Kristin Ellington, Debbie Mullins, and
Peter Post. Not pictured-Sally Weiner
Please write or call Governor Hochul today to urge her to sign the Birds and Bees Protection Act (A7640/S1856A) into law. Without her signature, the bill will expire on December 31