People are getting wise to neonicotinoids, the neurotoxic pesticides linked to mass losses of bees, birds, and fish; vast water contamination; and, increasingly, risks to human health. In June, Maine became the first state to ban the harmful pesticides in residential areas. In January, New Jersey went a step further to prohibit almost all outdoor, non-agricultural uses (responsible for the vast majority of neonic pollution in the largely urban/suburban state).
Now, New York seems poised to take the next step still with the Birds and Bees Protection Act (A7429/S699B)—a bill founded in findings a recent massive Cornell University report—which would eliminate 80-90% of the neonics entering New York’s environment every year by prohibiting only those uses that provide little-to-no benefit to users or are easily replaced with safer alternatives. The bill passed the state Senate last June, and is gaining momentum after a Assembly hearing on neonics in September. The bill would also nicely complement a recent move by the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to restrict some neonic uses to “protect public health and the environment.”
Eden Research plc (LON:EDEN) is an AIM-quoted company focussed on sustainable biopesticides and plastic-free encapsulation technology for the use in global crop protection, animal health and consumer products industries.