Save the bees! Take action against stores that sell products that are killing our bees!

Our vegetable garden was a bit of a disaster the last couple of summers. Oh we had our share of peas and beans and the lettuce did okay, but the three varieties of squash? Nada. Not one single zucchini. Nor any of its cousins. Nope. Nothing. Oh, except big beautiful flowers. Lots of them as a matter of fact. The yellow beauties opened, showed off a bit, and then dropped without producing a thing. What's going on?

Oh yeah, there weren't any bees around. Or, at least, not many. Bee sightings around my house are scarce when, just a few years ago, they were plentiful. And that frightens me. What are we going to do if all the bees die off? Where will that leave our food supply?

Hey, maybe someone will have to come up with an artificial pollinator. Gardeners and farmers everywhere will be flocking to the stores to buy them. And, if my theory (which is only my theory, my opinion, and based on absolutely no known facts) holds any water, I'm guessing the company that started the problem will come up with a solution . . . all at a huge profit, of course. Perhaps it's just the cynic in me. The problem is there is a problem. Something is killing the bees and we have to do something about it.

So here's the deal: bees have enough troubles. We can't stand for Home Depot, Lowe's and other stores polluting our own backyards. These stores need to stop selling bee-killing plants and pesticides as stores in Europe have already done.  

Friends of the Earth-US and Pesticide Research Institute launched a first-of-its-kind pilot study and found 54% of common garden plants purchased at top retailers, including Lowes and Home Depot, contained neonicotinoid pesticides, which studies show can harm or kill bees and other pollinators. And they didn't warn us. Not a word. 

The fact of the matter is this: bees and other pollinators are essential for two-thirds of the food crops we eat everyday. Two-thirds! 

According to Friends of the Earth:

Pests, diseases, loss of forage and habitat and changing climate have all been identified as possible contributing factors to global bee losses. However, a growing body of science has implicated the world's most widely-used pesticides, neonicotinoids (neonics) made by giant chemical companies Bayer and Syngenta, as a key factor in recent global bee die-offs.

But neonics aren't just used in agriculture -- as our new pilot study shows, unbeknownst to consumers, many "bee friendly" garden plants sold at home garden centers have been pre-treated with these bee killing pesticides which can contaminate their gardens and keep harming bees and other pollinators for months to years.

I don't know about you, but I'm angry. So, so angry. And I'm not going to sit back and keep my mouth shut (imagine that!). While it is vital that the EPA and Congress take action to restrict the use of neonics, it is important that people stop contaminating their own gardens with plants containing neonicotinoid pesticides. Won't you join me and take action to tell Home Depot and Lowe's: We won't buy your poison plants!

Do it for the bees . . . and for the future of the food supply here in the US. Other countries are already wising up. It's time we followed suit.

I'd love for you to comment below to let me know you've taken action. I expect the GG community to raise a ruckus. Let's bring on change, folks. It's up to us!

A new, first-of-its-kind pilot study by Friends of the Earth-US and Pesticide Research Institute has found 54 percent of common garden plants purchased at top retailers including Lowes and Home Depot contained neonicotinoid pesticides, which studies show can harm or kill bees and other pollinators, with no warning to consumers. - See more at: http://www.foe.org/beeaction#sthash.envWzMdM.dpuf

A new, first-of-its-kind pilot study by Friends of the Earth-US and Pesticide Research Institute has found 54 percent of common garden plants purchased at top retailers including Lowes and Home Depot contained neonicotinoid pesticides, which studies show can harm or kill bees and other pollinators, with no warning to consumers. - See more at: http://www.foe.org/beeaction#sthash.envWzMdM.dpuf

A new, first-of-its-kind pilot study by Friends of the Earth-US and Pesticide Research Institute has found 54 percent of common garden plants purchased at top retailers including Lowes and Home Depot contained neonicotinoid pesticides, which studies show can harm or kill bees and other pollinators, with no warning to consumers. - See more at: http://www.foe.org/beeaction#sthash.FwjTYiSY.dpuf

For more info, visit the "Save the Bees" blog carnival here.