RTA leading environmental group has filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency, accusing regulators of dismissing dangers about a certain chemical used in herbicides, including Monsanto’s widely used Roundup.
The lawsuit, filed Friday by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in federal district court in New York, argues that an ingredient in the herbicide – glyphosate – has had devastating effects on monarch butterflies, causing the population to halve in seven years.
Glyphosate destroys milkweed, the only food consumed by monarch butterflies in their migration. The lawsuit states that federal law requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ensure that the pesticides it approves will not cause “unreasonable adverse effects on the environment, including wildlife.” The suit alleges the agency never considered glyphosate’s impacts on monarchs.
A year ago, the NRDC and other environmental groups submitted a petition to the EPA asking them to review a large body of scientific evidence showing the effects of glyphosates, but the EPA did not respond to the petition.
As we debate #TheDress, @NRDC sues EPA to force action on #whiteandgold Monarch butterflies http://t.co/1ZwkYU3KQF pic.twitter.com/CKvPOhYduC
— Isabel➿Keating (@IsabelXKeating) February 27, 2015
In response, the EPA issued a statement saying it is taking several steps to protect the butterflies, but that the science on the issue “is still evolving.”
“There are multiple factors that may be affecting monarchs including loss of habitat, weather and pesticides,” the EPA said.
The orange-and-black spotted monarchs are renowned for migrating several thousand miles across the US, Canada, and Mexico. The Center for Biological Diversity said their numbers have fallen dramatically in recent years. The lawsuit states the population was tallied at one billion in 1997 and this winter was down to 56.5 million butterflies, the second-lowest number ever measured.
The suit seeks a court order forcing the EPA to evaluate glyphosate’s effects on monarchs and impose measures to mitigate harm to the butterflies.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service said at the end of December 2014 that it would conduct a one-year status review of the butterfly to determine if the species is warranted protection under the Endangered Species Act. This month it announced it was helping launch a $3.2 million campaign aimed at saving the butterfly’s habitat.
Last year, the NRDC sued the EPA in federal court in Washington, DC over its approval of the DowAgro Sciences pesticide ‘Enlist Duo,’ which contains glyphosate. The NRDC said at the time of filing that while the group recognizes that deforestation and climate change have contributed to the decline in the butterfly species, “the massive loss of milkweed habitat is the main culprit.”
“…Glyphosate has wiped out the milkweed they need to survive,” said Sylvia Fallon, a senior scientist at NRDC. “EPA completely ignored the impact on monarchs when it granted this new approval, and seriously underestimated the toxicity for people.”
“The lawsuit, filed Friday by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in federal district court in New York, argues that an ingredient in the herbicide – glyphosate – has had devastating effects on monarch butterflies, causing the population to halve in seven years.”
Butterflies???
That sh#t is killing EVERYTHING!!!
Although i agree that herbicides are detrimental to certain organisms, i dont think that herbicides are completely to blame. If the massive DDT campaign in the previous century did not kill them off then i would find it hard to believe that a herbicide would have such a dramatic effect. At the risk of sounding like one of those weirdo chemtrail people, i would have to say that the prolonged spraying of whatever chemicals they are using daily on us is destroying flora and fauna alike.
DDT was actually the best poison they ever used. It was devastating to the mosquito population, while negligible in negative effects on most other life forms. They demonized it, and subsequently banned its use, because it was TOO effective at saving the lives of the ‘useless eaters’ (NWO’s term, not mine).
I agree. DDT saved millions of lives by nearly eradicating malaria. My point was not to be critical of it.
I have no problem with DDT.
Glyphosate, however…
… or ANYTHING created by Monsanto, for that matter…
SERIOUS problem.