Siuslaw News Special Reports
Sweet as honey: Plight of the Pollinators – Part I (February 24, 2017)
It’s not just the bees: Plight of the Pollinators – Part II (March 26, 2018)
“Net Loss—Economic Efficacy and Costs of Neonicotinoid Insecticides Used as Seed Coatings: Updates from the United States and Europe” (Dec. 2016 report from the Center for Food Safety)
Flowers as Food, A Guide to Honey Bees
Concerned about the threat to bees in your garden? Read the list of consumer products to avoid that contain neonicotinoids (PDF).
BEYOND THE THREAT OF TOXICS: Seek simple justice for water, bird, breath and bee (PDF)
The Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee – The Story of a Declining Pollinator (produced by the Xerces Society)
Gardeners Beware: Bee-toxic Pesticides Found in “Bee-friendly” Plants Sold at Garden Centers Across the U.S. (PDF)

Contact: Lisa Arkin, Exec. Director, Beyond Toxics: 541-465-8860
RESOURCES – from Beyond Toxics
- Video entry in our “Beauty of The Bee” Photo and Video contest…
Video by Patrick Reed (Feb. 24, 2015), “The Importance of Bees”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ovuaJmJlRA - Read the 1-page fact sheet on the threat to bees and their importance to Oregon
- Beyond Toxics blogs about the decline of bees and the dangers of neonicotinoid pesticides
- Save Oregon’s Bees campaign action form (1-pg. PDF)
- Consumer Pesticide Products with Neonics Sold in The U.S. (to save honey bees, don’t use in your garden!)
- Portland joins Eugene as one of America’s Most Bee-Friendly Cities! – A blog by Lisa Arkin (4-2-2015)
INTERVIEWS
- Lisa Arkin and Eugene City Councilor George Brown were interviewed about the City of Eugene resolution to ban neonics on city property (Jefferson Exchange Radio hour on March 10th, 2014; missed it? Hear the full show).
- Hear the 2014 KPNW radio report from Stu Allen interviewing City Counselor Claire Syrett (mp3 file requires audio player plug-in; audio courtesy of KPNW Radio Eugene)
- Lisa Arkin interviewed on Jefferson Exchange Radio: Campaigning For A Ban On Neonicotinoids (aired November 20, 2013; mp3 audio opens and plays within a new web page)
- Hear Lisa Arkin interviewed on Jefferson Public Radio about the plight of honey bees and National Honey Bee Day (aired Aug. 15, 2013; mp3 audio opens and plays within a new web page)
- STUDY: TREATED PLANTS SOLD TO CONSUMERS KILL BEES – KPTV (Portland) News story includes interview with Don Francis, Beyond Toxics Advisory Board member and business owner, EcoTech, LLC
- A report from the Center for Food Safety (Dec. 2016) confirms bee-killing pesticides cause other widespread environmental Harm Economic analysis also reveals neonicotinoids do not increase crop yields | MORE->>
- Gardeners Beware 2016: Bee-toxic Pesticides Found in “Bee-friendly” Plants Sold at Garden Centers Across the U.S. (PDF – Friends of The Earth)
- Scientists Release Landmark Worldwide Assessment Detailing Effects of Bee-Killing Pesticides (June 24, 2014)
- DRIPPING POISON: An Analysis of Neonicotinoid Insecticides in The Guttation Fluid of Growing Maize Plants – Dec. 2013 Report from Greenpeace (PDF)
- Friends of The Earth report: “Follow the Honey: 7 ways pesticide companies are spinning the bee crisis to protect profits“
- Friends of the Earth report (Summer 2013): Gardeners Beware: Bee-Toxic Pesticides Found in “Bee-Friendly” Plants Sold at Garden Centers Nationwide
- The Impact of the Nation’s Most Widely Used Insecticides on Birds (American Bird Conservancy, March 2013)
- Are Neonicotinoids Killing Bees? (2012 Xerces Society Report on Bees and neonicotinoids)
VIDEO
- VIDEO: “Killing Bees: Are Government and Industry Responsible?” (27 min.; “Earth Focus” – LinkTV)
- VIDEO: ‘Colony Collapse Disorder’ Threatens Bees, US Agriculture (13 min.; “Earth Focus” – LinkTV)
- VIDEO: “Chasing bees: The search for the Western bumblebee” (YouTube)
- VIDEO: “Troubling Beehavior – Colony Collapse Disorder in Oregon” (YouTube)
Editorials
- Risking Another Silent Spring – June 30, 2014 NY Times Editorial
- Register-Guard GUEST VIEWPOINT: Pesticides threaten bees’ health — and ours by Philip Smith, Oregon Sustainable Beekeepers, owner of Blessed Bee
Blogs
- “Bee-friendly” Plants? Think Again – BLOG by Paul Towers, Media & Organizing Director, Pesticide Action Network
Articles
- If you are concerned about the threat to bees in your garden, here is a list of consumer products to avoid that contain neonicotinoids (PDF).
