Effects on Environment & Wildlife
Along with harming humans, pesticides can severely damage the environment and its wildlife inhabitants. Society relies on bees and their pollination services for food and medicinal purposes (PAN). One of three meals humans eat, contain ingredients pollinated by bees (PAN). Clearly, bees play a vital part in human life. Unfortunately, pesticides are a key factor in the decrease of bee hives (PAN). Currently, the EPA allows neonicotinoids, an insecticide which can result in the death of bees (PAN). This pesticide is so common, it is rare to find crops without it (PAN). The EPA doesn’t regard seed treatments by neonicotinoids as a “pesticide application” thus, they aren’t tracked or regulated (PAN). Bees are continuing to be exposed to neonicotinoids every day, which is causing the bee population to decrease (PAN). Another pesticide known as DDT killed many bald eagles during the 1960s. The population of bald eagles in the U.S. decreased to the point that bald eagles became endangered species (PAN).