Post 46--To Bee or not to Bee—That Is the Challenge

You may have noticed that issues like secularism vs religion, science and religion, human rights, etc. are major concerns of mine.  However, I am also concerned with all kinds of more tangible and less theoretical things and happenings. The environment is a big concern of mine, even though so far I have not written much about it. You can expect more on such issues in future posts.

I may have given the impression in the above paragraph that the issues I list as major concerns of mine are less tangible and more theoretical. In the minds of some of you my readers that could mean less useful and less practical. That is by no means the impression I would want to leave. Those issues are among the most practical and tangible and, certainly, most important for the future of our society. 

Today I draw your attention to the bee issue. Actually, I had intended to do a post on water issues, but then this email about bees appeared on my screen this morning and I decided to switch to that subject as more in need of immediate attention. Both water and bees are very concrete and practical issues right now that do and will increasingly affect the entire world—which means all of my neighbours!

You may be aware that bees are dying off in droves, some due to “natural” causes indirectly the result of human intervention, including climate change. They are also being attacked by pesticides that we spray to preserve our crops. Lowe, a giant home and garden retailer, has been selling such pesticides. They have been “attacked” by an organization “SumOfUs” with great success. I am herewith passing on to you a report from SumOfUs. I am not a member and do not know enough about them to recommend them to you. However, I judge that the report you are about to read is valuable information and a good example of how ordinary people, when they band together, can overcome the mighty giants of our day. 

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We’re buzzing: Lowe’s, one of the world’s biggest home and garden retailers, just announced it’s no longer going to sell bee-killing "neonic" pesticides.

There’s no way Lowe’s would have done this without you and almost a million other SumOfUs members. Together with Friends of the Earth, SumOfUs members have been pushing Lowe’s to save the bees for almost two years -- and it worked!

We’re at a critical moment in the fight to stop the mass bee die-off -- with this move, we can push other big retailers and governments to save the bees as well.
Donations and actions from SumOfUs members made this all possible. Here’s what you did to make Lowe’s save the bees:

• Almost 1 million of us signed a petition to get Lowe’s to stop selling bee killing pesticides;
• Tens of thousands of us took to social media to let Lowe’s know that we wanted them to save the bees;
• SumOfUs members called Lowe’s stores, and visited individual locations to speak to managers about their concerns about selling neonics (the bee killing pesticides);
• So many of you turned up in person for the US and Canada day of action from cities from New York to Vancouver;
• SumOfUs members chipped in so beekeepers could attend Lowe’s annual shareholder meeting to speak directly with the CEO and Head of Sustainability during and after the meeting about their concerns;
• And so many more phone calls, letters, meetings, and protests.

We love it! This shows just how strong people power is when it comes to creating real change.

Lowe's commitment is the real deal: in the next 4 years, it will phase out all bee-killing pesticides in shelf products and plants that it sells. We’re not going to stop here -- not with your help. Please, if you’ve got just a minute, could you do one of these three easy actions to keep the momentum up? Or bee (get it?!) a superstar, and do all three!

1. Make a donation to keep the momentum up -- your gift will supercharge the Save the Bees campaign!

2. Share the news on your Facebook wall celebrating this huge victory for the bees!

3. Forward this email to five of your friends and show them that people power works.

Thanks for all that you do,
Taren, Jon and the rest of the team at SumOfUs

Congratulations to you guys and all your supporters from myself and my readers.