Photo Essay from Earthjustice: “The Perfect Crime: What’s Killing All The Bees?“ - 2014 Harvard study strengthens link between neonicotinoids and collapse of honey bee colonies (press release)
- What the Science Shows (a Beyond Pesticides resource)
Since 2007, researchers have increased their efforts to find a cause for the CCD phenomena. The issue is diverse and complex, with many factors potentially contributing to the cause including parasites, pesticides and stress. However, pesticides have consistently been implicated as a key issue in pollinator declines… - Where the Wild Bees Roam – Native pollinators need more protection by ANNA V. SMITH (Sept. 11, 2014 Eugene Weekly)
- Read the latest report on neonicotinoids:
“Midwestern Waters Are Full of Bee-Killing Pesticides”
By Tom Philpott, Mother Jones - Honeybee shortage threatens crop pollination in Europe By Matt McGrath, Environment correspondent, BBC News (Jan. 8, 2014)
- Traffic fumes make honeybees unable to recognise flower scent, study shows / Scientists find reactive pollutants in diesel make oilseed rape flowers ‘smell’ different, affecting bees’ ability to find food – Damian Carrington, The Guardian, October 3, 2013
- R-G article: To bee or not to bee – Colony collapse threatens honeybees and plants they pollinate (see video below)
- Read the Friends of The Earth flyer for their Bee Action consumer campaign
- Bees crucial to many crops still dying at worrisome rate – USDA
BY CAREY GILLAM (May 15, 2014 Reuters News Service) - A Discussion About Neonicotinoids And Bee Losses with Randy Oliver and Walter Haefeker – The Organic View Show – January 19, 2014
- Plants for Native Bees in North America (Xerces Society)
- More Data Implicates Fungicides in Colony Collapse by Oregon blogger Madronna Holden (November 30, 2013)
- Are Neonicotinoids Too Big To Ban? By June Stoyer On April 10, 2013 – The Organic View (audio and video clips)
- Alternatives for consumers…Homemade Dormant Oil Spray for Fruit Trees by Amanda Flanigan, Demand Media
- More research explores the complexities of colony collapse disorder (CCD) and finds a contribution by fungicides, formerly thought to be safe for bees.
- Pesticides and Honey Bees: State of the Science
(May 2012 – Pesticide Action Network North America) - Fabulous report by American Bird Conservancy on birds and neonics
- Mother Jones article on bees
- NY Times: “2 Studies Point to Common Pesticide as a Culprit in Declining Bee Colonies“
- Eugene Register-Guard article: City tries to find pesticide substitute – Beekeepers and environmentalists say the use of one treatment may kill bees
- Join us in supporting this petition to BiMart and Jerry’s to stop selling bee killing neonicotinoid pesticides Petition to BiMart and Jerry’s
- Bee the Change: Tips & Tools For Protecting Honey Bees (PANNA)
- Honey Bee Haven, a joint project of Pesticide Action Network and Beyond Pesticides
- About bees (Bees 101)
- Fact Sheet on Imidacloprid (NCAP)
- Living on Earth reports: “EPA Under Fire for Bee Deaths“
- Please join us and commit to our “Honey Bee Friend pledge” (see above) to make Eugene more sustainable.
- Yet MORE evidence that pesticides are a key culprit in bee die-offs (Pesticide Action Network, North America)
Definitions
- What are neonicotinoids? (wikipedia)
- Queen of the Sun, documentary film
- Vanishing of the Bees, documentary film
- More Than Honey, documentary film
-
Who Killed the Honey Bee?, BBC documentary
- Beyond Pesticides
- Oregon Sustainable Beekeepers
- in Eugene…
Healthy Bees = Healthy Gardens (signs and stickers to protect the bees available for sale)
CONTRIBUTE

Get involved today to help save Oregon’s bees from dangerous pesticides! (Photo by Roka Walsh)
There’s an important way to help our work to save Oregon’s bees! Become a member of Beyond Toxics TODAY!
Beyond Toxics is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and all contributions are fully tax-deductible. Please consider giving a gift of a Beyond Toxics membership to a friend or family member!
- Background: The threat to bees
- Read about Cultivating Bee-Friendly Gardens
- Read about Consumer Products to Avoid
- Take action to help Save Oregon’s Bees!
- Beyond Toxics blogs about the decline of bees and the dangers of neonicotinoids
- What are neonicotinoid pesticides?
- Read about the economics of saving bees: Bees by the numbers
- Gardeners Beware 2014 Report
- Read about Eugene, Oregon’s ban on neonicotinoid pesticides, the first of it’s kind in the nation
- Save Oregon’s Bees Home Page
- Join Beyond Toxics
- Contact us
Beyond Toxics is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and all contributions are fully tax-deductible. Please consider giving a gift of a Beyond Toxics membership to a friend or family member!